Kiran: Chetrylicious Still?

K.C.: “Thanks for the honorable mention. i think.” Former FNC and CNN anchor Kiran Chetry may have exited cable news but she is far from forgotten. In “Sports Bank’s 1st Annual Hottest Female News Anchors” Top Ten list, the Nepalese beauty still earned an honorable mention even though she left “the building” almost a year and half ago. In fact, the “judge” indicated that otherwise she “would have easily made…[the]…Top 5.”

Accepting her “hotness” award with good humor, Kiran Tweeted, “Thanks for the honorable mention. i think. lol.” Raising hopes anew for her fervid votaries, Kiran continued, “I’ll be back soon. one year wiser, one year older.”

However, taking issue with Kiran’s list placement, hubby Chris Knowles aptly remarked, “@Kiranchetrytv honorable mention? Clearly blind men took part in this survey.” Following Chris’ cue, one Kiran Twitter follower payed his own homage, succinctly saying, “Namaste rani….” Meanwhile, another acolyte chimed, “You should be #1 on that list. You r the most beautiful and professional reporter I have come across.”

As long-time readers may recall, Carpe Diem coined the term “Chetrylicious” for Kiran over four years ago. Subsequently, American Morning EP Jamie Kraft seemed to embrace the moniker: E.g., during one AM, when the author suggested that he show Kiran dancing on camera, he did so forthwith to the tune of “Fergalicious.” Perhaps, taking that thought to heart a mite too much (about seven months later), “Richard Simmons literally salivated” over Kiran (and her feet) on that very memorable American Morning.

Chetrylicious still? If Kiran’s recent Twit pics are any indication (1,2), she certainly still definitely deserves that description. Nevertheless, Kiran’s fans may need much more proof–or, at least, assuredly want it!

Early Start’s Banfield Says Goodbye

But, Berman says hello. On Friday the 13th aptly, Early Start co-anchor Ashleigh Banfield bid adieu to her ratings-challenged early morning show where she has had a short hapless seven-and-half-month stint. When the penultimate segment of that program concluded, Ashleigh dutifully disclosed, “[I]t’s my last day on the show today.” Sympathetically, her guest co-host Alina Cho turned to her, saying, “I know. I didn’t realize that….Sleep in, girlfriend!”

Subsequently, when ES returned from commercial break, Ashleigh, Alina, and their CNN colleague Christine Romans sat together on the set. Bemoaning Ashleigh’s departure like Alina, Christine emotively remarked, “It’s her last morning waking up with us.” Appearing more than ready to move on, in more ways than one, Ashleigh quite quickly and somewhat impassively answered, “I know. I’m very sad to be leaving you but very excited about doing 11 a.m. on, on CNN.”

Assuredly, Ashleigh must feel that her luck may have changed as she gets a second shot at success at CNN from Ken Jautz when he transfers her from EP to AN, hopefully, a more viable vehicle for her personality. As the hyper, chatty Cannuck replaces CNN Newsroom anchor Kyra Phillips, new CNN hire John Berman (whilom ABC veteran journalist) will try his hand at bringing life to the moribund show when he joins co-anchor Zoraida Sambolin Monday. And, John appears more than ready to roll: in fact, he got a head start on Ashleigh’s announcement Friday by creating a quirky introductory video of himself re his facial hair fascination that was posted for ES blog readers before the show.

See you later, Ashleigh. Good luck, John!

[Author’s aside: Interestingly, as Ashleigh did her farewell tour this last week, Zoraida vacationed in Eygpt. Notably, according to Page Six , one of its sources said that the two just did not gel. Perhaps, a compassionate Jautz felt that it was the best way to let Ashleigh save face as she left the struggling show while her co-host Zoraida remained.]

CNN’s Early Start: American Morning Again?

