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Soldier Shot, Paralyzed at Homecoming; Redeeming Gift Cards; New Details About Newt Gingrich's First Divorce; Gingrich Slide; Monitors To Probe Syria Crackdown; Wine After Your Heart; "Worst Christmas Day"

Aired December 26, 2011 - 14:00   ET

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

ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Isha Sesay, in for Brooke Baldwin.

Let's catch you up on everything making the news this hour, "Rapid Fire." Let's go.

One week from tomorrow, Americans will cast their first votes in the 2012 presidential race. That's when Iowa holds its caucuses.

And polls show no clear winner in the Republican race. Three candidates are in a dead heat, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul and Mitt Romney. The American Research Group poll shows Paul at 21 percent, Romney at 20 percent. And as you see there, Gingrich at 19 percent. The other candidates are all in single digits.

A medical helicopter carrying three people crashed in Florida this morning. The Mayo Clinic confirms that two of its employees were on the helicopter headed to the University of Florida in Gainesville to harvest organs. The FAA says the chopper went down just east of Gainesville. There's no word yet on whether anyone survived the crash.

A Christmas gathering near Dallas ends in a massacre. Police in Grapevine, Texas, say seven family members were shot to death while opening presents. Investigators believe the attacker is among the dead. The shooter was believed to have been related to the family by marriage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEJANDRO BARRERA, NEIGHBOR: We see the cops around there, but we never really hear nothing. Just some family arguments probably, but other than that, it's a very quiet neighborhood.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Well, police say the victims range in age from 15 to 59 years old.

The number of people killed in a series of church bombings in Nigeria is now more than 30. The string of blasts tore through churches in five Nigerian cities on Christmas Day. The extremist Boko Haram sect claimed responsibility. Now, this group has targeted Christians in the past, as well as Muslims who the group's members consider insufficiently Islamic.

Hackers targeted Stratfor.com, a global intelligence company Web site. But just who did the hacking? Well, that remains in question.

Early claims said the activist hacking group Anonymous did it, but Anonymous is denying it. The hackers say they released Stratfor's subscriber data, including information on 4,000 credit cards. Stratfor provides intelligence reports to subscribers, including Bank of America, Lockheed Martin, and the Defense Department.

Parents, what would you say if I told you it's OK to let your teens have sex in your house? Well, it is, according to Amy Schalet. She's a sociologist and college professor who has compared with how parents deal with adolescence sexuality hear in the U.S. and in the Netherlands.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMY SCHALET, AUTHOR, "NOT IN MY HOUSE": The takeaway is you can have more open conversations. You should probably have more open conversations about what's a good relationship. Sex and contraception should go together. What does it mean to be ready, how to get rid of some of these gender stereotypes?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Well, in London it's a nice day for a walk -- out of necessity, that is. Subway workers are on strike today, so parts of the system are shut down. And get this -- it's one of the busiest shopping days of the year. Still, the strike hasn't stopped thousands of people from heading to the big department stores to look for all those bargains.

And crowds of furious Russian voters packed Moscow streets and squares all weekend. They are angry at results of this month's parliamentary vote that kept Vladimir Putin's party in power. Many Russians feel that the election was rigged. The protesters are also demanding fairness in the presidential election set for March. This weekend marked the 20th anniversary of the collapse of the USSR.

Well, we have got a lot more to cover in the next two hours. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY (voice-over): This soldier won medals for bravery at war, but it was his family living room where he took the bullet that paralyzed him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's a good boy. He's an excellent boy.

SESAY: Today, what we're learning about this young man and the shocking argument that put him in the crossfire.

And a big-time ad executive loses her entire family in a house fire. You'll hear about this family's tragic final moments.

We're keeping Newt Gingrich honest after truth comes out about his first divorce.

Then, the power of extreme couponing used to do good.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On this particular receipt we spent $3.69 and we actually saved $63.33.

SESAY: Plus, it's Monday. That means we fill your afternoon with music. But you'll want to watch closely to see how this musician makes her beautiful tunes.

The news starts now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SESAY: A soldier who just barely survived the battlefields of Afghanistan is shot and paralyzed at his own homecoming party in California. Police are still looking for the man who allegedly pulled the trigger.

