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Funeral Services Held for Gerald Ford; Video of Saddam Execution Angers Sunnis; Police Turn Themselves in for Katrina Shootings; Study Shows Connection Between Child Sleep Troubles, Depression

Aired January 02, 2007 - 13:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DON LEMON, CO-HOST: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
MELISSA LONG, CO-HOST: Hello. I'm Melissa Long, in today for Kyra Phillips.

The long trip home. Family and friends, form heads of state to average Americans, now say good-bye to President Ford in Washington. Now on to the president's home state of Michigan.

LEMON: The aftermath of Katrina plays out in court. Seven officers charged with murder or attempted murder. Victims claim the shootings were unprovoked. The cops have a very different story.

LONG: And get a load of this. A 1,200-square-foot home. One bathroom and 44 roommates? It happened. Taking refuge after the storm. That story ahead from the NEWSROOM.

Live pictures right now from Andrews Air Force Base. As you've been watching CNN this morning, we have been following the funeral for the late president, Gerald R. Ford.

The body will now be transferred to his home state of Michigan. Grand Rapids, Michigan, where the body will be interred and where the president will rest.

Covering the story from Washington today, CNN's Suzanne Malveaux, who is at the White House -- Suzanne.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Earlier President Bush as well as his father, the former president, George H.W. Bush, both of them delivering eulogies.

The president's, in length, about 10 minutes or so. He called Ford a leader of character and humility. He also said of his time in office, his short time in office, that he brought calm and healing in one of the most divisive moments in history.

LONG: Back in a moment. Let's listen now to the 21-gun salute from Andrews Air Force Base.

(GUNFIRE)

(MUSIC) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All arms! Ho!

LONG: A live picture from Andrews Air Force Base. This aircraft of the presidential fleet, special air mission 29,000. This aircraft will transport the wooden casket, the flag draped wooden casket of former president Gerald R. Ford to Michigan to its final resting place.

You were just listening to a beautiful piece, "Going Home", performed by the U.S. Air Force band out of Washington, D.C., Bowling Air Force Base out of Washington, D.C., watching, there, many dignitaries with their hands over their hearts as the casket passed by them.

Let's check in again with Suzanne Malveaux.

Suzanne, a moment ago you were telling us about this morning's funeral at the National Cathedral.

MALVEAUX: Yes, and we just saw pictures there of the first lady, Betty Ford, as she spent brief moments with President Bush as well as first lady Laura Bush this morning here at the White House before the funeral service.

She's been staying at the Blair House, which is just across the street from the White House, during her time in Washington.

President Bush earlier today, talking about Gerald Ford, saying that he was a man of courage and humility. Also of course, relating to this president in some way, a time that was tumultuous for the nation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He was criticized for signing the Helsinki accords. Yet history has shown that document helped bring down the Soviet Union, as courageous men and women behind the Iron Curtain used it to demand their God given liberties.

Twice, assassins attempted to take the life of this good and decent man. Yet he refused to curtail his public appearances. And when he thought that the nation need to put Watergate behind us, he made the tough and decent decision to pardon President Nixon, even though that decision probably cost him the presidential election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: And Melissa, another point the president made earlier in the weekend, in his weekly radio address, the president saying that Ford did what he thought was right, even when the decisions were unpopular.

He went on to say that only years later would Americans come to fully appreciate the foresight and wisdom of this great man. As you know, the hope of this president is that history will treat him fairly and kindly. And this -- the decision that he made to go to war with Iraq -- Melissa.

LONG: Suzanne, stay with us one moment.

We just want to remind our viewers, as well, what they're watching right there, live pictures of family and friends boarding the aircraft to take them to Michigan.

Suzanne, we've been watching this departure ceremony from the airport. There's such precision, exactitude with the military, and of course, this funeral has been in the works since the president was in office. But at the same time, it is much more low key than the prior funeral we experienced just a couple years ago for the late President Reagan.

MALVEAUX: Melissa, you're absolutely right. And of course, it speaks in some ways to the style and perhaps the character of both those presidents. As you know, Reagan, a bit more of a showman and one who came from Hollywood.

Gerald Ford, as you know, one who liked to talk about and really prided himself on being kind of an ordinary guy, an ordinary man, did not really feel comfortable with a lot of the pomp and circumstance that is often associated with these kind of events.

He was someone who -- you talk to your colleagues, you know, Helen Thomas and others who recall fondly of someone who in the first day he took office who was toasting his own English muffins at his home in Alexandria, Virginia.