Alina Cho MT: WEIWEI”@AliVelshi…good AM.” Freudian slip? As Early Start began this morning guest co-host, a “wired” Ali Velshi, Tweeted, “Nice to be back w/ my buddy, colleague & former office mate @AlinaChoCNN. Between her @ZoraidaCNN & @ChristineRomans, it’s a good morning.” In reply, Alina exclaimed, “WEIWEI” and MT’d Ali’s Tweet with the not so subtle change of “good morning” to “good AM.” Whether she was answering enthusiastically in French phonetically, or, less plausibly, simply could not contain herself, literally, her message was crystal clear: Alina was quite excited to be back again with her former American Morning colleagues, AM co-hosts Ali and Christine Romans.

As well, Alina–not to mention, CNN suits–should have been. Early Start was a marked improvement over its short and dismal past: E.g., Co-host Zoraida Sambolin simply came alive today and asserted herself charismatically with uncharacteristic aplomb. Perhaps, it was simply because the rather reserved Zoraida was no longer tethered to her regular co-host Ashleigh Banfield, who, according to Inside Cable News, lacks the requisite chemistry with Zoraida as a “hyper and over-caffeinated [anchor who leaves] no pause unmolested” in contradistinction to the more reserved Zoraida. Furthermore, it was a delight to see the facile, informed exchanges between Ali and Christine in clear contrast to the usual sycophancy of Ashleigh toward her “Mayor of the Morning” Christine.

Yes, American Morning under Ali and Christine and their erstwhile interim co-anchor Carol Costello was assuredly a morning CNN cellar dweller: But, at least, it was watchable (even eminently so, at least, until AM’s last permanent co-host, comely Kiran Chetry, bid her fans a final namaskaar). And, that is more than one can readily say about Early Start as it fatefully charters new ratings depths (even lower than AM ever descended in its ten-year history).

“Early Start”: American Morning again? CNN viewers can only hope.

A.M. HangOVER: Auld Lang Syne?

“Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind? Today, American Morning ended its decade-long run without a peep to its peeps. No nod to its original anchor, “just a little sexy” Paula Zahn, its final permanent one, “Chetrylicious” Kiran Chetry, or its other less colorful ones. In fact, holiday guest co-hosts Alina Cho and Deborah Feyerich did not even offer AM‘s loyal viewers a final farewell.

In the final segment today, Alina and Deb were surrounded on the AM divan by CNN nameless faces. As the strains of Auld Lang Syne began to air, Deb declared, “And, before we leave, we want to show appreciation to all those who work behind the scenes here at American Morning. These are the folks who get up in the middle of night when everyone is sleeping to bring you this show, and they do it with a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of energy.”

Chiming in animatedly, Alina asserted, “These are the people who work behind the scene tirelessly day and night to make us look good each and every day. And, we cannot thank you enough because we’re nothing without you guys.” She concluded, “Thank you very much. Happy New Year! We hope you have a great year.”

Subsequently, as the final credits began to run, ironically, producers struck up Auld Lang Syne again. No retrospectives of the show’s past co-hosts nor highlights of the program were shown at all. In fact, no mention was made that the show had ended to AM‘s audience who were not in the know.

What a surprise awaits the unwitting viewer next Monday (January 2). AM and its usual “temporary anchors” Ali Velshi, Christine Romans, and Carol Costello or their fill-ins will be nowhere to be found. Instead, two new CNN shows and their cohosts will be there: I.e., CNN newbies, Zoraida Sambolin and Ashleigh Banfield, will greet the viewers in the 5-7 a.m. ET hours, and AM veteran Soledad O’Brien will visit them anew from 7-9 a.m. ET.

Auld lang syne: forget about it? As AM ended today, unfortunately, CNN did not give its AM audience a chance to remember the good times past nor to bid adieu to their old friends today. Rather, CNN seemed to simply hope that their “hung-over” viewers would be happy to make entirely new morning acquaintances next year. In three short days.

AM: Ali (Velshi) Moves (On)

Ali: “My last morning was yesterday.” Today, American Morning‘s “temporary” co-host Ali Velshi left CNN’s moribund morning show–a day early without explanation, seemingly. Yesterday, he announced, “1 more day as your @CNN bookends: anchoring @cnnAM 609aET, then @OutFrontCNN 7/11pET.” When an apparent AM viewer queried, “[H]ow do you plan to mark the last ever @CNNAM tomorrow morning?,” Ali tersely replied, “My last morning was yesterday [Tuesday].

