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American Morning
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's Surprise Visit to Troops
Aired December 24, 2004 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: And you are on the side of freedom. And that's the side to be on. So god bless each of you. God bless your families. And god bless our wonderful country. And merry, merry Christmas. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: In Mosul, Tikrit, Falluja and now Baghdad, the defense secretary delivers a message to U.S. troops in a surprise visit to Iraq today.
Trapped in the Midwest -- a year's worth of snow in only a few hours. Scores of travelers still stranded on the highway. Now day three.
And home from the war when home will never be the same. One man who is on a mission of rebuilding for others, on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
HEMMER: Good morning, everybody.
Soledad is out today.
Kelly Wallace helping us out here on Christmas Eve.
How are you doing?
KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
HEMMER: Merry Christmas to you.
WALLACE: Merry Christmas.
A busy morning, indeed, on this Christmas Eve.
HEMMER: Yes, that it is, yes.
I'm watching the videotape still coming in from Iraq. The secretary of defense, Donald Rumsfeld, a surprise visit today, spending a lot of time with troops in a lot of different areas, saying he wanted to thank them and told them the mission was achievable. We'll talk about that and also talk with an Army sergeant who had breakfast with the secretary. There she is live. And her thoughts on what it meant to have her boss next to her on Christmas Eve.
WALLACE: Very interesting.
We're looking forward to that, Bill.
Also, as we said, a day before Christmas. So how are merchants feeling this year? We will look at the successes and the failures of the holiday season so far for retailers.
HEMMER: Merry Christmas -- Jack Cafferty.
How are you?
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm good, Bill.
Thanks.
Coming up in the "Cafferty File," from the mission in Iraq to the mission to Mars, we have the images that defined 2004. We'll show you some of the year's most memorable news stories, as seen through the photographers' lens.
HEMMER: Oh, looking forward to that.
WALLACE: That will be great.
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
Daryn Kagan is with us, too, watching the news and the headlines at the top of the hour -- Daryn, good morning.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you, Bill.
Now in the news, dozens of firefighters are now at the scene of the three alarm fire in the Washington, D.C. area. Authorities say the blaze broke out about an hour ago. Taking a look at these pictures coming into us here at CNN, this is a subdivision in suburban Maryland. There are reports of injuries. We're going to have more details as they become available.
In national news, President Bush is pushing ahead with a battle over judicial nominations. Administration officials say the president is planning to renominate 20 candidates to the bench. Senate Democrats had blocked the nominees during the president's first term. The new Congress is scheduled to convene next month.
A chapter in the corruption scandal that has consumed Connecticut state politics for nearly two years may now be near an end. Former Governor John Rowland plead guilty to a single felony charge of corruption involving mail and tax fraud. The one charge, part of a plea bargain that Rowland worked out with prosecutors. Sentencing is scheduled for March.
And come the first of the year, of the new year, the national do not call registry will update a lot faster than it does right now. The FCC is ordering telemarketers to cut the time between when someone signs up for the list and when they stop getting those annoying calls. As it stands now, the process takes about three months. The new rules require registry updates every 31 days. That would be a great present during the dinner hour especially -- Bill.
HEMMER: Yes, indeed it would.
Thank you, Daryn.
KAGAN: Yes.
HEMMER: See you again in about 25 minutes.
KAGAN: You bet.
HEMMER: OK.
Back to the videotape now we're getting from Iraq. In Baghdad now, inside the green zone, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld making his way there. We're seeing this videotape for the first time this morning, just like you are. And as we get more, you'll certainly see it throughout the morning. Secretary Rumsfeld is on the ground there meeting with troops in Tikrit, Falluja, Baghdad and earlier today in the town of Mosul, northern Iraq, which has been in the headlines every day since earlier in the week and that explosion that took place inside the mess hall that killed about 22 on the ground.
Staff Sergeant Christine Andersen of the U.S. Army had breakfast with the secretary today.
She is my guest now live in Mosul.
And we want to welcome you to our program here and Merry Christmas to you on this Christmas Eve.
What was your reaction when the boss shows up there in northern Iraq?
STAFF SGT. CHRISTINE ANDERSEN, U.S. ARMY, TASK FORCE OLYMPIA: I guess, first of all, it was a pretty good surprise because nobody knew about it. And I also want to say Merry Christmas to you all. It's nice to know that we have the support of everyone back home.
HEMMER: What did you talk about?
ANDERSEN: Secretary Rumsfeld talked to some of the soldiers, asking them what their holiday traditions were, things like that; also asked them what their thoughts were about the situation, gave condolences for the losses of the soldiers, things like that.
HEMMER: Did you have an opportunity to ask him questions?
ANDERSEN: Yes. He gave us that opportunity. A couple of soldiers talked about deployment lengths, operational considerations, things like that. And he was very, very in tune to answering the soldiers' questions when, you know, if he had the answers. Otherwise, he told them he would get back to them later.
HEMMER: Yes, Sergeant, did you have a chance personally to fire a question or two? And if so, what was it?
ANDERSEN: I did, in fact, ask him a couple of questions. I asked him about awards policies and different things like that, and how it would affect for soldiers getting recognition in different areas versus Afghanistan or being in Iraq. And he told me that that was a situation that hadn't really been brought up and he didn't -- he wasn't aware of it at the time.
HEMMER: Were you satisfied with the answers you were given today, Sergeant?
ANDERSEN: I was. It seemed that Secretary Rumsfeld took the time to answer the soldiers' questions and he was very open to answering anything that we wanted to know.
