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British royal family will pursue legal action for topless photos – CNN's Max Foster reports
The royal family is up in arms after a French magazine published topless photographs of Prince Williams' wife, the Duchess of Cambridge, better known as Kate Middleton. Traveling alongside Will and Kate in the Solomon Islands, CNN Royal Correspondent Max Foster reports that the family will file a complaint and press charges against the magazine.
“It's all smiles for the camera, but she's upset. She feels humiliated,” Foster says. “And [Prince William] actually feels very angry. He's speaking of Diana in relation to this. He went through a tough upbringing because of the pressure his mother was under from the paparazzi. He's seeing it happen again to his wife and he's making sure that is not going to continue because it's completely unacceptable.”
The royal family believes the paparazzi “crossed the line” in the photographs as the Duke and Duchess were at a private residence in the south of France.
The family is seeking legal redress and possibly jail time for the editor of the French magazine, Closer.
No deal yet in the Chicago teachers strike – CNN's Kyung Lah reports
More than 350,000 Chicago students have another unscheduled day off today, with Union leaders opting to continue the strike despite a tentative deal to end the stand off.
Both sides met over the weekend and came to a tentative contract agreement, but delegates from the Chicago Teachers Union say they found several elements of the contract problematic, specifically job security. Union delegates plan to reconvene to discuss the negotiations Tuesday afternoon, meaning that classes will not be in session for at least two more days.
CNN’s Kyung Lah reports live from Chicago on Early Start this morning.
New protests in Afghanistan turn violent – CNN's Anna Coren reports
Protests got angry and violent outside of U.S. and NATO bases in Kabul this morning, with demonstrators firing guns, throwing rocks, and setting at least two police cars on fire near the American embassy.
An Afghan police official reported that at least fifteen officers were injured in the protests against an offensive anti-Islam film.
CNN's Anna Coren reports the latest out of Kabul on Early Start this morning.
American Islamic Congress director argues U.S. should not apologize for anti-Islamic film
While unrest continues to spread in the Middle East, Zainab Al-Suwaij, executive director of the American Islamic Congress, argues that the American government must explain that the existence of the anti-Islamic film produced in the United States is allowed through constitutional rights to free speech rather than apologizing for its production.
“I think we should be more direct about the situation,” Al-Suwaij says on Early Start this morning. “I think we’ve positioned ourselves very weak[ly] in the past few days, especially in terms of apologizing about the film. I think the film has not – in any way, shape, or form - been supported by the American government or the American public. It’s an act of an individual that led to what’s going on. Under our constitution and the freedom of the press and freedom of speech and of religion, we cannot stop these instances from happening and I think we should be clear about that. We should deliver the message strongly not by apologizing, but by explaining our position as the American government and the American nation as well.”
Al-Suwaij also explains that the film is only one cause of the unrest. “I think there are a lot of other political goals behind the riots that are going on,” she says. “I think that the political goals that these radicals have... are much bigger than just a bad quality film that’s been put on YouTube. It’s a similar situation to what we had years ago with the Danish cartoon.”
New report accuses The Boy Scouts of protecting child molesters
A new report published in the L.A. Times accuses The Boy Scouts of America with covering up hundreds of cases of sexual abuse dating from 1970 to 1991. Reporters from the paper gained access to files referred to as the "perversion files" by The Boy Scouts, which are used by scouting officials to blacklist alleged molesters and keep them out of the organization.
Jason Felch co-wrote the L.A. Times report and he dug through 1,600 cases detailing the allegations against Boy Scout personnel and volunteers. Felch joins Zoraida Sambolin on Early Start this morning to discuss the specifics of the investigation and to explain how the documents were obtained.
Discussing the accusations, which he describes as "explicit and detailed," Felch explains that as many as 2,000 to 3,000 victims are likely named in these files because many of the cases involved several victims.
Felch says that the documents indicate a pattern of protecting alleged sexual abusers. “In 80% of the cases, we found no indication that the authorities had been accounted,” Felch says. “In more than a hundred of cases, we found explicit references to the fact to efforts to hide the abuse, sometimes even from the parents of the victims.”
The L.A. Times reporters ran many of these cases under public records searches and interviewed people who’d been involved in the case to find out if there was information that had been given to the police that was not in the file.
“By and large what we find is if it’s not in the file, it didn’t happen,” Felch says. “What’s clear is that in many of these cases, The Boy Scouts, instead of informing authorities, decided to keep this information to themselves.”
Felch explains that in the course of the investigation, the reporters repeatedly discovered that many of the men whose sexual abuse was covered up by the Boy Scouts went on to be face accusations of different crimes involving sexual abuse of boys.
MYB: U.S. files new trade complaint against China
(CNNMoney) - The Obama administration filed a complaint Monday with the World Trade Organization today, alleging that China has illegally subsidized automotive exports and undercut American suppliers.
The complaint accuses China of providing $1 billion in illegal subsidies to auto and auto parts exporters between 2009 and 2011, according to a senior administration official.
On Early Start this morning, Christine Romans breaks down various U.S./China trade disputes and explains how many American job losses can be attributed to China.
What's trending on September 17, 2012
The latest "American Idol" shakeup is now complete, with Nicki Minaj and Keith Urban taking over the spots left open by Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez. The pair will join Mariah Carey and Randy Jackson, who is sticking around for season twelve despite rumors that he was finished with the show.
Also trending, the story of a replacement NFL referee who was removed from officiating yesterday's New Orleans/Carolina game after he was outed as a Saints fan on social media.
Finally, the live web video of the National Zoo's giant panda May Zong with her new cub has also gone viral this morning.
Best Advice: Wade Davis
Former NFL Superstar Wade Davis shares some wisdom about raising today's youth.
Peter Brookes: American response to Middle East unrest ‘appropriate,’ but more can be done
On Early Start this morning, Peter Brookes, the former deputy assistant of the Secretary of Defense, argues that the American response to unrest in the Middle East has been appropriate so far, but that more can be done.
“We have to secure our embassies and make sure that they are not breached,” Brookes adds. “We have to call upon the governments that are responsible for security outside of the embassies.”
The senior fellow at The Heritage Foundation also says that the United States needs to investigate who is responsible for the deaths of four Americans at the U.S. consulate in Libya. "We've got to figure out who did this," he says. "That's the important thing. You've got to be able to figure out who do it.
Brookes adds that the U.S. must "call on these governments to tamp down the violence, to call on people to restrain from violence."
New polls show Obama pulling ahead in key battleground states
The race for the White House continues this morning and a new CNN/ORC poll shows that 49% of likely voters are behind the president, while 46% support Mitt Romney.
New figures are also coming out of key battleground states, with a NBC/WSJ poll showing bumps for Obama among likely voters in Ohio, Florida and Virginia.
CNN's political editor Paul Steinhauser joins Early Start this morning to break down the numbers.
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