So he was a different kind of president. He had a different kind of style about him. So of course, this really reflects that in some ways.

LONG: Thank you for sharing, Suzanne Malveaux, live at the White House today. Suzanne, thank you.

Flags are lowered, as you can see, all around the country. Many offices are closed on this national day of mourning. That includes most federal buildings and courthouses. Also, post offices. So do keep in mind, there won't be any regular mail delivery today.

The New York Stock Exchange and other U.S. financial markets closed as well. They've been shuttered four days now, including the New Year's holiday weekend, and that is the longest stretch since right after 9/11.

We hope you will stay with us throughout the afternoon as President Ford's casket is transported to Michigan, his home state and final resting place.

LEMON: Yes, and much, much more on all of this coming up a little bit later on.

But ahead in this broadcast, think you're tired of holiday house guests? Well, stick around to meet the Glovers. When snow stranded dozens of strangers in New Mexico, the Glovers took them in. Wait until you hear how they pulled it off and the transportation from house to hotel. That's ahead in the NEWSROOM.

Plus, the advantages of a good night's sleep for kids may go well beyond the next day. The explanation just ahead right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: There is outrage among Iraqi Sunnis over the execution of Saddam Hussein. And it was expected. But now comes cell phone video that's fanning those flames.

CNN's Arwa Damon is live in Baghdad with the very latest for us -- Arwa.

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don, good afternoon.

We are seeing the celebrations following Saddam's death winding down. At the same time, we are seeing demonstrations in support of Iraq's former leader gaining momentum.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAMON (voice-over): At the modest grave site of Iraq's once terrifying leader, tears flow freely. Grief which turned into outrageous with the all too familiar chants of...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (speaking foreign language)

DAMON: "With our blood and sacrifice, for you, Saddam."

In front of the glistening golden dome of the Al-Afka mosque in Samarra, one of the holiest Shia shrines, the image of Saddam Hussein displayed by angry Sunni demonstrators.

Crowds here carried a mock coffin and photos of their former leader. Parading through the courtyard of the shrine, still showing scars left by a bombing back in February, an attack by Sunni extremists that catapulted sectarian violence to a new level.

In the days after Saddam's death, outrage is only increasing as more details of what really happened in that execution chamber come to light. The day of the execution, Iraq's national security adviser, who was present as Saddam tumbled to his death, told CNN...

MOWAFFAK AL-RUBAIE, IRAQI NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: There was absolutely no humiliation to Saddam when he was alive and after he was executed.

DAMON: But then this cell phone video appeared on the Internet, uncensored images, fully portraying the chilling scene at the gallows, showing Saddam being taunted in his final moments by cries of "Muqtada, Muqtada, Muqtada," a reference to Muqtada al-Sadr, the radical Shia cleric whose Mehdi militia is believed to be behind much of the sectarian violence. The images confirming Sunni fears that the execution of Saddam by Iraq's Shia-led government was a sectarian affair. A U.S. warning to Iraq's government that it avoid giving the perception of a rush to judgment fell on deaf ears, with an aide to Iraq's prime minister saying that Nuri al-Maliki was determined to put Saddam to death before the end of the year.

The government said it has launched an investigation as to how the cell phones were snuck into the gallows and footage was shot, obviously in plain view of the authorities who were present.

Munqith Faroon, perplexed and disturbed by what happened, was one of the 14 people present in that room.

MUNQITH FAROON, CHIEF PROSECUTOR (through translator): We were searched one by one before going into the room. They had a box to place phones in. How these phones were snuck in, I don't know.

DAMON: A mistake the government is already paying for.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DAMON: With Shia chants defining Saddam Hussein's last moments, it turns his execution into an act of sheer revenge and risks driving even moderate Sunnis further away from the Shia-led government that they already have little faith in to begin with. And so rather than uniting Iraqis, it appears that Saddam's death is really only further dividing them -- Don.

LEMON: All right. CNN's Arwa Damon in Baghdad. Thank you so much for that.

The man leading Iraq says he's exhausted and would like to serve his country another way. Prime Minister Maliki spoke to "The Wall Street Journal" on Christmas Eve. Asked whether he'd serve a second term if offered, Maliki said, quote, "Impossible. I wish I -- I wish I could be done with it even before the end of this term. I would like to serve my people from outside the circle of senior officials, maybe through the parliament or through working directly with people."

