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CNN Sunday Morning
Nigerian Churches Bombed; Angry Crowds Fill Moscow Streets; Their One Wish: To Stay Together
Aired December 25, 2011 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANNOUNCER: From CNN's world headquarters, bringing you news and analysis from across the nation and around globe, live from Studio 7, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING with T.J. Holmes.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hey there, everybody. And merry Christmas to you all. Yes, 25th day of December on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
Thank you for spending some of your time -- part of your time on this busy day, family day for many of you. Thanks for spending time with us.
We're going to get you caught up on what you need to know for this next half-hour here. And you'll certainly get back to what you're going to be doing with family today.
Unfortunately, we have to begin this hour with tragic just some tragic news on this Christmas Day. We're getting word that on Christmas Day, churches are being attacked. Two churches in particular, two bombings. Many people are dead and wounded.
You're shown the area here. We're showing it to you where it's happening. This is in Nigeria, two cities in particular, Madala and Jos.
You see the distance they are apart, kind of a great distance apart. But these two bombings went off at Christian churches during Christmas Day services and prayers.
Again, there are a number of casualties. We do not have a definitive number yet. We're working to confirm how many, though. We'll get back to you on that.
But these deadly attacks are reminiscent actually of last Christmas Day when bombers once again targeted churches in Nigeria. Dozens of people died in those attacks, as well. We are just getting word of this. A short time ago, these bombings just taking place.
Those details are still coming in to us here at CNN. We're on top of it. We'll continue to keep you updated there.
Also, another important story happening overseas today.
On the international stage, the biggest public protest we have seen in decades continue in Russia. Two things are bringing Russians out in very large numbers this weekend. They are furious about the current leadership, Vladimir Putin's decision to run against for president. The democratic process you know, relatively young still in Russia.
Today also marking 20 years since the fall of the USSR. Officials estimate that some 30,000 people are in the streets and squares of Moscow. Protesters also angry at the results of parliamentary elections held this month, widely seen by Russian voters as being rigged.
Also another important story from overseas. Syrian troops pushed into the city of Homs this weekend with heavy shelling and machine gunfire. This is video uploaded by a resident there who said thousands of troops are surrounding the city, digging trenches and positioning tanks. Homs is an epicenter of a long-running anti- government movement there in Syria.
(MUSIC)
HOLMES: And news on the presidential front. President election front, I should say. Reaction coming in after Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry failed to get on the Virginia primary ballot -- a pretty big deal for them, an important state that they will not be on the ballot for. Gingrich's team announcing late yesterday that they would now launch an aggressive write-in campaign. One problem, though -- Virginia law specifically prohibits write-ins for a primary.
So now what? The Gingrich campaign says it's evaluating the options.
With just three minutes past the hour on this Christmas Day now, and Christmas celebrations taking place all over the world. A lot of people getting that shopping done.
Well, the pope is saying you need to set aside this commercialization of Christmas. The pope presided over the traditional midnight mass last night. And in his message, specifically he asked them to remember the, quote, "essence of Christmas" rather than the commercial holiday it has become.
Also in Russia, hundreds of families gathered to welcome -- there he is -- that's Father Frost. That's their version of Santa Claus, marking his arrival, the Christmas tree. Moscow's parks were lit up all at once.
Also, this debate comes every time this year. Got some interesting numbers here for you. What should we say -- what did you say? Do you say merry Christmas or do you say happy holidays?
A new poll asked Americans who what they prefer. It found that 2/3 of Americans would rather say "Merry Christmas" than "Happy Holidays." They also found that older Americans overwhelmingly choose "Merry Christmas" -- 74 percent to 22 percent.
Bonnie Schneider, what do you say? BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Happy holidays.
HOLMES: You say happy holidays?
SCHNEIDER: I celebrate Hanukkah. But a lot of people say "Merry Christmas" to me. I don't mind. Season's greetings, always nice to hear something like that.
HOLMES: And that is a wonderful Christmas dress you have going on today.
SCHNEIDER: Thank you, T.J. Good to see you today.
HOLMES: Well, good to have you here with us.
Any issue -- some people do travel on Christmas. They wait to this day to make it to their family's house. Any issues?
SCHNEIDER: I think we have some. First, I want to start with the good news of where we have a white Christmas. Where you're waking up Christmas morning and there's snow on the ground. A lot of places out west are experiencing that, into Colorado, certainly for New Mexico, we have the blizzard there earlier this week.
