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Nepal Bridge Collapse; Mom without Memories; Petraeus Travels Around Iraq
Aired December 25, 2007 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Merry Christmas everyone. You're with CNN, you're informed and I'm Don Lemons. Tony has the day off.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Brianna Keilar. Heidi Collins is off as well today. Developments keep coming into the CNN NEWSROOM on this Tuesday, December 25th. Here is what's on the rundown. Santa hats and camouflage. It's Christmas in Baghdad. Troops fall out from formation and fall into song.
LEMON: A mom without memories. Wounded in the war -- a woman now putting her life in order.
KEILAR: And a long distance holiday reunion. We're bringing dad to the family satellite style in the NEWSROOM.
A tragic story in Nepal that we want to tell you about. Some 200 people are missing, 15 are known dead after an overcrowded foot bridge collapsed. At least 22 others are injured. Police say the victims were attending a religious festival in a remote region of Nepal. There were as many as 1,000 people on the bridge when it collapsed plunging victims 100 feet into a raging river below. Many swam to safety but authorities say the missing include many women and children. At this hour it's dark in Nepal and that's really hampering the rescue efforts.
LEMON: Joining us now by phone from Nepal is journalist and he is Manesh Shrestha in Katmandu. Tell us about this bridge. More than a thousand people Manesh because of the religious festival, correct?
MANESH SHRESTHA, JOURNALIST: Yes. There were temples on both sides of the river, so the festival was on the temple so people were crossing the bridge to go to the other temple and suddenly the bridge collapsed and half the bridge is under water. Part of the bridge is under water.
LEMON: The last reports that we have here in the U.S., 15 people are known dead, 200 are still missing. From your reports that you're getting there in Katmandu, have those numbers changed?
SHRESTHA: It is still 15. I was just talking to the police station. We know that seven of them are children now and eight were adults. Among the eight adults, five of them are women. So it's mostly women and children who are dead. Children as young as 5 months old, their bodies have been found. And the 15 number could go up because this is just the number of bodies recovered. LEMON: It's very sad and it seems to be getting -- the news seems to be getting worse as time goes on here. If they don't find more people as time goes on, or sooner, then you're right. These numbers could go up and likely will, sadly. I want to talk to you about the area that this is located in because we don't have pictures out of there just yet. It's not to say that there aren't any. This is a pretty remote area that we're looking at, right Manesh?
SHRESTHA: Yes, there are mountains all around the river. I was talking to a policeman who had just come from the site and he told me that there are mountains all over and the water is gushing in a torrent. There is no way that anybody who does not know how to swim can come out of it alive or somebody who is just not by the riverbed. Somebody in the middle then he's dead, he is caught.
LEMON: Manesh, I would imagine because of the area this is posing problems for rescuers especially if it's mountainous and also if this water is raging like it is.
SHRESTHA: Yes. It's dark, don't forget that. Tomorrow we'll get a better picture once people start informing about the missing (INAUDIBLE) and then tomorrow the picture will be clearer.
LEMON: Manesh Shrestha, a journalist there in Katmandu, reporting for us with this very tragic story. Thank you very much for that.
And we're still working on this story trying to get you pictures and more details. Make sure you stay with us throughout the morning for new developments.
KEILAR: Thousands in California could end up celebrating Christmas without the traditional dinner at home. That's because strong Santa Ana winds downed power lines and blew several transformers in the Los Angeles area forcing crews to work on Christmas Eve. This morning more than 4,000 people still don't have electricity. The gusty winds fueled a fire at a Hollywood church yesterday. No one was inside and officials are still investigating the cause. Meanwhile, Los Angeles and Ventura counties have issued a warning that conditions are right for wildfires. This wind is expected to pick up during the day.
(WEATHER REPORT)
LEMON: Christmas, a time for family, a time of hope and prayer. In Vatican City Pope Benedict delivered his Christmas day message and urged world leaders to end the bloodshed in the world's war zone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POPE BENEDICT: The prince of peace reminds the world where true happiness lies and may your hearts be filled with hope and joy for the savior has been born for us.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP) LEMON: Let's take to the skies now. Really 220 miles above the earth, Christmas is celebrated on the international space station. Two Americans and one Russian will feast on some yummy smoked turkey with cornbread dressing and candied yams. It's in presealed pouches. They don't want any of the flavors to escape and just go floating into space.