Twenty-two-year-old Army Specialist Christopher Sullivan returned home to San Bernardino just last week for Christmas after spending much of the year recovering from a suicide attack in Kandahar. Those injuries earned him a Purple Heart.

Sullivan's friends threw him a party on Friday, but it turned ugly when his younger brother and another man started fighting about football. When Sullivan tried to break it up, police say the other man pulled out a gun and shot him twice, shattering his spine. Investigators say the suspect, 19-year-old Ruben Ray Jurado, is still on the loose. He's considered armed and dangerous.

We're joined now on the phone by Suzanne Sullivan. She's the mother of Army Specialist Christopher Sullivan, a family that's going through so much at this time.

Suzanne, thank you for joining us. Please tell us, how is your son doing today?

SUZANNE SULLIVAN, CHRISTOPHER SULLIVAN'S MOTHER: Christopher is hanging in. He is on life support, but that's only to sedate him so he won't move or get hurt. Little by little, they'll give him -- let him breathe on his own, but it's going to take some time.

SESAY: And the doctors are telling you that they believe he's going to be paralyzed from the neck down?

SULLIVAN: Yes.

SESAY: You weren't actually there when this shooting happened.

SULLIVAN: No.

SESAY: So talk to me. How did you find out about what had happened to your son? SULLIVAN: My son called me -- my younger boy, he called me and told me, "Mom, mom, hurry up and get down here. Christopher's been shot."

And my daughter answered, and she said, "Don't be playing with me. You're playing." And he goes, "No, for real, you have to get down here."

I tried so fast to get down there, it seemed like I was never reaching it. But I got there, and the police wouldn't let me go in for their reasons. And that was about it until I got to the hospital where they said he was at.

SESAY: And then you find out that he has been shot, and you hear the circumstances, that it was just -- as we understand it right now, it's being reported an argument over football. I mean, talk to me about what you know about the man who allegedly shot your son. Did they even know each other prior to this party where they were at?

SULLIVAN: What I was told is -- no, I don't know who he is. But what I was told was he went to school with Christopher, and I guess they played football for a year or two. That's what I've been told.

He was just there. I don't know. But he was not even involved in the thing of the football.

He just showed up and told the guy that, "This is my team," and the guy said, "Well, they lost," and that set him off. He got mad because the guy said his team lost. And he pulled out a gun and he shot, first one time in the air and then two other times.

SESAY: You know, what makes this even more upsetting and tragic is that Christopher was involved in a situation in Afghanistan where he survived a suicide attack.

SULLIVAN: Yes.

SESAY: And he had been recovering from that. He'd received the Purple Heart for those acts of bravery. And then for him to come home at his own homecoming party and for this to happen --

SULLIVAN: It's a tragedy, but, yes, that's the circumstances. Christopher, just a year ago, it was December 12th, and he lost five of his men. He really enjoyed his platoon. He was a good man.

SESAY: He was a good son. You said that.

SULLIVAN: Yes, he was. He was a very good son.

And I don't know -- just to say that he was a wonderful man and a great soldier. And yes, he got the Purple Heart.

That's showing a lot of people right there that he would give his shirt off his back just to help anybody. And now he comes home to this.

And how he said, "Mom, I know I'm going to die by the time I'm 24, but I'm going to die for my country." I don't think Christopher ever thought in his own back yard. Never did I think -- I don't think he ever would have thought that. But he's not dead. He's alive, and I just thank God for that.

SESAY: Yes. We're all very thankful for that.

In terms of his injuries, he doesn't know the extent of his injuries right now.

SULLIVAN: He asked yesterday what happened. He was mumbling, and we figured out, and he would shake his head. He asked us, "What happened?" And we told him. He said, "Why?" And we told him what it was about and he just closed his eyes.

SESAY: Does he understand?

SULLIVAN: I think he did. After that he didn't really respond no more after that.

SESAY: This is obviously a really tough time for you. We can't even begin to imagine what the family is going through.

How is his brother? It was his brother that was having this disagreement with this alleged shooter that Christopher intervened in. How is he doing?

SULLIVAN: It's the baby brother. It's hard. It's hard for his other brother, too.

Can I say names?

SESAY: Anything you're comfortable sharing with us.