And then you can see out towards Montana. And even in the mountains of Oregon and Washington, plenty of snow. And that's the part of the country we're going to keep a watch for travel troubles later on today due to some storms that will be working their way into the Pacific Northwest.
But right now, if you're up early and you're heading out on the road, here's where the concern is. It's really in the Southeast. So we're going to see rain working its way into Alabama and into Atlanta even.
Back out to the west, it's cold enough for snow to pop up into Texas. But as we take look at the Southeast where we're watching for the thunderstorm activity, you can see to Jackson, Mississippi, working its way into New Orleans, the panhandle of Florida also facing the threat for severe weather.
And there's Atlanta just getting some light rain right now further off to the south and west of the city. But overall, we are going to see that change to a heavier rain. Unfortunately, a wet Christmas for Atlanta rather than a white one. We've actually had snow here on Christmas in the past.
So, let's take a look at travel delays for those of you that are heading somewhere for this Christmas. Atlanta, some light rain. New York metropolitan areas, actually pretty nice, but there will be some wind and that could cause a slowdown or two. Philadelphia, we're looking at windy weather. Chicago, some winds. And also in Minneapolis.
But overall, what's really nice to see is that these -- most of these delays are under an hour. So, we will be seeing some pretty good conditions. The breezy weather across the Great Lakes and as that colder air comes over the warmer weather of the Great Lakes, watch for snow flurries, especially further Upstate New York.
I mentioned the rain in She southeast, but also, look at this -- some rain in the Pacific Northwest. We'll be dealing with that in Portland and Seattle for today. But most of the country enjoying a fabulous, beautiful Christmas. Looks nice, nice and comfortable, I'm happy to say.
We had the snowstorm earlier this week. But so far, Christmas Day looks great -- T.J.
HOLMES: Well, that's good news. Bonnie, thank you. Good to have you here with us on this Christmas Day.
We're going to get back to the story I told you about here at the top of the hour -- at least two bombings targeting Christian churches on Christmas Day in Nigeria. The first one, a Catholic Church, west of the capital. Second one went off at the Christian house of worship in the northeast.
Now, last Christmas, last year, bombers killed dozens of people in Christian churches in Nigeria.
On the line with me from Jos, Nigeria, journalist Hassan John.
Hasan, tell us just how -- just how devastating. We're still trying to get numbers and whatnot of how many might have been injured and killed. Do we have any indication there you yet -- just how devastating were these bombings?
HASSAN JOHN, JOURNALIST (via telephone): Yes, it's been a terrible event this morning. We have from my count 19 dead as of the time of this report. We do not know yet how many (INAUDIBLE) -- this morning at about 8:00 a.m. The one in Jos was about at 10:30 where a police officer was injured in multiple bomb blasts inside a church.
HOLMES: Were you -- how close were you to these bombings or to that one in particular?
JOHN: Yes, the one in Jos, I was actually in Jos a few meters away from the bomb blast when it went off. And (INAUDIBLE) until immediately after we went to the front of the church, we all took cover. And then there was gunfire. When policemen responded to the blast immediately, some young men, about -- no more than five of them, one had an automatic rifle and shot in our direction at the time -- at the time just enough as the bomb went off.
HOLMES: And last thing here. People can remember what happened a year ago, Christmas Day, as well. Explain to our viewers here why this is happening, why someone would target churches there in Nigeria?
JOHN: Well, it's been -- it's a long history of conflict, actually, since the 1980s when the animosity between Christians and Muslims were fired by the political class. And consistently we have these attacks and counterattacks and reprisals that have been coming. But last year, Christmas Eve, Christian communities were targeted. And we had more than three dead last year. It's happening in spite of the police and security presence in the street and despite (INAUDIBLE). And we believe that apart from politics and the economy, experts say, (INAUDIBLE) overriding all this.
HOLMES: All right. Hassan John, again, thank you for getting on the line with us. But again, the tragic news out of Nigeria today. The church is being targeted on Christmas Day there. At least from Hassan, his count there, at least 19 people dead. We're still working to get more details.
But unfortunate news on this Christmas Day.
It's 10 minutes past the hour.
Again, we're going to keep you updated. We'll be here until the bottom of the hour on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING, give you the information you need today on this Christmas Day. Stay with us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MASTER SGT. ANDREW HOYLE, U.S. AIR FORCE: Hi. I'm Master Sergeant Hoyle, currently deployed at Bagram Airfield. I'm working with the F6 communications. I want to wish my family and friends back in my hometown of Oregon a happy holidays.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: We are 12 minutes past the hour on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING. Merry Christmas to you all.