Through decades of oppressive Sunni domination, al-Maliki was asked whether Sunnis were beginning to accept the Shia-led government. He says, quote, 'They have not. The problem is that our Sunni brothers have been governing Iraq for centuries. Since the establishment of Iraq as a state, they have been governing because there was no democracy, no elections. Therefore, they feel that a right has been taken away from them."

LONG: Trigger-happy cops or innocent targets of an ambitious prosecutor? In New Orleans today, the so-called band of seven turned themselves in, amid a show of support from their fellow police officers. The accused cops are charged with murder or attempted murder in the shootings that killed two or wounded and four people right after Hurricane Katrina.

Joining us now with the latest on this case, CNN's Sean Callebs, who's live in New Orleans -- Sean.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Melissa.

A couple of hours ago, the seven -- six police officers and one former police officer made their way down the street behind me to the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Department to turn themselves in. And right now, they are being processed. They will be held in jail here until at least Friday. And that's as early as they could have a bond hearing.

And, really, the way that they turned themselves in speaks volumes about the way this case is being perceived here in the city. If you look at the video, there were hundreds of police officers, a wall of blue, if you will, lining the streets, applauding and chanting "heroes" as the seven officers turned themselves in.

We mentioned the Danziger Seven. The reason they're called that, seven police officers responded to shots of guns being fired on the Danziger Bridge. That's a bridge that overspans one of the causeways here, the industrial canal. But what happened on that bridge really depends on who you talk to.

Now, it's a highly charged issue here in the city, as well. But perhaps becoming even more highly charged. The Reverend Al Sharpton has weighed in, and he says he believes race is a factor.

Well, we talked to the attorneys representing a number of the officers. And they say that is simply laughable.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRANK DESALVO, KENNETH BOWEN'S ATTORNEY: Four of the seven officers are black. Reverend Sharpton can't counter. He can't...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CALLEBS: The audio not the best there, but the officer -- the attorney saying that four of the officers involved in the shootings were black.

Now, what happened? The police responded to a call -- to shots being fired, a possibility of an officer being down, on September 4. When they arrived at the Danziger Bridge, they said they heard gunshots and they said they saw Ronald Madison reaching for a gun. That is when Madison was shot and killed.

His brother, Lance Madison, 50-year-old, was arrested. A 19- year-old, James Brissette, was also shot and killed.

Now, Lance Madison says that he and his brother were doing nothing wrong. They were simply out looking for food and water. And once they did hear gunshots from teenagers somewhere else on the bridge, they said they were looking for police to be rescued.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LANCE MADISON, BROTHER KILLED BY POLICE: It's a story they made up, alibis to cover theyself (sic). I didn't have no weapon at all. My brother didn't have no weapon. We were just trying to get rescued.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CALLEBS: Now, that interview done with Drew Griffin some time ago. Madison is not talking about the case any more. He has filed a civil action against the city and the police officers involved in the shooting.

Now with four of the officers charged with first degree murder, the penalty could be severe. They could face the possibility of execution if convicted on all the charges.

LONG: Sean, why is the D.A., the district attorney, pushing this case so hard?

CALLEBS: That is what the police officers say they want to know. They believe that this is basically what they're calling a political prosecution.

They say there's a number of violent crimes in the city and the D.A. has not been aggressive in pursuing a number of those cases. And they say that, really, the charges simply do not warrant first degree murder.

So you have to put yourself in this city, in the immediate days after Katrina, when there was looting, random gunshots being fired. And the city was simply in chaos. The police were trying to do what they could to bring civility back to the city, to bring it back under control.

And by even Lance Madison's accounts, the one who brought the suit against the city and the officers, there were gunshots on the bridge that day, but simply not coming from he or his brother, who was shot and killed.

LONG: Sean Callebs, live from New Orleans. Sean, thank you.

LEMON: Well, they felt it in their bones, but they couldn't stop it. U.S. Marines ambushed in Iraq. That is next in the NEWSROOM.

LONG: And snowed under. Highways shut down. Truckers and holiday travelers going nowhere fast. One family puts out the welcome mat, turning strangers into fast friends. We're going to hear their stories coming up in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: And you're looking at live picture now of the plane that's carrying the former president's body to Grand Rapids, Michigan. Just a short time ago, a ceremony there wrapped up at Andrews Air Force Base with the family and the military and also dignitaries boarding that plane to Grand Rapids.