Such an abrupt departure by Ali should not be surprising to the AM audience. Since AM‘s last permanent anchor Kiran Chetry gave her fans a final namaskaar in late July, AM has had three “temporary” co-hosts, Ali, Christine Romans, and Carol Costello. Generally, if any of them were off, their absence was duly noted by the ones present. Lately, the co-anchors do not even do that anymore: In fact, today, guest co-hosts Alina Cho and Deborah Feyerick, seemed almost to forget Ali, Christine, or Carol altogether.

If CNN is not careful, AM‘s audience may forget–to tune in.

Daddy Marciano Back: “Sans Stache”

Shorn Rob shot but shines: AM alum Stephanie Elam notices. American Morning meteorologist Rob Marciano returned to his CNN morning show today after two weeks off for paternity leave. In his first appearance this morning, co-hosts Christine Romans and Carol Costello welcomed back the brand-new daddy and producers aired a photo of Rob, his wife Eryn, and their baby daughter, Madeline Grace.* In response, Rob reported that his baby was “great, that his wife was “recovering,” and that “all was well in the Marciano [household].” Subsequently, he added that he and Eryn were getting [only] two-to-three hours of sleep each night.

Off camera, Rob revealed a mite more to his Twitter followers. Yesterday, he joked, “10 days of hibernation might get me a Chico and The Man casting call :-): Included in his missive, he linked to a photo of him sporting a recently grown moustache. Shortly thereafter, he proclaimed, “Back to work tomorrow sans stache!”

Today, when Rob announced that he was “back in the studio saddle” and working with his “CNN family again,” he was embraced with open arms. “Welcome back, Bobby!,” Tweeted frequent AM guest co-host Alina Cho. Chiming in from the West Coast, erstwhile AM biz beauty, Stephanie Elam jested, “@robmarcianoCNN has that daddy glow. Or may it’s just fatigue? :-).” Pegged by his former CNN colleague, Rob replied, “Yes and yes,” Rob replied.

Truly, Rob. But, surely, little Grace Madeline Marciano is more than worth it all. Welcome back, “Bobby”!

A.M.: Kiran Back–Almost

Black Friday. Former American Morning co-host Kiran Chetry returned to her CNN morning program Friday–or, at least, her other half did. In a surprise appearance, Kiran’s hubby, meteorologist Chris Knowles, appeared thrice on AM as a correspondent on the Black Friday shopping mania at Macy.* Somewhat strangely, the AM co-hosts, Carol Costello and Alina Cho made no mention of their former colleague in their collegial chats with Chris.

Not surpisingly, the whilom FNC meteorologist and WPIX weekend weatherman was his usual winsome, witty self. In a rave review of her hubby’s reporting, Kiran Tweeted, “He was fantastic wasn’t he?!” Yes, he was good: But, in the author’s opinion, Kiran is definitely his better half.

As to Kiran’s real return to television, the Nepalese beauty assured her fans earlier this month that she will be back “very soon.”

* American Morning – 11/25/11 (6:02 a.m. ET; 7:02 a.m. ET; and 8:01 a.m. ET)

Ali Remembers Carol–Finally

Ali “Oops”? Only three days after American Morning co-host Carol Costello said that she wanted to “retire very soon,” her AM co-anchor Ali Velshi seemed to send out signals that she might have already done so. As he started the first and second hours, he welcomed viewers, saying, “Christine [Romans] is off today. I’m Ali Velshi along with Alina Cho.” However, in the third and final hour, he remembered Carol and announced that she, too, was “off.”

Ali, a Rick Perry “oops” moment avoided–barely: And, you only had to remember two things! Be thankful you don’t have to give account to Christine later. Note well the unrelenting grief that she gave the poor Texas governor yesterday for his lapse of memory.

Saved by AM‘s attentive producer!