HEMMER: Back here in the States for the past two weeks, Secretary Rumsfeld has been under fire from a number of people throughout Washington, including some Republicans. I don't know if you're aware of what happened in Kuwait two weeks ago or this question that was asked about armor on Humvees as they travel north from Kuwait into Iraq.
If you are aware of that, the controversies back here in the U.S., did that come up at all today, Sergeant?
ANDERSEN: I think, it was brought up earlier this morning when Secretary Rumsfeld talked to us. And at that moment he also wanted to reiterate to the soldiers to feel free to ask any questions. He didn't want there to be any inhibitions from soldiers being afraid to ask anything. He was very open to taking any questions about anything.
So it was really a great thing.
HEMMER: Let me go to the mission of the U.S. military there on the ground, with the news from this past week.
Can you give us a sense of the atmosphere now in Mosul as a result of the explosion, the bombing earlier in the week?
ANDERSEN: I think a good summary of the atmosphere itself is that a lot of the soldiers are more aware of their surroundings. They've realized that, you know, we are still in danger and we are still in the process of trying to rebuild Iraq and make it a better and more safe place for the soldiers to be at.
But at the same time, you know, they also realize that we have lost comrades in arms and our condolences do go out to their families.
HEMMER: Indeed they do.
One final question here. Does it make a difference to you and others serving there when you hear reports of a possible suicide bomber getting inside of a mess hall and possibly doing it also wearing an Iraqi National Guard uniform?
ANDERSEN: I think that question could be answered best by summarizing that the base that it happened on is a multinational forces base. So those soldiers are there all the time. So for a soldier to see an Iraqi National Guard soldier there is not an uncommon thing at that place.
HEMMER: Does it give you more hesitation now in working and dealing with Iraqis?
ANDERSEN: I think it just makes -- you have to be more aware, but you have to understand that in order to make this a safer place and free it from, you know, tyranny, that we have to work together and try and make it a better place for all the people that are here.
HEMMER: Where were you when the explosion happened?
ANDERSEN: I was up on a different fob in the same area.
HEMMER: I'm certain that word spread Karl. Quickly.
Staff Sergeant Christine Andersen, thanks for your time this morning. Had breakfast and a tour with Secretary Rumsfeld earlier today. It made for a pretty interesting Christmas, I would say.
Merry Christmas to you and the best to you and the others. And stay safe, certainly.
Thanks.
ANDERSEN: Thank you.
Merry Christmas to you all.
HEMMER: Thank you -- Kelly.
WALLACE: Thanks, Bill, for that.
Another big story today, the weather, especially as millions head out to get with their loved ones for the holidays. In a word, the weather described as wicked. People in the Midwest and as far south as Texas are digging out this morning from a storm that you can say packed a nasty pre-Christmas punch.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
WALLACE (voice-over): The monster storm dumped more than two feet of snow in parts of Indiana. A 50 mile stretch of Interstate 64, from Evansville to the Illinois state line, was shut down, stranding hundreds of motorists, some for nearly 24 hours. The National Guard called out to help those stuck in vehicles get to hotels or Red Cross shelters. Indiana's governor declared a snow emergency in the southern part of the state. The extreme winter weather is being blamed for at least 11 traffic related deaths in four states.
In Cincinnati, the roof of this building collapsed under the weight of the snow. Hundreds of thousands lost power. With snow stretching as far south as Texas and Tennessee, holiday travel has been anything but merry.
JEFF GUEST, HOLIDAY TRAVELER: It took us about eight hours to go about normally a two hour drive and we're trying to make it back to Cincinnati to get home, realized we weren't ever going -- we were never going to get anywhere near home tonight. So we stayed here at the hotel. We've kind of been stranded here in Louisville for the past 24 hours.
WALLACE: The severe weather may also prevent some Christmas packages from being delivered on time. Three of the major shipping companies have posted "weather disruption notices" on their Web sites.
Of course, not everyone is inconvenienced by a sea of white. A record snow can make for a winter wonderland.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
WALLACE: So what's the outlook for today and this holiday weekend?
Let's turn to Chad Myers at the CNN Center -- good morning, Chad.
What's it looking like?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Today is the cleanup day.
Good morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
WALLACE: That cleanup incredible, Chad, as you were saying. More than 100 people stranded in Indiana after that snowstorm.
And Ramika Howard one of those stranded.
She's joining us now from Evansville, Indiana.
Ramika, thanks for being with us.
Good morning to you.
RAMIKA HOWARD, STRANDED ON I-64: Good morning.
WALLACE: We understand that you were on a bus for 20 hours with your three children. That is hard to believe.
Were you scared?
HOWARD: Yes, we were very scared. We didn't know what we was going to do. We didn't know what the kids were going to eat. We were starting to run out of food and water and diapers. WALLACE: That's the thing, you certainly were not expecting, probably, as you were making your way from Las Vegas to Augusta, Georgia, to be stranded on a bus.
I understand that heat was a factor, that the bus had heat, which was good, and that other people got on the bus. Tell us about that.
HOWARD: Yes, we had other people. We had some people from New York that got stranded and got on the bus with us. It was pretty cool. We took up a collection to try to get some food from the store. So everybody helped. Everybody on the bus was nice. But we were still stuck.
WALLACE: You were stuck.
What about food? You were talking about it. I understand possibly some people melting snow for some drinking water.
HOWARD: We had to try to melt snow to put them in the kids' bottles. We had five kids on the bus and they was just running out of water. We had to melt snow.
WALLACE: Now, I understand, again, 20 hours. Were you angry or frustrated with National Guard authorities that it took so long to come and rescue you and your family?
