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CNN Live Sunday
Pope's First Christmas Address; Bush and Analysts Differ On His Year; One Dead, One Injured Off California Coast; Discrimination Against The Unmarried; Classic Christmas Tunes; Alaskan Bridge To Nowhere; Digital Camera Buying Tips; Tsunami Cleanup Slow And Painful; Post-Tsunami Baby Boom; Grandparents Who Raise Grandkids May Get Aid
Aired December 25, 2005 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: In this hour, you are going to see how Christians all over the world are celebrating the birth of Christ and lighting the candles. Hanukkah celebrations starting at sundown today, not only in Israel but in places you might not have guessed.
And then we are going to take you to Banda Aceh, Indonesia where people remember the tsunami disaster one year later.
Plus, all I want for Christmas and other favorite songs of the season. Ever wonder how they come up with those lyrics? Hello and welcome to CNN LIVE SUNDAY. I'm Carol Lin. All that and more after this quick check of the headlines.
And it was a deadly Christmas day for U.S. soldiers in Iraq. Two were killed in explosive attacks in Baghdad.
And in northern Japan, rescue crews are trying to free several people trapped in the wreckage of a derailed express train. Two passengers are dead. Dozens are injured. Strong winter winds are suspected of causing the cars to topple off the tracks.
And on a lighter note, you have to wait an extra second to ring in 2006. Scientists are adding a leap second, a last minute of 2005. The tweak will make up for changes in the earth's rotation. Scientists started adding extra seconds back in 1972.
To our top story now. It is a day of peace, presents and joy for millions of people around the world. Christians are celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. And at the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI delivered his first Christmas address as pontiff. Thousands of pilgrims filled the rainy St. Peter Square to hear his message. The pope said the world must come together to ensure peace.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POPE BENEDICT XVI (through translator): A united humanity will be able to confront the many troubling problems at the present time. From the menace of terrorism to the humiliating poverty in which millions of human beings live, from the proliferation of weapons, to the pandemics and the environmental destruction which threaten the future of our planet.
(END VIDEO CLIP) LIN: Now here in the U.S., the faithful gathered in churches across the country to celebrate Christmas. The Washington National Cathedral was among those holding services. The bishop of Washington told the congregation to remember the real meaning of the day and he said it's a time to remind people that miracles really can and do happen.
Today also marks something that's happened only four times in the last 100 years. The first night of Hanukkah falls on Christmas day. Jews around the world are celebrating the festival of lights. Families in Israel began the holiday with an unusual warning though. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon fresh from a health scare is advising them not to overeat.
In Moscow, hundreds of people gathered near the Kremlin to light a 24-foot menorah. And how do you say happy Hanukkah in Chinese? Well, for the first time ever, the festival was celebrated at the Great Wall of China. Organizers say it's a way to mark the friendship between the Jewish and Chinese people.
Now thousands of Americans are celebrating Hanukkah and Christmas in Iraq. U.S. troops are trying to bring some holiday spirit and cheer to the war zone. At Camp Victory for example in Baghdad, about 200 soldiers attended mass at the warrior chapel.
Elsewhere at the base, army officers dressed as Santa and his reindeer pulled you might say a military version of a sleigh, a specially decorated Humvee. Now for many U.S. troops, it's their second Christmas in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion back in March of 2003.
And President Bush and the first family ate a Christmas day lunch at Camp David in Maryland. So you want to know what's on the menu? We've got it. Herb roasted free range turkey, corn bread dressing, mashed potatoes and green beans and of course let's not forget desert, sweet potato souffle and cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, pecan pie and red velvet cake. Now we understand the president gave the first lady some jewelry for Christmas and a CD/DVD player for their Crawford ranch. Mrs. Bush gave her husband biking gear and some clothes and a book.
So the president may be looking back on 2005 and taking stock of the highs and the lows. But his take on the year's events doesn't always match what some political experts think. White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux has that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): While President Bush summed up the year this way...
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This has been a year of strong progress toward a freer, more peaceful world and a prosperous America.