Three Divas on a Divan

“Tense” American Morning? AM co-anchor Christine Romans and guest co-host Alina Cho welcomed CNN correspondent Soledad O’Brien to their angular divan Friday.* Catfight? No, but they did have a lovefest over a 2012 Olympic boxing hopeful segment entitled, “Latino in America: “In Her Corner.”

As AM fans watched the trio discuss five-time national champ Mexican American Marlen Esparza‘s quest to win a gold, they saw AM‘s past, present, and, possible future in front of their very eyes. First, as to the past, Soledad had co-hosted the show with Miles O’Brien until the duo was dumped in favor of Kiran Chetry and John Roberts. Second, now that John and Kiran themselves have departed, Christine temporarily co-anchors (alongside Ali Velshi and Carol Costello) and Alina occasionally fills in. Finally, as to the future, Soledad has been referred to as the imminent host of the second show in a new CNN “AM,” i.e., one that incorporates AM: Wake Up Call and the first hour of AM and another that consists of the last two hours of the current AM.

With the current iteration of American Morning seemingly toast and the new “AM” about to begin, CNN viewers can hope for a more flavorful fare in the morning. Since fan fave Kiran Chetry inexplicably left the show in late July, AM has stopped serving its rather spicy stew of salient stories in favor of a more insipid hash of prosaic presentations. Hopefully, a new chef, i.e., Soledad, can confect a tastier breakfast for future “AM” viewers.

AM viewers can only hope.

*American Morning – 09/23/11 (@ 8:51 a.m. ET)

Ali Velshi: [I] Miss Kiran Chetry Every Morning

Yesterday American Morning co-host Ali Velshi pined for Kiran Chetry, his  gorgeous, exotic former AM co-host. After her hubby, meteorologist Chris Knowles, appeared anew on A.M.: Wake-Up Call for a weather segment, Ali Tweeted, “@chrisknowlestv nice to see you on our air. Miss @KiranChetryTV every morning.” And who could blame him?

After Kiran tearfully left AM for a mysterious “very special opportunity” on July 29, he has co-hosted the program with Christine Romans and Carol Costello. For the cosmopolitan Kenyan-born Canadian, his two former Iowa farm girls may seem a mite too plain and prosaic in comparison–especially, if the lovely ladies’ recent dress and mien are any indication. On one hand, Christine, overly cloaked in her high-collared tops and school marm midis, appears determined to play the earnest advocate: On the other, Carol, too oft in her Kyra Phillips slacks and/or Mary Jane shoes, seems to strive to be the studied cynic.

Unfortunately for Ali, AM‘s Aphrodite has left the the Time Warner Center: And, the sexy Nepalese beauty has not been replaced. Only Kiran’s personally dubbed “resident fashionista” Alina Cho may have come somewhat close. But, alas, Ali was gone that day.

Missing Kiran, Ali? So do your American Morning viewers!

Kiran & Friends: But, For How Long?

“Reunited & it feels so good.” Today, American Morning co-anchor Kiran Chetry Tweeted her joy at being back with her recently regular co-hosts Ali Velshi and Christine Romans. She seemed to be praying and pleading for some new sense of AM normalcy. One could hardly blame Kiran: in just seven AM business days, she and her AM audience have witnessed a whopping five different anchor combos of which two notably did not include Kiran.*

It has been over four months since CNN honcho Ken Jautz announced that Kiran’s then AM co-anchor John Roberts was out and that he wanted to make sure that “we have the right ‘American Morning family.'” Jautz elaborated, “We will be looking at different people alongside Kiran on a rotating basis…[and]…T. J. Holmes will be the first to co-anchor with Kiran.”

Since then, T. J. has come and gone (and even had a shorter stint than he had anticipated). When T. J. left, Christine joined Kiran for a short all-gal audition. After only one week, Ali turned that duo into an asexual AM menage a trois.

Almost a month later, AM viewers still do not know who Jautz will actually adopt into the “American Morning family.” So far, Ali and Christine have been like foster children, hoping to get to stay with Kiran and the rest of their host family. Even though Ali may call Kiran, Christine, and himself “the gang,” it will be Jautz who ultimately decides.