SULLIVAN: I'll just say it was his older brother, the middle baby. And they're both taking it hard.

It's really hard for them. They don't understand it. They're confused, just like everybody is.

They just want him to turn himself in. We just want justice to be done, all of us. It's just taking so long and it's getting really frustrating.

SESAY: I know that Christopher had a visit from someone in his infantry. And you've already said being part of the Army meant so much to him. Share, if you would, what that visit -- what happened during that visit and who came to see him.

SULLIVAN: Richard. His name was Richard. He's from the 101st Infantry Division. He's a retired vet.

He came to bring Christopher the screaming eagle flag. He hung it on the wall.

And when I went back last night I told him, "I don't know if you remember when he came earlier, Christopher." I said, "But Richard came to bring you your screaming eagle flag from your platoon." I said, "Would you like to see it? He shook his head.

I said, "All right. I'm taking it off the wall, son." And I said, "OK, if you want to see it, you need to open up your eyes."

He opened his eyes up. He looked at the flag. He closed his eyes and he started crying. Tears were just rolling down his face.

And then he just -- I asked him, "OK, son, what would you like for me to do with this flag? Would you like for me to hang it back up or would you like for me to cover you with it?" I said, "Just move your eyes if you want me to cover you with it."

He moved his eyes. He wanted me to cover him with this flag. So right now, at this point in time, Christopher has the screaming eagle on top of him. He loved his platoon. He loved his fellow soldiers, everybody that served with him. He was so proud to serve our country.

And look at his face. He's beautiful. He always carried a smile. Anybody who knew Chris, he was always full of life. He's still going to be full of life.

SESAY: Yes, he is.

(CROSSTALK)

SESAY: Yes, he is. And he has you and the rest of his family there with him. This is such a difficult time for you all.

And Christopher and the entire family, you're all in our thoughts and prayers. And I just want to say, thank you so much for taking a moment to tell us how he's doing and to just talk about everything that you're going through right now. We really do appreciate it, and we're going to continue checking in with you, Suzanne, and just see what progress Christopher is making.

OK?

SULLIVAN: Thank you very much. And let the viewers know, just keep Christopher in their prayers and just hope he gets better. And anybody who is out there who knows my son, you know he's a fighter and he's not going to give up.

SESAY: Suzanne Sullivan, thank you so much. I know you're going to see Christopher now. So we're going to let you go and we're going to continue to check in with you over the coming days and weeks. So take care, and we'll be in touch. Thank you so much.

SULLIVAN: Thank you so much, too. Have a good new year.

SESAY: Thank you.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SESAY: Well, if you got a gift card in your stocking, you're hardly alone. Gift card sales were expected to hit $28 billion this year.

Alison Kosik is live for us now in New York to tell us how to get the most bang for your gift card buck -- Alison.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: How to get the most bang for your buck? I'd say just get out there and shop like these people are doing behind me. Check out these crowds.

Yes, this is the day after Christmas, one of the busiest days for retailers. A lot of these shoppers, yes, they're returning items. In fact, consumers are expected to return up to $46 billion in holiday merchandise. But that's because of the record sales that happened on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

And in addition to returning these items, Isha, they're also buying. Retailers are offering deep discounts because they're still looking to move a lot of merchandise. Remember, spring is right around the corner, and these retailers are still stuck with a lot of merchandise. So expect to see a lot of deep discounts -- Isha.

SESAY: Yes, I was just going to ask you about that, because I haven't had a minute to hit the shops. And what kind of items are being marked down by retailers right now?

KOSIK: Well, right now what retailers are really pushing, especially during this week, are what they call soft-line merchandise like clothing and home goods. So expect to see a lot of discounts there, as opposed to what they call the hard-line merchandise like toys and electronics.

And just so you know, this is the real week -- shopping week of the year, so retailers are really trying to seize the moment. They call this the second season. I'm talking about the week between Christmas and New Year's. And they call it the second season for a reason.

Just last year, consumers purchased $62 billion worth of goods in just that one week. This week, retailers say they expect to top that amount, that consumers are expected to buy up to $72 billion worth of goods just in one week. Of course we're going to know the exact numbers in the coming weeks, when the National Retail Federation tallies up the numbers and lets us know how well the retailers did this holiday shopping season -- Isha.