MALVEAUX: ... some political analysts have a dramatically different take.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This was a grueling and brutal year for the president.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you look at the year in toto, it's been a bad one for him.
MALVEAUX: Last November when President Bush seized the White House for his second term, he declared his 51 percent win a mandate and projected an air of invincibility.
BUSH: I earned capital in the campaign, political capital and now I intend to spend it.
MALVEAUX: Early on, he did have a series of legislative successes with agreements on free trade, energy and transportation. But by midyear, the centerpiece of his domestic agenda, Social Security reform failed. As gas prices rose, Mr. Bush's approval numbers fell.
And during his normally quiet summer vacation, Mr. Bush didn't get a break as protest mom Cindy Sheehan kept the heat on outside his Texas ranch, calling for U.S. troops to come home. Hurricane Katrina roared through the Gulf coast and overwhelmed the administration.
DAVID GERGEN, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER: That really was I think a moment of extreme disappointment for a lot of Americans.
MALVEAUX: In September, the president pushed through his new Supreme Court chief justice, but October brought more bad news. From Iraq, a grim milestone of 2,000 Americans dead. In Washington, the indictment and resignation of one of his top advisers, Scooter Libby stemming from the CIA leak investigation. And at the White House, his Supreme Court pick Harriet Miers forced to withdraw after conservatives pulled their support.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: The president suffered an almost uninterrupted series of reversals and missteps in 2005.
MALVEAUX: Even overseas, in November, Mr. Bush was bombarded from South America and Asia with questions over his administration's positions on secret detention sites and torture.
GERGEN: A pattern of secrecy, a pattern of perceived or alleged abuse that has really troubled an awful lot of Americans.
MALVEAUX: December's landmark elections in Iraq are now overshadowed by the controversy over whether Mr. Bush overstepped his bounds in authorizing a secret domestic spy program. Heading for the holidays, Mr. Bush seemed to acknowledge the challenges ahead.
BUSH: We've got a lot of work to do.
MALVEAUX: Political analysts say Mr. Bush is poised for a comeback.
GERGEN: We have a weakened president but a president is not on the ropes. There's plenty of fight left in this fellow.
BROWNSTEIN: Bloody but unbowed, they feel that they are in a position to begin to recover in 2006.
MALVEAUX: Part of that recovery will be to win modest legislative victories and to also get his Supreme Court pick confirmed. Both Bush aides and political analysts agree, the wildcard will be Iraq. Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Well, it may seem quiet out there on this Christmas day, but motorists are actually packing the highways. What kind of weather are they encountering? Everybody's trying to get home Monica. Let's see what's in the holiday forecast.
(WEATHER REPORT)
LIN: All right. Thanks, Monica. You know, Monica's been telling us about the wild weather out west and storm swells now are so dangerous off the California coast, beach-goers are being warned to stay out of the water. One person died in the rough surf and another man is missing. Our Kareen Wynter has that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): California living in December? The surf, the sun, an early Christmas present for some beach-goers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's nothing like it, just the feeling of paddling on a wave, catching it. It's unbelievable.
WYNTER: Riding high on monster waves, at times 10 to 15 feet high, double and triple the norm. The conditions out here have calmed significantly but just a couple days ago, the waves were much more spectacular. It proved not only destructive, but also fatal for one surfer. His body found floating in the water off the coast of Carlsbad, California.
Officials say the 36-year old man drowned after he suffered a seizure. They're not sure the seizure was brought on because of the rough surf. Four boaters were also stranded in the choppy waters of Ventura harbor when their vessel capsized. One young man is still missing.
SR. DEP. KEVIN DONAHUE, VENTURA CO. SHERIFF'S DEPT: The advisories are out there and the warnings are out there. It's up to people to heed those advisory - heed those warnings.
JOHN STOCKWELL, SURFER: I don't think anything will keep a surfer out of the water. I mean you could have a shark attack and you know, five minutes later everyone's back in the water surfing.
