Richard Quest Heads For Rehab In Attempt To Save Career:

CNN's UK-born presenter Richard Quest has embarked on a course of drug rehabilitation following his arrest last Friday in New York.

The US news broadcaster today issued a statement confirming that Quest, a familiar face on the network, had entered a "drug rehabilitation facility" on the orders of a judge following his arrest.

"At this time, CNN's primary concern is for his health and wellbeing. We look forward to Richard returning to CNN International," the broadcaster said in a statement.

A CNN spokesman declined to "speculate" on when Quest would return to the network he joined in 2001. He began his career as a BBC news trainee in 1985 and spent 16 years at the corporation.

You'll remember last time we talked about Quest he was arrested for wandering Central Park at 3 AM with a noose around his neck, tied to his genitals, a sex toy in his boot and crystal meth in his pocket. Something tells me rehab isn't going to save his career.

More Than 8,000 Chinese Protesters Take Aim At Cafferty:



CNN appears to be standing behind Jack Cafferty and his 'goons and thugs' line for the time being. But if the Chinese government continues to put pressure on the network, trust me, they will eventually cave. Can Jack Cafferty outlast this whole mess?

Richard Quest, CNN's British Reporter, Was Arrested Last Night:

Richard Quest, a reporter and business travel specialist for CNN International, is being arraigned today on a misdemeanor charge of drug possession after the authorities said he was found with methamphetamine in Central Park.

Mr. Quest was arrested early Friday morning after being escorted out of Central Park for violating the park curfew, a law enforcement official said Friday. The park is closed from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m.

The police noticed Mr. Quest at 64th Street and West Drive at about 3:40 a.m., the official said. As he was being escorted out, he volunteered, “I have meth in my pocket,” according to an official briefed on the case. The police searched him and recovered a small amount of methamphetamine in a Ziploc bag.

I guess Quest has never watched the Montana Meth Project spots. Really, this is quite disturbing. This isn't some crazy, bored kid in Montana. It's a prominent reporter for a major broadcasting corporation. This guy has it all. Yet somehow the drug got the better of him. Quest is an openly gay reporter and he's also a major contributer to CNN International. Now, we wait for the mugshot.

China Demands CNN Offer Sincere Apology After These Comments:

BEIJING (Reuters) - China lodged a formal complaint against U.S. television network CNN and said it should make a sincere apology for what it called a vicious attack by one of its commentators who labeled Chinese as "goons" and its products "junk".

CNN responded to China's initial criticism by saying there had been no intent to cause offence and that it "would apologize to anyone who has interpreted the comments in this way". It said commentator Jack Cafferty was offering a "strongly held" opinion of the Chinese government, not the people.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said on Thursday that was not enough.

"Their statement not only did not make a sincere apology, but also took aim at the Chinese government, attempting to sow discord in the relationship between the Chinese people and the Chinese government," Jiang said.

I'm no fan of Jack Cafferty but I have to stand with him here. The man has the right to say whatever he wants about China and the fact that they are bullying CNN into yet another apology is out of line. This all started with a photo posted on CNN.com that showed Chinese police beating Tibetans. The photo didn't show the pro-Tibet protesters throwing stones in the distance because CNN cropped them out. But does China have editorial control over CNN or their website? No. Apparently, they would like to as they have summoned CNN's Beijing Chief to talk about the matter.

In the wake of all this nonsense, Cafferty is receiving death threats on a daily basis. I'm hearing reports of CNN.com being unaccessible in several cities in China. There is even some talk that the satellite feed for the network is now being blocked. The question is, will CNN bow down to the mighty red China or will they stand by free speech and risk being blocked, both on the web and the air, in the country?

Randi Rhodes' Appearance On Larry King Live Last Night:



Too bad King had a 'breaking story,' it almost got interesting there...

He Gets Real Close To Saying Cotton Pickin' At 1:27 In:



Lou Dobbs is a nice guy, I talked to him not long ago. I can tell you he's no racist. I can also tell you that he hit the brakes on this one like a champ. His mouth got a little ahead of his brain on this one.

Update: Whoops! CNN scrubbed this comment from the transcript.

This Is The Face Of The Worst Newscaster On CNN:



At any given time, whether at the office or at home, I have several monitors on several news sources both international and domestic. I watch everything from Al-Jazeera to Sky News and beyond. I do this because it is the only way to get a pulse on what is happening in the world on any given day. In doing this, I watch hundreds of newscasters do their thing on a daily basis. Some are good, some are bad, but one of them stands out as the worst newscaster on the planet. I hate Tony Harris.

Harris has been hacking it up on CNN since 2004 and I'm not the only one who has noticed his terrible performance. CNN has a few duds like Rick Sanchez and Nancy Grace but Harris is by far the worst. He jokes and giggles his way through the headlines like a schoolgirl who has yet to crack her first book. He is one of the worst interviewers I have ever witnessed in my years of watching news and he's goofier than the morons who host Fox and Friends.

CNN brass should fire Tony Harris immediately and replace him with the far more talented Don Lemon. Lemon is a fresher face with a much more polished delivery. His banter with fellow anchors is much better than Tony Harris and he is one of the most natural interviewers in the CNN stable. Take note, CNN heads, fire this man or forever remain at the bottom of the early afternoon ratings game.