HOWARD: We were angry because we only saw one police and they was giving somebody a ticket. So we were more angry at the police. They hung up on us and stopped answering their phones. We were angry at them.
WALLACE: Now, you're on your way to Georgia.
Are you going to visit with your loved ones? This, of course, a very, very busy time to be on the roads.
HOWARD: Yes, we are going, we're actually moving back to Georgia from Las Vegas now.
WALLACE: So what happens to you now in Indiana? How soon can you be getting on your way and getting back home to Georgia?
HOWARD: Well, they said we were going to leave at like 4:00 this morning, but then they just told us that the streets are closed and we're not going to be able to go no time soon.
WALLACE: All right, a quick piece of advice for anyone heading out on the roads this weekend?
HOWARD: Be safe, over pack food, make sure you're warm, make sure you've got a lot of gas, make sure that you have everything you need because this is no joke.
WALLACE: All right, Ramika Howard, important advice there.
We thank you so much for joining us today and Merry Christmas to you and your family.
HOWARD: Thank you.
Merry Christmas to you.
WALLACE: Bill.
HEMMER: About two hours ago this morning it was minus two real temperature in Evansville, Indiana.
WALLACE: Yes, incredible.
And how to keep those kids, for 20 hours.
HEMMER: Kids on a bus? Running out of diapers?
WALLACE: They're not kids...
HEMMER: No thanks.
If you see my uncle out there, by the way...
WALLACE: That's right.
HEMMER: ... throw him a hand. He was stuck. I don't know if he got home yet. I haven't heard from him.
WALLACE: I saw on CNN's air, Bill's uncle Tom reporting in.
HEMMER: Yes. Yesterday afternoon my uncle and his wife and his daughter got jammed in this stuff.
WALLACE: Twenty-one hours.
HEMMER: Can you imagine that, three days hanging out in the front seat?
Let's get a break here.
In a moment, the FDA and its new warnings on painkillers. How about an ancient remedy for relief? We'll have that for you.
WALLACE: Also, Bill, the holiday numbers don't look so good for retailers. But there is still one important reason to believe they could have a green Christmas.
HEMMER: Also, rebuilding homes and rebuilding spirits -- one man tries to change the lives of America's newest heroes. An incredible story, too.
Back in a moment on Christmas Eve here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Back to Iraq. Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld on a surprise visit there. This is videotape, we understand, in the town of Mosul, presenting a Purple Heart to a wounded member of the U.S. military. We are not making assumptions too far on this, but we believe this soldier was connected with the explosion that occurred in the mess hall earlier in the week.
Secretary Rumsfeld as his visit continues there in Iraq.
We'll get back to that visit in a moment here.
We understand since then he's been in Tikrit, Falluja and now Baghdad.
So back to the secretary's visit in a moment.
Throughout the week here on AMERICAN MORNING, bringing you stories of ordinary Americans determined to lend a hand to those serving in uniform.
Say hello to John Gonsalves.
He's a man with a mission building new lives for disabled veterans.
He's my guest now in Watertown, Massachusetts.
And, John, welcome to our program and good morning to you.
JOHN GONSALVES, FOUNDER, "HOMES FOR OUR TROOPS": Good morning.
Good morning.
HEMMER: I want to share with our viewers what the president had to say a few weeks back about you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In Massachusetts, a contractor named John Gonsalves heard about a soldier who had lost both legs in an RPG attack in Iraq. So he started Homes For Our Troops, a non-profit dedicated to building and adapting homes for disabled veterans with special needs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Not bad when the commander-in-chief mentions your name in front of a national audience.
Congratulations to you.
GONSALVES: Thank you.
HEMMER: Let's start at the beginning. What you need is money to get this job done.
Where are you getting it, John?
GONSALVES: Up until the president's speech, most of the money had just been a grassroots effort. You know, the everyday citizen that comes to our Web site and sends some money. A lot of people have been joining what we call Operation Enduring Support and, you know, signing up to get, you know, make a $100 a month donation and things like that.
But since the president, we have started to get some people like Billy Joel came forward, just gave us $10,000. And, you know, we need about another half a million just with the soldiers we're dealing with now. And I've got to believe that there's corporations and people out there that can start giving us some large sums of money so we can help these families.
HEMMER: Well, tell me about the home that's under construction now. You're building it for a soldier wounded in Iraq.
Who's the soldier and what happened to him?
GONSALVES: His name is Sergeant Peter Damon and he was in Iraq. He's a helicopter mechanic and he was changing a tire on a helicopter. And the guy he was working with from Alabama, Paul Bueche, was killed and it severed both of Peter's arms. And, you know, there's a lot of stories like that and a lot of injured soldiers. So we want to help as many as we can.
HEMMER: Unfortunately, I think you're all too accurate with that answer about the number of soldiers there and the number of Marines, as well.
GONSALVES: Yes.
HEMMER: How is this home special for him, John?
GONSALVES: This particular home will have a keyless entry for him. We'll lower some of the countertop heights. We'll make sure that all the doors have lever type handles instead of round doorknobs, because Peter has hooks. So a lot of things that we may take for granted, you know, a lot of these soldiers are going to need some adaptations. And that's what we're about, specially adapted homes.
HEMMER: What has been his reaction? Or what has been the reaction of others that you can help?
GONSALVES: You know, they're just so grateful to see that, you know, as a country, I think we've learned from the mistakes of the way we treated the Vietnam veterans. And it's a whole new age. And, you know, supporting our troops is not a left thing, it's not a right thing, it's the right thing. This is the right thing to do. These are real people with real families.
HEMMER: Indeed they are.
Thanks for sharing, John Gonsalves up there in Watertown, Massachusetts.