WYNTER: You didn't have to go in the water to get hurt. A woman walking along a bike path broke her leg after the rough waves from a strong current knocked her down. The surf also battered beaches and damaged piers. Officials say these sand berms along the coastline should minimize potential flooding when the surf is expected to pick up again next week. David Eiseman can't wait. He's already had a bumpy ride.
DAVID EISEMAN, SURFER: It was a pretty big wave out there. I mean I got swamped a lot. It was a hard surf. It was really for the experts.
WYNTER: Surf Dawn Miller is also waiting for the next big rush.
DAWN MILLER, SURFER: That's what life's about. Life's about taking risks and taking chances.
WYNTER: Despite the ever-present danger in this southern California winter sport. Kareen Wynter, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Stay safe out there.
All right. We've got a story about saying together forever but saying no to the institution of marriage. We're going to explore a trend which is gaining ground in America. This story ahead. Plus, the bridge to nowhere is back. It might not make sense to some, but you could wind up paying for it anyway.
And then a little later, revisiting Banda Aceh one year after the devastating tsunami in south Asia, a region in recovery mode.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: In news across America now, New York is evicting the boys choir of Harlem from the school where it practices for free. The department of education says the group hasn't fulfilled an agreement to find a new chief executive. That person was to replace the choir's founder who allegedly ignored reports of sexual abuse. The choir is also facing million of dollars of debt.
And an Oregon surfer is recovering a day after being attacked by a shark. Authorities say the man was bitten on the ankle and calf. He lost a lot of blood but was conscious and alert. Witnesses describe the shark as a 10-foot great white.
Every Sunday at this time, we bring you the best of CNN. We begin with what's seen as a seismic shift for singles. Unmarried adults are emerging as a powerful new majority in America. But is it exacting a price? Many unattached Americans say they are becoming the targets of discrimination. Here's CNN's Randi Kaye.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Blythe Collier and Bob Simpson have been together 18 years. They live together, own a business together and are blissfully in love.
BOB SIMPSON, UNMARRIED: I met Collie. She's someone I wanted to spend my life with.
KAYE: But Bob and Blythe aren't married, nor do they have any plans to ever get married.
BLYTHE COLLIER, UNMARRIED: Have you priced wedding dresses lately? Oh, my God. It's like, why would you want to spend that kind of money.
KAYE: Is this at all somewhat of a protest, this not getting married business?
COLLIER: For me it is a little. I'm nobody's property. I belong to me.
KAYE: But don't you belong somewhat?
COLLIER: I belong to me.
SIMPSON: There are a lot of people that say they're committed because they're married and then they're divorced at two years, five years or 10.
KAYE: Bob and Blythe are part of the 86 million single adults beginning to define a new majority in America. Already unmarrieds make up 42 percent of the workforce, 40 percent of home buyers, 35 percent of voters and are one of the most potent consumer groups out there. Yet they say they face mass discrimination in almost every one of those areas.
When Bob Simpson lost his job, Blythe Collier lost her health benefits. Because they are unmarried, she would no longer be covered under Bob's supplemental insurance. Dorian Solot and Marshall Miller, founders of the Alternatives to Marriage project hear stories like that every day.
DORIAN SOLOT, ALTERNATIVES TO MARRIAGE PROJ: People who have lost their jobs or have been refused promotions because they're not married.
KAYE: Solot and Miller founded the group after they say they experienced discrimination.
SOLOT: Not being able to get joint health insurance, to having trouble renting an apartment together to being charged twice as much for tenant's insurance.
KAYE: Singles don't just feel discriminated against in the private sector but at the Federal level too.
MARSHALL MILLER, ALTERNATIVES TO MARRIAGE PROJ: I don't think married couples should get tax breaks. I don't think unmarried people should get tax breaks. I think the tax code should have nothing to do with marital status.
KAYE: But it does. Marital status can also impact getting a gym membership, renter's insurance, even mortgages. Unmarried workers pay the same Social Security as married workers, yet their partners won't receive survivor benefits. Insurance companies charge higher rates to unmarrieds because most states allow marital status to be used as a rating for setting premiums. And unmarried people are not eligible for family health coverage for their partners or families.
