CNN Tonight

Shock: CNN Touts Cancer-Stricken Seminarian's Plea to Euthanasia Advocate
By Matthew Balan | October 30, 2014 | 4:19 PM EDT

Don Lemon surprisingly brought on a Catholic seminarian on Thursday's CNN Tonight for his take on cancer patient turned euthanasia advocate Brittany Maynard's controversial plan to kill herself. Philip Johnson, who, like Maynard, is afflicted by a terminal brain tumor, recently published an open letter to his fellow cancer patient – calling on her to cancel her suicide plans and "fight this disease," so that she can be an "inspiration to countless others in her situation."

On CNN, Marc Lamont Hill Slams 'Racist' Bill Maher For Views on Islam
By Matthew Balan | October 7, 2014 | 4:46 PM EDT

Left-wing academic Marc Lamont Hill blasted atheists Bill Maher and Sam Harris on Monday's CNN Tonight for their blunt views about the Islamic faith: "When he [actor Sam Harris] says that Islam is the mother lode of bad ideas, that is horrific; it is offensive; and, as Ben [Affleck] said...quite frankly, it's racist." Hill contended that "Islam is not uniquely violent or primarily violent or any more prone to violence than any other religion."

Don Lemon Confronts Homosexual Suing Sperm Bank For Mixed-Race Child
By Matthew Balan | October 2, 2014 | 6:36 PM EDT

Wednesday's CNN Tonight spotlighted the lawsuit of a homosexual woman, who mistakenly received sperm from an African-American man – instead of a "blond-haired, blue-eyed [man]...resembling my partner," as guest Jennifer Cramblett put it. Hosts Don Lemon and Alisyn Camerota gave Cramblett a platform to promote her case. Camerota underlined that the plaintiff "live[s] in eastern Ohio, in a town that you say is 98 percent white and racially insensitive." However, Lemon actually played a bit of hardball with Cramblett, over whether the racial make-up of her daughter really matters or not.

Tapper to Jay Carney: Be 'Frank' About Middle East; Carney Blames Bush on Iraq
By Matthew Balan | September 18, 2014 | 6:01 PM EDT

On Wednesday's The Lead, CNN's Jake Tapper tried to pull former White House Press Secretary Jay Carney out of acting like an apologist for President Obama. Tapper turned to his guest, who had just spent an entire segment defending his former boss's ISIS policy, and asked, "What is the difficulty in getting Arab allies to kick in with military assistance? Jay, you don't work for the White House anymore. You can be frank. What is the problem?"

Tavis Smiley on CNN: 'Racism, Poverty and Militarism' Behind Ferguson Shooting
By Matthew Balan | September 12, 2014 | 1:32 PM EDT

PBS's Tavis Smiley shamelessly invoked Dr. Martin Luther King on Thursday's CNN Tonight, as he commented on the ongoing controversy surrounding the shooting of Michael Brown: "It underscores that Martin [Luther] King was right about what he called the 'triple threat' almost 50 years ago....He said what's threatening our very democracy is what he called the triple threat of racism, poverty, and militarism. What we saw in Ferguson was racism, poverty and militarism."