This evening, on Hollywood's biggest night of the year, Piers Morgan hosted CNN's live red carpet coverage of the 85th Academy Awards. Interviewing everyone from Dustin Hoffman and Tommy Lee Jones to Jennifer Lawrence and Sally Field, the host of "Piers Morgan Tonight" patrolled the event's signature crimson walkway for more than two hours, dishing on everything from the drama to the dresses.

Welcoming Jessica Chastain for a conversation equal parts endearing and entertaining, the star of "Zero Dark Thirty" explained the vision behind her strapless Armani gown:

"The dress reminded me, it was a 'Happy Birthday, Mr. President' kind of dress," said the Best Actress in a Leading Role nominee. "It's an honor to wear a dress that evokes old Hollywood."

Soon after, Morgan chatted with Amy Adams, another nominee in one of the evening's premier categories. Watch here.

Today on CNN's State of the Union with Candy Crowley, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood sat down with CNN’s Candy Crowley to talk about the upcoming forced budget cuts.

MANDATORY CREDIT: CNN’s “State of the Union”

Sec. LaHood:  Well, first of all, we're required to cut $1 billion.  The largest number of employees at DOT is at FAA, of which the largest number are FAA controllers.  We're going to try and cut as much as we possibly can out of contracts and other things that we do.  But in the end, there has to be some kind of furlough of air traffic control - air traffic controllers, and that then will also begin to curtail or eliminate the opportunity for them to guide planes in and out of airports.

FULL POST

Today on CNN's State of the Union with Candy Crowley, Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona weighed in on the future of Chuck Hagel’s confirmation process, the looming budget cuts and on his recent town hall. Highlighted excerpts are after the jump.

MANDATORY CREDIT: CNN’s “State of the Union”

EMBEDDABLE VIDEOS:
Sen. McCain: Obama must lead on budget deal // http://on.cnn.com/XP0OpL
Sen. McCain: Hagel should get up or down vote  // http://on.cnn.com/XP1Jq5
Sen. McCain on heated town hall exchange // http://on.cnn.com/135I9uV
FULL POST

TSA administrator John Pistole spoke with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer about the looming budget cuts facing the federal government, the invasive TSA security procedures used on a 3-year-old girl and more. A highlight from the interview is below; a full transcript will be posted on http://archives.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/sitroom.html. This interview will air during CNN’s The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, 4-7 p.m. ET today.

MANDATORY CREDIT: CNN’s “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer”
FULL POST

Starfish Media Group Will Produce Specials and Documentaries for CNN

CNN is entering into a production and distribution agreement with critically-acclaimed journalist Soledad O’Brien, whose new production company will produce long-form programming specials for the network it was announced today by Jeff Zucker, president CNN Worldwide. O’Brien’s company, which will launch in June, will produce three long-form programming specials for CNN in 2014. Those specials will include one of the network’s most successful franchises, Black in America. O’Brien’s new production company, Starfish Media Group, in conjunction with CNN, will act as the exclusive worldwide distributor of previous documentaries featuring O’Brien. She will also host the 2013 CNN Black in America documentary, which will air later this year.

FULL POST

CNN’s Christine Romans Moderates Event at Atlanta’s Woodruff Arts Center on Thursday, Feb. 28

The future of public education in the United States is up for debate in the next CNN Dialogues community forum, “The Real National Debt: What We Owe America’s Students.”

National educational leaders, including Randi Weingarten, president of the 1.5 million-member American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO, will address questions about the public education system’s value and credibility and offer innovative solutions in a discussion moderated by CNN’s EMMY® award-winning Christine Romans, host of CNN’s Saturday morning business show, Your Bottom Line.

The event, co-sponsored by Emory University’s James Weldon Johnson Institute for the Study of Race and Difference, and the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, will be held Thursday, February 28, from 7:00pm to 8:30pm at the Rich Theatre located at the Woodruff Arts Center (1280 Peachtree Street, NE) in Atlanta. FULL POST

London, 21 February 2012: Last night at the Royal Television Society (RTS) Awards, CNN International was crowned News Channel of the Year, beating off competition from the BBC and Sky News.

The network’s treatment of stories over the past year, from the intensifying conflict in the Middle East and the travails of the Eurozone, through to elections in the United States, Europe, and Asia, via extreme weather, the Olympics, the Diamond Jubilee and more, won the votes of the RTS jury.

Tony Maddox, Executive Vice President of CNN International, said: "The determination and fearlessness of our reporting is an immense source of pride for me, and this award is testament to those qualities.  To be recognised by our peers in this way is also a great honour.  Professional journalism has a more important role than ever in today’s changing world, and the succinct, powerful coverage we’ve delivered underlines that value to our audiences.” FULL POST