TOM COLEMAN, UNMARRIED AMERICA: Private sector employers wake up and smell the roses, unmarried America is here.
KAYE: Tom Coleman is the executive director of Unmarried America, a lobby group that fights for rights for singles.
COLEMAN: Federal law does not prohibit marital status discrimination in employment or housing. So when we go knocking on the doors of these Federal agencies, they can't help us.
DAVID POPENOE, NATIONAL MARRIAGE INSTITUTE: Married couples raise children and society is very interested in having children raised well because they're our future.
KAYE: Dr. David Popenoe of the National Marriage Institute promotes marriage and studies how its perceived imbalance is affecting society. Popenoe argues that married people are in effect being discriminated against.
POPENOE: The single people are getting away scot-free. They're going to when they're 70 benefit from somebody else's kids paying their Social Security benefits and probably they ought to have to pay double.
KAYE: But Tom Coleman disagrees.
COLEMAN: A single person who dies a month before they retire, everything that they have paid into Social Security evaporates. They cannot leave anything to a survivor or beneficiary.
KAYE: Social discrimination also exists even among family members. Blythe and Bob after nearly two decades together are still treated like teenagers.
COLLIER: There are a couple of visits where I think my father made sure that we slept in different rooms but he got over it after awhile. A couple years later, when we came back for another visit, we were in the same room with twin beds and we looked it and we looked at each other and we said, shut the door and we just pushed the beds together.
KAYE: Some things you find a way to change, some things you find a way around. Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Your tax dollars could soon put a bridge to nowhere on the map. Straight ahead, the debate surrounding this $600 million project. Plus, new life in the midst of destruction. We are going to show you how families are trying to move forward one year after the devastating tsunami. But before we do all that, all this hour, we are taking a closer look at the songs of the season. Right now, a standard that stands out among all those you're hearing on the radio right now. It's among the first to put a little rock n roll into Christmas. Here's our Kyra Phillips.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a song that will get your feet tapping and your body swaying without any help from eggnog or massive amounts of candy canes. A holiday party just wouldn't be complete without "Rocking Around the Christmas Tree," one of the most popular tunes of the season.
But you may not realize the incredible voice singing about pumpkin pie and everyone dancing merrily belongs to a teenager. Brenda Lee was still weeks away from her 14th birthday when she recorded the classic in the fall of 1958. Song writer Johnny Marks (ph), the man behind "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" and "Holly Jolly Christmas" came up with the infectious music and lyrics.
But incredibly, "Rocking Around the Christmas Tree" didn't make a big impression when it was first released. It finally became a hit in 1960. Forty five years later, it's hard to imagine the holiday season without it. More than three dozen artists have covered the song including Leann Rhimes, Mary J. Blige, and Sheryl Crowe. It's hard to top the original version and the original voice.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: This next best of CNN story is about your tax dollars. Millions are slated for construction of a so-called bridge to nowhere. It would connect Anchorage, Alaska to a place where no one lives. It's a story we first brought to you on "ANDERSON COOPER 360." Here's our Joe Johns.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Remember the bridges to nowhere, those wildly expensive bridges powerful Alaska politicians tried to get? The stakes were enormous. Hundreds of millions of your tax dollars for those bridges and they were going to build one of them here. This is that nowhere. Anyway, most people thought the bridges got killed in a huge congressional showdown, but guess what? They're back.
Thanks to a decision by Alaska's governor to revive the projects, one of which would go here and connect Anchorage to an unpopulated and isolated swathe of land known as Point Mackenzie over there. Keeping them honest, we decided to ask some of the people who have a dog in this fight whether the project is worth the $600 million price tag.
First the obvious, Point Mackenzie is out of the way and hard to get to despite being just across the water from the city. The city of Anchorage looks close but getting there to here is actually a two-hour drive right now. You have to go all the way around the inlet. A two-hour trip past the Air Force base, spectacular mountain ranges, a town and developments and finally a snow-covered road down into wilderness. The place critics have called nowhere. But real estate broker Darcie Salmon, one of the bridge project's biggest local promoters says the future will look much different.