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II sends out her annual Christmas message. Just a few minutes ago she turned her attention to those living what she calls on the edge of society and she asked for greater consideration of the poor and the disadvantaged.
KEILAR: Christmas also happening in the war zone. Lofty hopes, harsh realities though, in savoring the precious reminders of home. Small gifts and keepsakes deliver a hint of tradition. Companies and individuals donated the items. Alphonso Van Marsh is embedded with the third brigade 101st airborne, he's joining us now via broadband from Camp Stryker in Iraq. Merry Christmas to you Alphonso.
ALPHONSO VAN MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Merry Christmas to you Brianna. As you can see behind me there is quite a line starting to form. Some 1,800 U.S. service members are sitting in this, the largest U.S. military dining facility in the country, hundreds of people working to make these men and women happy, serving them a holiday meal. A little morale boost considering how far they are away from home.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VAN MARSH (voice-over): This isn't Bethlehem, it's Baghdad, where these carolers are active duty soldiers separated from their loved ones at Christmas. Crime scene investigator Jim Yingling is using a webcam to see what his daughter and family are up to at home.
JIM YINGLING, CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATOR: She was telling me she was eating chex mix and that mom was making pumpkin loaves.
VAN MARSH: Army specialist Justin Vallieres shows me pictures of his new daughter e-mailed from his wife.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just some of her first moments when she was born in the hospital laying there.
VAN MARSH: Amaya is 2 weeks old. She's never met her father but Vallieres is beholden not bitter.
SPEC. JUSTIN VALLIERES, U.S. ARMY: It's probably like my best gift that I get for Christmas. It's just the anticipation, waiting and knowing that she was born and I can't see her. I mean, the picture -- it's hard to explain.
VAN MARSH: Meanwhile, Santa is doing his part to spread the Christmas cheer visiting soldiers at bases around Baghdad.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just want to see the troops, hand out some candy canes and make them smile. VAN MARSH: Santa, who really is an army major with the 3rd brigade, has the beard and the stuffed belly. But he's also carrying a pistol. This is Christmas in the war zone. Here Santa travels by Blackhawk helicopter instead of reindeer and sleigh.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
VAN MARSH: Now while a pistol-packing Santa is making his way across different bases in Baghdad, as I mentioned that many service members are here getting a hot meal, some 24,000 meals will be served by the end of Christmas day which really means a lot to the service members so far away from home. I want to introduce you to one of them. This is private Jasmine Skelton. Tell me a little bit about where you're from and what it means to be away from family at this time of year?
PVT. JASMINE SKELTON, U.S. ARMY: I'm from Baltimore, Maryland, and I miss them so much. I have the most incredible family. It's a pleasure to be here, but they are very, very missed.
VAN MARSH: When you enlisted, did you ever think some day you would be in the middle of Baghdad at Christmas?
SKELTON: Absolutely. I knew that I was going to be here and it's an honor to be here.
VAN MARSH: If you had the chance to speak to your family, you want to do that know, if they're watching, do you want to speak into that camera. What would you tell them in terms of the holidays?
SKELTON: I love you and I miss you so very much. You're in my thoughts and prayers. I think about you every day.
VAN MARSH: Thank you for your time. That, Brianna, is some of the sentiment that we're hearing over and over again. Many of these service members away from home, many of them for the first time this Christmas, saying that they're thinking of their families but at the same time doing what they feel they need to do to get the job done out here in Iraq. Brianna?
KEILAR: Alphonso, thank you so much for bringing us Christmas there in Iraq. Alphonso Van Marsh with the 3rd brigade 101st airborne.
LEMON: A massive blast in northern Iraq this morning. At least 23 people were killed in the suicide bomb attack. Look at the crater left behind that blast. The driver rammed into the truck surrounded by people picking up cooking gas cylinders. Many of those cylinders also exploded. The attack came at a checkpoint manned by Iraqi soldiers near a local government complex. Some 80 people were wounded in the explosions.