It's the Ford family, designated personnel. And as I said, they're on their way to the international airport in Grand Rapids, Michigan, for a ceremony that will take place at the Ford Museum in Grand Rapids.

Continued coverage of this story throughout the day. Don't turn anywhere. Right here on CNN.

LONG: Now let's talk about your health today. Are your children getting a good night's rest? There's a new study that finds children who don't sleep enough have a greater risk of severe depression.

CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There have been a lot of studies actually looking at the relationship between depression and sleep and actually showing that there is a relationship. What's been hard to figure out is what comes first, the chicken or the egg sort of question.

Does depression somehow cause sleep problems? Or do the sleep problems somehow worsen depression, or cause it in the first place? The answer to that question is still unknown.

But researchers are actually looking specifically at children, between the ages of 7 and 15, who already have been diagnosed with some sort of depression, trying to figure out, hone in on their particular sleep problems.

And what they find is just over half of them have insomnia, meaning they can't sleep. About 9 to 10 percent have what is known as hypersomnia, meaning that they have excessive sleepiness, both at night and during the day.

What they really wanted to sort of figure out was a population of about 10 percent of people who had a combination of both things. They had insomnia and hypersomnia. They sort of had the double trouble.

And what researchers found was that they were the most likely to have the most severe depression of all. Depression requiring medication, having the longest long-term effects in terms of their overall impact on their lives.

Again, this is a term coined double trouble. Does not answer the question as to whether depression causes sleep problems or vice versa. But they are honing in on this double trouble issue.

Now, they say that preschool children should be getting at least 10 to 12 hours of continuous sleep a night. And if you're younger -- if you're older than that, you should be getting at least nine hours.

If you're watching this and your child is having trouble sleeping, especially having these wild variations, going back and forth between insomnia and hypersomnia, it's happening three or more times a week and many weeks in a row, you may want to see your pediatrician about that.

Now if your child is just having some difficulty sleeping, there are some ways to try and make sure they get a better night's sleep. One is set a regular bedtime for your child, obviously. Avoid feeding children too late, especially caffeinated foods. Establish some sort of relaxing routine.

Keep the room temperature comfortable. Around 70 degrees appears to be the best temperatures for children. And no caffeine, obviously, less than six hours before bedtime.

Again, watch for the insomnia, hypersomnia, double trouble.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right. Sanjay Gupta, thank you very much.

The markets are closed today because of the former vice -- former president, rather. They're honoring him today. But there are some big changes for a financial icon.

And Susan Lisovicz, back -- what are you doing? You know what? I think you've lost it. Did you party too much over the holidays? By the way, welcome back and happy new year's.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's great to see you, Don. Happy new year.

And it is a new year indeed for readers of the bible of business news, "The Wall Street Journal". It's a new look, a big makeover coming about a year after extensive feedback from its readers, saying some things should stay the same, some things should change.

What is the change? Well, narrower by about three inches, or one column. It's easier to read. It's got better type graphing. It's also bigger headlines. I can tell you, for those of us who commute, take the subway that fold is a lot easier, right?

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: I was just going to say that, Susan.

LISOVICZ: When you got the hand up --

LEMON: It's easier to do that fold, right? That you see everybody doing.

LISOVICZ: Absolutely. You don't have to struggle with it. It's actually about the same size, Don, as "USA Today." I have a copy of that.

It says it's not going to change in terms of the seriousness of the news it reports. In fact, will do more interpretation of what the news means, and that could be less intimidating for readers. It's actually great stuff. It's the "Bible of Business News", and it's the nation's second largest circulation paper behind, only "USA Today." So this is big news for a paper that first started publishing way back when, in 1889. LEMON: Yeah, a lot of changes for the newspapers. They got to keep up. A lot of them going color, "The New York Times", and all of them --

LISOVICZ: That's right, that's right.

LEMON: And all of them going smaller, like you said, just like "The Wall Street Journal."

LISOVICZ: This is the famous -- and very dull -- I think, some people would say, it was the tombstone kind of layout. And now you -- you know, it actually has color. Think about some of these changes. It also has a very popular web site. You have to pay for it, though. So that keeps some people away.

LEMON: Well, a little change is necessary some of the time, or a lot of the time. So what's "The Journal" doing to commemorate this new version, in the New Year?

LISOVICZ: It's all about business, right? "The Wall Street Journal", so it's give away a million copies to newsstands across the country -- free. It's also free access to "The Journal's" web site. That's a good sales technique as well. Get people there and then maybe you might want to pony up some dough later on, just to get introduced to it.

