US President George Bush's speech marking the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina was interrupted for CNN viewers when one of the network's presenters forgot a cardinal rule of broadcast journalism -- turn your microphone off when you go to the toilet.
The president had just got started on Tuesday, apologizing for the government's poor performance in response to last year's devastating storm.
"We have got to give assurance to the citizens that if there's a better natural disaster, we'll respond in better fashion," he was saying when a familiar voice broke in.
It was one of the main morning anchorwomen, Kyra Phillips, gossiping with a friend about men and families. Her clip-on microphone had been left on in what appeared to be a toilet, judging by the ambient sounds of running water and zips being opened and closed.
The president could still be heard talking about the improvements he intended to make in his administration, while Phillips was comparing notes about partners.
"I'm very lucky in that regard with my husband," she boasted. "My husband is handsome and he is genuinely a loving, you know, no ego -- well, we all have egos -- you know what I'm saying. Just a passionate, compassionate, great, great human being. And they exist. They do exist. They're hard to find ... but they are out there."
So her husband was no doubt happy with her comments. Her sister-in-law was probably less so, however, after what happened moments later.
The other woman in the CNN toilet appeared to be having problems getting her brother to accept her partner.
"Of course, brothers have to be protective, except for mine. I've got to be protective of him," Phillips told her colleague. "He's married, three kids but his wife is just a control freak."
At that point someone arrived to tell the broadcaster to turn her microphone off.
CNN issued an apology for the gaffe, which it described as "audio difficulties."
The incident is expected to provide more fodder for CNN's right wing critics, however, who believe the news network is a hotbed of radical liberalism.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
‘DELUSIONAL’: Targeting the families of Hamas’ leaders would not push the group to change its position or to give up its demands for Palestinians, Ismail Haniyeh said Israeli aircraft on Wednesday killed three sons of Hamas’ top political leader in the Gaza Strip, striking high-stakes targets at a time when Israel is holding delicate ceasefire negotiations with the militant group. Hamas said four of the leader’s grandchildren were also killed. Ismail Haniyeh’s sons are among the highest-profile figures to be killed in the war so far. Israel said they were Hamas operatives, and Haniyeh accused Israel of acting in “the spirit of revenge and murder.” The deaths threatened to strain the internationally mediated ceasefire talks, which appeared to gain steam in recent days even as the sides remain far
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of