CNN Press Release - Jim Acosta has been named national political correspondent, it was announced today by Sam Feist, Washington bureau chief and senior vice president. Acosta begins his new assignment as national political correspondent immediately.

“Jim has been an outstanding addition to the political team,” said Feist. “He has emerged as one of the key reporters on the campaign trail and his astute reporting skills will only help to position the network to dominate this important election cycle.”

“Having grown up just outside of the nation’s capital, I’m very excited about this new assignment,” said Acosta. “I am honored to be part of CNN’s political team, which is second to none.”

In this new role, Acosta will work closely with the network’s political unit to provide coverage of the 2012 campaign including the primary races, the presidential debates, and the political conventions. He will also cover important stories on policy and culture for various CNN programs, including The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer and John King, USA.

Previously, Acosta served as a CNN correspondent reporting from the field and within the beltway on a wide-range of national stories including, the 2010 midterm elections and 2008 presidential election, when he covered the campaigns of then-Sen. Hillary Clinton, Sen. John McCain and then-Sen. Barack Obama. In 2009, Acosta traveled to Cuba to report from Havana on the effects of the Obama administration’s policy change to American travel restrictions in that country. Prior to CNN, Acosta was a correspondent for CBS News, where he contributed to CBS Evening News and covered stories including the Iraq War from Baghdad, the 2004 presidential campaign of Sen. John Kerry and Hurricane Katrina.

CNN Worldwide, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner Company, is the most trusted source for news and information. Its reach extends to nine cable and satellite television networks; one private place-based network; two radio networks; wireless devices around the world; CNN Digital Network, the No. 1 network of news Web sites in the United States; CNN Newsource, the world’s most extensively syndicated news service; and strategic international partnerships within both television and the digital media.

CNN Domestic today announced its coverage plans for Saturday's straw poll in Iowa.

CNN Press Release: As the GOP presidential candidates gather in Iowa for the much anticipated straw poll, CNN will have its political team on the ground to report throughout the weekend. Today and Friday, CNN anchors Candy Crowley and Don Lemon begin reporting from the caucus state. Deputy political director Paul Steinhauser and reporters Peter Hamby and Shannon Travis are already on the ground reporting from the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines.

Also beginning Friday, August 12, CNN’s political correspondent Jim Acosta will report live from the primary state of South Carolina. Senior political editor Mark Preston will report live from New Hampshire covering candidates as they campaign in the “first-in-the-nation” presidential primary state, where Governors Huntsman, Perry and Romney are scheduled for events this weekend.

On Saturday, August 13, as results of the straw poll are announced, anchor Don Lemon along with Candy Crowley will provide live updates on a special edition of CNN Newsroom at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. from the campus of Iowa State University, in Ames, Iowa. CNN’s Jim Acosta also will cover the latest developments at the RedState.org gathering in South Carolina, where Perry is expected to signal his presidential intentions.

On Sunday, chief political correspondent Candy Crowley will anchor State of the Union live from Ames, Iowa at 9 a.m. and again at noon. Rep. Michele Bachmann will be a guest on State of the Union.

CNN Pressroom - Multiplatform Effort Will Report on Pope Benedict’s U.N. Address, Public Events, Meetings

CNN will use its unparalleled newsgathering resources to cover Pope Benedict’s first official papal visit to the United States, from Tuesday, April 15, through Sunday, April 20, in Washington, D.C., and New York. Online as well as on CNN/U.S., CNN International, CNN en Español, CNN Radio and Headline News, CNN will report on the pope’s address to the United Nations, his meeting with President George W. Bush, his visit to Ground Zero in New York and other events.

This trip to the United States marks Pope Benedict’s sixth country that he has visited since becoming pope in 2005. There are more than 67 million Catholics in the United States and more than a billion Catholics worldwide.

Soledad O’Brien anchors CNN’s special live coverage on Sunday, April 20, as Pope Benedict visits Ground Zero of the World Trade Center and officiates Mass in New York’s Yankee Stadium. O’Brien will be joined by weekend CNN Newsroom anchors T.J. Holmes and Betty Nguyen reporting from location and CNN’s Vatican analyst John Allen. CNN’s coverage begins with the pope’s arrival on Tuesday, April 15, and continues with contributions throughout the visit from Jim Acosta, Wolf Blitzer, Jason Carroll, Ines Ferre, Ed Henry, Juan Carlos Lopez, Colleen McEdwards, Kyra Phillips, Richard Roth and Mary Snow.

CNN.com will offer expanded coverage of Pope Benedict’s trip. Through multimedia and interactive elements, as well as traditional stories and videos, viewers around the world will be able to view the visit as CNN.com Live will stream all available ceremonies and events live in their entirety, as well as feature live reports from the field with John Allen.

Viewers and users are encouraged to share their firsthand accounts of the pope’s public events through video, photo, or audio submissions to www.iReport.com, CNN’s recently launched user-generated community Web site. CNN will have a mobile iReport station at the public Mass held at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., for attendees to upload personal stories, photos and videos related to the pope’s visit. Contributors also may gain recognition by having the material they submit to the site – once vetted and approved for use – appear on a CNN network or CNN.com.

Broadcast worldwide, CNN’s papal coverage will reach more than 310 million TV households, while also being available to CNN broadcast partners CNN+, CNN Turk, CNN IBN and more than 1,000 affiliates.

CNN Worldwide, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner Company, is the most trusted source for news and information. Its reach extends to nine cable and satellite television networks; one private place-based network; two radio networks; wireless devices around the world; CNN Digital Network, the No. 1 network of news Web sites in the United States; CNN Newsource, the world’s most extensively syndicated news service; and strategic international partnerships within both television and the digital media.

Jim Acosta

Ken Jautz

Also, they removed the photo of correspondent Jennifer Eccleston.

New Bios:

Jim Acosta

New Photos:

Frederik Pleitgen