For now, both Ali and Christine  are in the CNN family but their resumes do not yet include a permanent AM anchor seat. However, Kiran’s curriculum vitae does and only her face now represents AM’s Web presence.

As to his full future AM “family,” Jautz appears not quite ready to commit.

* The five distinct anchor arrangements were as follow: Kiran and Ali (April 8); Kiran, Christine, and Ali (April 11); Ali and Christine (April 12); Kiran and Christine (April 13); and Ali and CNN correspondent Alina Cho (April 18).

Kiran: Bruised Beauty?

Manhandled? American Morning co-anchor Kiran Chetry may have had some “splaining” to do when she got home yesterday after the show. That is, if hubby Chris Knowles saw a blue and purple mark on his beloved’s right arm.

Mid-AM Monday, perhaps, in a rush to interview New York Times Pultizer winner columnist Nicholas Kristof for the following healthcare segment, Kiran seemed to lose her camera cognition. As she ended a story with Alina Cho and co-anchor John Roberts, Kiran prematurely started to leave as John began to read the headlines. Then, as the news video subsequently ran on the wall, an oblivious Kiran began to walk in front of the screen unawares.

Out of nowhere, an apparent crew member, dressed in black, grabbed a startled Kiran by her right upper arm. Then, the chunky, calvous chap began to roughly march her out of the shot. As he did, Kiran winced in pain, grabbed her arm, and quietly exclaimed, “Ow!”

Jamie, you better be careful. AM’s Aphrodite may not like her beauty bruised.

American Morning (01/11/09) – @7:29 a.m. ET

John & Sanjay: 1 A.M. “Bromance”

For some men, the answer to getting old is a younger beau: For others, it might be a younger bro. Today, American Morning co-anchor John Roberts seemed to opt or, rather, re-opt for the latter. I.e., a renewed bromance from July.

AM’s “silver fox” feeling old? Apparently, so. After misreading a headline news story, John groused, “You know, from this distance, sometimes, an “8” looks an awful lot like a “3”: when guest co-host Alina Cho tried to imply kindly that it might be his contacts, John declared, “Telling you. This getting old thing? Hate it!” Later, after mistakenly saying that Lady Gaga was DirecTV’s ad gal, he admitted that he had trouble telling Lady Gaga and Christina Aguilera apart (even though he re-affirmed his “unique fascination” with Lady Gaga).

When the subsequent post-break segment with Dr. Sanjay Gupta began to “The Remedy,” a still smarting John exclaimed, “Him, I know. Jason Mraz….Lady Gaga, Christina Aguilera, I’m still having a problem.” Before Sanjay started his report entitled “Americans May Live Longer,” he looked at John and advised, “You need to get more sleep.” When Sanjay had concluded his story, John joked, “And, he [Gupta], is chastising me for not getting sleep. We were emailing each other at one o’clock in the morning.”

Dismissively, Sanjay stated, “That’s right. Yeah, it was about work stuff. Yeah.” Turning to Alina and then pointing to Sanjay, John smiling queried, “Notice how he qualifies it by saying, ‘It was about work stuff.'” Blushing, Sanjay looked down and chuckled. Grinning puckishly, John continued, “He’s always trying to downplay the bromance here.” As they all shared a lavish laugh, an abashed Sanjay struck his forehead with his papers and incredulously asked, “Back to that again?”

Sanjay, apparently, what’s old is new again!

Alina: AM’s “China Doll”?

American Morning guest co-host Alina Cho? Unbelievable. Truly! For some strange reason, the first generation daughter of Korean parents  seems to feel that she must look and be perfect–at all times.

Oft, in her appearance, she does not fall far from the mark with her sharp stiletto stilts and the rest of her haut couture habit. Of course, the notable exception is when she dangles her garish “ping-pong” necklaces around her neck like an albatross. Whereas fashion correspondent Lola Ogunnaike was AM’s “recessionista,” Alina is its Tiffany demoiselle.