KEILAR: She's a mom who can't remember her daughter being born.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have emptiness in my heart, but why and it's because I don't have all of these memories that I'm supposed to have.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: A brain injury in Iraq leads to memory loss and now she's putting her life back together.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Welcome back everyone, I'm Don Lemon. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. Serving overseas during the holidays. We'll hear from a soldier in Iraq who got a surprise visit with his family as we salute the troops.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: As you can imagine this has just been devastating. A soldier injured in Iraq, her life saved but her memory is gone. She can't even remember her own little girl. More now from John Overall of our affiliate KVOA in Arizona.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So what do we do first?
JOHN OVERALL, KVOA (voice-over): Claudia Carreon is like most moms -- she loves her baby girl more than life itself.
CLAUDIA CARREON, ARMY NATIONAL GUARD: I try to enjoy every single second with my daughter and we are always together and we do everything together. Sometimes I just -- give me five minutes --
OVERALL: Sounds normal but normal isn't a word one would use to describe this relationship. You see, Claudia has no memory of the day her daughter was born. She can't recall her first steps.
CARREON: I have emptiness in my heart but why it's because I don't have all of these memories that I'm supposed to have and then I see my daughter walking and talking and I'm like, why I couldn't see her when she was born, when she was (INAUDIBLE)?
OVERALL: Claudia Carreon lost her memory in Iraq during the summer of 2003. She suffered a brain injury in a truck accident. In 2004 she was back at home but she didn't remember home. She didn't remember her family. Do you remember coming back?
CARREON: No.
OVERALL: Do you remember the accident?
CARREON: No.
OVERALL: Do you remember anything before the accident?
CARREON: No, she was little. I don't remember.
OVERALL: Now therapy is helping her find her past and little tricks like labeling pictures are doing wonders.
CARREON: My younger brother, Jose, younger sister Isela.
OVERALL: Now she can remember her family by face and name but it is an ongoing process. Claudia spends most of her time in therapy or with her family and her short-term memory is slowly coming back thanks to her unbelievable outlook on life.
CARREON: If I am not 100 percent positive and eager to recover, I am not going to recover.
OVERALL: Claudia knows she is making great strides but she also knows she has a long road ahead of her.
CARREON: I think that I need something that is more than only therapy and family. I need to relearn -- I need to go to school. I need to search or look for some other ways to improve myself.
OVERALL: She has the drive. She's got the time and she's got the resources to get back on track but as Claudia struggles to find her past, she also struggles to move into the future.
CARREON: I feel like I have my hands tied, that I can't do it. And probably people don't understand it, but this is how I feel.
OVERALL: It's so frustrating, always searching, but for what? She doesn't know. All she can say is something is missing from her life but through it all she thanks God for all she has.
CARREON: I love being alive. I love being here and I love being a soldier.
OVERALL: Claudia is proud to be a soldier. In fact, she wishes she could go back to Iraq even though she can't remember being there the first time.
CARREON: No, I don't but I do have my uniforms. I have my medals. I have my flag. I have pictures and it will be a wonderful experience just to relive what I did once upon a time.
OVERALL: That may happen one day but for now Claudia is making new memories with Sandra and trying to recapture old memories thanks to her collection of DVDs.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Let's talk now about the holiday chow down. How to feast without completely blowing your diet.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: Holidays usually mean a big feast. So let's get some tips on how to eat as healthy as possible. Medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us now and just -- I mean, we're all about to eat this meal, so many of us, how fattening is it? Break it to us.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's very fattening. I can't lie. I want to spread the Christmas cheer but I can't lie. Christmas dinner is a very fattening meal. But don't lose hope. I'm going to first go through and tell you how bad it is and then I'm going to give you some tips on how to make it better. I don't mean cook it better. I mean what you can do right now to make your splurge a little bit less caloric. Let's go through a typical Christmas meal and we're going to start here with the ham. If you have three pieces of ham, that will be about 345 calories and 21 grams of fat. That is a third of the fat you're supposed to have in a whole day you're having in three pieces of ham. And then if we move on to sweet potatoes, that's 276 calories and six grams of fat. Because courses such as sweet potatoes, it's all that stuff you put in them like the nuts and the sugar and all that. And then, speaking of adding things to vegetables, here is what is sort of left of a green bean casserole. 143 calories and eight grams of fat, again, because of all the stuff you put in it. Cranberry sauce. This is the only good one really. 209 calories and no fat at all. Now the next one, Brianna, I have to tell you, this one I found shocking, I had no idea that cornbread stuffing was so caloric, it's 363 calories and 18 grams of fat. There are desserts that aren't that bad. I guess it's just all the --
KEILAR: You know what it is, cornbread is so high in calories, so this one doesn't surprise me but some of the others do. I look at the green beans and they look awfully healthy to me.