SESAY: Seventy-two billion dollars is a lot of money, but it looks like a zoo behind you there.

Alison Kosik, we appreciate it. Stay safe there out there in New York. Thank you.

KOSIK: OK.

SESAY: With eight days until the Iowa caucuses, the Republican primaries are proving to be a tight race. We have new poll numbers that put three GOP candidates nearly tied for first place. Find out which candidates. That's coming up.

Plus, new details surface about the first marriage and divorce of Newt Gingrich. That story coming up in two minutes.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SESAY: So, two messy divorces in Newt Gingrich's past. Today, documents recovered by CNN are raising new questions about divorce number one. Gingrich says the split was his wife's idea, but was it?

CNN's Alan Duke has gotten his hands on the long-sought divorce papers.

And Alan, what do the papers say?

ALAN DUKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the reason these are relevant this year -- it happened more than 30 years ago -- is because the Gingrich campaign, now that he's running for president, for the first time has something of a new explanation, a new defense of this controversial divorce. We've been covering it for three decades, and there's not really much new in that except their new defense, really.

And they're saying that the wife requested the divorce. However, it didn't seem right to me, because I was there 30 years ago covering it.

And I called and talked to her friends. But then I went to the courthouse to find the documents in the Carroll County courthouse. Couldn't find the file at first. Eventually, we found it stashed away in a court clerk's office. And what we found was interesting, Jackie Gingrich filing a petition opposing the divorce.

SESAY: So she didn't want the divorce?

DUKE: She did not want it. In fact, one of the divorce filings that she said very clearly stated that she did not want the judge to grant the divorce, said although the "defendant does not admit that this marriage" -- she didn't admit that the marriage was "irretrievably broken." And further on she said that she wanted to try to save it.

I've had interviews with some people who knew her quite well and who knew Newt Gingrich from their church and their Sunday school class. One gentleman that I interviewed, Gerald Johnson (ph), a state legislator at the time, in fact, told me quite plainly he was surprised that the campaign would now try to suggest that Newt Gingrich was divorcing his first wife because she asked him to.

SESAY: And the point to bring out here for our viewers so they're clear is that Newt Gingrich has always conceded that he's made mistakes in his past, but he said he wiped the slate clean and was telling it as it was.

DUKE: Yes. And, in fact, he is 68 years old. He's got grandkids, a couple of them. And it has been a long time.

Everybody makes mistakes. Many people have divorces. But how do you handle those is something that the people are looking at. He's defended this forever. But what is new now is that he is actually saying that it was Jackie Battley-Gingrich, his first wife, who asked for the divorce, and that's how he's explaining it. A lot of controversy there.

SESAY: And the campaign?

DUKE: The campaign is standing by it, saying no, she requested it.

SESAY: The campaign is saying she requested it even though you have the court papers that say otherwise?

DUKE: Yes. We put them online at CNN.com. You can go and see for yourself exactly that.

And she won't talk to us on camera. I've talked to her. I've known her for 30 years or more. And there's no indication to me she ever -- in fact, in 1985, she gave one interview, and that was with "The Washington Post." She called the divorce filing a complete surprise at that time.

SESAY: Alan Duke, interesting reporting and interesting findings, I should add. Appreciate it. Thank you.

All right. Well, with us now from Washington is CNN's Wolf Blitzer.

Wolf, we're going to get to the issue of the divorce and the narrative that Newt Gingrich has put out, but I want to start with the fact that Gingrich's surge appears to have peaked and may in fact be reversing, because we've got this fresh poll out of Iowa with the caucuses just eight days away. And looking at these numbers, as you are with me, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, bunched together at the top, which begs the question, what's happening to Newt?

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: If you believe that poll -- and it's eight days to go -- it's three-man race right now in Iowa. But let's not forget that it's not winner take all in Iowa if there's a proportionate representation. In other words, they're going to be able to split up the delegates coming out of Iowa.

So, in the olden days, whoever came out first took all of the delegates from Iowa. This time around they're moving towards what the Democrats do. They have proportionate winning in terms of the delegate count going into the Republican convention later in the summer in Tampa.