We want to get a plug for your organization in here, too, as well. John, thanks, and have a good weekend, too, and a great holiday.
There's a Web site, homesforourtroops.org. You can head there right now, in fact, if you want more information.
A good story. Special Service.
John, thanks -- Kelly.
WALLACE: A terrific story watching people reach out to others and the troops.
HEMMER: Yes.
WALLACE: Well, a story we've been following throughout the morning here on AMERICAN MORNING, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld giving U.S. troops a surprise for the holidays. So will critics call off the dogs? "Gimme A Minute," coming up.
But first, a little holiday cheer from Rockapella.
Don't go away.
UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS: You'd better watch out, you'd better not cry, you'd better not pout, I'm telling you why. It's AMERICAN MORNING on CNN.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: CNN.
UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS: He's making a list, he's checking it twice, going to find out who's naughty and nice. It's AMERICAN MORNING on CNN. AMERICAN MORNING on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Nothing in there in English?
CAFFERTY: No.
HEMMER: Not a darned thing?
CAFFERTY: Not a single word.
We were just discussing, I got this Christmas gift from the CNN bureau in Japan and I thank you very much for whatever it is. I have no idea what it is...
HEMMER: For whatever it is.
CAFFERTY: ... because when you open it, everything inside is written in Japanese and I barely can handle English. But there is no explanation of here's, from Japan, a famous...
HEMMER: Is there a (UNINTELLIGIBLE) is there a gift?
CAFFERTY: It's just all with the little drawing things and I've got no clue.
WALLACE: Anyone who knows Japanese...
HEMMER: Is there a gift in there or is it just writing?
WALLACE: ... give us a call.
CAFFERTY: Well, yes, I guess. I mean there was some, like some things in there, some stuff, little pegs and a round thing and a little blue and white napkin and a couple of sheets of paper, all with Japanese writing. And I actually had to ask my producer. I said where did this come from? She said oh, that's a gift from the CNN bureau in Japan.
WALLACE: Tough to re-gift that one.
CAFFERTY: Thank you so much.
HEMMER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
CAFFERTY: This actually kind of fits a little bit. We're talking about what's your favorite Christmas memory. This won't be my favorite Christmas memory, but...
HEMMER: But it will be one.
CAFFERTY: I probably will file it away under, you know, in one of the compartments.
Favorite Christmas memory. It doesn't have to be a good memory, just one that sticks out in your mind. We're getting a lot of responses.
Chris in Ottawa writes: "Christmas 1979. I wanted to again make reindeer prints on the roof of our front porch for the kids to marvel at on Christmas morning. As I left with my gear, my wife said, "Break a leg. I did."
Delea in North Vancouver: "After a few too many eggnogs, my father and grandfather would have a two hour discussion on whether the tree was leaning a little too far to the left or a little too far to the right. It would not have been Christmas without them arguing about the Christmas tree. I miss that argument very much."
"1952," Lynn in Oshkosh, Wisconsin: "I was turning 10 in a few days. My brother and I got our first bicycles. The weather was warmish. We biked all over town, feeling the world was ours. I'll never forget the feeling of freedom and exhilaration."
WALLACE: That's wonderful.
CAFFERTY: And Michele writes from Buffalo: "As mom, I don't have Christmas memories. I have trauma induced flashbacks."
HEMMER: Nice stuff.
WALLACE: I think some people can associate with that.
HEMMER: One Christmas several years ago, a girlfriend and I were coming out of a movie, you know, beautiful snowflakes. I mean they were the size of your head, Jack, I mean coming down from the sky. And there was a police officer writing me a ticket. And I said, "What's going on over here?" She said, "You have an expired tag, sir. You've got to re-register."
CAFFERTY: Christmas.
HEMMER: I'm like, you've got nothing else to do, right?
CAFFERTY: Yes.
Merry Christmas.
HEMMER: OK, so I took my ticket, hopped in the car, drove down the street, lights are behind me, right? The cop pulls me over again. I said, "What's going on now?" "You're driving with expired tags. That's another citation."
CAFFERTY: Well, now...
HEMMER: Merry Christmas.
WALLACE: And you impressed that girlfriend now, didn't you?
HEMMER: Oh, yes.
CAFFERTY: I didn't know I was working with a criminal.
WALLACE: We need to hear your favorite Christmas memory.
CAFFERTY: It won't happen.
WALLACE: Why not?
CAFFERTY: Because it's not good for television, that's why not.
HEMMER: 10:01.
WALLACE: All right.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
HEMMER: Winter strikes with a vengeance, we know that. What to expect if you're trying to get home for the holidays in a moment.
Also, overseas, Donald Rumsfeld's surprise visit to Iraq. We're getting more videotape and more questions from the troops throughout the morning. Back to that story and more after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: 8:30 on Christmas Eve.
Hello, everybody, and good morning.
Soledad is out today.
Kelly Wallace is here -- good morning to you.
WALLACE: Good morning.
But Soledad is watching.
HEMMER: Yes, do you think so?
WALLACE: Yes, of course.
HEMMER: With her four kids?
WALLACE: Yes, she is. She e-mailed. Yes, so...
HEMMER: I bet they're bugging the heck out of her for those parents, aren't they?
WALLACE: She's got to. They probably are.
HEMMER: Come on.
WALLACE: Merry Christmas, Soledad.
HEMMER: Yes, indeed.