Some children out there, they're not writing letters to Santa this year. Instead, they wrote letters to the president of the United States, asking for something in particular.
Gustavo Valdes with the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUSTAVO VALDES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ana Freguso (ph) has one wish for Christmas --
UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: I don't want my family to be so frightened.
VALDES: The Georgia native says some of her relatives are not in the country legally, so she fears they could be deported.
UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: It would be sad for me.
VALDES: Ana and some 5,000 children across the U.S. wrote letters not to Santa Claus but to President Obama.
TEODORO MAUS, LETTER-WRITING ORGANIZER: They're angry at the things that have been created to take their parents away.
VALDES: Teodoro Maus is the head of the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights. He organized a letter-writing campaign in Georgia. Mau says that the almost 400,000 deportations reported by the government last year are having an effect on the kids.
MAUS: They're writing and saying, listen, don't do this to us. Leave my father here. Let him spend Christmas with us. Let the family be together.
VALDES: And not all of the letters were written by kids whose parents are undocumented. Daniel Godina says his parents and brothers are U.S. citizens, but still wanted to reach President Obama.
DANIEL GODINA, WROTE LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA: So I can be able to give the president a better understanding of why I don't want this --
VALDES: He says he has friends with parents who have been deported from the only place they consider home.
GODINA: Hopefully, my friends from school don't have to go, and I just -- this right here is my life. Here's my town. Here's my everything -- everything I have is here in Georgia. I just don't want to go.
VALDES: Maus said these children have shown an awareness to this difficult issue far beyond their age.
The letters were sent to the White House and members of Congress in hopes the leaders can reach agreement on immigration reform.
But, for now, the fear of the unknown overshadows the joy of the season.
UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: What I think is going to happen is more and more kids are going to be more sad than they've ever been in their life because their parents have been separated.
VALDES: Gustavo Valdes, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: We're a quarter past the hour on this Christmas morning. And a lot of people out there are serving meals, trying to help other this holiday season. And one in particular group serving meals with a particular message.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Instead of going in the store always getting chips and cookies and things of that nature, we're trying to provide them with alternative ways of eating.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HOLMES: We're talking ex-cons now, using meals to make a difference in their lives and others'. It's our "Giving in Focus" on this Christmas morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SENIOR MASTER SGT. COLLEEN BLAKE-HARRIS, U.S. AIR FORCE: Happy holidays. I'm Senior Master Sergeant Colleen Blake-Harris currently deployed to the Transit Center Manas in Kyrgyzstan. I'd like to say merry Christmas and happy New Year to my husband, Isaac Harris, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Miss you, see you soon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. We're about 19 minutes past the hour on this Christmas morning. Welcome back to you all.
Sometimes what people need in the way of help is not necessarily so extraordinary. They just need an opportunity. And that is what D.C. Central kitchen is all about, helping people who are going to have a hard time convert their lives through food.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BO SIMS, D.C. CENTRAL KITCHEN: I shall return. This should be enough. We're in Washington, D.C. Early on in my life I get it out of watching too many adventure movies.
Robbing banks. That was a thrill. I was running from the feds. We just would rob whatever bank we could.
Finally, they caught up with us. They gave me 20 years.
When I did get out things were different. I just didn't feel as though I was a part of society. Thanks to D.C. Central Kitchen for opportunities that they gave me.
They actually changed my life. So I began my transformation.
BRIAN MACNAIR, D.C. CENTRAL KITCHEN: The thing that's unique about D.C. Central Kitchen, it is a community kitchen. We make 5,000 meals everyday and they go out to breakfast meals on the street. All the city shelters.
SIMS: All right. We're in business.
MCNAIR: And with that meal goes the message that back at home in our kitchen is a 14-week program that will get men and women back on their feet with a culinary job training program. And they leave with jobs.
SIMS: I begin the day. I come in and I get my route sheet. I got two, four, six. MACNAIR: Healthy Corners is an interesting program. I think since the last five years there has been a big focus on healthier meals for us.
SIMS: I'm making a significant difference in the community by providing these items.
MACNAIR: There's been an interest in getting this healthy product into the corner stores that are in the food deserts all around D.C. Food desert is an area where they do not have access to good, local product.