COHEN: But no, you're right --
KEILAR: You drown them in butter or you know some sort of creamy soup or something and you're adding calories.
COHEN: Exactly. Did you want to know about the pumpkin pie? Do you want to hear it?
KEILAR: Why not?
COHEN: Pumpkin pie, 323 calories and 15 grams of fat. Now if you wash all of this down with a glass of wine, you're looking at a Christmas meal --
KEILAR: Don't steal the props, Don Lemon.
COHEN: Don Lemon has stolen our pumpkin pie, he's bringing it to his mom who is sitting up on the set. I can't really complain. Mrs. Lemon, there you go, it is delicious. But that meal is going to set you back 1,739 calories and 68 grams of fat and if you're Don, it's going to set you back even more because he just keeps eating and eating. So we haven't counted for people like Don who are going to eat appetizers, who are going to ask for seconds and thirds, who are going to eat a whole bunch of cookies afterwards. So that number you see on the bottom, that's nothing. That's low balling it. So that's about as much fat and calories as you're supposed to have in a whole day and you're eating it in one meal.
KEILAR: Maybe some people who have started their new year's resolution to eat better, maybe they started early. These are a lot of good tips for sort of maybe the things you can watch out for but what about those people who say, look, I'm not really trying to lose weight, can I just sort of blow it today?
COHEN: Absolutely. Some dieticians we talked to are like, you know what, if that's your philosophy and that's what you want to do, that's fine. They also said, there are little tiny things that you can do that will make a big difference. For example, let's go over two of them. These are just two simple things. Forget about the ham. Have the turkey. It's going to save you 100 calories and 15 grams of fat. And another thing you can do is that if you just have plain vegetables versus the casserole veggies, that's also going to save you possibly hundreds of calories. So think about doing those two things. That's not going to spoil your Christmas. That's not that bad.
KEILAR: Yeah and it's just one day although you know this time of year, one day or two, you've got the baked goods at work and you're sort of eating a lot. I know there are certain things up here that are particularly bad for us.
COHEN: And you're standing next to one of them. The eggnog. That eggnog does not have alcohol and you would not believe how caloric it is.
KEILAR: It's just a liquid, though.
COHEN: It's just a liquid but it's a liquid with all sorts of -- I don't even know what's in it, to tell you the truth. However, my cheat sheet here says 342 calories and 19 grams of fat in a serving of eggnog. That's one glass, that's a third of the fat that you're supposed to get in a whole day, you're getting in one glass of eggnog. That's a lot. And the pecan pie is another culprit, 456 calories, 21 grams of fat. So if you just stay away from those two, there is plenty of other good stuff to eat. If you'll just stay away from those two, you're going to do yourself a favor.
LEMON: I'm sneaking in here. Because it's all so good I mean really. But give people a break, right? Because it's Christmas.
COHEN: It is --
LEMON: You deserve to eat what you want. Be careful.
COHEN: Little things like turkey instead of ham. Think about what kind of a favor you'll do to your heart.
LEMON: Sorry for stealing your pie and I made a mess as well.
COHEN: That's ok. You'll be cleaning it up during the break.
LEMON: Merry Christmas. We'll talk now about serving overseas during the holidays. We'll hear from a soldier in Iraq who got a surprise visit with his family as we salute the troops. Isn't that nice, we're saluting the troops?
COHEN: That is. LEMON: Thanks guys.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Hello everyone. It is a rainy Christmas here in Atlanta. Sorry. I just saw Don up there. It's a rainy Christmas here in Atlanta and we hope that warm and snugly wherever you are, right?
KEILAR: And we also have a little sleet here so hopefully that's not affecting you wherever you are. I'm Brianna Keilar in for Heidi Collins and again Merry Christmas.
LEMON: Yeah, and it's great having Brianna here, she's usually in Washington but she is enjoying her, a little bit warmer Christmas here in the Atlanta area.
KEILAR: Yes, it is a little warmer for sure.
LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. We want to start with a very tragic story, it is unfolding in Nepal at this hour. Some 200 people are missing and 15 others are known dead after an overcrowded foot bridge collapsed. At least 32 others are injured in that and these are initial reports because rescue efforts are still going on there. Police say the victims were attending a religious festival in a remote region of Nepal. There were as many as 1,000 people on that bridge when it collapsed plunging victims 100 feet into the raging river below. Many swam to safety but authorities say the missing include many women and children. It is dark now in Nepal and that's hampering the rescue effort there. We're still working on the story and we're trying to get you pictures and more details about it. Make sure you stay with us throughout the morning and throughout the day here for new developments right here on CNN.
(WEATHER REPORT)
LEMON: Making progress, little victories for American troops on the front lines in Iraq led by General David Petraeus. Our Harris Whitbeck is in Baghdad and he had a chance to spend some time with the U.S. commander in Iraq and Harris tells us about his visit now. Tell us about that, Harris.
HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, we actually spent all day with him. We left Baghdad around 6:30 this morning, went to visit three different military installations in Iraq. Some of them are the furthest out there. They are as close to the margins of the multinational forces area of influence in Iraq as you can get. One outpost is 15 miles from the border with Syria. General Petraeus met with 200 soldiers from the U.S. Army that have been out there manning that post mostly doing work involving the community.
The community there is a smuggler's town. They say they are working on trying to stop some of the smuggling of weapons and foreign fighters that might be occurring on the Syrian border there. The general met with the soldiers. He had a Christmas breakfast with them this morning. He then praised them for their effort. He said that he in his mind, the effort in Iraq is going pretty well. It's going much better than this time a year ago. He also re-enlisted -- re-enlisted several soldiers whose re-enlistment was up. He participated in that ceremony, swearing them in for another tour of duty for another period of service in the U.S. armed forces. He then visited two other military outposts in Iraq, another one also close to the Syrian border. The last one northeast of Baghdad in Diyala Province, an area that in the general's own words is still an area of activity for Al Qaeda. He told troops there that they were writing the book on how to wage a counter insurgency effort. He said that while progress has been made, there still is a long and hard road up ahead. Don?
LEMON: Hey Harris, I have a question for you. The Turkish military is saying that it killed more than 150 Kurdish militants in northern Iraq this month. What did the general have to say about those battles?
WHITBECK: Well, you're right. The Turkish government did say that nearly 200 members of the PKK, insurgents from the PKK have been killed in military incursions. Those incursions by Turkish warplanes have ruffled a few feathers within the Iraqi government. There have been some public statements to that effect. General Petraeus, however, said that he felt that everybody -- all parties involved are in agreement as to what the traits of PKK really are.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS, CMDR., MULTINATIONAL FORCES IN IRAQ: The Turks certainly have a right to protect themselves from these terrorists. Now having said that, there also has to be a sensitivity obviously to any incursion that would go beyond certainly those areas where there are just the PKK and the PKK areas by and large are literally just PKK fighters.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
WHITBECK: The U.S. government set up an information exchange center in Ankara, the Turkish capital, just a few days ago, to better improve the flow of information between Ankara, Baghdad and Washington. And also authorities in the Kurdish area of Iraq so that there could be a better -- basically just a better coordination of what's going on up there. Again, Petraeus saying that everybody is in agreement that the PKK are, in fact, a terrorist organization.
LEMON: Harris Whitbeck in Baghdad on this Christmas for us. Thank you very much for that Harris.
KEILAR: Sounds of the season New Orleans style. Ok, obviously I can't say that very well.
LEMON: N'Orleans.
KEILAR: New Orleans.
LEMON: Like yall.
KEILAR: All right. We're going to be taking a trip around the crescent city.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Well, you might like your Christmas music sung by carolers but when in New Orleans, a street band serves it up. CNN photojournalist Kevin Meyers captured these holiday sights and sounds.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
LEMON: It's nice to see those street cars back because they were stopped for a long time. That's where I usually spend Christmas, but I have to work this year. My mom is here. We usually go.
KEILAR: You brought Christmas to you. The tiniest world's tiniest violin.
LEMON: My hearts bleed. That brings me home. I miss that. The folks down there need people to go visit and they need support as well. So Merry Christmas to everyone down in the big easy. We've been asking people about how they spend their Christmas, right, our viewers. We want to know about that.