DARCIE SALMON, BRIDGE BOOSTER: Over here we can offer half acre, acre lots, private well, private septic, recreational lakes, rivers, streams, snow machine. They're going to want to come here.
JOHNS: Try telling that to Janelle Walton who lives across the water just a few paces from the Anchorage end of the bridge. The bridge would not go through your back yard. It wouldn't take your house but it would take the very next house.
JANELLE WALTON, BRIDGE OPPONENT: Yes, I would be wishing it would take my house because it would be so close, it would be unbearable for us.
JOHNS: She sees no reason for it except to massage some big political egos.
WALTON: To satisfy some representative's ego so that he has a bridge named after him. I mean really that's the gist of it. It's going to be Don Young's way.
JOHNS: Congressman Don Young of Alaska of course is the powerful chairman of the House Transportation Committee. He vigorously defends the project and the money Congress originally set aside to help build it.
REP. DON YOUNG (R) TRANSPORTATION CHAIRMAN: As far as my bridge goes, the state's not about to give that money up.
JOHNS: But at the end of the day, it's a question of priorities and critics say using federal dollars to pay for a bridge to a place that is for the most part unpopulated is well, a bridge too far. Joe Johns, CNN, Point Mackenzie, Alaska.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: This is the eve of the tsunami anniversary in south Asia. So we're going to take you to Banda Aceh where the disaster victims try to rebuild their families. Also ahead, they're stepping in when parents cannot do the job. More and more, grandparents are raising kids, often with no financial help. So should the government step in?
And for all of you young and old out there, we are going to explore the roots of one of the most beloved Christmas tunes ever.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: If you're still shopping for a camera and thinking of going digital, how do you decide what to buy and how many megapixels do you really need? In this edition of Techno-file, our technology correspondent Daniel Sieberg gets some expert advice. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Reporter: using a digital camera has become, well, relatively easy but choosing one, well, that can be pretty tough. So joining us now is the always photogenic Brian Cooley from cnet.com.
Brian, we've got a few cameras to talk about here. So many on the market. This first one a little bigger than the others and five megapixels. Now, what does that mean in the megapixel world?
BRIAN COOLEY, CNET.COM: Five megapixels, the new coin of the realm, it's the new sweet spot. And I don't think it's going to move off of that very soon. Four or I've is the right camera at the right price. Anything less you might not be able to make the size you like. Anything more than you're probably wasting money.
So this is a camera by Canon. This is the A610 by canon. Part of their long-running Powershot series. Two things I like about it is, first of all, it is a handful like you mentioned. For a lot of folks, it just feels better. Small is harder to hold and easier to drop.
It's got a flip-out display as you were using a minute ago. And that's nice because you can rotate it when you move the camera high and low. But I love this about it. Check it out. If you open the battery door, you get the now rare standard battery capacity.
SIEBERG: Plain old AA batteries.
COOLEY: AA. You run out of power on vacation, go get some more batteries instead of having to have a proprietary battery that you always have to charge. That to me is a big recommender on this, especially as a travel camera.
SIEBERG: All right, this next one, the name people might remember the film maker ...
COOLEY: Fuji. Now it's Fuji Film and this is their series called the Finepix. It's a very slim camera. You can see. A nice shirt pocket camera. But look at this thing. On the back, almost all monitor. Great big display and great for sharing photos between a couple of people.
If I were to give you a slide show right here, it would look really good. You open up this door. It's very slick the way it opens up. It does have a zoom because the lens doesn't move but it has mirrors inside that move. It's the latest technology. And this is a nice camera. Also at about 300 bucks like the Powershot.
SIEBERG: All right. The next one though, there are a lot of cameras in cell phones in cameras these days but they are not always great quality. This one, though, not bad.
COOLEY: Not bad. This is a Sony Ericsson W800I. You see a phone on one side. But then I flip it over, and you see a camera. I open the lens that way. Two megapixel camera. Definitely far less than the four to five we normally recommend. But for a lot of snapshot people who aren't going to print, they're just going to email and post to the Web, that's ample. And it's one device. These are about $400 plus, but it varies with activation.
