Paris: French authorities appealed to the public for help in their manhunt for the suspected perpetrator of three shootings and a carjacking in Paris.
French police were searching for a man last seen getting out of the car on the Champs Elysees, releasing the driver, after shootings at the offices of the Liberation newspaper and the headquarters of the bank Societe Generale SA. Last week, he targeted the offices of BFM television.
If papers and other media have to become bunkers, something has gone wrong in our society
Law enforcement believe the attacks were committed by one person, state prosecutor Francois Molins said at a press conference on Monday as he called for help from the public.
Making news: French police cordon off the area next to the newspaper offices. Photo: Reuters
‘‘We expect a lot of help from witnesses to enable investigators to apprehend this individual,’’ Interior Minister Manuel Valls told reporters at a subsequent briefing. ‘‘There’s a great determination’’ to make the arrest because ‘‘he acted without a doubt to kill,’’ he said.
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A suspect was seen running from the La Defense business district after three shots were fired at the bank’s tower shortly after noon, a police spokesman said. Less than two hours earlier, a man opened fire at the headquarters of the Liberation daily newspaper, wounding a photographer’s assistant. The victim was shot in the chest and stomach on Monday with a pump-action shotgun and was in a critical condition, they said.
Soon after the Societe Generale shooting, a man was taken hostage at La Defense in his car, which then headed toward the Champs Elysees, where the suspect got out and fled on foot, police said. A police helicopter was flying over the west of Paris looking for the suspect, television news stations showed.
Mr Valls visited Liberation’s office in the eastern third arrondissement, across town from La Defense. Police were sent to protect other media offices across Paris.
In a televised statement from Israel, President Francois Hollande condemned the attacks as a direct assault on freedom of expression.
On November 15, an armed man entered the headquarters of BFM-TV, an all-news station, and made threats before leaving.
The armed man warned a senior editor: "Next time, I will not miss you."
Le Monde newspaper reported that video surveillance cameras show he appears to be the same man who fired at Liberation.
Mr Molins described the suspect as of ‘‘European’’ origin, between 35 and 45, with three-day stubble and graying hair.
While France has been hit by frequent shoot-outs between rival gangs in Marseille and the Paris suburbs, shootings in central Paris are rare.
France had 665 murders last year, according to the Interior Ministry, which doesn’t break out statistics based on type of weapon.
Liberation executive Nicolas Demorand said the attack had left staff horrified.
"When you have someone with a shotgun coming into a newspaper's offices in a democracy, it is very, very serious, whatever the mental state of the person," Mr Demorand told AFP.
"If papers and other media have to become bunkers, something has gone wrong in our society."
A police security cordon had been erected around Liberation's editorial offices in central Paris.
Sony Entertainment has hired management firm Bain & Company to identify inefficiencies within the company and advise it on more than $100 million in planned cuts to its staff and overhead, according to an individual with knowledge of the studio’s plans.
News of the cuts was first reported by the New York Times, and though Sony did not acknowledge any of the specifics in that report, it did acknowledge forthcoming cuts to its entertainment division.
“As part of a nearly four year process of increasing fiscal discipline, Sony Pictures is conducting a review of its business to identify further efficiencies,” according to studio spokesperson Charles Sipkins. “Our objective is, and always has been, to operate an efficient studio that is uniquely positioned to capitalize on future growth opportunities.”
Cuts of that magnitude will likely results in layoffs, and though Sony has already been assessing its own departments, Bain will help the studio identify which areas need to be trimmed.
The move comes after a bruising summer for the studio, which suffered several high-profile film flops such as “After Earth” and “White House Down” and box office disappointments such as “Elysium” and “Smurfs 2.” Things have picked up in the fall, as its TV studio produced the TV show turned phenomenon “Breaking Bad” and its film division offered “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2″ and “Captain Phillips.”