KEILAR: And also a lot of people, not just us, there are so many people who are working on Christmas. We got an e-mail from one person who is -- this is from Shirley. She said, "I'll be spending Christmas Day from 2:00 p.m. until 2:00 a.m. as 911 dispatcher trying to keep my county's law enforcement and EMS personnel safe. My family Christmas was yesterday on Christmas Eve but the love shared and Christmas spirit are felt every day in our hearts."
LEMON: Very nice. Merry Christmas Shirley. A lot of folks like doctors you said, a lot of people who have to take care of folks are working today, journalists, what have you. So people are working. We have this one from the Logan family -- or I should say the Hardy family, excuse me, in Logan, Utah. It said, "We decided that giving was more important than receiving, so we are volunteering to pass out presents at a homeless shelter all afternoon." That's very nice. You'll be at a homeless shelter?
KEILAR: Yes, I'm serving a meal this evening. I did not forego presents, though.
LEMON: This is the one day you should do stuff. Because usually, I mean I didn't say this not to toot my own horn, but we usually hand out presents and stuff in New Orleans to people instead of our family giving gifts. I think everybody should do stuff like that.
KEILAR: I haven't done it before. I'm ashamed to say that, but it's so important to give instead of receive so I finally thought I'm going to finally do this. this Christmas.
LEMON: Good for you.
KEILAR: From Jessica she e-mailed us and said, "I'm spending my Christmas with my husband at Ft. Hood. I am so grateful to have him home for Christmas this year. So I'll spend my afternoon cooking a big dinner, watching old Christmas movies and being grateful for this Christmas with my husband.
LEMON: That is a great way -- old movies, the old black and white ones like -- what's the one with Christmas past?
KEILAR: "It's a wonderful life."
LEMON: "It's a wonderful life" and "The Christmas Carol," with Scrooge. So it's wonderful. Hey, Merry Christmas to everyone who has sent in their e-mails and everyone who is watching today. Happy holidays to all of you.
KEILAR: And that also brings us to our next story, serving overseas during the holidays. We'll hear from a soldier in Iraq who got a surprise visit with his family as we salute the troops.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: We're celebrating the holiday season. We certainly don't want to forget those service men and women who are serving overseas very far from their homes and their families. Lieutenant colonel Ryan Kuhn is on his first tour of duty in Iraq. We spoke with him yesterday and we had a little surprise for him.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: Colonel, can you tell me how you and your brigade are celebrating?
LT. COL. RYAN KUHN, U.S. ARMY: Well ma'am, we're celebrating the holidays here at (INAUDIBLE) in Iraq with a bunch of activities. Even today the brigade commander and brigade sergeant major, myself, flew to all the combat outposts and patrol base that we have in the brigade with Santa Claus and handed out gifts and candy to all the soldiers that -- all the great citizens back there at home sent to us, so it was a really great day.
KEILAR: Certainly different than the holidays that you spent back here in the U.S. in the past, but just tell us a little bit about what do you want for Christmas this year and if being overseas serving has sort of changed what you want.
KUHN: Well, first of all, I have to tell you it's an honor to serve your country even during this difficult time where all of us would like to be home with our families. The true gift that we all as service men and women are providing really today is freedom and security for our loved ones back home. You know, we're out here ensuring that all our families can gather during this holiday period and enjoy themselves and we understand that we have to make that sacrifice right now. We're at war. We understand that. And we understand last year it was another unit and we all take our turn and we're very proud and happy to be part of that. So our gift is quite frankly allowing our families to enjoy themselves and laugh and have fun and talk to each other. There's not much better gift than that.
KEILAR: And Colonel Kuhn, I know that you can't physically be with your family this year so we're trying to do the next best thing. We brought your family here into the studio. I know that you don't have return -- I know you don't have a monitor where you can see them but they are seeing you larger than life right now. So we brought your wife Jackie and your sons Justin and Joshua as well as your daughter Jenison. What do you guys have to say to your dad?
Hi, dad. Hey, how you doing.
COL. KUHN: Hi, guys. I love you.
I love you too, Merry Christmas.
COL. KUHN: Merry Christmas to you. I had no idea you were going to be there, in the studio.