SIMS: Instead of going in the store always getting chips and cookies and things of that nature, we're trying to provide them with alternative ways of eating.
MACNAIR: Bo's been a friend of mine for a long time. I remember him coming through as a student. And he's been through every aspect of the kitchen. Bo worked in catering, Bo worked in production line. We thought he was the perfect candidate to really take on Healthy Corners because he knows the community.
SIMS: This is what it's all about, fresh product.
MACNAIR: When you're around someone long enough who's changing their life and you see that change and they're becoming a better person, it makes you want to do the same in your life.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And CNN's "Giving in Focus" hosted by Tom Foreman, you can catch that today, 4:30 Eastern Time right here.
And at 21 minutes past the hour on this Christmas morning, the time of year, everybody puts together a list of some kind, the best and worst of this and that. We've got another list for you. What was the best and worst in sports this year?
Get your list together. See if it matches ours. And you can be sure that NBA lockout is going to make that list somewhere.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CMDR. LYNNE BLANKENBEKER, U.S. NAVY: Hi, this is Commander Lynne Blankenbeker from Kandahar Role 3, Kandahar, Afghanistan. I just want to wish all my family and friends in Concord, New Hampshire, a very merry Christmas and happy holiday. Bye, love you all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: As we come to the bottom of the hour on this Christmas morning, we'll take you to Rome where Pope Benedict is reminding his Catholic followers of the essence of the holiday rather than the commercial celebration that Christmas has become. Thousands poured into St. Peter's Square and the basilica to glimpse the aging pontiff as he presides over his seventh Christmas mass as pope.
Also, Christmas means NBA basketball. Yes, finally, the season's starting today. You remember the whole lockout, five-month lockout. The NBA season getting underway. Five big marquee games today.
The defending champs -- listen to this -- the Dallas Mavericks are going to raise the banner and get their rings today from their championship, you know, they won last year. And they get to do that in front of the Miami Heat, the team they beat for the championship last year with those two squaring off in one of the marquee games today.
Now, that lockout just one of many sports stories and sports controversies of 2011.
CNN's Mark McKay looking back at the year that was in sports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARK MCKAY, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: To call the 2011 sports year tumultuous is an understatement. And nowhere was that more evident than in college sports.
Ohio state football player sold and traded memorabilia for cash and tattoos. Something the head coach tried to cover up. A booster for the University of Miami said that over the span of eight years, he spent millions on hurricane players including paying for prostitute. But at Penn State, the transgressions were far worse.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Jerry Sandusky is charged with molesting eight boys.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where were the authorities?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is not a case about football or universities. It's a case about children who have had their innocence stolen from them.
MCKAY (voice-over): A child sex abuse scandal involving former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky resulted in the firing of head coach Joe Paterno, and a legacy that was six decades in the making is now in shambles.
Bernie Fine, an assistant basketball coach at Syracuse for the past 36 years, was fired after allegations emerged that he molested children.
In the NFL and NBA, we saw owners and players fighting over billions of dollars while the rest of the country suffered through economic hardship.
And there was tragedy on the race track when IndyCar driver Dan Weldon was part of a 15-car crash which caused the 33-year-old husband and father of two his life.
We also said goodbye to Smokin' Joe Frazier, one of the greatest heavyweight champs of all time.
But amidst all the darkness, there were stories and athletes to celebrate. Packers' quarterback Aaron Rodgers emerging from the shadow of Brett Favre to lead Green Bay to a Super Bowl title. Dirk Nowitzki, a player from Germany, taking the Dallas Mavs to its first NBA title against the team that featured two of the NBA's biggest stars. A 33-year-old head coach named Shaka Smart leading 11-seed Virginia Commonwealth University to the Final Four, college basketball's grandest stage.
A 21-year-old from Northern Ireland named Rory McIlroy who won the U.S. Open and made many ask, "Tiger who?"
Not to be outdone was Alexi Thompson who at 16 became the youngest player to ever win an LPGA tournament.
And who could forget the story of David Freese? A kid who grew up in St. Louis rooting for the Cardinals and leading them to a World Series championship. His performance earning him the series MVP.
Those are some of the stories that reminded us why we watch.
Mark McKay, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And I will be back with you at the top of the hour for my final hour here with you on CNN as we continue CNN SUNDAY MORNING. We'll get you caught up.
Right now, take a break, and after the break, the good doctor.