The studio has also had to contend with a very public and noisy campaign by activist investor Daniel Loeb, who tried to pressure Sony’s parent company to spend off its entertainment assets into a separate publicly traded company.
In August, Sony’s board unanimously turned down Loeb’s proposal, but Sony Chief Executive Officer Kazuo Hirai has publicly stated that the studio needs to improve its greenlighting process and become more efficient in how it spends money.
Sony CEO Michael Lynton will offer insight into that process and offer a vision for the future at an Investor’s Day later this week.
(CNN) -- Toronto's City Council voted Monday to strip embattled Mayor Rob Ford of most of his powers after a tumultuous meeting in which Ford vowed "outright war" in response.
Comparing the vote to "a coup d'etat" and to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990, Ford -- who admitted earlier this month to smoking crack cocaine in a "drunken stupor" -- told council members, "What goes around, comes around, friends."
"If you think American-style politics is nasty, you guys have just attacked Kuwait," he said to groans and laughter in the council chambers. "And you will never see something -- mark my words, my friends, this is going to be outright war in the next election, and I am going to do everything in my power to beat you guys."
A series of votes then went overwhelmingly against the mayor, capping a meeting in which he also knocked down a council member during a break, apparently accidentally. Ford and his brother, City Councilor Doug Ford, sparred with hecklers in the council gallery during the recess, with several hecklers shouting "Shame, shame, shame" at one point.
Councilor Pam McConnell suffered a fat lip when she was knocked down, her colleague, Councilor Paula Fletcher, said. Fletcher demanded an apology from the mayor, who said the collision happened when he "rushed to my brother's defense."
"I apologize to anybody that I accidentally hit when my brother was in an altercation over there," Rob Ford said.
"I'm asking you to apologize to Councilor McConnell," Fletcher replied.
"Absolutely," Ford replied. "It was a complete accident, and I do sincerely apologize to you, Councilor McConnell."
In the wake of his crack admission, Ford is battling other allegations of excessive drinking and abusing staffers that have emerged during a drug probe. No charges have been filed against Ford, but his friend and sometime driver has been charged with extortion.
Ford has admitted to drinking too much and has pledged to restrain his consumption of alcohol. Thursday, he denied a female staffer's allegation that he sought to perform oral sex with graphic language of his own, stunning the reporters who surrounded him and prompting another apologetic news conference.
But he has refused to step down, insisting he would let voters decide on whether to keep him next year. He still appears to have intense support in his home turf in the northwestern precincts of Toronto, where supporters cheered him on over the weekend.
"If you vote in favor of any of these motions, you are absolutely telling everybody that voted in the last municipal election that their vote does not count," Ford told council members. "I didn't think it would get to this point, but it has. I've apologized enough. I've admitted my mistakes. I'm not going to sit here and go on and on and on."
Monday's final vote was 36-5 to slash his office's budget and staff and transfer most of his powers to the city's deputy mayor, Norm Kelly. The council already has called on Ford to take a leave of absence and voted to strip him of his emergency powers last week.
City Councilor Karen Stintz said Ford "doesn't understand the issues he's facing," and Monday's votes reduce him to "a figurehead."
"We are a great city, and the reality is Mayor Ford does not represent the face of the city," Stintz said. "We are taking the steps we're taking to give the deputy mayor the powers and the responsibility and the staff to exercise the functions that the mayor no longer can."
And Councilor Raymond Cho said Ford -- who has touted his expansion of Toronto's subway system among his achievements -- was running both a "gravy train" and a "crazy train."
"He needs help, and I said that many times, but he didn't accept it," Cho said. "This is the only route that I have to choose, and I leave up to the individual councilors their decision and I hope we made the right decision."
In an attempt to head off the vote, Doug Ford introduced a separate measure calling for early elections instead. It was ruled out of order.
"There are 383,000 people who voted for the mayor, and a lot of those people voted for each one for you, too," he said. "They wouldn't want the mayor to take that right off each one of you, and it's the same for the mayor."