SIEBERG: All right. Brian Cooley with CNN. Thanks so much for helping us out.
COOLEY: You bet.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Pope Benedict XVI calls for humanity to unite to combat terrorism and poverty. It's his first Christmas address as the new pontiff. Benedict calls for concrete action to bring peace to the Middle East, to Sudan and to the Korean peninsula.
Around the world, the Jewish community is celebrating Hanukkah. In Jerusalem, musicians played traditional melodies. A choir sang holiday songs and people gathered for the candle lighting ceremony.
And a first in China. Hanukkah is being celebrated at the Great Wall. Israeli diplomats and a small Jewish community from Beijing lit first candle of the menorah. The Israeli ambassador described the moment as historic.
Now in, South Asia, people commemorate the first anniversary of the deadly tsunami. In Southern Thailand, many foreigners are among those holding a vigil for those killed. Thousands of tourists in Thailand's resorts were killed in the tsunami.
December 26th marks one year since that tsunami struck. The recovery is slow and painful. Our Atika Shubert filed this report from Banda Aceh, Indonesia. It was one of the worst hit areas.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A year ago, Aceh's great mosque behind me was standing in a sea of debris and destruction. Now that has all been cleared away, and the city around it is finally being rebuilt. This area was hardest hit in the disaster. More than 160,000 people were killed here. More than half a million people made homeless. Now Aceh has slowly been rebuilding, about 20,000 new homes have either been built or are under construction.
But unfortunately, it is just not enough. Less than 20 percent of those displaced in the disaster have been able to find new, permanent homes, and about 60,000 people are still living in tents. A situation that aide workers here say is unacceptable and the last few days we have been able to talk to survivors, we talked to one man who was still living in a tent who lost his wife and two daughters.
But he is trying to built a house out of tsunami scrap wood for the family members that remain. We also talked to people who were lucky enough to find permanent housing, and every one of these people is eager to rebuild Aceh and rebuild it not just to the way it was but actually to make Aceh a better place than it was before the tsunami. So clearly, one year later, still, a lot of resilience and hope here in Aceh.
Atika Shubert, CNN, Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Well, thousands of children were lost in the tsunami and strange as it may sound, it led to a baby boom in at least one community. Experts say that isn't unusual. It's human nature. Parents who lost children now want more. ITV's John Irvine has that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN IRVINE, REPORTER, ITV NEWS (voice-over): He's less than a minute old. After all the misery and grief, the cry of new life is not only cherished here, but eagerly sought. One year on, and Banda Aceh is enjoying a baby boom.
The doctor said that sheer human instinct persuaded couples who had lost children in the tsunami to have more. But many of the newcomers have not been born to an easy life.
The tsunami made 600,000 people here homeless. In this camp, we find Kuz Mayata (ph) and her 3 week-old baby. Her two other children were killed by the wave.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We decided to have a baby as soon as possible because we tried to move on. But sometimes the sadness struck me when I remember those two kids that were lost.
IRVINE: Among the problems here is that land on which thousands of homes once stood is now either seabed or uninhabitable swamp. That said, reconstruction is gathering pace where possible, and the experts are satisfied that the world's largest charitable donation is not being squandered.
DOUG KEATING, OXFAM: We are very happy with the relationships we have, where the money's being spent. We are rigorously audited by outside auditors internally. And I think really the work is going on.
Look behind you. The job is getting done, and I can confidently say that to people.
IRVINE: Off the southwestern coast, fishermen are back at sea. In pulverized villages, mosques that were structural sole survivors no longer stand alone.
This one is used as a kindergarten, although there are few children. The teacher doesn't talk about the tsunami, and the boys don't ask.
Nearby, mass graves, a callous necessity a year ago, are now neat and tended. Fitting memorials at the heart of small communities where people are trying to make the most of having lived.
What they went through is so cataclysmic the rest of us still find it unimaginable.
(on camera): There are pictures of the tsunami coming ashore in Thailand and elsewhere. But none from here, in Indonesia.