KEILAR: Colonel they said --
COL. KUHN: What a great day.
KEILAR: They said that you look very good.
COL. KUHN: CNN is number one now in my book.
KEILAR: I know you guys don't always get to see each other. I know you tried on Saturday to do a video feed where you could see each other but you don't always -- what does it mean to be able to actually see his face from time to time?
JACKIE KUHN: This is awesome.
It feels really good to be able to see him finally. Because the last time I got to see him was, when was that, last December.
In July.
COL. KUHN: Last December.
I didn't get to see the VTC in July so this is really important to me.
KEILAR: you know, there's so much going on with your family. Justin, I know you're halfway through basic training yourself. You're a freshman in high school. You just got accepted to the University of Nebraska which your dad who is from Nebraska I'm sure is very proud. There are so many families who are going through what you're going through, you're apart for the holidays. Colonel and you guys as well, could you -- you know, what have you learned about being apart for the holidays about what the holidays really mean?
COL. KUHN: Are you asking me that?
KEILAR: You guys all can talk about this.
It's just about being with your family, I think. It's hard to be away from your family for a long time and I like to thank all of them over there who are doing their part. COL. KUHN: I just want to say my heart goes out to all the families that have -- may have lost a soldier over this last year. So number one is right now, we're all taking care of each other out here. I have to tell you. We take that very seriously. So, it's difficult, we all want to be back home. But we know we got to take care of each other so we can bring everyone back home to be with their families. There's nothing like having families. It doesn't matter how much money you make, it doesn't matter where you came from. It's all about being with families. That's what's so special about this time of year. So, for me, if nothing else, after 22 years in the army, I already knew this, but I am one lucky guy. I have a beautiful bride of 22 years there and a great family. And I'm just so proud of them.
KEILAR: Sir, we really appreciate your service here at CNN and we really appreciate all of you allowing us to spend a moment with your family here on Christmas Eve. If you guys just want to say a last goodbye to your dad before we move on here.
JACKIE KUHN: Ryan, we're still going to make chili tonight and our cookies and we miss you and love you. Merry Christmas honey.
Merry Christmas dad.
KEILAR: Ok T.J., back to you.
COL. KUHN: Ok, well send me some photos.
Ok.
KEILAR: Bye, bye.
Bye dad.
KUHN: Bye ma'am.
Bye.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: That was very sweet.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Someone stole the grinch, luckily the Christmas caper was caught on tape. Adam Owens of affiliate WRAL has the story in true Dr. Seuss style.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ADAM OWENS, WRAL (voice-over): The small town of Southern Pines is brimming with cheer. Those warm fuzzy fuzzies felt this time of year. Down Broad Street, the sidewalks are so fully dressed. Shopkeepers compete for whose tree is best. This one is Chef Warren Lewis's design, the leaning tree with odd green man behind.
WARREN LEWIS, GRINCH OWNER: We had the grinch holding the tree. We had little Cindy who who and Max in the set up top.
OWENS: Dressed in bright red as Santa or elf, one night the grinch who stole Christmas went missing himself. Lewis quickly knew that something was wrong.
LEWIS: We came in that morning and the grinch was gone.
OWENS (on camera): The boys who stole the grinch didn't count on the Lomax, he's the guy who owns the store next door. While they were down here messing around, he was up there looking down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was always a seeing eye watching you, and my mom had always told me that.
OWENS (voice-over): Every moment a camera watches where they're at. They come at first to case out the place. They return, grab the grinch and off they did race. You would think to yourself more often than not the chef without a grinch would be piping hot.
LEWIS: It was hilarious because they were just so busted.
OWENS: Chef Warren put that video on Youtube to view, more than 1,500 took a look. You could call that a few. A couple of those were not overjoyed. They were the parents of those two boys. They returned the grinch right where they found it.
LEWIS: They told me he had been punished and he'd been grounded.
OWENS: The shop owners did not press charges. In the end they were more amused. In Southern Pines, Adam Owens, WRAL news.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Very nice. Merry Christmas to everyone and good having you here. We want to say Merry Christmas to the folks in the control room, the people who put this show together. Our NEWSROOM morning team, there they are, producers, writers, production staff. Merry Christmas to all.
KEILAR: All right, see you guys later. "YOUR WORLD TODAY" is next.
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