The vote comes hours before a new show featuring the Ford brothers debuts on Canada's Sun News Network.
"Everybody's had their say -- the critics, the media, the opposition. I want people to listen to me tonight from 8-9 on Sun News," Rob Ford told the council before the vote.
CNN's Laura Dolan and Sarah Aarthun contributed to this report.
The scale of Sunday's deadly storms became clearer this morning: Six people dead in Illinois, hundreds of homes flattened and splintered, 81 tornadoes sighted through the Midwest, 358 reports of damaging winds, 40 reports of large hail.
Since 1986, there have been 194 tornado warnings issued in the month of November in Illinois: More than half of them, 101, were issued Sunday, according to the Chicago Weather Center.
Hardest hit was Washington, a town of 15,000 people east of Peoria hit by an EF-4 tornado packing winds of 170 to 190 mph. Whole blocks were leveled, prompting the Illinois National Guard to send a 10-person firefighting and search and rescue team. Officials were still trying to determine the extent of injuries Sunday evening, but at least one death was reported and nearly 80 people injured.
"The devastation is just unbelievable," said Mayor Gary Manier, estimating as many as 500 homes may have been damaged in his town. "I can't imagine people walked away from these places."
Farther south, a powerful tornado ravaged Washington County, obliterating farms and livestock and killing Joseph Hoy, 80, and his sister Frances Hoy, 78, according to Coroner Mark Styninger.
Joseph Hoy's body was found in a field about 100 yards east of his farmhouse. His sister's body was found inside the home beneath debris, he said. "(Joseph Hoy's) house was blown away by a tornado," said Styninger, who knew the siblings personally. "They were just very nice people."
The National Weather Service said an EF-4 tornado slammed into the county with winds of 166 to 200 miles per hour.
Three other deaths were reported in Massac County at the southern tip of the state. The small town of Brookport was hit hard, with hundreds of homes damaged, officials said. Buildings were smashed into piles of rubble. Power lines were strewn through the town. A curfew has been issued from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.
"We opened the door and started looking around. My friend had come over and a tree had landed on top of his car, broke out a couple windows. The house next to us, a tree fell through their roof," one man said.
Closer to Chicago, in Grundy County, an EF-2 tornado touched down in the Coal City area near Joliet with wind speeds of 111 to 135 mph, the National Weather Service said. Hundreds of homes were damaged, and a subdivision in the community of Diamond was ordered evacuated.
Lisa Glisson rushed to a dance studio to check on her two children in Diamond. Then the tornado sirens went off. She said one teen at the studio invited everyone to her house to seek shelter in its basement, so about 30 children piled into cars and sped off for safety.
"You could feel the change in the air," Glisson said. "You could hear the wind going over and it just felt heavy, surrounding you."
Gov. Patrick Quinn has declared seven counties disaster areas: Champaign, Grundy, LaSalle, Massac, Tazewell, Washington and Woodford counties.
Quinn plans to visit the communities of Washington, Diamond, Gifford, Brookport and New Minden, according to a statement from his office.
The Illinois Emergency Management Agency is coordinating efforts with other state agencies to help affected areas, according to Quinn's office.
About 19,000 customers still lack electricity following the storm, according to ComEd. Only 1,300 of those customers are in Chicago. The rest are mostly in the utility's southern region – 11,200 – with about 1,000 down in the north region and 5,400 in the west region.
Jolie, Martin, Angela Lansbury and costume designer Pierre Tosi receive Governors Awards at an emotion-filled ceremony on Saturday.LOS ANGELES -- Hollywood turned out in force to honor four of its brightest lights at the fifth annual Governors Awards ceremony Saturday night.
Angelina Jolie received the Jean Hersholt Humantarian Award, while Steve Martin, Angela Lansbury and costume designer Piero Tosi, received career-honoring Oscars at the emotion-filled ceremony in front an audience which included Matthew McConaughey, Tom Hanks, George Lucas, Brad Pitt and Mark Wahlberg.
