Mardi Gras celebrations are already breaking out this year in New Orleans. Today, schools are closing early so everyone can get to the Louisiana Superdome in time for tonight's Super Bowl parade.

And still celebrating the Saints' championship is a pair of CNN political contributors who happen to be husband and wife and members of the "Who dat" nation – James Carville and Mary Matalin. They joined us on Tuesday's American Morning.

Michael Jackson's doctor is free on bail today. According to his lawyer, Conrad Murray is ready to resume practicing medicine.

Murray is charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with Jackson's death. Yesterday, he pleaded not guilty as Jackson's family looked on. Our Ted Rowlands was there and has this report.

Related: Joe Jackson: Dr. Murray 'a fall guy'

Dr. Sanjay Gupta in Port-au-Prince hospital.

By Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN Medical Chief Correspondent

When I told my wife I wanted to go back to Haiti, she had the reaction I expected. “The girls really missed you when you were gone last time,” she said. “I am worried that you lost too much weight down there,” she added. And, “what about your safety, physical and mental well being?” she concluded. They were all the reactions I expected.

The car was then silent as we were driving through our neighborhood on a rainy Saturday morning. In that quiet, we both realized something essential. I knew she was right, on all counts. And, still, she knew it was the right thing to do. She was the first to speak and break the silence. “Truth is, I would go with you,” she whispered. “I would like to help as well.”

I thought about that conversation a lot on the middle-of-the-night flight to Florida, a connection to Santa Domingo at 3 a.m. and then finally the early morning arrival in Port-au-Prince. She has seen the images on television of the unfathomable suffering over the last month, and she was affected by it in more ways that I realized.

Over the few days I was home, we hardly talked about what I had seen in Haiti. I felt the need to protect her from those stories, some of which I may never share with anyone – and she was cognizant of the desire to not re open the emotional images. She also knew that while I was physically home, my mind never left Haiti.

Keep reading this story »

Pennsylvania Democratic Congressman John Murtha died suddenly yesterday after complications from galbladder surgery. Now many are asking what went wrong?

Our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen explains.

Read more: Murtha dies of surgery complications

More heavy snow is moving in from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic states. And travel problems still haven't cleared up from the weekend when parts of the D.C. area got 30 inches.

Some people are wondering if they'll get out this week. Our Sarah Lee reports from Reagan National Airport with a look at how things are moving.

Severe Weather Tracker: Radar, snow

Editor's Note: From the home front to the front lines, we're following one recruit's journey in our American Morning original series "A Soldier's Story." Today, in part five, Jason Carroll reports on the critical weapons training our recruit Will McLain needs to survive on the battlefield.

By Jason Carroll, CNN

For privates like Will McLain, the stress is not just about passing a weapons test. It’s also about coming closer to learning whether or not he will be deployed to fight a war.

It is one of the last hurdles to overcome before completing basic training – weapons qualification.

Before Will McLain enlisted, he showed me how to handle a shotgun back in his hometown of Rosamond, California. But shooting for recreation is nothing compared to what he’s doing now, where hitting bulls-eyes is just as important as avoiding sniper fire.

Will's shooting scores earned him a rating of marksman, but fell short of the score needed for sharpshooter or expert.

I asked him if there were times he thought he couldn’t do it.

“It wasn’t that I didn’t think I could do it,” he replied. “It was more like, dang, what did I get myself into. I got three years of this coming up, but to realize that you can make it through this, it’s kind of good to feel.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Nearly four weeks after the earthquake in Haiti, an amazing rescue.

28-year-old Evan Muncie was pulled from the rubble yesterday where he may have been buried since the quake hit. He was emaciated and severely dehydrated, but alive. So, how did he beat near-impossible odds?

Our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is in Port-au-Prince with the incredible story.

Winter warnings are up again in D.C., Virginia and Maryland.

Places that were buried under more than two feet of snow over the weekend could get another 20 inches. The federal government remains shut down this morning and some flights still haven't gotten off the ground from the last storm.

We're tracking this new storm and the mess the last one left behind. Our Reynolds Wolf has this report from Washington.

Read more: Snowed-packed Washington to get hit again

Toyota's president apologized as he announced the global recall of more than 400,000 of the automaker's 2010 hybrid models, including the Prius.

Tokyo, Japan (CNN) - Toyota's president apologized profusely Tuesday as he announced the global recall of more than 400,000 of the automaker's 2010 hybrid models, including the popular Prius, for problems in their anti-lock braking systems.

"We do apologize for the inconvenience and concerns we've given to the customers," President Akio Toyoda said in making the recall announcement from the automaker's headquarters in Tokyo. "Quality is our lifeline for Toyota."

The company will work to recover its customers' trust, Toyoda said.

The automaker filed recall papers early Tuesday afternoon with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Recall papers will be filed in the United States sometime Tuesday.

The recall adds to the woes of the beleaguered automaker, which had previously recalled more than 8 million cars in recent months. This latest recall was the first of Toyota vehicles sold in the domestic Japanese market.

The worldwide recall involves 437,000 vehicles, including the Toyota Prius and Sai, along with the Lexus HS250h. The Sai is sold primarily in Japan.

Sales of the Sai and Lexus HS250h will be halted until a fix is in place. Read the full story »

Check the list of vehicles being recalled | What to do if your car's on the list

Toyota recall: Complete coverage

Editor's Note: Monday’s American Morning audience was dumbfounded by any positive response to Sarah Palin's address at the Tea Party convention.

• Dan: Why does ANYONE take Sarah Palin seriously? A ten year old could see that she's an uninformed self-promoter who's all about making some real money. Yet the media constantly pretends that she could actually be a serious contender for president of the US. Why?
• Jerry: I'm glad to see that Palin had room to spare on her hand after she got through writing all she knew on it.
• Allen: I can't believe that people are motivated by absolutely nada. What comes out of her mouth?? Poking and prodding others, and without any direction given as to how she would do anything. Not even a glimpse of anything that would persuade the present administration to act on it. She blames Obama for the 'fruit of Kaboom' bomber on Christmas day. She speaks like she is in a bar talking crapola. She's worse than a pinhead... an airhead with a lot of frustrated people left over from the 2008 election. It sure would be nice to see her backing the administration for the 'sake of the people', instead of scoring points to make her look 'viable.' I really don't think the tea party people will be fooled by the twit. A lot of them will get caught up with the emotions, but reality will sink in and those high minded individuals will realize her capabilities, and her actions will be seen as it is: a scratched record, with incoherent ideas. PS: she will run for president, as she is pulling this off to keep her status as a potential candidate, and not allowing the after glow of Scott Brown to suck up her position.

How do you think Sarah Palin’s speech was received at the Tea Party convention? Is she ready to be president in 2012?