So it's a little bit different. There's not necessarily just this notion that if you win even by one or two percentage points you're the winner. Obviously, you'll be the winner. But even the number two and the number three, and maybe the number four, they will be able to come out with delegate counts, delegate support going into New Hampshire, then South Carolina and Florida, all along.

So right now it's very close. Look, eight days is a long time. A lot can happen. People are going to be looking for endorsements, for example. If Congressman Steve King, Republican of Iowa, if he decides to endorse one of the candidates, he has some influence. That could have an effect.

If Chuck Grassley, the Republican senator from Iowa, makes a decision to go ahead and endorse, that could have an impact. The governor, Terry Branstad, he says he's not going to endorse anyone, but he could always change his mine. So we'll see what happens in these next eight days.

By the way, Isha, I'm heading out to Iowa tomorrow. I'll be interviewing Newt Gingrich live tomorrow in "THE SITUATION ROOM." On Wednesday, I'll be interviewing Mitt Romney from Iowa. So obviously there's a lot of excitement going into these Iowa caucuses.

SESAY: Yes, absolutely. Big gets, important interviews.

But let me ask you -- this talk about the difference in the narrative, how Newt Gingrich posits how the divorce came about in his first marriage, and what we found out, CNN reporting from the paperwork. Does it matter knowing Iowans as you do, knowing their sensibilities? Will it matter to them?

BLITZER: It might matter to some, some social conservatives, some others, but it's been so well documented. Now there's a little bit of new information coming in. Alan Duke got the actual documents, the court papers when Newt Gingrich filed for divorce.

I guess, there's a technical distinction. They could say that yes, Newt Gingrich did file, technically he filed the papers for the divorce, but his first wife asked for the divorce, never going forward and actually filing the paperwork.

So they may be disagreeing over the words asked for a divorce versus filing for a divorce. It's something we can explore when I speak with Newt Gingrich tomorrow.

But I suspect so much of this is already well known, so much is already discounted. I'm not sure it's going to have a huge effect going into the Iowa caucuses, although you'll never know. We'll see how it plays out.

SESAY: Yes, indeed. I mean, we're talking about the likes of Romney, Paul and Gingrich representing the first tier of candidates there in Iowa. But who do you see from second tier who might mount, you know, a final-week surge?

BLITZER: I think we'll probably be surprised at Rick Santorum. He's been doing not very well in all the polls, but he spent so much time in Iowa. He's been to all 99 counties. He's gotten some important endorsements. He's working really hard.

I suspect that Rick Santorum might do a little bit better than folks thought, but we'll see. Rick Perry is spending a lot of money. He has a lot of commercials rolling out right now. Michele Bachmann spent a lot of time in Iowa.

So I think that fight between Perry, Bachmann and Santorum will be interesting to watch to see who really comes up at the top of that bottom three, if you will.

Huntsman isn't even playing in Iowa so forget about him. There are really six candidates that we're going to be watching. There are three or four tickets out of Iowa, as they say.

We know who the first three are presumably going to be. We'll see if there's one or two others who might still emerge out of Iowa and head into New Hampshire.

SESAY: Yes, we should be watching closely. You say you've got that interview with Newt Gingrich tomorrow. You and along with a lot of our political bigwigs, the Best Political Team in Television heading down to Iowa to do a lot of broadcasting out there. Wolf, we'll all be watching. Thank you for joining us.

BLITZER: Thanks, Isha.

SESAY: Just a reminder, live coverage of the Iowa caucus begins here on CNN next Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

At least 23 people reportedly were killed today in Syria. This comes as dozens of Arab League observers are expected to arrive in the country after the government agrees to end a brutal crackdown.

Mohammed Jamjoom is standing by live right now. He'll have the latest developments coming after a very quick break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SESAY: "Globe Trekking" now to Syria, 23 people reported killed there today. It's part of the violent uprising that has lasted nearly a year now.

This is a neighborhood in Homs that you're looking at, one of the flash point cities where opposition fighters and Syrian troops clash almost daily. We depend on amateur videos like this one to see what's happening in Syria.

But that may be about to change because the Syrian government is finally allowing outsiders close to fighting. A team of Arab league observers agree to a mission only if Syrian forces back away from cities and end all forms of violence.

The first elements of that group are there already. I want to bring in our Mohammed Jamjoom. He's in Cairo, but watching developments in Syria from there.