Jolie, 38, told USA TODAY she was "humbled to be accepting" the award which has been presented to iconic names such as Paul Newman and Oprah Winfrey, adding "I take it to mean I am on the right track."
Jolie, who has been highly active in various charities and the United Nations, sat in a seat of honor with fiance Pitt on her right and son, Maddox, on her left.
Actress Gena Rowlands, her co-star in 1998's Playing By Heart, commended Jolie's busy career -- noting that the star had just flown in from directing her latest film in Australia to be at the event.
"How does she have time to do all this?" asked Rowlands. "She acts, writes and directs and she has a large family, about 20 at last count. And she has to keep that smile on Brad's face. I take my hat off to her."
Lucas presented the award to Jolie, calling her "an artist whose humanitarian efforts continue to touch and inspire the world." An emotional Jolie took to the podium and thanked her family and "my love" Pitt.
"Your support and guidance make everything I do possible," she said, before focusing on her 12-year-old son, Maddox. "Mad, I'm not going to cry I promise. I'm not going to embarrass you. You and your brothers and sisters are my happiness. There is no greater honor than being your mother."
Jolie then went on to thank her own mother Marcheline Bertrand, who died of ovarian cancer in 2007, for urging her to make a difference in the world.
"I will do as my mother asked and do the best I can with this life to be of use. To stand here today means I did as she asked," said Jolie, her voice quivering. "If she were alive, she'd be very proud.
Martin's award presentation brought out comedy from two friends and presenters, Martin Short and Hanks.
Even after Short roasted his Three Amigos co-star, he turned serious at the end of his introduction calling Martin, 68, "a breathtakingly brilliant, staggering original, who has and continues to inspire all of us Steve-Martin-wannabes. Congratulations amigo, thank you for the million laughs."
The consummate professional Martin turned unusually emotional during his speech, at one point fighting back tears as he thanked his wife, Ann Stringfield.
"I knew I wasn't going to make it through this speech, I read it to my dog this morning and wept." Martin said.
The three-time Oscar host and star of classics such as The Jerk, Bowfinger andShopgirl (based on his novel) gave thanks to the "amazing gift" that his film career has brought -- friendship.
"Something wonderful and magical and it's impact in my life is profound. Friends," he said, pausing with emotion, "Fascinating, funny and lifelong."
Geoffrey Rush introduced three-time Academy Award nominee Lansbury, 88, pointing out her varied roles on stage, screen and television after he legendary film performance in 1944's Gaslight.
"Are you the living definition of range?" asked Rush from the stage. "When they talk about the Golden Age of Hollywood are they just talking about you? These are rhetorical questions."
Lansbury pointed out that movies "took a backseat" to her Tony-winning stage career and television roles such as Murder, She Wrote.
"You can't imagine how happy and undeserving I feel to receive this golden chap," said Lansbury, holding her Oscar.
Costume designer Tosi, 86, could not leave his native Italy to attend the awards ceremony. But actress and collaborator Claudia Cardinale passed on Tosi's thanks for the "unexpected honor."
Jeffrey Kurland, a member of the academy costume designer's branch, said the five-time nominee Tosi was "a giant in the world of film design."
"With us tonight are some of the best of the best in our field," said Kurland. "We all agree that Pierre Tosi is the greatest of the great."
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has reacted defiantly to the UK's call for an inquiry into alleged human rights abuses, saying "people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones".
He was speaking on the second day of the Commonwealth summit in Sri Lanka.
British PM David Cameron had urged Mr Rajapaksa to ensure an independent inquiry or face a UN investigation.
The abuses are alleged to have been committed mainly against Tamils since the end of the war in 2009.Pro-government commentators have pointed to alleged abuses under British colonial rule to suggest Britain has no moral right to criticise Sri Lanka.