We've been talking this morning about Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's visit to Iraq and the U.S. troops there. In a few moments, the political side of this equation. Will it help the secretary to smooth things over with his critics back in Washington? A good topic for our "Gimme A Minute" crew. We'll get to that.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired December 24, 2004 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: And you are on the side of freedom. And that's the side to be on. So god bless each of you. God bless your families. And god bless our wonderful country. And merry, merry Christmas. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: In Mosul, Tikrit, Falluja and now Baghdad, the defense secretary delivers a message to U.S. troops in a surprise visit to Iraq today.
Trapped in the Midwest -- a year's worth of snow in only a few hours. Scores of travelers still stranded on the highway. Now day three.
And home from the war when home will never be the same. One man who is on a mission of rebuilding for others, on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
HEMMER: Good morning, everybody.
Soledad is out today.
Kelly Wallace helping us out here on Christmas Eve.
How are you doing?
KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
HEMMER: Merry Christmas to you.
WALLACE: Merry Christmas.
A busy morning, indeed, on this Christmas Eve.
HEMMER: Yes, that it is, yes.
I'm watching the videotape still coming in from Iraq. The secretary of defense, Donald Rumsfeld, a surprise visit today, spending a lot of time with troops in a lot of different areas, saying he wanted to thank them and told them the mission was achievable. We'll talk about that and also talk with an Army sergeant who had breakfast with the secretary. There she is live. And her thoughts on what it meant to have her boss next to her on Christmas Eve.
WALLACE: Very interesting.
We're looking forward to that, Bill.
Also, as we said, a day before Christmas. So how are merchants feeling this year? We will look at the successes and the failures of the holiday season so far for retailers.
HEMMER: Merry Christmas -- Jack Cafferty.
How are you?
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm good, Bill.
Thanks.
Coming up in the "Cafferty File," from the mission in Iraq to the mission to Mars, we have the images that defined 2004. We'll show you some of the year's most memorable news stories, as seen through the photographers' lens.
HEMMER: Oh, looking forward to that.
WALLACE: That will be great.
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
Daryn Kagan is with us, too, watching the news and the headlines at the top of the hour -- Daryn, good morning.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you, Bill.
Now in the news, dozens of firefighters are now at the scene of the three alarm fire in the Washington, D.C. area. Authorities say the blaze broke out about an hour ago. Taking a look at these pictures coming into us here at CNN, this is a subdivision in suburban Maryland. There are reports of injuries. We're going to have more details as they become available.
In national news, President Bush is pushing ahead with a battle over judicial nominations. Administration officials say the president is planning to renominate 20 candidates to the bench. Senate Democrats had blocked the nominees during the president's first term. The new Congress is scheduled to convene next month.
A chapter in the corruption scandal that has consumed Connecticut state politics for nearly two years may now be near an end. Former Governor John Rowland plead guilty to a single felony charge of corruption involving mail and tax fraud. The one charge, part of a plea bargain that Rowland worked out with prosecutors. Sentencing is scheduled for March.
And come the first of the year, of the new year, the national do not call registry will update a lot faster than it does right now. The FCC is ordering telemarketers to cut the time between when someone signs up for the list and when they stop getting those annoying calls. As it stands now, the process takes about three months. The new rules require registry updates every 31 days. That would be a great present during the dinner hour especially -- Bill.
HEMMER: Yes, indeed it would.
Thank you, Daryn.
KAGAN: Yes.
HEMMER: See you again in about 25 minutes.
KAGAN: You bet.
HEMMER: OK.
Back to the videotape now we're getting from Iraq. In Baghdad now, inside the green zone, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld making his way there. We're seeing this videotape for the first time this morning, just like you are. And as we get more, you'll certainly see it throughout the morning. Secretary Rumsfeld is on the ground there meeting with troops in Tikrit, Falluja, Baghdad and earlier today in the town of Mosul, northern Iraq, which has been in the headlines every day since earlier in the week and that explosion that took place inside the mess hall that killed about 22 on the ground.
Staff Sergeant Christine Andersen of the U.S. Army had breakfast with the secretary today.
She is my guest now live in Mosul.
And we want to welcome you to our program here and Merry Christmas to you on this Christmas Eve.
What was your reaction when the boss shows up there in northern Iraq?
STAFF SGT. CHRISTINE ANDERSEN, U.S. ARMY, TASK FORCE OLYMPIA: I guess, first of all, it was a pretty good surprise because nobody knew about it. And I also want to say Merry Christmas to you all. It's nice to know that we have the support of everyone back home.
HEMMER: What did you talk about?
ANDERSEN: Secretary Rumsfeld talked to some of the soldiers, asking them what their holiday traditions were, things like that; also asked them what their thoughts were about the situation, gave condolences for the losses of the soldiers, things like that.
HEMMER: Did you have an opportunity to ask him questions?
ANDERSEN: Yes. He gave us that opportunity. A couple of soldiers talked about deployment lengths, operational considerations, things like that. And he was very, very in tune to answering the soldiers' questions when, you know, if he had the answers. Otherwise, he told them he would get back to them later.
HEMMER: Yes, Sergeant, did you have a chance personally to fire a question or two? And if so, what was it?
ANDERSEN: I did, in fact, ask him a couple of questions. I asked him about awards policies and different things like that, and how it would affect for soldiers getting recognition in different areas versus Afghanistan or being in Iraq. And he told me that that was a situation that hadn't really been brought up and he didn't -- he wasn't aware of it at the time.
HEMMER: Were you satisfied with the answers you were given today, Sergeant?
ANDERSEN: I was. It seemed that Secretary Rumsfeld took the time to answer the soldiers' questions and he was very open to answering anything that we wanted to know.
