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Aboard the U.S.S. Sequoia: Presidential yacht designated national historic landmark
It's a national landmark, home to dozens of moments that changed history - and the world - forever.
The U.S.S. Sequoia is an 87-year-old, 104-foot yacht that has served at least nine presidents and hosted dozens of world leaders.
"Early Start" anchor Zoraida Sambolin had the chance to tour the historic vessel and get an inside peek at the ship that transported America's leaders.
Who made the better pitch to women voters: Ann Romney or Michelle Obama? Dana Bash, Margaret Hoover and Maria Cardona break down the speeches
First Lady Michelle Obama closed the first day of the Democratic National Convention, which also included speeches from Newark Mayor Corey Booker, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and a keynote address from rising Democratic star and San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro.
Both the First Lady and Mitt Romney's wife Ann made strong pitches to female voters, who many say could shape the election in November. Who did a better job speaking to the women of the country?
This morning on "Early Start," CNN Senior Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash, along with CNN contributors Margaret Hoover and Maria Cardona, compare First Lady Michelle Obama and Ann Romney's speeches.
What's trending for Sept. 5th, 2012
#Sexyface Kal Penn fires up DNC & Arab-American Muslim is the new Green Lantern.
Will NFL replacement refs endanger players? Sports Illustrated Video's Maggie Gray says it's 'impossible' to make up for experience gap
(CNN) - The big calls in the NFL's opening week won't be made by the league's veteran referees, the referees' top negotiator said Saturday. The NFL has so far failed to reach a labor agreement with its regular referees, and no further talks are scheduled.
The league's 32 teams received a memo Wednesday indicating that "in light of the current state of negotiations, ... we will have replacement crews on the field when the regular season begins," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said.
Nonetheless, talks continued - including a meeting Saturday morning in which the two sides "discussed various potential solutions to reach a new collective bargaining agreement," NFL Referees Association lead negotiator Mike Arnold said in a statement. But there was no breakthrough.
Negotiations between the league and the referees about pay and other matters have gone on and off for months. In the meantime, the NFL hired replacement referees who have been working games throughout the preseason. Some of the replacement referees' work so far has come under criticism, from their penalty calls (or lack thereof) to communication issues. The Cincinnati Bengals, on that NFL team's official Twitter feed, called out these refs earlier this week for "getting a little flag-happy."
Could the replacement refs put NFL players at risk? Sports Illustrated Video's Maggie Gray explains.
"The league has tried to give them the kind of education they need, but it's impossible to try to make up for the experience that normal referees would have," she says. "There have been some embarrassing gaffes for replacement officials in the preseason games, and those have gotten a lot of attention."
"In a way, the spotlight is very hot on these replacement referees and it's unfortunate because you want to have the best of the best on the field. Because of this labor dispute, it doesn't seem like that's happening," Gray says.
READ MORE: Union negotiator: NFL referees won't start season; no more talks planned
VIDEO: What do Democrats need to accomplish at the convention? Margaret Hoover & Richard Socarides look at what voters want to hear
Margaret Hoover & Richard Socarides discuss what needs to do at the Democratic National Convention to sway voters.
Is the honeymoon over for President Obama? Sirius Radio host Jay Thomas on why it all comes down to unhappy voters staying home in November
Democrats are in Charlotte, North Carolina this week for the Democratic National Convention where party leaders will address the nation in anticipation of President Obama’s speech on Thursday night. Obama supporters are in town to hear his message and share their own.
Jay Thomas, the Emmy Award-Winning actor and host of “The Jay Thomas Show” on Sirius Radio, joins John Berman and CNN Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash on “Early Start” this morning to deliver his take.
Thomas, who is a staunch Obama supporter, agrees that the enthusiasm of the honeymoon period is over for the president. As for answering whether he is doing better now than he was four years ago, Thomas says, “I’m not doing better than I was 18 years ago, so I don’t how he answers that exactly.” But Thomas tells Berman that he likes Obama. “I don’t know that you could have done much more for these four years other than to kind of just hold everything together. And I’m hoping that the next four years, he’ll really take off."
Thomas tells Bash that this election is really tight and the president’s core needs to get excited again in order to re-elect President Obama. “If the people who were really crazy about him four years ago don’t vote, I think he’s going to lose the election,” he says.
Best Advice: Rep. Elijah Cummings
Representative Elijah Cummings of Marylands shares with us his best advice.
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) on Democratic National Convention: Americans are going to want to move forward
The lineup for the Democratic National Convention tonight includes a highly anticipated speech from First Lady Michelle Obama and the keynote address from San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro. The program also features an unveiling of the party’s 2012 platform. California Democratic Congresswoman Barbare Lee is on the Platform Committee and she comes to “Early Start” this morning to give a preview of the message she will deliver tonight.
Congresswoman Lee first tells Berman that Americans are better off now than four years ago. Four years ago, “this country was really on the brink, unfortunately, of depression,” she says. “In the last four years, while we still have a lot more work to do, the economy is beginning to turn around; the private sector is beginning to turn around.”
Congresswoman Lee also discusses the Democratic Party’s move to explicitly support same sex marriage in the party platform. Congresswoman Lee says the Democratic Party is an “inclusive party, and we believe in equal justice for everyone.” “It was the right thing to do,” she says. “And we moved forward to put it in as a historic part of our platform and I’m very proud of the Democratic Party for doing this.”
Asked whether this could hurt the campaign in the swing state of North Carolina, Congresswoman says she believes that people will realize that this is “the right thing to do, that this is equal justice under the law” and “really be fair.” “It’s about family values,” she says.
Congresswoman Lee doesn’t believe that supporting same sex marriage will cost President Obama North Carolina. “When you look at what has taken place in terms of the economy, that’s what it’s going to be about,” she says. “I think people are going to want to continue to move forward to continue to turn our economy around.”
VIDEO: Pew study looks at what it means to be middle class – Christine Romans breaks it down
Christine Romans details a new Pew study of what Americans believe it takes to be middle class in 2012.
Read more: Pew Research Center: Public Says a Secure Job Is the Ticket to the Middle Class
3 things that could move markets in Sept. – Christine Romans explains
US markets re-open today after the Labor Day holiday, and stock futures are higher right now.
There's the old Wall Street adage "Sell in May and go away" because the summer can be slow in financial markets. But the summer was doing well this year. Stocks are up 7% for the summer, and up almost 12% for the S&P 500 for the year.
But there are three big September events that could shake up the markets:
* ECB meeting Thursday, which will be very important for what happens with Europe's debt crisis
* August US jobs report on Friday. We're expecting 130,000 jobs created and no change in jobless rate.
* Fed interest rates meeting Sept. 12-13th.
Christine Romans looks at how these three events have the potential to affect stock markets in September.
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