In fact, during the segments with biz correspondent Christine Romans and co-host Kiran Chetry, one could almost hear the strains of David Bowie’s “China Girl.” In the first one, Christine kidded Alina about seeming to be a “nice white wine drinker.” In the second, Kiran teased her about her propensity to spend lavishly on herself. However, it was not her mien or garb that garnered the author’s attention this time: It was what she said.

As Christine’s second spot concluded, Alina asked, “Did California governor Arnold Swartzenegger slip a hidden and obscene message into his letter to state lawmakers?…There are seven lines in this note. And, if you’re good at those word-finder puzzles, you’re going to notice that the first letter in each line spells out ‘F,’ dash, dash, dash, Y-O-U. You can fill it in.” She added, “Well, the lawmaker who recently heckled the governor sponsored the bill in question so that may explain that coincidence….” Then sounding like the small-town garden club prez who “splains” herself after sharing a scurrilous rumor, Alina remarked, “But, I mean, it’s interesting. I don’t know if I believe it.”

[Carpe Diem reader, actually, the vertical acronym in Swartzenegger’s missive spelled out “I-F-*-*-*-Y-O-U.” N.B. The sponsor of the vetoed legislation was Assemblyman Tom Ammiano who had earlier told the former Mr. Universe to “kiss my gay ass.” Coincidence? You make the call.]

“So Delicious”: Chetrylicious!

Thanks, Jamie! After American Morning co-host Kiran Chetry teasingly revealed that she was dancing off camera (during an opening city shot), this viewer complained, “Jamie Kraft should put [you] ON camera when you dance, Kiran. Spike those ratings! P.S. Tell Jamie that Janelle [Rodriguez] did.” Possibly, responsive thereto, AM’s executive producer did just that.

A mere half hour later when AM returned from a commercial break, Kiran and CNN correspondent Alino Cho were saucily dancing at their desk to Fergie’s “Fergalicious.” “So delicious”! Even more so for the author, since Carpe Diem’s long-time description of Kiran has been “Chetrylicious.”

Kudos, Jamie! Not only for your apparent responsiveness to the AM audience but also for loosening things up today on the set. Hopefully, this will be a hallmark of your tenure at the helm.

*American Morning (09/18/09) – @8:54 a.m.

Alina Eyes Palin’s Bad Boy

American Morning guest co-host Alino Cho, resident fashionista (according to AM co-host Kiran Chetry),* seemed fascinated with self-professed redneck Levi Johnston. Decrying his fifteen minutes of fame, she discussed him each and every hour of the show this morning. According to my calculations she gave him an extra six minutes.

In the first hour of AM, as “Independent Nation” author John Avalon concluded his “Wingnut of the Week” segment, she asked, “What is a wingnut segment without Levi Johnston? He is…shirtless in GQ…poses with his baby, gives an interview. When is enough enough?” When Avalon indicated that Levi’s fifteen minutes were up and that he should move on, Alina replied, “I gotta agree with you on that.”

In the second hour, Alina promo’d and introduced a sympathetic “Pretty Damn Uncomfortable” Levi Johnston piece with GQ shirtless pics of him with his baby and a shot of the camouflage-clad, gun-slinging Alaskan rebel. After the report, Alina acerbically commented, “The writer [of the GQ article] believes that Levi is hoping to turn his story into a book or TV deal. That would be if anybody really cares about that story.” Guest co-anchor Rob Marciano wryly replied, “Well, you know, we seem to care.”

In the final hour, Alina did it again. When she presided over the “Political Drama” debate with lib Hilary Rosen, HuffPo editor-at-large, and conservative Leslie Sanchez, Hispanic Alliance for Prosperity Institute co-chair, she covered two issues. I.e., the profound matter of the nomination of the first Hispanic female, Judge Sonia Stomayor, to the highest court of the land and the shallow issue of “Levi Johnston shirtless in the July issue of GQ magazine speaking out.” A peculiar juxtaposition indeed.

Good girl Alina: bad boy Levi.

