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Yacht racer Alex Thomson on final stretch of Vendee Globe: 'It’s still on and anything can happen'
The Mount Everest of yacht racing is in its final leg. It's called the Vendee Globe, a grueling three-month race where competitors sail solo around the world. Harsh elements, loneliness and even possible death are some of the challenges they face in this 23,000 mile, non-stop race. Last summer, “Early Start” introduced you to one of the racers, Alex Thomson.
Today, we speak to him again live from from the Hugo Boss Racing Yacht in Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Brazil. Making his third attempt, Thomson is currently in fourth place in the last stretch of the race.
Sailing in the trade winds about 100 miles off the coast of Brazil, Thomson says he feels great and he can’t believe it’s already been 60 days into the race. “I’ve had a good race so far and I’m in the final stages,” he says. “The boat’s a little bit tired, I’m a little bit tired, but it’s still on, and anything can happen.”
Details emerge on President Obama's gun control proposal coming today – Dan Lothian reports
Washington (CNN) - President Barack Obama will unveil Wednesday a package of gun control proposals that, according to a source, will include universal background checks and bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will announce the proposals, White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters on Tuesday.
They will be joined by a group of children who wrote letters to the president in the aftermath of the December 14 shooting rampage by a lone gunman who killed 20 students and six adults at a Newtown, Connecticut elementary school, Carney said.
Obama will propose legislative steps he previously has backed, such as a ban on assault weapons, restrictions on high-capacity ammunition magazines and strengthening federal background checks of people attempting to buy guns, according to Carney.
This morning on "Early Start," CNN's Dan Lothian details the President's expected gun control plan.
READ MORE: Details emerge on President Obama's gun control proposal coming today
Calorie shock: CNN's Elizabeth Cohen looks at hidden calories in restaurant dishes
Who doesn't love going out to dinner?
Well, you may think twice after you see how many calories are packed into meals at some popular restaurants.
Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen shares some astronomical calorie counts on "Early Start" this morning.
2 dead in London helicopter crash – Dan Rivers reports
London (CNN) - A helicopter crashed into a construction crane atop a new luxury residential building in thick London fog Wednesday, killing two people and sparking a line of flame when it plunged to the ground.
Nine others were injured in the crash that took place at the height of the morning rush hour in Vauxhall, south of the River Thames in central London.
One was critical, but police said the others did not appear to be seriously hurt.
The crash did not appear to be terrorism-related, police said.
READ MORE: 2 dead in London helicopter crash
CNN Trends: Crazy Tony banned from 'Honey Boo Boo,' epic GPS fail & Prince Harry 'most eligible bachelor'
"Crazy Tony" banned from "Honey Boo Boo," GPS sends woman to another country & Prince Harry is "Most Eligible Bachelor."
Best Advice: May May Ali
Author and daughter of the great Muhammad Ali, May May Ali shares with us her best advice.
Daily Beast's McKinnon: GOP must 'get on board...or continue to dig our ditch deeper' on gun control
This morning, President Obama has his gun task force's recommendations in his hands. Yesterday, during the last press conference of his first term, he said that he'd be reviewing some steps he could take to advance his gun control priorities.
“What you can count on is that the things that I've said in the past, the belief that we have to have stronger background checks, that we can do a much better job in terms of keeping these magazine clips with high capacity out of the hands of folks who shouldn't have them, an assault weapons ban that is meaningful, that those are things I continue to believe make sense,” President Obama says.
Daily Beast contributor Mark McKinnon, also co-founder of No Labels, takes on the GOP's position on guns for destroying the party and comes to “Early Start” this morning to explain.
He suggests Republicans come forward with their own proposal for gun legislation because there are gun control measures that Republicans support which have nothing to do with the Second Amendment. McKinnon urges Republicans not to be defensive about it.
“Don’t wait for the Democrats to come out with an agenda, then simply respond to it,” he says. “Have a Republican agenda. Let’s have a Republican plan on guns.”
He believes Republicans would “get a lot of points” for saying, “we want to protect our rights, but we want to make sure that we do background checks, that...we do mental health checks,” he explains. “Those things just make common sense.”
McKinnon believes change is on its way, “and if Republicans don’t get on board and acknowledge and be part of it, then I think we’ll continue to dig our ditch deeper.”
Vice President Biden shares gun control recommendations with President Obama; White House Correspondent Dan Lothian reports
Aurora, Newtown, Webster are all places recently marred by tragedies by gunfire. Now, Vice President Joe Biden has officially delivered his recommendations to President Obama with suggestions for trying to stop these horrific shootings from happening again.
The recommendations reportedly include proposing background checks on all gun sales, making certain rapid-fire weapons off-limits and keeping guns away from the mentally ill. White House Correspondent Dan Lothian is following developments and has more on “Early Start” this morning.
Livestrong board member Mark McKinnon: Armstrong doping reports 'devastating,' says cyclist will have to 'crawl over a lot of broken glass'
Livestrong board member and Daily Beast Contributor Mark McKinnon weighs in on reports of Lance Armstrong's doping admission in an interview with Oprah Winfrey.
"It's been devastating," McKinnon tells John Berman on "Early Start." "The whole thing has been. But I'm glad that Lance is coming forward. The thing that I'm most concerned about of course is the foundation and the work that we've done over the years for cancer survivors and for people living with and through cancer. But I'm encouraged by what I'm seeing so far which is that people are sticking with the foundation."
"We wanted the foundation to live beyond one person...to live on its own and not be contingent on one person," McKinnon says.
Berman asks if McKinnon feels betrayed by Armstrong.
"Yes, I do," McKinnon says. "He's got a lot of apologies...he's got to crawl over a lot of broken glass, and drag the sack cloth. But the one thing they can't take away from him is his cancer survivorship. That story gives great hope to millions of people like my wife who lived through it. So there's a lot of work he can continue to do there."
READ MORE: Public takes its shots at Armstrong after reported admission to Oprah
Will Coca-Cola's new anti-obesity ad make a difference? Elizabeth Cohen explains
Coca-Cola, the world's most valuable brand, has joined the fight against America's weight problem. The soda giant launched a campaign aimed at "finding meaningful solutions to the complex challenge of obesity" on Monday. Critics claim the new ad is hypocritical. CNN Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen explains the goal of this new campaign this morning on “Early Start”.
According to advocacy groups, the ad will have little impact, Cohen reports. “The Center for Science in the Public Interest says this is not meaningful,” she says. “They say that Coke is basically trying to do damage control. That Coke has seen what Mayor Bloomberg has done in New York, at limiting soda sizes and availability, and they don't want other people to do it, so that’s why they think they’re doing it.”
However, Coke refutes that claim, saying that they’re trying to make a meaningful contribution to the fight against obesity, and they say with all of their no-calorie and low-calorie products they actually have made a meaningful contribution.
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