HEMMER: Back here in the States for the past two weeks, Secretary Rumsfeld has been under fire from a number of people throughout Washington, including some Republicans. I don't know if you're aware of what happened in Kuwait two weeks ago or this question that was asked about armor on Humvees as they travel north from Kuwait into Iraq.
If you are aware of that, the controversies back here in the U.S., did that come up at all today, Sergeant?
ANDERSEN: I think, it was brought up earlier this morning when Secretary Rumsfeld talked to us. And at that moment he also wanted to reiterate to the soldiers to feel free to ask any questions. He didn't want there to be any inhibitions from soldiers being afraid to ask anything. He was very open to taking any questions about anything.
So it was really a great thing.
HEMMER: Let me go to the mission of the U.S. military there on the ground, with the news from this past week.
Can you give us a sense of the atmosphere now in Mosul as a result of the explosion, the bombing earlier in the week?
ANDERSEN: I think a good summary of the atmosphere itself is that a lot of the soldiers are more aware of their surroundings. They've realized that, you know, we are still in danger and we are still in the process of trying to rebuild Iraq and make it a better and more safe place for the soldiers to be at.
But at the same time, you know, they also realize that we have lost comrades in arms and our condolences do go out to their families.
HEMMER: Indeed they do.
One final question here. Does it make a difference to you and others serving there when you hear reports of a possible suicide bomber getting inside of a mess hall and possibly doing it also wearing an Iraqi National Guard uniform?
ANDERSEN: I think that question could be answered best by summarizing that the base that it happened on is a multinational forces base. So those soldiers are there all the time. So for a soldier to see an Iraqi National Guard soldier there is not an uncommon thing at that place.
HEMMER: Does it give you more hesitation now in working and dealing with Iraqis?
ANDERSEN: I think it just makes -- you have to be more aware, but you have to understand that in order to make this a safer place and free it from, you know, tyranny, that we have to work together and try and make it a better place for all the people that are here.
HEMMER: Where were you when the explosion happened?
ANDERSEN: I was up on a different fob in the same area.
HEMMER: I'm certain that word spread Karl. Quickly.
Staff Sergeant Christine Andersen, thanks for your time this morning. Had breakfast and a tour with Secretary Rumsfeld earlier today. It made for a pretty interesting Christmas, I would say.
Merry Christmas to you and the best to you and the others. And stay safe, certainly.
Thanks.
ANDERSEN: Thank you.
Merry Christmas to you all.
HEMMER: Thank you -- Kelly.
WALLACE: Thanks, Bill, for that.
Another big story today, the weather, especially as millions head out to get with their loved ones for the holidays. In a word, the weather described as wicked. People in the Midwest and as far south as Texas are digging out this morning from a storm that you can say packed a nasty pre-Christmas punch.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
WALLACE (voice-over): The monster storm dumped more than two feet of snow in parts of Indiana. A 50 mile stretch of Interstate 64, from Evansville to the Illinois state line, was shut down, stranding hundreds of motorists, some for nearly 24 hours. The National Guard called out to help those stuck in vehicles get to hotels or Red Cross shelters. Indiana's governor declared a snow emergency in the southern part of the state. The extreme winter weather is being blamed for at least 11 traffic related deaths in four states.
In Cincinnati, the roof of this building collapsed under the weight of the snow. Hundreds of thousands lost power. With snow stretching as far south as Texas and Tennessee, holiday travel has been anything but merry.
JEFF GUEST, HOLIDAY TRAVELER: It took us about eight hours to go about normally a two hour drive and we're trying to make it back to Cincinnati to get home, realized we weren't ever going -- we were never going to get anywhere near home tonight. So we stayed here at the hotel. We've kind of been stranded here in Louisville for the past 24 hours.
WALLACE: The severe weather may also prevent some Christmas packages from being delivered on time. Three of the major shipping companies have posted "weather disruption notices" on their Web sites.
Of course, not everyone is inconvenienced by a sea of white. A record snow can make for a winter wonderland.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
WALLACE: So what's the outlook for today and this holiday weekend?
Let's turn to Chad Myers at the CNN Center -- good morning, Chad.
What's it looking like?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Today is the cleanup day.
Good morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
WALLACE: That cleanup incredible, Chad, as you were saying. More than 100 people stranded in Indiana after that snowstorm.
And Ramika Howard one of those stranded.
She's joining us now from Evansville, Indiana.
Ramika, thanks for being with us.
Good morning to you.
RAMIKA HOWARD, STRANDED ON I-64: Good morning.
WALLACE: We understand that you were on a bus for 20 hours with your three children. That is hard to believe.
Were you scared?
HOWARD: Yes, we were very scared. We didn't know what we was going to do. We didn't know what the kids were going to eat. We were starting to run out of food and water and diapers. WALLACE: That's the thing, you certainly were not expecting, probably, as you were making your way from Las Vegas to Augusta, Georgia, to be stranded on a bus.
I understand that heat was a factor, that the bus had heat, which was good, and that other people got on the bus. Tell us about that.
HOWARD: Yes, we had other people. We had some people from New York that got stranded and got on the bus with us. It was pretty cool. We took up a collection to try to get some food from the store. So everybody helped. Everybody on the bus was nice. But we were still stuck.
WALLACE: You were stuck.
What about food? You were talking about it. I understand possibly some people melting snow for some drinking water.
HOWARD: We had to try to melt snow to put them in the kids' bottles. We had five kids on the bus and they was just running out of water. We had to melt snow.
WALLACE: Now, I understand, again, 20 hours. Were you angry or frustrated with National Guard authorities that it took so long to come and rescue you and your family?
