AnneClaire Stapleton

Senior International News Editor and Producer

AnneClaire Stapleton is an award-winning Senior News Editor and Producer based at CNN's headquarters in Atlanta.
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The debris at the site where an airplane crashed with 61 people on board, in Vinhedo, Sao Paulo state, Brazil, early on Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024. Brazilian authorities are working to piece together what exactly caused the plane crash in Sao Paulo state the previous day, killing all 61 people aboard.
Andre Penner/AP
Brazilian passenger plane crash outside São Paulo kills 62
Aug 12, 2024
As emergency teams work to identify bodies at the crash site near São Paulo, President Lula has declared three days of mourning.
Ksenia Karelina, a dual US-Russian national detained on suspicion of treason, attends a court hearing in Yekaterinburg, Russia, on June 20, 2024.
Sverdlovsk Regional Court/Reuters
Russian-American woman admits guilt in treason case, Russian state media reports
Aug 7, 2024
Russian-American dual national Ksenia Karelina is admitting guilt in a treason case in Russia, her lawyer told state news agency TASS on Wednesday.
WHITE OAK, MD - JULY 20: A sign for the Food And Drug Administration is seen outside of the headquarters on July 20, 2020 in White Oak, Maryland. (Photo by Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images)
Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images
With FDA decision looming, bipartisan group of lawmakers urge support for MDMA to treat PTSD
Aug 5, 2024
In a show of bipartisanship, 80 members of Congress from both sides of the aisle have united in letters urging President Joe Biden and the US Food and Drug Administration to further consider studies on MDMA-assisted therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder — an effort that aims to expedite access to a treatment they hope could help veterans.
A frame taken by a video posted to Telegram shows the scene after dozens of Russian Wagner mercenaries were killed in an ambush in Mali
From Telegram
Mali severs diplomatic relations with Ukraine for providing intelligence to rebels for Wagner ambush
Aug 5, 2024
A Ukrainian official claimed last month that Kyiv provided militants with intelligence before the attack on Malian troops and Russian Wagner group mercenaries.
People and emergency crews look for survivors following Israeli bombardment on the Al-Nassr school that houses displaced Palestinians, West of Gaza city, on August 4, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the militant Hamas group. Gaza's civil defence agency said an Israeli strike hit two schools in Gaza City on August 4, killing at least 30 people, while the Israeli army reported it had struck Hamas command centres.
Omar Al-Qattaa/AFP/Getty Images
At least 30 killed in Israeli strike on two Gaza school shelters: Palestinian Civil Defense
Aug 4, 2024
Rescuers are racing to dig victims from the rubble of two buildings sheltering displaced people. The IDF said it was targeting terrorists “embedded” in the schools.
The fleet oil tanker Pashin, part of the Russian naval detachment visiting Cuba, arrives at Havana's harbour, June 12, 2024.
Adalberto Roque/AFP/Getty Images
Russian ships arrive in Cuba as Cold War allies strengthen their ties
Jun 12, 2024
A group of Russian Navy ships, including a nuclear-powered submarine, will arrive in Cuba on Wednesday evening as part of “historically friendly relations” between the two countries.
A U.S. and Niger flag are raised side by side at the base camp for air forces and other personnel supporting the construction of Niger Air Base 201 in Agadez, Niger, April 16, 2018. The United States is attempting to create a new military agreement with Niger that would allow it to remain in the country, weeks after the junta said its presence was no longer justified, two Western officials told The Associated Press Friday April 19, 2024.
Carley Petesch/AP/File
US begins pulling military equipment from Niger ahead of withdrawal deadline
Jun 8, 2024
The US began pulling military equipment and additional personnel out of Niger on Friday after waiting months for the ruling military junta to approve US military flights into the country, two sources familiar with the matter said Saturday, ahead of a September 15 withdrawal deadline agreed to by the two countries.
FILE - Supporters of Capt. Ibrahim Traore parade wave a Russian flag in the streets of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, Oct. 2, 2022. Just weeks after Burkina Faso's junta ousted hundreds of French troops, there are signs that the West African country could be moving even closer to Russia, including the mercenary outfit, the Wagner Group. (AP Photo/Sophie Garcia, File)
Sophie Garcia/AP/FILE
Russia will increase the number of military instructors in Burkina Faso, foreign minister says
Jun 5, 2024
Russia’s Foreign Ministry posted a photo of Lavrov in Ouagadougou, noting that he had been received by acting President Ibrahim Traoré.
Ukrainian forces claim they successfully hit a Russian S-300 missile system using Western-supplied weapons inside Russian territory, Ukrainian Government Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on Monday.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />"It burns beautifully. It's a Russian S-300. On Russian territory. The first days after permission to use Western weapons on enemy territory," Vereshchuk posted on Facebook Monday, along with a picture purporting to show the successful strike.
From Iryna Vereshchuk
Ukraine claims it hit missile system inside Russian territory using Western weapons
Jun 4, 2024
The strike comes days after US President Joe Biden gave Ukraine permission to carry out limited strikes using US weapons in Russian territory around Kharkiv
Bryan Hagerich, with his wife, Ashley, after arriving at Pittsburgh International Airport on Friday.
Matt Freed/AP
American who carried ammunition in Turks and Caicos gets suspended sentence and heads home. Fate of others charged is unclear
May 25, 2024
The first of several Americans recently charged with possession of ammunition in Turks and Caicos was heading home Friday after getting a suspended 52-week sentence and a $6,700 fine, his representatives said.
American missionaries Davy and Natalie Lloyd were killed in Haiti on Thursday, May 23, family members said.
Missions in Haiti
Three missionaries, including American couple, killed by gang in Haiti
May 25, 2024
Three missionaries, including a married couple from the US, were killed in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, on Thursday evening.
President Ebrahim Raisi attends a meeting at the border of Iran and Azerbaijan on Sunday, May 19, 2024, in a photo released by the Iranian Presidency Office.
Iranian Presidency Office/AP
Helicopter carrying Iranian President Raisi crashes, prompting massive search operation
May 20, 2024
Rescuers are searching for a helicopter that crashed while carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in northern Iran, according to Iranian officials. Raisi’s condition and that of Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, who was also on board, remain unknown as night falls and temperatures drop in the mountainous area.
A U.S. and Niger flag are raised side by side at the base camp for air forces and other personnel supporting the construction of Niger Air Base 201 in Agadez, Niger, April 16, 2018. The United States is attempting to create a new military agreement with Niger that would allow it to remain in the country, weeks after the junta said its presence was no longer justified, two Western officials told The Associated Press Friday April 19, 2024.
Carley Petesch/AP
US reaches agreement with Niger to withdraw military forces by September 15
May 20, 2024
The US has reached an agreement with Niger to withdraw its military forces from the African nation by September 15, according to the US Defense Department and the Nigerien Ministry of National Defense.
Police officers and rescue workers tow a boat with decomposed bodies found by fishermen, near the Vila do Castelo port in Braganca, Para state, Brazil, on April 14, 2024. REUTERS/Oswaldo Forte
Oswaldo Forte/Reuters
20 decomposed bodies found in boat off coast of Brazil
Apr 15, 2024
At least twenty severely decomposed bodies have been found in a boat off the coast of northeastern Brazil, officials say.
Armed members of the G9 and Family gang stand guard at their roadblock in the Delmas 6 neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Monday, March 11.
Odelyn Joseph/AP/File
Only Henry can sign off on Haiti’s transitional council, embattled PM’s office tells CNN
Mar 13, 2024
Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry says his country’s constitution states that only he and his cabinet can appoint a council for the transition of power, Henry’s office told CNN exclusively on Wednesday.
exp haiti pm resign newton lklv FST 031203aSEG01 cnni world_00001528.png
Haiti’s prime minister is resigning. Will that bring calm to the gang-ravaged country?
Mar 12, 2024
Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry has announced his resignation following a meeting of regional Caribbean leaders on Monday – a move that acknowledges recent demands by the country’s unleashed gangs and his unpopularity across much of the country.