And Mr Rajapaksa made an oblique reference to Bloody Sunday, when 13 civilians were shot dead in Northern Ireland by the British army in 1972.
He said some investigations took 40 years to emerge, referring to an inquiry into the shootings which reported in 2010 and laid responsibility for the events on the army.
Mr Rajapaksa also accused his critics of ignoring deaths during the period of the civil war.
"Every day for the last 30 years people were dying... so we have stopped it," he said.
"We will take our time and we will investigate into 30 years of war," he added.
Mr Rajapaksa has said the end of the war has brought peace, stability and the chance of greater prosperity to Sri Lanka.
Basil Rajapaksa, President Rajapaksa's brother and a senior minister in his government, had already rejected Mr Cameron's call for an inquiry, saying it "definitely" would not be allowed to take place.
The government is carrying out its own investigation but denies civilians were killed in the last stages of the war when government troops routed Tamil Tiger rebels in their last stronghold.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa dismissed David Cameron's call for an independent investigation
Leaders spent the second day of the summit in retreat at a hotel discussing development and debt, trade and young people's issues, the BBC's Charles Haviland reports from Colombo, but the subject of human rights was never far away.
'Long-term pressure'
The prime minister met Mr Rajapaksa on Friday, and urged Sri Lanka's president to go further and faster over human rights issues and reconciliation.
Mr Cameron called for Sri Lanka to ensure "credible, transparent and independent investigations into alleged war crimes" and said if this did not happen by March he would press the UN Human Rights Council to hold an international inquiry.
He said strong views had been expressed but the meeting with the president had been worthwhile.
David Cameron faced the bowling of Sri Lankan cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan, who said the PM had been misled about the situation in the country
Mr Cameron travelled to the northern Jaffna region on Friday to hear the concerns of local Tamils who complain of human rights abuses
The Commonwealth summit opened on Friday amid traditional displays highlighting Sri Lanka's cultural heritage
The government hoped the summit would showcase the country on the international stage but the meeting has been overshadowed by the human rights
The two men had a second meeting before Mr Cameron began his journey home.
Correspondents say there were hints of a softer tone after that meeting, with Mr Cameron talking of a "conversation" and "keeping up pressure over the longer term".
On Saturday, the UK leader met Sri Lankan cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan, a Tamil who works for reconciliation in his country.Spin bowler "Murali" backed the prime minister's decision to travel to Sri Lanka but said he had been misled about the situation in the country.
Murali told journalists: "He must have been misled by other people. People speak without going and seeing the things there. I go on and off. I see from my eyes there is improvement.
Meeting boycott
Before his talks with the president, Mr Cameron became the first international leader to travel to the Tamil-dominated north of the country since Sri Lankan independence in 1948.
At one point, the PM's convoy was surrounded by more than 200 protesters holding pictures of loved ones who they claim were killed by the Sri Lankan armed forces or have disappeared.
Mr Cameron said the visit - in which he also toured a temporary refugee camp and a newspaper office whose printing presses had been burned - had "drawn attention to the plight" of the Tamil minority in the country.
The Tamils' treatment at the end of the civil war in 2009 has dominated the run-up to the the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chogm), taking place in Colombo.
The prime ministers of Canada, India and Mauritius have stayed away from the summit in protest over the allegations.
Even 50 years later, the car continues to have an emotional impact on those who see it, say officials at the Henry Ford Museum, where the vehicle is on display.DETROIT -- As artifacts of landmark American events go, it's a tragic superstar.
"If the 20th century was the age of the automobile, there's no more iconic car than the JFK convertible," said noted historian Douglas Brinkley. "It's the one artifact of the Kennedy assassination that kind of reigns supreme."
The 1961 four-door Lincoln Continental limousine that President John F. Kennedy was riding in on Nov. 22, 1963, when shots rang out in Dallas' Dealey Plaza is one of the most popular exhibits at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn.