HOWARD: We were angry because we only saw one police and they was giving somebody a ticket. So we were more angry at the police. They hung up on us and stopped answering their phones. We were angry at them.
WALLACE: Now, you're on your way to Georgia.
Are you going to visit with your loved ones? This, of course, a very, very busy time to be on the roads.
HOWARD: Yes, we are going, we're actually moving back to Georgia from Las Vegas now.
WALLACE: So what happens to you now in Indiana? How soon can you be getting on your way and getting back home to Georgia?
HOWARD: Well, they said we were going to leave at like 4:00 this morning, but then they just told us that the streets are closed and we're not going to be able to go no time soon.
WALLACE: All right, a quick piece of advice for anyone heading out on the roads this weekend?
HOWARD: Be safe, over pack food, make sure you're warm, make sure you've got a lot of gas, make sure that you have everything you need because this is no joke.
WALLACE: All right, Ramika Howard, important advice there.
We thank you so much for joining us today and Merry Christmas to you and your family.
HOWARD: Thank you.
Merry Christmas to you.
WALLACE: Bill.
HEMMER: About two hours ago this morning it was minus two real temperature in Evansville, Indiana.
WALLACE: Yes, incredible.
And how to keep those kids, for 20 hours.
HEMMER: Kids on a bus? Running out of diapers?
WALLACE: They're not kids...
HEMMER: No thanks.
If you see my uncle out there, by the way...
WALLACE: That's right.
HEMMER: ... throw him a hand. He was stuck. I don't know if he got home yet. I haven't heard from him.
WALLACE: I saw on CNN's air, Bill's uncle Tom reporting in.
HEMMER: Yes. Yesterday afternoon my uncle and his wife and his daughter got jammed in this stuff.
WALLACE: Twenty-one hours.
HEMMER: Can you imagine that, three days hanging out in the front seat?
Let's get a break here.
In a moment, the FDA and its new warnings on painkillers. How about an ancient remedy for relief? We'll have that for you.
WALLACE: Also, Bill, the holiday numbers don't look so good for retailers. But there is still one important reason to believe they could have a green Christmas.
HEMMER: Also, rebuilding homes and rebuilding spirits -- one man tries to change the lives of America's newest heroes. An incredible story, too.
Back in a moment on Christmas Eve here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Back to Iraq. Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld on a surprise visit there. This is videotape, we understand, in the town of Mosul, presenting a Purple Heart to a wounded member of the U.S. military. We are not making assumptions too far on this, but we believe this soldier was connected with the explosion that occurred in the mess hall earlier in the week.
Secretary Rumsfeld as his visit continues there in Iraq.
We'll get back to that visit in a moment here.
We understand since then he's been in Tikrit, Falluja and now Baghdad.
So back to the secretary's visit in a moment.
Throughout the week here on AMERICAN MORNING, bringing you stories of ordinary Americans determined to lend a hand to those serving in uniform.
Say hello to John Gonsalves.
He's a man with a mission building new lives for disabled veterans.
He's my guest now in Watertown, Massachusetts.
And, John, welcome to our program and good morning to you.
JOHN GONSALVES, FOUNDER, "HOMES FOR OUR TROOPS": Good morning.
Good morning.
HEMMER: I want to share with our viewers what the president had to say a few weeks back about you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In Massachusetts, a contractor named John Gonsalves heard about a soldier who had lost both legs in an RPG attack in Iraq. So he started Homes For Our Troops, a non-profit dedicated to building and adapting homes for disabled veterans with special needs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Not bad when the commander-in-chief mentions your name in front of a national audience.
Congratulations to you.
GONSALVES: Thank you.
HEMMER: Let's start at the beginning. What you need is money to get this job done.
Where are you getting it, John?
GONSALVES: Up until the president's speech, most of the money had just been a grassroots effort. You know, the everyday citizen that comes to our Web site and sends some money. A lot of people have been joining what we call Operation Enduring Support and, you know, signing up to get, you know, make a $100 a month donation and things like that.
But since the president, we have started to get some people like Billy Joel came forward, just gave us $10,000. And, you know, we need about another half a million just with the soldiers we're dealing with now. And I've got to believe that there's corporations and people out there that can start giving us some large sums of money so we can help these families.
HEMMER: Well, tell me about the home that's under construction now. You're building it for a soldier wounded in Iraq.
Who's the soldier and what happened to him?
GONSALVES: His name is Sergeant Peter Damon and he was in Iraq. He's a helicopter mechanic and he was changing a tire on a helicopter. And the guy he was working with from Alabama, Paul Bueche, was killed and it severed both of Peter's arms. And, you know, there's a lot of stories like that and a lot of injured soldiers. So we want to help as many as we can.
HEMMER: Unfortunately, I think you're all too accurate with that answer about the number of soldiers there and the number of Marines, as well.
GONSALVES: Yes.
HEMMER: How is this home special for him, John?
GONSALVES: This particular home will have a keyless entry for him. We'll lower some of the countertop heights. We'll make sure that all the doors have lever type handles instead of round doorknobs, because Peter has hooks. So a lot of things that we may take for granted, you know, a lot of these soldiers are going to need some adaptations. And that's what we're about, specially adapted homes.
HEMMER: What has been his reaction? Or what has been the reaction of others that you can help?
GONSALVES: You know, they're just so grateful to see that, you know, as a country, I think we've learned from the mistakes of the way we treated the Vietnam veterans. And it's a whole new age. And, you know, supporting our troops is not a left thing, it's not a right thing, it's the right thing. This is the right thing to do. These are real people with real families.
HEMMER: Indeed they are.
Thanks for sharing, John Gonsalves up there in Watertown, Massachusetts.
