May 16th, 2012
01:26 PM ET
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The gift of Charles: Giving back

Forest and Tremica Thompson, who invited CNN to document the final week of their son Charles’ life, have received notes of thanks and support from across America - and as far away as Zimbabwe.

"I just hope it changes people's thoughts on the death of children and helps families like ours," Tremica says.

Since the story was published, many have asked how they can help the family. They have opened a memorial fund called “The Gift of Charles” through Wells Fargo.

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Filed under: California • Charity • Health • Hospice Care
Tuesday's intriguing people
Ex-Pakistani leader Pervez Musharraf says second-guessing his country's role in the war on terror damages U.S.-Pakistani ties.
May 3rd, 2011
11:18 AM ET
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Tuesday's intriguing people

Pervez Musharraf

Pakistan's former president appeared on CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360°" on Monday evening, offering a curious, if not contradictory account of his views on Osama bin Laden's whereabouts in recent years. A key ally in the U.S. war on terror until his ouster in 2008, Musharraf said he’d always known that bin Laden was in either Afghanistan or Pakistan. That remark drew protests from host Anderson Cooper who insisted that Musharraf always denied that his country was harboring the terrorist.

“Anyone who said (bin Laden’s) in Pakistan also didn't have the intelligence (to prove it)," Musharraf said. “(Bin Laden being in Pakistan) was not based on any intelligence. It was guesswork."

Musharraf then blamed intelligence sources for the fact that bin Laden was in an urban area, so close to the Pakistan Military Academy and the capital of Islamabad - not in an Afghan cave, as many had speculated. Second-guessing Pakistan’s cooperation in the war on terror only destroys trust between Pakistan and the U.S., he said.

Musharraf finished the interview by saying that while eliminating bin Laden is a good thing for "peace-loving people," having the U.S. military enter Pakistan doesn’t go “with Pakistan's sensitivities.”

“We cannot indicate in any form that we are willing to compromise on our sovereignty like that,” he said.

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Filed under: Al Qaeda • Most Intriguing People • Osama bin Laden • Pakistan • September 11 • Terrorism
Tornado survivors' stories: Flying Jeeps, moving earth, neighborhoods gone
Some of the worst damage from Wednesday's tornadoes was in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
April 28th, 2011
01:57 AM ET
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Tornado survivors' stories: Flying Jeeps, moving earth, neighborhoods gone

[Updated at 9:57 p.m. ET] More than 280 people have been killed by the wave of violent weather that has swept across the South the past two days.

Survivors told of entire neighborhoods reduced to rubble and the terror of tornadoes ripping through their homes and businesses.

Here are the voices of some survivors:

Shortly before a massive tornado tore through her Tuscaloosa, Alabama, neighborhood on Wednesday, Lucy Arnold Sykes decided the weather was ominous enough to shelter her 3-year-old and 6-year-old children in a bathtub.

"I ran in with the kids and kind of joked (to my husband), 'Don't make fun of me for putting the kids in the bathtub, but I think this is serious,' " she told CNN's "The Situation Room" on Thursday. "He went out for one last look, and … he came back in with kind of a strange look on his face, and he said, 'It's right outside the door.' "

Have the tornadoes affected you? Share your stories, photos and video

The edge of the tornado passed across the street, but the wind tore apart a corner of the house, sent a tree crashing onto the roof, broke nearly all the windows and flipped her vehicle from the curb onto her front lawn.

The family is OK and stayed with friends on Wednesday night.

"(The kids) want to know when they’re going to go back home. I don't think that will be anytime soon. We're going to be looking for a new house," she said.

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Filed under: Alabama • Georgia • Mississippi • Tennessee • Tornadoes • Weather
CNN.com 'Godfather' dies at 63 after battle with cancer
February 11th, 2011
07:44 PM ET
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CNN.com 'Godfather' dies at 63 after battle with cancer

Jon Petrovich greenlighted funding for CNN.com in 1994 and became known as its "Godfather," a title he relished as the site became the most-read news site in the world.

Petrovich, a former CNN executive, died Thursday in New York after a battle with cancer and diabetes. He would have turned 64 at the end of this month.

"Jon was a big presence at our company and in the media industry," Jim Walton, president of CNN Worldwide, said in an e-mail sent to CNN staff. "He was a builder, an innovator and a journalist, first and last."

Petrovich was known for his impeccable tailored suits, his optimistic outlook on life and solid news judgment. He hobnobbed with the likes of Ted Turner. He just as easily struck up conversations with interns, entry-level staffers and the rank-and-file.

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