Mohammed, break this down for us. Who exactly is in this Arab League group and what exactly will they with be doing?

MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Isha, as of now it's about 50 observers who have arrived in Damascus. We've been told they've just arrived in the past half hour to 45 minutes.

We're told they're going to go tomorrow to flash point cities like Homs and to provinces like Idlib to start their monitoring mission. Now the protocol that was signed between the Arab League and Syria just a few days ago specifies that there must be an end to the violence. That these monitors will observe to make sure that the military is pulled from towns and villages in Syria, detainees are released, that an end to the violence occurs.

But on the same day that these observers have arrived, we heard horrific tales in cities like Homs. We have spoken to activists who told us that not only that over 23 people been killed and hundreds wounded, but the shelling continues that there's a barrage.

We've seen videos uploaded today purporting to show tanks in the streets, purporting to show houses being shelled with people screaming out "God is great."

They say the situation is dire and they're fearful that if the Arab League isn't actually able to go to these cities and do their work in an unfettered kind of way, they're afraid genocide is going to happen -- Isha.

SESAY: Yes, indeed. That's the basic question here, if on the very day, an advance party of the Arab League arrives in the country and we're getting these reports of death, how effective will they really be?

JAMJOOM: And that's the key question. You know, there are a lot of activist groups in Syria that, even though they welcome the Arab League mission, being able to come in and hope that they're actually able to do their work and try to end the violence, they don't believe the body is an effective one.

They don't believe the Arab League is actually going to be able to have the free reign to do the kind of work that needs to be done. They don't believe the Bashar Al-Assad regime. You know, the Al-Assad regime continues to claim they're fighting terrorism in that country.

The activists keep say that the Al-Assad regime is saying that in order just to continue the months' long crackdown on them, but has claimed the lives according to (inaudible) over 5,000 people.

Other activist group say over 6,000 people have been killed. People say, if there are 50 tore 100 observers that go in, how much exactly will they be able to do?

Will they be able to escape their minders and given the access they need to be given in order to really help end this cycle of violence? Nobody knows at this point -- Isha.

SESAY: You make a very important point about minders because we know to date the Syrian government has been very reluctant, in fact, has refused to allow international journalists to freely move about Syria or in some cases even get into Syria at different points of the year. You make the point, to move around in Syria, you're going to need these government minders and what access will they get to truly see what's going on, on the ground.

JAMJOOM: Absolutely. One member of the advance Arab League team that's now back in Cairo spoke to CNN earlier said they would be going around in Syria with Syrian security because the Syrian government insisted that the Syrian forces would need to provide them security.

So that, again, begs the question, if Syrian security is with them, are they going to be taken to the real flash point parts of these towns, of these provinces? We've heard these horrific tales the past few days in cities like Homs, in neighborhoods where we're told a massacre is happening.

The more activists we speak to, the more we hear words like carnage, continued blood bath. The question is how much can these people do, how effective will they be? We'll only be able to tell in the days and weeks to come -- Isha.

SESAY: Mohammed Jamjoom joining us there from Cairo. Mohammed, always appreciate it. Thank you.

Now this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Eller's Estate is a special place because of the land first and foremost. This is right in the heart of Napa Valley, just north of St. Elena on some of the best primo, AAA quality cabernet land anywhere.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: A California winery is not only beautiful, but also has a heart. Coming up, how every bottle of wine helps save the lives of babies in need.

What will all of you be taking and writing about -- talking about writing about in the coming year. The Global Language Monitor predicts these top five words or phrases.

At number five, solar max that refers to the peak of the 11- year sun spot cycle. Duh, didn't you know that? Number four, Bak'tun, that's a cycle of time used by the Mayans.

A lot of people say if you go by the current Bak'tun, the Mayan apocalypse will happen on December 21st of next year. So I guess I have to say mark your calendars.

At number three, apparently a lot of you will be referring to the middle kingdom, another name for China as the economic surge is expected to continue in the comings year.

The top projections for next year's trending words are coming up after a quick break. We promise they are in plain English. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SESAY: So what will the world English speakers be talking about in 2012? The Global Language Monitor predicts the second most used word will be Olympiad. As you know, every four years the summer games are played.