We want to get a plug for your organization in here, too, as well. John, thanks, and have a good weekend, too, and a great holiday.
There's a Web site, homesforourtroops.org. You can head there right now, in fact, if you want more information.
A good story. Special Service.
John, thanks -- Kelly.
WALLACE: A terrific story watching people reach out to others and the troops.
HEMMER: Yes.
WALLACE: Well, a story we've been following throughout the morning here on AMERICAN MORNING, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld giving U.S. troops a surprise for the holidays. So will critics call off the dogs? "Gimme A Minute," coming up.
But first, a little holiday cheer from Rockapella.
Don't go away.
UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS: You'd better watch out, you'd better not cry, you'd better not pout, I'm telling you why. It's AMERICAN MORNING on CNN.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: CNN.
UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS: He's making a list, he's checking it twice, going to find out who's naughty and nice. It's AMERICAN MORNING on CNN. AMERICAN MORNING on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Nothing in there in English?
CAFFERTY: No.
HEMMER: Not a darned thing?
CAFFERTY: Not a single word.
We were just discussing, I got this Christmas gift from the CNN bureau in Japan and I thank you very much for whatever it is. I have no idea what it is...
HEMMER: For whatever it is.
CAFFERTY: ... because when you open it, everything inside is written in Japanese and I barely can handle English. But there is no explanation of here's, from Japan, a famous...
HEMMER: Is there a (UNINTELLIGIBLE) is there a gift?
CAFFERTY: It's just all with the little drawing things and I've got no clue.
WALLACE: Anyone who knows Japanese...
HEMMER: Is there a gift in there or is it just writing?
WALLACE: ... give us a call.
CAFFERTY: Well, yes, I guess. I mean there was some, like some things in there, some stuff, little pegs and a round thing and a little blue and white napkin and a couple of sheets of paper, all with Japanese writing. And I actually had to ask my producer. I said where did this come from? She said oh, that's a gift from the CNN bureau in Japan.
WALLACE: Tough to re-gift that one.
CAFFERTY: Thank you so much.
HEMMER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
CAFFERTY: This actually kind of fits a little bit. We're talking about what's your favorite Christmas memory. This won't be my favorite Christmas memory, but...
HEMMER: But it will be one.
CAFFERTY: I probably will file it away under, you know, in one of the compartments.
Favorite Christmas memory. It doesn't have to be a good memory, just one that sticks out in your mind. We're getting a lot of responses.
Chris in Ottawa writes: "Christmas 1979. I wanted to again make reindeer prints on the roof of our front porch for the kids to marvel at on Christmas morning. As I left with my gear, my wife said, "Break a leg. I did."
Delea in North Vancouver: "After a few too many eggnogs, my father and grandfather would have a two hour discussion on whether the tree was leaning a little too far to the left or a little too far to the right. It would not have been Christmas without them arguing about the Christmas tree. I miss that argument very much."
"1952," Lynn in Oshkosh, Wisconsin: "I was turning 10 in a few days. My brother and I got our first bicycles. The weather was warmish. We biked all over town, feeling the world was ours. I'll never forget the feeling of freedom and exhilaration."
WALLACE: That's wonderful.
CAFFERTY: And Michele writes from Buffalo: "As mom, I don't have Christmas memories. I have trauma induced flashbacks."
HEMMER: Nice stuff.
WALLACE: I think some people can associate with that.
HEMMER: One Christmas several years ago, a girlfriend and I were coming out of a movie, you know, beautiful snowflakes. I mean they were the size of your head, Jack, I mean coming down from the sky. And there was a police officer writing me a ticket. And I said, "What's going on over here?" She said, "You have an expired tag, sir. You've got to re-register."
CAFFERTY: Christmas.
HEMMER: I'm like, you've got nothing else to do, right?
CAFFERTY: Yes.
Merry Christmas.
HEMMER: OK, so I took my ticket, hopped in the car, drove down the street, lights are behind me, right? The cop pulls me over again. I said, "What's going on now?" "You're driving with expired tags. That's another citation."
CAFFERTY: Well, now...
HEMMER: Merry Christmas.
WALLACE: And you impressed that girlfriend now, didn't you?
HEMMER: Oh, yes.
CAFFERTY: I didn't know I was working with a criminal.
WALLACE: We need to hear your favorite Christmas memory.
CAFFERTY: It won't happen.
WALLACE: Why not?
CAFFERTY: Because it's not good for television, that's why not.
HEMMER: 10:01.
WALLACE: All right.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
HEMMER: Winter strikes with a vengeance, we know that. What to expect if you're trying to get home for the holidays in a moment.
Also, overseas, Donald Rumsfeld's surprise visit to Iraq. We're getting more videotape and more questions from the troops throughout the morning. Back to that story and more after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: 8:30 on Christmas Eve.
Hello, everybody, and good morning.
Soledad is out today.
Kelly Wallace is here -- good morning to you.
WALLACE: Good morning.
But Soledad is watching.
HEMMER: Yes, do you think so?
WALLACE: Yes, of course.
HEMMER: With her four kids?
WALLACE: Yes, she is. She e-mailed. Yes, so...
HEMMER: I bet they're bugging the heck out of her for those parents, aren't they?
WALLACE: She's got to. They probably are.
HEMMER: Come on.
WALLACE: Merry Christmas, Soledad.
HEMMER: Yes, indeed.
We've been talking this morning about Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's visit to Iraq and the U.S. troops there. In a few moments, the political side of this equation. Will it help the secretary to smooth things over with his critics back in Washington? A good topic for our "Gimme A Minute" crew. We'll get to that.
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