*https://jakeho.wordpress.com/2009/01/21/am-alina-maxim/

Tepid Thursday

Decaf morning news! Whether one turned to Fox & Friends or American Morning, one could hardly be blamed for turning the channel. On F&F, after yesterday’s invigorating show with the mesmerizing Miss California Carrie Prejean and the alluring Alisyn Camerota; Steve Doocy, Brian Kilmeade, and Gretchen Carlson presided over a virtual three-hour Ambien experience. On American Morning, seemingly unwilling to take the reins readily as alpha stars Kiran Chetry and John Roberts do, guest co-anchors Alina Cho and Rob Marciano contently laid back and pushed the snooze button.

Ugh! However, tomorrow is another day. Hopefully!

Alina’s High Heels: Sexyback?

To the strains of “Sexyback,” an alluring American Morning correspondent Alina Cho took the higher ground today during “Obama’s First 100 Days” segment. Literally. Since her usual sexy stilts (as AM co-host John Roberts is wont to call them)* were not enough for the cameraman to juxtapose her to a more statuesque Kiran Chetry, the 5’2″ Korean cutie gamely stood atop a black box.

Today was just another example of how the rather demure Asian beauty takes her short stature in stride. In an earlier “Model Boot Camp” story, Alina boasted, “I’ve never been afraid of a high heel.”* When John then commented that her heels were the tallest that he had ever seen, she asked, “What do you do when you’re 5’2”?”* To the dismay of many of her male fans, thus far, she does not take the conventional fashion counsel to shorten her midi/maxi hemline to add height (or give a leggier look).

Apparently, Alina is not a fan of Shania Twain’s “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!**

*AM (02/19/09) – 8:59 a.m. ET

**http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/shaniatwain/manifeellikeawoman.html

Roberts Abashes Alina

Another unanticipated Roberts ad lib! Yesterday American Morning correspondent Alina Cho’s reported on the inspiring debut of Susan Boyle on “Britain’s Got Talent” debut and her consequently sensational YouTube success. [Boyle aptly sang Fantine’s “I Have a Dream” from Les Miserables.] As her segment closed, AM co-anchor John Roberts replied, “She’s fantastic!” To which, Alina answered, “Let’s hope they don’t make her over.” Co-anchor Kiran Chetry drily agreed, “I know. Just waiting for the makeover: They do it to everybody, right?”

Then John rained on Alina’s parade. Not unlike when he embarrassed former CNN legal eagle Sunny Hostin with an off-the-cuff query,* WikiRoberts queried, “Maybe, they’ll let her play Cosette [another Les Miserables character]. What do you [Alina] think?” Looking like a deer in the headlights, she looked hopefully at Kiran, shook her head, and mouthed, “I don’t [know].

Trying to cue her, John interjected, “In the next iteration of Les Miz.” Prompting her further, Kiran commented, “Yeah.” Alina responded, “Oh, oh, the character. Yes.” Then Alina smiled, lowered her head, and added, “You got me there. Sorry!”

John, Janelle is going to get you one day for not staying on script!

Sunny’s Cloudy Monday

Cho’s Cooking Secrets

American Morning’s Alina Cho is no chef but she’s willing to turn up the heat in the kitchen according to co-host Kiran Chetry. After Alina had reported on an at-home-dining trend and had stated that she was considering enrolling in a basics class, Kiran shared a personal Alina anecdote with co-anchor John Roberts and the AM audience.

Kiran revealed, “I remember when Alina and I first met, when I first came on this show. She said to me, ‘I’m gonna cook a steak tonight for this guy I met.’ I said, ‘Really?'” Bowing her head and smiling abashedly, Alina interjected, “Way too much information!” Kiran continued, “And she said, ‘Where do I get a pan to cook this steak?” And I said, ‘Oh, Alina!'” Embarrassed all the more, Alina exclaimed, “Oh, man! Oh, my ***!” To Kiran, she added, “You’re gonna get it! You’re gonna get it!”

Quite obligingly, John Roberts offered Alina cooking lessons at his place. Then a rescuing Kiran asked, “In the end, though, right, you came back the next morning and you said, ‘It turned out to be successful?'” Alina declared, “It did! It did!” Kiran concluded, “So you have the basics.”

With Alina and Kiran, it’s always hot in the CNN kitchen in the AM.