But it's something that everyone reads in order to not only know about, you know, your basic personal finance, but the markets. As you mentioned, Don, the stock market is closed today. This National Day of Mourning for the former President Gerald Ford. First time the market has been closed for four straight days since the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks in 2001. Very rare for the New York Stock Exchange to close four days in a row.

You know, it's something the world depends on, the world's biggest stock exchange. Dow right now sitting at 12,463; 47 points shy of the record high set last Wednesday. In the year 2006, now history, the Dow scored 1,745 points or 16.3 percent and set record highs 22 times. The S&P 500, which is a broader index rose 13.6 percent. The Nasdaq composite rose 9.5 percent.

Even though the Dow has been setting records with regularity, Don, the S&P 500 still about 7 percent below its all-time high. The Nasdaq could double in value and still not reach the high set back in March 2000. So it's got a ways to go.

The biggest gainer among the Dow 30 stocks last year -- sounds weird to say it -- General Motors, up 58 percent. GM, actually the worst performer in 2005, down 20 percent. So it had a lot to make up. The worst performer in 2006, Intel, down nearly 19 percent. Obviously, that is a tech stock. That's the latest from New York.

Coming up, a coffee chain, well known to our service men and women overseas, is coming to America. I'll have the details when NEWSROOM continues. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MELISSA LONG, CNN ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: The last leg of a long journey home. The casket of former President Gerald Ford is being flown from Washington, D.C. to Ford's hometown, Grand Rapids, Michigan. America remembers its 38th president on this National Day of Mourning. We have much more coverage to come.

LEMON: A group of U.S. Marines, closer than brothers, hit by a deadly ambush along Iraq's River of Secrets. Just what happened and the impact on the troops, and their families, is the focus tonight of a special edition of "Anderson Cooper 360". CNN's Tom Foreman is in Washington with a preview for us.

Hi, Tom.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, CNN NEWSROOM: Hi, Don.

This is really one of the most moving stories I have covered in my entire career. The thing is, we've hit a milestone here, another 3,000 people gone now. There's no way to tell everyone's story.

So, we hit upon this one story that maybe a lot of people can attach to and learn a little bit about. And learning about these young Marines, who they were, how they got to where they were, how they were attacked, and how this has affected so many people around them, has enormously moving and inspirational, in a lot of ways.

Their names, you can't forget them, Jesse Strong, Jonathan Bowling and Chris Weaver. And Carl Linn, who, as you see in this clip, was a bit of a late arrival.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FOREMAN (voice over): When a slightly built, quiet young man named Karl Linn transfers to the platoon, Weaver writes in his journal again, "I asked to have him in my fire team because I wanted some young lackey that would follow my orders without any complaining. But Linn is good at much more than grunt work. It is quickly apparent he knows more about one thing than anyone else."

STAFF SGT. BUTCH DREANY, CHARLIE COMPANY: Weapons. He became just infatuated with just weapons in general, especially foreign weapons, which became an asset, being in Iraq, because Karl already knew how to break down most weapons that we found. I would look at it, and just go, "Hey, Linn, here you go."

FOREMAN (on camera): He was a pretty valuable guy to have.

DREANY: Oh, absolutely.

FOREMAN (voice over): Linn comes from near Richmond, and was studying engineering at Virginia Commonwealth when he was activated.

DICK LINN, KARL LINN'S FATHER: He was always writing in the margins or doodling somehow. FOREMAN: His father, Dick, has notebooks filled with his son's drawings, and inventions.

LINN: A random collection of things, here, haven't sorted through all the papers and all the -- all the good stuff.

FOREMAN: Karl had helped his school establish a robotics team, and he was fascinated with the idea of joining the rough-and-ready Marines, unusual for a young man from a Buddhist home.

LINN: I think the idea appealed to him, you know, if you're going to do something, then do the toughest thing. Maybe it was for his own self-esteem, or self-discipline. I know he wanted to pay society back for what he'd been given. He felt an obligation to help serve the country.

STAFF SGT. MIKE SPANO, CHARLIE COMPANY: He volunteered for everything. Within a week or two, you couldn't even tell that he was new.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOREMAN: This is the sort of thing that so many of these families focus on, trying to remember the good times, the enormous promise of the young people in their lives. But, these young people were destined for a terrible, terrible day, in all because of a helicopter crash later that day, and some other deaths in Baghdad.

