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CNN TRENDS: Lady Gaga gun bra, a bathroom bandit on the loose & a movie studio for "South Park" creators
Lady Gaga's gun bra controversy, search for man stealing toilet flusher handles, and "South Park" creators start studio.
Reports claim fmr. cyclist Lance Armstrong admits steroid use in Oprah interview – Ed Lavandera reports
(CNN) - The court of public opinion weighed in decidedly against Lance Armstrong after he reportedly admitted to Oprah Winfrey that he used performance-enhancing drugs to push his cycling career into high gear.
ABC News, the New York Times and USA Today, citing unnamed sources, reported Monday night that the former cyclist finally admitted to using steroids during an interview he and Winfrey taped in Armstrong's hometown of Austin, Texas.
This morning on "Early Start," CNN's Ed Lavandera reports on the latest in Armstrong's admission.
READ MORE: Public takes its shots at Armstrong after reported admission to Oprah
Is Fla. 'open season' python hunting the best answer to snake overpopulation? Wildlife expert Jeff Corwin weighs in
Hunting to conserve wildlife seems a contradiction, but not in Florida. An invasive species of snakes are now the target of a hunting competition.
Giant Burmese pythons are threatening the delicate ecosystem of Florida’s Everglades, so the state is now asking the public for help. Until February 10th, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has declared open season on pythons in the Everglades.
All you need to participate is a $25 registration fee and an online training course. The person who kills the most pythons wins $1,500, while $1,000 goes to the person who bags the longest snake.
Jeff Corwin, wildlife conservationist and the host of "Ocean Mysteries" on ABC, explains why he thinks the state's answer to the python issue is drastic.
"The truth is these snakes are having a devastating impact on this critical habitat and the species that live here," he says.
Corwin, who says his career has been based on snakes, admits he has mixed feeling about the contest. "Frankly, they've done nothing wrong. They're just doing what snakes do," he says. "But something has to be done to manage this environment, or we could literally see some species pushed to extinction because of the presence of these invasive snakes."
VIDEO: NYC Health Commissioner Farley says city should expect 'several more weeks' of flu
A national flu epidemic continues to hit hard throughout the country with “widespread activity” in 47 states. New York is one of those states. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a state public health emergency over the weekend.
NYC Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley comes to "Early Start" with more on how the city is preparing for flu patients.
Newtown one month later: Shooting survivors offer support to victims
This morning Vice President Biden will meet with members of the House Of Representatives as part of the task force he's heading up on reducing gun violence. The task force is expected to make its recommendations Tuesday.
Meanwhile, today marks one month since the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting. A group of Newtown residents called "Sandy Hook Promise" will mark the anniversary by holding a news conference today. They plan to unveil a national grass-roots initiative to reduce gun violence.
The group will be joined by families of victims and survivors of other shootings. Among them is Stephen Barton, a survivor of last summer's Aurora movie theater shooting. He was shot in the face, neck and chest before escaping. Stephen now works as an outreach and policy associate for Mayors Against Illegal Guns. He also grew up about ten minutes from Newtown. And Lori Haas will also be there. Her daughter Emily was shot twice during the 2007 Virginia Tech mass shooting. Luckily she survived. Lori is now the Virginia organizer for the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence.
As “Early Start” looks back at the Sandy Hook tragedy, we speak to Stephen and Lori, who are working to enact change moving forward. Both of them join us live from Newtown, Connecticut.
Flu outbreak in 47 states as people scramble for vaccine – Elizabeth Cohen reports
CNN continues to follow the miserable flu outbreak that is weighing down on the country. The CDC says the flu is now widespread in all states except California, Mississippi, and Hawaii. New York Governor Cuomo even declared a public health emergency this weekend. CNN Sr. Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has the latest on the flu and what health officials mean when they call it an "epidemic."
“Basically, people are getting sick and dying from the flu in certain numbers,” Cohen explains. “When those numbers get high enough, we call it an epidemic.” But Cohen urges not to focus on that word. “Nearly every year there is an epidemic.”
Cohen also explains the significance of Governor Cuomo’s announcement. He’s also telling pharmacies that they can vaccinate kids, while in other years they have to go to their doctors for that. Still, pharmacies are choosing not to vaccinate children. “We put out...many phone calls to, pharmacies in New York, and the pharmacies we called, none of them are offering shots to kids,” Cohen says. In addition, these same pharmacies said they didn't really have enough even for adults.
Flu outbreak worsens; National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci explains
CNN is reporting brand new information on the rising flu influenza in the United States. Six more states are reporting widespread activity—that brings the total to 47 states, up from 41 the week before.
The Minnesota Health Department says 27 people have died from flu-related complications. South Carolina reports 22 flu-related deaths this season compared to one for all of 2011. Pennsylvania is also reporting 22 deaths, and six people are reported dead in Illinois. Eight are reported dead in Oklahoma, 15 are reported in Indiana, 7 in Arkansas and 18 flu related deaths in Massachusetts.
Dr. Anthony Fauci is the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health. He joins “Early Start” live from NIH headquarters in Bethesda, MD this morning with more on the nature of this outbreak.
CNN Trends: Twitterverse outrage over Oscar snubs for Affleck, Bigelow & freak-outs over an invisible driver
John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin tell you what's trending on the web this morning, including Twitter users posting outrage over Oscar snubs for Ben Affleck and Kathryn Bigelow in the director category for “Argo” and “Zero Dark Thirty”, respectively. And freak-outs over an invisible driver when an aspiring magician pranks drive-thru workers who can’t see him in the driver’s seat costume he created. He recorded the whole thing.
MYB: Big corporate layoffs looming
Christine Romans is minding your business this morning with the latest in world markets and U.S. stock futures, which hit a milestone yesterday. “A five-year high for the S & P 500,” Romans says, and “the highest close since December of 2007.”
She also reports big corporate layoffs looming ahead, and another down day for gun stocks.
Flu outbreak spreads geographically, but number of people with symptoms down; CNN Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen reports
The fast-spreading flu is now officially an epidemic. This year's flu season has come early—and hit hard. Nearly two dozen children have died. CNN Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is live in Fort Worth, Texas with a mixed bag of details and some good news.
“The flu activity in this country has gone down a bit,” Cohen says. “Two weeks ago we were talking about 29 states having high levels of flu activity. Now we're talking about 24 states having high level of flu activity. That is good news.”
Meanwhile, the outbreak has reached a wider scale. “We’re seeing less flu in the United States, but it is spread out more. Geographically it has spread out to more locations,” Cohen explains. “So, to put that in terms of numbers, two weeks ago, 41 states were seeing widespread activity, meaning it was throughout various regions of their state. Now 47 states say they're seeing flu in various regions of their state. So spread out more, but the actual number of people who are having flu symptoms has actually gone down.”
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