The Dearborn history center — which includes the Henry Ford Museum — is marking the 50th anniversary of Kennedy's assassination with a free museum day on Friday sponsored by Target and two impressive sold-out programs on Monday and Tuesday night.
The customized Lincoln, which was refurbished after Kennedy's death with new features such as titanium armor and a permanent top, has a historic value and emotional power that can't be underestimated.
Author James L. Swanson, who'll join Brinkley and former CBS News anchor Dan Rather at a Monday night panel discussion at the museum, Henry Ford Museum, says he's almost intimidated by the thought of seeing the artifact in person for the first time.
The car evokes haunting what-ifs, according to Swanson, whose new book, "End of Days," is a minute-by-minute account of that day in Dallas. "What if the bubble top was on? What if the car had moved faster? What if the car had accelerated after the first shot? What if the driver had swerved after the second shot?"
A car to match
Every car tells a story. The one that carried Kennedy on his last day alive speaks of tragedy as well as the happier days of his White House administration and the eternal truth that, even after devastating loss, life goes on.
Sleek and confidently modern for the times, the 1961 Lincoln Continental represented a break from the past, just like the very forward-looking presidency of Kennedy.
"That was the year Lincoln introduced brand-new styling, really a fresh, clean-looking car compared to the big chrome ducks that had been popular in the '50s," said Matt Anderson, curator of transportation at the Henry Ford. "It was just a perfect complement for the president, because he was a young man coming into office and had his bold vision for the New Frontier."
The Lincoln was assembled in early 1961 at Ford Motor Co.'s Wixom plant and would have retailed for about $7,300. But to fit the needs of a VIP limousine, it was customized by Hess & Eisenhardt of Cincinnati. The changes included adding 3-1/2 feet of length, which made room for jump seats, and redoing the interior with plush appointments.
The modifications — which also included the portable roof system, a hydraulic rear seat and steps on the rear bumper for Secret Service agents, among many features — pushed the car's cost to nearly $200,000. Ford retained ownership of the limo, leasing it to the White House for $500 a year. Code named X-100 and SS-100-X, it looked gleaming in photographs with its midnight blue paint with a metallic shimmer — just the ticket for a handsome, well-dressed, media-savvy leader.
"I've heard it was painted that color so it would show up better on black-and-white television in those days, which makes sense because it does look nice if you look at the old news footage," Anderson said.
The comfortable, stylish car flown to Texas in 1963 for a trip to heal Democratic Party squabbling before the 1964 election was not equipped in those more innocent times with the mandatory security features of future presidential limousines.
The convertible's famous bubble top, "a series of transparent roof panels ... that you could put on the roof for protection from rain, wind, what have you" was a convenience only, according to Anderson. "They were not bulletproof, just meant for inclement weather."
Kennedy disliked the bubble top and having Secret Service agents riding on the car. Swanson, for one, said he thinks the bubble top could have made a difference if it had been used that sunny afternoon in Dallas, even without being bulletproof. "Certainly, when a high-speed bullet strikes any surface, it can shatter and deflect," he said.
But what-might-have-beens don't change the fact that Kennedy suffered a massive head wound that was unsurvivable, a moment captured on film by an amateur camera operator named Abraham Zapruder.
Suddenly, a tour of Texas cities became the day that changed America forever. And when images from the Zapruder frames and, eventually, the film itself, reached the public, the violence that happened in that car was seared into the collective consciousness.
Back in commission
When Clint Hill appears at the Henry Ford Museum for Tuesday's sold-out event, it will reunite him with the vehicle that he leaped upon to protect a stunned Jacqueline Kennedy, who was sprawled on the rear of the car, reaching, by some accounts, for a piece of her husband's skull.
Later, when the limousine had arrived at Parkland Hospital, the first lady wouldn't move from her crouch over her husband until Hill, sensing her reason, took off his jacket and covered Kennedy's head with it.