In 2012, London, my hometown is the place to be, which may be why the number one word on the list is Kate, as in the Duchess of Cambridge, fashionista and subject of many a tabloid headline.

Well, wine is good for your heart in many ways. In today's "Giving In Focus," how one man's passion for wine and philanthropy helped define a historic California winery.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Eller's Estate is a special place because of the land, first and foremost. This is right in the heart of Napa Valley and some of the very, very best primo AAA quality cabernet land anywhere.

The land here at Eller's Estate has been in grapes for 125 years. Jean Le Ducq was a pretty amazing businessman, built businesses in France, came to America and did the same thing. John Le Ducq's father and grandfather both died in their 50s from heart disease.

And Jean Le Ducq had a problem with his own ticker and was at that time very cutting-edge heart bypass surgery at the Mayo Clinic and so he wanted to give something back so he created a foundation.

The Le Ducq Foundation funds international cardiovascular and neurovascular research. They've funded to the tune of $200 million over the last 11 years.

When I was hired here at Ellers Estate, my marching orders were to make great wine, take care of the property, take care of the brand, take care of the personnel and send a check back to the foundation.

DR. JEFF FINEMAN, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO: The money is substantial and it really allows a significant amount of research to be performed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The ultimate goal is to treat newborns that are born with the most devastating type of congenital heart disease and improve their lives dramatically. The goal is ultimately that these children that 20 years ago had absolutely no prognosis go on and live long, fruitful lives.

I didn't come here to be a do-gooder. I came here because I knew I could make world class wine from this land. On top of all that, to be owned by this foundation and return all of our profits back to support international cardiovascular research is just astounding. If you look carefully and turn that "E" sideways you see there is a little heart in the "E." It is first and foremost about the wine but we love that little heart in the logo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: A great story of kindness. A devastating house fire claims the lives of one woman's mother, her father and her three small children. We are live outside the house in Connecticut right after this very quick break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SESAY: An absolutely tragic Christmas day in the town of Stamford, Connecticut to tell you about. The first call came into the fire department at 4:52 a.m., a massive fire at a Victorian Mansion owned by an ad executive.

Authorities say fire fighters rushed the home, but had to retreat from the intense flames and heat. Three children died, three girls, as did their grandparents. Take a listen to the town's mayor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR MICHAEL PAVIA, STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT: A horrible tragedy. It's Christmas Day. There probably has not been a worse Christmas Day in the city of Stamford.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: But Robert Golson of CNN affiliate, WFSB is standing by for us right now. We want to show the photo that shows the fire victims as recently as the day before their death. Tell us what you know about the victims.

ROBERT GOLSON, WFSB: Isha, as you said, this is an absolutely horrifying story. We're going to show you the neighborhood while we tell you a little about the victims, where all five of these people died Christmas morning. This dead ends right onto Long Island sound. The house is just beyond those people to the right. They have taken the house down.

It was owned by a woman, an advertising executive out of New York City, Madonna Badger. She's 47-year-old woman. She was recently divorced. She has three young daughters. Two of them were twins. Her grandparents were also in the house -- excuse me -- her parents were also in the house with her.

Apparently, the fire just got so out of control, it was so intense, that they were not able to escape. The fire fighters telling us when they got here they could not even get close to the house. They were able at some point to get into the third story of house and they checked the bedrooms where the children were supposed to be.

The mom had gotten outside the house. She apparently was trying to get up some scaffolding. There were renovations undergoing at the house. They were trying to get up and rescue the children and her parents before the fire fighters got here.

But of course, they were not able to do that. So it was just an absolutely horrifying Christmas morning for this family as they lost the three young girls and the mom's mother and father.

We are told the mother, Madonna Badger, she had to be sent over to the hospital. She took in too much smoke, but she has been released. We have not been able to talk to her at this point -- Isha.

SESAY: Robert, what authorities are saying? Had they been able to pinpoint the cause of this fire and the fact that it spread so rapidly?

GOLSON: Yes. The fire was very intense. They're not clear. We just talked to the chief. It's not clear if any of these renovations had anything to do with that, maybe because the house had been hollowed out a little bit, maybe there was a lot of chance for air to get in.

