Anderson Cooper expresses his gratitude

By Cindy Clark, USA TODAY

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Kathy Griffin posted this photo on her Facebook page and got more than 17,000 likes. (Credit: By Kathy Griffin, Facebook)

Anderson Cooper made big headlines on Monday, when for the first time he publicly acknowledged he is gay. And today the always-on-the-go CNN journalist is thanking well-wishers via Twitter:

I appreciate all the nice tweets. I am in Botswana working but want to wish everyone a great 4th of July!

Among those wishing him well on Facebook was New Year's Eve pal Kathy Griffin, who wrote: "Here I am with my friend Anderson Cooper, who I'm so proud of." The photo has been "liked" by almost 100,000 people.