To this day, the worst day of the Iraqi war in terms of fatalities. Nonetheless, these young people left legacies in their very short lives that are absolutely astounding. That's what's made the story so unbelievably moving to work on.

LEMON: I can see why you said this is one of the most moving stories you've ever come across. Unbelievable. Why did these families, Tom, come forward to talk about, at this time this very difficult, and private time in their lives?

FOREMAN: I cannot say enough about the goodness of these families, and their children. The reason these families did this. They all said the same thing. Because they feel that they want the nation to know of the sacrifice of all the young people, not just their children, but all who have died over there, all who have been wounded, and all who have served.

And this much, I think, is an absolute fact that came out in reporting this, in talking to these people. People may be for this war, they may be against this war, but the young people who have served over there, some of them older people, who have served in the name of this country, willingly went to do what our nation -- what we asked them to do -- and they did it with courage and faith. And they're doing it right now.

And that deserves nothing but enormous respect. Especially at a holiday time like this when all of us are looking forward to our year ahead, and it's so easy to forget at times what's going on over there. LEMON: I don't believe, Tom, there's a better way to put that. Thank you so much. We look forward to seeing this tonight.

Of course, we want to tell you, you can see all of Tom Foreman's report on "Anderson Cooper 360", "Ambush at the River of Secrets", 10:00 p.m., Eastern, only on CNN.

LONG: Snowed under, highways shut down, truckers and holiday travelers going nowhere fast. So one family, what do they do? They put out the welcome mat, turning strangers into fast friends. Hear their stories coming up in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Still snow bound, also in the dark. From the Oklahoma Panhandle to the Nebraska utility crews are struggling to restore power to tens of thousands of homes. The snow and ice from last week's blizzard brought down hundreds of miles of power lines. And it could be next week before all the lights are back on.

Humvees and planes are being used to reach snow-bound cattle, and to search for stranded travelers. Colorado National Guard activated twice in one week is bringing supplies to residents and drivers who are isolated or stuck.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. GEN. MASON WHITNEY, COLORADO NATIONAL GUARD: There were some truckers that had some pretty expensive cargo and they were very reluctant to leave that cargo. They had food, and they had water, and they could survive with their trailers that they had on the truck.

So, obviously we made sure that they were well taken care of, but we would check back with them to make sure they were still there. But yes, as a matter of fact there were some folks who didn't want to be rescued.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And at least 12 deaths have been blamed on that heavy snow.

LONG: Imagine being stuck on the road, in blinding snow, you're in the middle of nowhere, there's snowdrifts three to four feet deep. Then suddenly there's a knock on your car window, and you're ushered into a house you couldn't even see.

This is the home Christine and Randy Glover, they wound up with 44 unexpected guests over the holiday weekend. They join us now, by phone, from their home in northeastern New Mexico.

Thank you so much for joining us, Randy and Christine. We appreciate it.

CHRISTINE GLOVER, HELPED STRANDED MOTORISTS: You're welcome.

RANDY GLOVER, HELPED STRANDED MOTORISTS: Glad to do it.

LONG: It's a unique story. I still kind of have a hard time wrapping my head around this. You unexpectedly had 44 people become your extended family. How did this all happen? You heard some communication open a two-way radio that people were in distress?

R. GLOVER: Yes, my wife and I used Motorola handheld radios to communicate from the house to my shop, behind my house. There's supposed to be a frequency not used by anyone else. I began to pick up transmission from someone else, and listened, just thought it was something that was kind of a fluke. But they continued to talk.

I called my wife on the radio to see if she was hearing it, and they answered me. Because of that, we started talking. And trying to figure out where they were. And these radios don't transmit very far. So I asked them for landmarks. They couldn't really see anything. Saw a highway sign or two. And we figured out they were right here at the house.

LONG: Low and behold, they're right outside your front door. So, one by one, you usher them in. We've been showing pictures of people within your home. And did you ever just say to yourself, oh, my, what was I thinking? What can I do with all these people?

R. GLOVER: That never entered our mind. I mean, in this part of the world, you do what you need to do, and we were here and able to fill a need. And under the weather conditions there was no option of leaving people outside. You just -- you just take them in, and you do what you need to do. And we never thought twice about it.

LONG: Now, Christine, you have one bathroom, three bedrooms, I presume one refrigerator. How did you feed all these people, care for all these people?