We don't know if there were certain kinds of chemicals or paints or anything that was being used in these renovations. The fire marshal is handling the investigation. They said they were able to get in the house and do all of their physical work.

They actually took the house down right after that, late this morning. Now they still want to do some interviews. They want to talk to, of course, all the people who survived the deadly fire.

They say tomorrow at 5:00 they are going to call a news conference. We're hearing that they may release some sort of result of the fire -- excuse me -- the cause of the fire, but they also may have some information on what they've been able to rule out so far.

One of the first deputy chiefs was telling one reporter here that apparently they do not think this had anything to do with the renovations, but at this point it's unclear what exactly caused this fire.

SESAY: Yes, what we can say is it is indeed a great tragedy. Robert Golson joining us there from Stamford, Connecticut. Thank you, Robert.

A musician who is as interesting to watch as she is to listen to. Check this out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, it's kind of a two hand technique.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: She has a personal connection to our very own Brooke Baldwin. Stick around for today's "Music Monday."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SESAY: Every Monday at this time, Brook profiles an artist whose music has touched her. Today, she has an even closer connection to the musician we're about to feature.

Brooke actually went to high school right in Atlanta with the guitar engineer, Kaki King. You want to pay very close attention to the amazing way she plays. Enjoy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: I have memories of you in high school playing on stage Kaki with drums. You were drumming.

KAKI KING, MUSICIAN: I played drums, yes.

BALDWIN: Are you still?

KING: Yes. I played a lot of drums on records that I've made. Drums were the -- I guess in a weird way drums were the public and the social aspect of music for me. Everyone needed a drummer and everyone needed a bass player.

I was there to fill that role in everyone's band. That was kind of what I did to hang out. Guitar became more and more of this closed thing because I really wanted a solo guitar at an early age.

You don't really hang out and do with people. It became my way in to having friends. Guitar became my way in to me.

BALDWIN: When did you first start moving from conventional playing to tapping the fretboard?

KING: Well, I started playing finger style which has to do with the fake nails and detuning the guitar into other tunings. You know, I had already been experimenting probably around age 14. It wasn't too long, a few years of that where I'd learn a new concept for the guitar, something I didn't think you could do.

It would open this world and I would get so into it for a few months. I would learn the next step. I kind of almost went down this rabbit hole in a way. Before I knew it, I didn't know what I was doing was strange or something that wouldn't normally be done.

Tapping kind of came -- it sort of came naturally part of it. It was like, well, how do I get the sound I want? That guy does it like this. Why don't I just try to do that on the guitar? I need to hear the note.

The only way I can do it is by maybe pressing it with the right hand instead of playing with my left. The only way I can feel this pulse of the beat, if I bang a little on the guitar. There's a lot of problem solving that comes --

BALDWIN: Are you good at math?

KING: I was actually pretty good at math.

BALDWIN: So will you show me?

KING: I will show you, yes. Here is sort of an example. It's kind of a two-hand technique.

BALDWIN: What? What? Kaki.

KING: Thanks.

BALDWIN: Wow.

KING: Well, you know, for instance, this note has to be tuned to a certain thing in order for all the rest of it to fit together. I have to sort of land here and then get out of the way with this hand. So it will be hard to cross that so I might, you know, there is a lot of math that kind of goes into it, but adding up numbers.

BALDWIN: You can tell.

(MUSIC)

BALDWIN: I see you sitting this closely doing this thing to the guitar, and then like a few years ago when "Rolling Stone" calls you the first female guitar god, and you said, that's just hyperbole.

KAKI KING, MUSICIAN: Here's thing. I play guitar for a living. And this guitar is way smarter than me. And I know that.

And I say this a lot. And I really mean it from the bottom of my heart. I am a guitar student and I will be for the rest of my life. There's too much to learn in a lifetime. And there's something beautiful and challenging and humbling about that, that I don't want to let go of.

I'm always seeking out new sounds and I'm always seeking out new techniqueS and ideas. But they're always a means to an end. Let's face it. I could be hung upside down and play guitar. There's all kinds of tricks that are out there. But they're not artistic, and they're not beautiful and they're not moving.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: So, so talented.

Check out Brooke's blog later today for her interview with Kaki King and also her "Music Monday" reports at CNN.com/Brooke.