So how big was it? Well, look at the evidence. This tree is one of very few left standing here. The tsunami ripped off most of its branches. By my reckoning, that makes the wave at least 70 feet high at this particular point.
(voice-over): In terms of infrastructure, it will take years to undo what the tsunami did. Six thousand miles of road were destroyed, although this one, the coastal highway, is manageable once more, even if it does now follow a different path.
Retracing the steps of a year ago, we return to the remnants of another village. Last December, we couldn't discover its name, for there was nobody to ask. But incredibly, there were survivors in Karang (ph), and a few of them have come back to new homes on a hillside.
It was by running to higher ground that this woman escaped the wave. She said her 4-year-old son was washed away, never to be seen again. By contrast, this little boy was the only survivor of his family. His adoptive parents who lost four of their own have named him Rahmed (ph). It means blessing. He's a miracle child in the land of the world's worst recorded natural disaster.
And at the end of year one, post-tsunami, those who have come through it are coping as well as anybody could have hoped.
John Irvine, ITV News, Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Coming up tomorrow at 8 p.m. Eastern, Paula Zahn reports on Asian tsunami one year later. There will be extensive reports from correspondents in the region and a closer look at the recovery effort. That's "PAULA ZAHN NOW," tomorrow at 8 p.m. Eastern, 5 Pacific.
It's happening more and more. Children being raised by grandparents. So, should those grandparents get financial help from the government? Leaders in one city say yes. That story ahead.
Plus ...
(MUSIC)
LIN: A musical salute to the toothless kid in all of us. But first, another song of the season. This one is a holiday favorite we can't stop humming. Here's Kyra Phillips.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: If you enjoy parties for hosting and marshmallows for toasting and much mistletoeing ...
(MUSIC)
PHILLIPS: Then Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year ...
(MUSIC)
PHILLIPS: The song was written by Edward Pola and George Wyle in 1963. Wyle was the music director for Andy Williams' popular variety show at the time and wrote the song especially for Williams. Since then, "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" has become a timeless classic. This year, it ranks number 12 on the world's largest performing rights organization's lists of most popular holiday songs.
(MUSIC)
PHILLIPS: The tune has been reported by many artists including Johnny Mathis, Garth brooks and Amy Grant. But the Andy Williams original remains a favorite.
(MUSIC)
PHILLIPS: During the hap-happiest season of all.
(MUSIC)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: It's one way to buy presents this Christmas. Dozens of people swapped their guns for gift cards in crime plagued Compton, California yesterday. Everyone who turned in a gun got a $100 gift card from Circuit City or Ralph's supermarket chain. Over three consecutive Saturdays, authorities collected more than 250 firearms.
Now, many grandparents are also playing the role of Santa and parents for their grandchildren this holiday. As a Christmas present of sorts, city officials in Washington have just decided to give some extra cash to residents who are raising their grandkids. CNN's Gary Nurenberg profiles one family who will greatly benefit.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right. Who's next.
GARY NURENBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For 14-year-old Johnetta Brooks (ph) and her twelve-year-old sister Janay, it was a weekend for the Christmas tree and for goofing around.
JANAY BROOKS, LIVES WITH GRANDMOTHER: Me and Usher together.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is he your favorite?
BROOKS: Yes. NURENBERG: Janay Brooks' 76-year-old grandmother knows about Usher.
DELEPHINE JONES, JANAY'S GRANDMOTHER: He's a lady's man. He got too many women for me.
Delephine Jones has been raising the girls since their mother died six years ago on Christmas Day becoming, her daughter's believe, an angel.
BROOKS: She went to a better place. That place is called heaven. That's where the angels go.
NURENBERG: Jones didn't expect to be raising her grandchildren. It's a stretch.
I don't get food stamps. So I have to buy food, you know, for them. And they participate in a lot of things in church and I have to buy their dresses and things that they need for special occasions.
NURENBERG: Jones is one of an estimated 8,100 grandparents raising children in Washington. AARP puts the number at about six million nationally.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If the grandparents didn't step up, then the government would have to take over these children at a much higher rate, and it would be probably with less love and care for the child.