About

AnneClaire Stapleton is an award-winning Senior News Editor and Producer based at CNN’s headquarters in Atlanta. She oversees the International Desk’s daily priorities and manages logistics and field teams in breaking news stories. Stapleton has deployed to many breaking news stories in the US and worldwide.

Stapleton produced from the front lines of the Ukraine-Russia war throughout 2022 and produced an exclusive interview with Ukraine’s Minister of Defense in Brussels. She was one of the first international reporting teams to cover the displaced persons’ crisis at Ukraine’s border with Poland in the days immediately after Russia invaded Ukraine. Stapleton and team gained exclusive access to a top-secret evacuation of terminally ill Ukrainian children by train. Stapleton and team went live from Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, as the first humanitarian buses evacuated civilians from Russian-occupied Mariupol.

Stapleton managed breaking news coverage during the 2021 Haitian earthquake and US troop pull out of Afghanistan. She was the first journalist to speak with the family of US citizen Paul Whelan after his arrest in Russia on espionage charges.

Before joining CNN International, Stapleton spent eight years as a News Editor and Producer for CNN Domestic, covering breaking news and US-based stories. Stapleton specialized in reporting in-depth profiles of victims killed and injured in mass terror attacks. Stapleton led the reporting teams dedicated to profiling the victims of the 2015 Paris terror attack, the 2016 Pulse Nightclub shooting, the Brussels terror attack, and the victims of MH17 shot down over Ukraine, among others.

Stapleton’s reporting has spanned hundreds of breaking news events over the years, including the sexual assault of elite gymnasts at the hands of Larry Nassar, the hospitalization of President Jimmy Carter, nationwide Jewish center bomb threats, US Marines nude photo scandal, Kabul university attack, Colorado Planned Parenthood shooting, unrest in Ferguson after a police officer killed unarmed African-American teen Michael Brown, ISIS’s brutal killing of journalists, the raid on polygamist Warren Jeffs compound, the killing of Trayvon Martin, the Casey Anthony trial, among others.

Stapleton has covered many catastrophic weather events, including Hurricanes, Tropical Storms, deadly tornadoes, blizzards, typhoons, earthquakes, avalanches, and floods.

Stapleton and her colleagues won a 2023 duPont-Columbia Award for CNN’s coverage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. She was also part of the CNN team who won a 2010 Peabody Award for the Gulf Oil Spill and a 2011 Peabody Award for reporting on the Arab Spring.

Stapleton has written about her experience as a journalist and military wife during the Covid-19 pandemic. She is deeply committed to reporting on the trials and tribulations of US military families, working parents, and equality.

Stapleton occasionally writes about lighthearted subjects like the battle for bragging rights for Long Island Ice Tea, a tween accidentally running a marathon, bacon-wrapped pizza, prize-winning pumpkins, and a hitchhiking Dave Matthews.

Stapleton joined CNN in 2008 after earning her BA in Journalism and Writing at the University of Central Florida.