square last year. an extraordinary development and we mobilized cnn correspondents around the world to cover this breaking news story for us from the pentagon to istanbuistanbul. it s hard to indicate just how important al awlaki was to the organization, but here s a frightening reality. he may be more dangerous dead. that s exactly what our nic robertson has been covering to this point. let s go straight to you. what exactly do you know with regard to how he was targeted and is it possible to give credit to an agency at this point? well, i think what we just heard from fran townsend perhaps nails it down very well. that is that it can t be nailed down because nobody wants to go on the record. the past track record, however, of against al awlaki in may this year was credited to the united states, to a drone strike. missile bumped off the fender of his car as he made a get away. politically sensitive. right now the president does not need the united states to announce that i
since osama bin laden. the breaking news this hour, we re learning more about the air strike in yemen that killed anwar al-awlaki. first, a reminder of why this american born cleric was so dangerous. president obama says he took the lead in planning to murder americans. he s been linked to those terror suspects of the decade including the so-called underwear bomber, the accused ft. hood attacker, three of the 9/11 hijackers and the man who allegedly tried to blow up a car in times square in new york. we have in depth coverage of the mission to kill al-awlaki and the implications. first, to our pentagon correspondent, barbara starr. several administration officials say it was a cia hit. the cia and pentagon had been working with the yemenese for nearly two years to kill anwar al-awlaki. we had always had tremendous concern that after getting bin laden, that someone like al-awlaki was a primary target because of his continuing efforts to plan attacks against the united stat
the accused ft. hood attacker, u.s. major anadal hasan and three 9/11 hijackers and faisal shahzad. the death of awlaki is a major blow to al qaeda s most active operational affiliate. awlaki was the leader of external operations for al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. in that role he took the lead in planning and directing efforts to murder innocent americans. reporter: for more on awlaki, the al qaeda off shoot he represented and where we go from here, i want to bring in cnn s international correspondent nic robertson. nic, this was a huge development. why was awlaki such a threat and a priority for the snus. he was an intellectual. he was smart. he was well educated. he knew how to sort of manipulate his audience and the one thing that he had that al qaeda really wanted was a way to communicate the potential recruits in the west. he spoke english and he spoke it with a charisma and a meaning that drew in radicals or potential radicals towards al qaeda. and really that
powerful allegations about murray s actions and inaction. let s go to ted rollins in los angeles. what s the latest, ted? well, joe, it was a compelling day in court so far. it continues this afternoon here in los angeles. all day, it has been alberto alvarez, the director of lodgistics for michael jackson and he has taken the jury inside the jackson house during those critical moments of chaos while jackson was lying on his bed. he describes the scenario where he gets a call, rushes in, sees murray in the room. sees jackson laying there with his mouth open. he also testified that murray asked him to help him collect bottles of propofol. i believe dr. conrad murray had the best intentions for mr. jackson, so i didn t question his authority. at the time. i knew it was a medical emergency, so i proceeded to follow mr. conrad murray s instructions. okay. what did you think when did you think these items were being packed up for? i thought we were packing, getting ready
african-american voters. the president alluding to the employment crunch during his third annual back to school speech here in washington, d.c. more than 60% of the jobs in the next decade will require more than a high school diploma. more than 60%. that s the world that you re walking into. some black voters say the president has let them down when it comes to education and job creation. the obama campaign is trying to address those concerns as the election gets closer. let s turn to dan lothian. he s got more on this part of the story. president has always when talking about race and his policies, taken a big picture view, saying what he does helps not just african-americans, but all americans. well, this has not gone unnoticed and now as the president is courting black voters key to his success in 2008, some are frustrated. 9:00 a.m. on 95.5 fm, one of washington, d.c. s top urban radio stations, darian morgan serves up music, edgey talk and commercials. but of