NURENBERG: But grandparents like Jones haven't qualified for the same levels of government assistance as foster parents. You see, city council has just changed that allowing low income grandparents more than $700 per child per month.
LINDA CROPP, DC CITY COUNCIL: Obviously, if the grandparent could take care of their child, it keeps them out of the foster care system. And it also provides an opportunity for the children to know their relatives and to be in a family environment.
NURENBERG: Jones says the new aid is welcome.
JONES: As they grow older, they're going to need more things and I'm trying to get a bigger place for them because they're big enough to have their own room.
NURENBERG: Washington is among the first cities to provide help to grandparents but as figures show an increase in grandparents raising children, other city governments may follow. Gary Nurenberg, CNN, Washington.
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LIN: If you've ever wondered how song writers get their ideas, then this next story is for you.
(MUSIC) LIN: Sound familiar? Up next, we are going to look back how one of the holiday's most popular songs got its start. You're watching CNN LIVE SUNDAY.
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LIN: This just in. Video of a special ceremony, the lighting of the national Hanukkah menorah on the Ellipse in Washington, DC. And there he is. The homeland -- secretary of homeland security, Michael Chertoff. As he touched the wand. That is actually being -- the menorah is being lit by someone else.
But tithe secretary of homeland security looking on as the national Hanukkah menorah being lit in this special ceremony on the Ellipse, the event that marks the very moment that the Jewish festival of lights begins in Washington, DC. And a historic occasion, too. Only four times in the last 400 years that Hanukkah has coincided with Christmas. On the same day.
Well, in our final salute to the sounds of the season this hour, we lend an ear to a charming little tune that strikes a chord with anyone who is or ever was a seven-year-old. Once again, CNN's Kyra Phillips.
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PHILLIPS: If you were a school kid in the '60s, chances are you spent at least one Christmas lisping along with Alvin and the Chipmunks.
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PHILLIPS: This song for the dentally challenged was penned in 1944 by Don Gardener. Gardner and his wife Doris were both music teachers at an elementary school in New York. One day, Don filled in for his wife and was struck, first by a certain condition her students shared and then by inspiration.
DORIS GARDNER, DON'S WIFE: He told them a little Christmas joke and they all laughed. Sixteen out of the 22 had no front teeth.
PHILLIPS: He whipped up a tune for the class that night in less than half an hour. It was later published and in 1948, it was recorded by Spike Jones.
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PHILLIPS: Gardner was under-whelmed to say the least.
DON GARDNER, WROTE SONG: We both thought it was God awful. I said, my God, that won't even sell 100 copies. PHILLIPS: But within two months, it had sold 2 million copies and even made Billboard's top 10 list that year. Since then, it's been recorded by many diverse talents from the London symphony to RuPaul. But forgive us if we're partial to this rendition. Alvin, Simon and Theodore were already cartoon stars and had several earlier records to their credit.
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PHILLIPS: Their distinctive sound came courtesy of actor and songwriter Ross Bagdasarian, also known as David Seville. While fiddling around in a recording studio, he stumbled on the technique of recording at half speed and playing back at full speed. Low tech tinkering but high comedic value, especially for second graders.
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PHILLIPS: "All I Want for Christmas" helped boost sales of 1963s "Christmas with the Chipmunks Volume Two." It wasn't the Chipmunks first or only hit though, but it remains a classic, and one we love to dust off every Christmas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Well, there's still much more ahead on this King-sized Christmas. Straight ahead, Larry King sits down with Donald and Melania Trump and then at 7:00 Eastern, it's the entire cast of "Roseanne" followed by funny guy Jerry Seinfeld and Martha Stewart at 8:00. Then at 9:00 Eastern, Larry goes one-on-one with the Reverend Billy Graham and I'll be back with today's top stories right after this.
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LIN: Good evening. I'm Carol Lin at the CNN Center in Atlanta. "LARRY KING LIVE" starts in just a moment but first a check of the headlines.
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