After the assassination, the X-100 returned to Washington, D.C., in its cargo plane. The car was scoured for information and clues by the FBI and Secret Service, Anderson said.
From the slowness of a turn on the motorcade route to a crack in its windshield, details linked to the car have continued to be scrutinized and provide fodder for conspiracy theories. The original size, shape and details of the car became — and remain — a key piece of forensic evidence.
In late December 1963, Anderson said, the car was sent to Hess & Eisenhardt for a thorough security revamp called the "Quick Fix" project, which cost $500,000. By spring 1964, the limousine — now with an extensive makeover that ranged from armoring the car's body to retrimming the interior and adding a permanent top — went back to the White House motor pool.
Although the move seems hard to comprehend now, the planning and production of a new parade limousine could have taken so long that a panel of experts decided "the simplest, most practical alternative was to rebuild this car," Anderson said.
Tales abound about its second incarnation — such as President Lyndon Johnson's displeasure that the revamped car still had Kennedy's midnight blue shade. LBJ had it repainted a somber black.
Johnson wanted and, in 1967, got a roll-down window for the car-turned-fortress, while Richard Nixon eventually had a hatch added to the roof. "I guess it's hard to say no to the president," Anderson said. "There are photos of President and Mrs. Nixon standing through it waving to the crowds, which completely eliminates any advantages of the security of the car."
The refurbished limousine was used occasionally by presidents until being retired in 1977. It was donated by Ford to the museum and officially joined the collection in 1978, according to Anderson.
Emotional power
An early 1980s photo of the JFK limousine shows how it was displayed behind tall transparent panels that were more isolating than the low metal fence that surrounds it today. Then and now, there has been sensitivity to displaying it with respect and understanding the feelings it would evoke.
Donna Braden, a curator of public life at the Henry Ford Museum, has delved into the impact of the car on observers. "I sat there watching people once during a study we did to see who stopped, how long they stopped and that sort of thing. It was very interesting because people who remembered it seemed to have a very personal connection to it and stopped talking to their kids and grandkids because it's too emotional to explain in an intellectual way."
Much like funerals and monuments, objects like the JFK car can play a role in the processing of a national tragedy.
"I think it makes it real in a way that's helpful and it becomes a place where people can talk about it, have dialogue about it and help understand. It sort of creates a community around an event, the therapeutic quality of feeling like you're not alone," Braden said.
The enduring emotion of the JFK car is acknowledged even by assassination researchers such as Milford's Dale Myers, who can recite chapter and verse about the car's original details.
Myers used the Warren Commission Report's measurements of the car in his computer animation of the assassination used at the 40th anniversary for a two-hour ABC News investigation that supported the case for a lone gunman, suspect Lee Harvey Oswald.
"Most people don't care it's been rebuilt," said Myers, author of "With Malice: Lee Harvey Oswald and the Murder of Officer J.D. Tippit."
"It has the power for the average American and even for me, I guess. The frame of the car, it is the real deal, even if it was cosmetically altered for reuse."
Last week at the Henry Ford Museum, that power was almost palpable. Brother and sister Bob Urbanic, 64, of Ann Arbor and Karen Stulck, 66, of Boston, the Kennedy family's hometown, recalled finding out about the assassination in high school.
Seeing the car made Urbanic think about "just the tragedy of taking a life in a brutal way."
Rob Zagar, 57, of Des Moines described seeing the limousine as surreal. He said he felt almost guilty about taking a picture of "a huge piece of history."
Brinkley said he thinks the 50th might be the last landmark anniversary where a number of people with direct connections to the events of the assassination are still around to share stories and give oral histories. The true memory of the event may fade a little with time, but not the fascination.
"John F. Kennedy is always going to be the young, handsome president gunned down in his prime. We all get older and Kennedy never does," Brinkley said. "So that car will be of interest to people hundreds of years from now. It was a seminal moment in American history, and the car at Henry Ford is the iconic symbol of that ghastly day."