C. GLOVER: Well, thankfully, the lord sent us a grocery truck. Yeah, there was a truck that was struck in the -- he was actually stuck, and that's what stopped the traffic. He was stuck in the snow bank out in front of our house. And so thankfully we had him. And the truck driver was so willing to open his trailer. He OKed it through the company, which was -- the company is Affiliated. And they were great with donating that food to us.

LONG: Thank goodness for that cargo, that was in his truck. You know, what we have tracked somebody down, who has apparently become a dear friend you, because of happenstance. Kyle Johnson is on the line, right now.

Kyle, I understand you made it back home to Oklahoma, but you had a brief stay at their home. Thanks so much for joining us, we appreciate it.

KYLE JOHNSON, ONE OF 44 GLOVER HOUSEGUESTS: You bet.

LONG: So tell me what your scenario was. You were on a ski trip with some friends, family, and all of a sudden you end up stranded in New Mexico, then you meet Christine and Randy. Thank goodness, right? JOHNSON: Thank goodness, you bet. They extended their home to us. It was a wonderful experience.

LONG: Wonderful experience, crammed into that home? How was it so wonderful? What did you do to pass the time?

JOHNSON: Well, I think it was the feeling that everyone that had been stranded out there on the roads, felt like their life was really in danger, and no one knew exactly what the outcome would be. And one by one -- I was involved in taking the people to the house. And one by one, as the door opened, and we could put people into this house, the burden of the storm was lifted from each individual.

And you cannot imagine the thankfulness and the feeling in that house of how we felt that we possibly would not make it through the storm and then all of a sudden have a gracious opening of a door, where we could get warm and we had food. And -- we were piled in there, as far as sleeping arrangements, were very tight. Can imagine -- can you imagine in a small house like that with 48 people, sleeping and snoring, and that sort of thing. There was not a lot of sleeping went on but --

LONG: No, I can't imagine that it would.

JOHNSON: We got very well acquainted. That's what I can tell you.

LONG: You got very well acquainted and averted tragedy. And there was one potential medical disaster as well, I understand.

Randy, you had a Blackhawk chopper that needed to fly in to rescue one person?

R. GLOVER: Yes, we had a heart transplant patient here. He wasn't in any danger, he just was low on his medication, and he is on a strict regiment of meds. He was low and would have run out Monday morning. So, to avoid any potential problems, we got him out Sunday morning. Where he could stay on his routine and not have any -- you know, problems there.

So, you know, it was a very good experience, all things considered. From our standpoint, it really wasn't the burden it could have been. The electricity went off four or five times, but it never stayed off. Out here this far from town, when the electricity goes off, you lose water, no water, no bathroom, 48 people in a house without a bathroom that would have been bad.

LONG: Well, you made some good friends. Christine, Randy, Kyle, do you guys need to exchange numbers? Or are you OK?

C. GLOVER: We already have.

LONG: You already have. You plan on seeing each other again?

C. GLOVER: Oh, yeah, they're not gonna get rid of us, and I don't think we'll get rid of them so -- no, we had a bunch of wonderful people so ...

LONG: OK, well I was going to exchange numbers for you if you needed them. but I'm glad to hear --

JOHNSON: Can I say one other thing?

LONG: Sure, then we'll wrap up. Go ahead.

JOHNSON: I think the evidence of the quality of people of Christine and Randy is the fact that they personally gave their bed up also, and slept on the hard floor with us. Can you imagine that?

LONG: Very giving.

JOHNSON: That's the kind of people -- that's the kind of people they are.

LONG: Good way to start the new year for everybody here. Kyle Johnson, who's back home in Oklahoma, after that little hitch in his travel plans, thank you so much, Kyle. And Christine and Randy Glover, thanks so much for sharing your story and sharing all the photographs from your home, appreciate it.

C. GLOVER: Thank you.

R. GLOVER: Glad to do it.

LONG: Happy New Year, to all of you.

LEMON: So, here's a question: When will all that snow start to melt? Rob Marciano has your forecast just ahead from the CNN Weather Center. You're live, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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LONG: Oprah Winfrey cuts the ribbon on her state of the art school in South Africa. Ahead in the NEWSROOM, how education might transform the lives of some of the world's poorest children.

LEMON: They occupied the highest echelons of power, but always stayed down to Earth, the Fords, never lost their roots, even when politics uprooted them. A closer long at this special American family as we await the Fords' return to Grand Rapids, Michigan, the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM.

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