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Five Found Shot Dead Christmas Morning; Search Continues In River For Police Officer; One Year Later, Tsunami Survivor Shares Experiences; Salvation Army Representatives Reflects On Tsunami One Year Later; Chicago School Stresses Fitness; Deepak Chopra's Relaxation Tips

Aired December 26, 2005 - 13:00   ET

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

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: From CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Betty Nguyen, in for Kyra Phillips today. Here are the stories that we are working on for you right now.
Five people found shot dead Christmas day. We do expect a live news conference this hour from the Fairfax County Police Department.

Also, returns and rushing to cash in on those gift cards. You know what I'm talking about. The post-Christmas shopping season is on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Then I saw the shark just right up in my face, and I just gave it a good punch to get it to let go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: In this fish story the surfer is the one that did get away. It's a shark attack, and a survivor tells his story.

All that and more straight ahead right here. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

Searching for answers outside the nation's capital. Five people were discovered dead on Christmas morning in two neighborhoods in suburban Virginia. All of the victims were shot, and police say they believe one of the dead was responsible.

Reporter Wisdom Martin with our affiliate WTTG was on the scene.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WISDOM MARTIN, WTTG CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Early Christmas morning police, tactical teams, and SWAT units surrounded a three- story house in Great Falls. It was a scene that surprised some of the people in this neighborhood. They had no idea what was happening.

BARBARA DAINE, VISITING FROM BOSTON: We were told to stay in the house.

MARTIN: Boston native Barbara Daine is visiting her daughter, who lives across the road. DAINE: We really didn't see much except that we heard a lot of helicopter activity.

MARTIN: Around 10 a.m. Christmas morning police got a call about gunshots in the area. Once they arrived and went inside the house, investigators found four people and the family dog had been shot and killed. A fifth victim, a 20-year-old, was still alive and escorted out by police.

While investigating this crime scene, police soon made another stunning discovery. They found evidence that led them to another murder in another location. About five miles away, police found the body of a woman outside a house in McLean, Virginia.

OFFICER RICH HENRY, FAIRFAX COUNTY POLICE: To have five people die in the same day of a violent act is very, you know, surprising.

MARTIN: Police also say the suspect was one of the four people dead, and he knew all the victims, so this was not a random attack. But that's little comfort to the residents in this community, who had their holiday interrupted by a large police presence and a murder investigation.

DAINE: It was very unnerving, and especially on Christmas morning it's very sad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: And we want to go now to reporter Emily Schmidt with WUSA, the affiliate there.

Emily, you're joining us now. Press conference is about to get under way. A lot of questions. Tell us what you know so far.

EMILY SCHMIDT, WUSA CORRESPONDENT: Betty, what we know is that police are expected to give us more details probably within the next few minutes.

Take a look at the numbers again. We are talking about five deaths: four murders and one suicide. Basically, that means homicide detectives had to open more cases in this county in a matter of minutes than they normally deal with in a matter of months.

Though names have not officially been released, police sources as well as neighbors tell us that the shooter was 27-year-old Nathan Cheatham. They say he killed his mother, Sheila, on Christmas morning, then drove about seven miles and killed three others in a home before turning the gun on himself.

Police sources are also telling us that Nathan Cheatham did have a long history of mental illness. Though they are telling us at this point they do not know what set him off, what started these shootings. In fact, one police spokesperson tells me that they may never know a motive in this case.

What we are waiting to know, though, is how this unfolded, who exactly was affected. This is expected in this police briefing that should be happening in the next few minutes. We'll bring it to you when police take the podium.

NGUYEN: And when they do, we'll be right here. Emily, thank you for that.

So we'll take that when it happens. But right now New Jersey authorities are scouring the frigid Hackensack for a police officer believed killed on a Christmas Day tragedy. Two officers drove off a drawbridge last night and plunged 40 feet into the river. The body of one officer has been recovered.

CNN's Chris Huntington updates us now live from New Jersey -- Chris.

CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Betty, what should have been a relatively straightforward exercise in traffic management turned horribly tragic when bad luck, bad weather, and a broken safety gate conspired to cost the lives of two Jersey City police officers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTINGTON (voice-over): In dense fog and heavy rain shortly after 8 Sunday night, Jersey City police officers Shawn Carson and Robert Nguyen were called to help manage traffic on this drawbridge over the Hackensack River. The drawbridge operator, facing a request to raise the bridge for a tugboat, called on police assistance because one of the bridge's safety gates had been damaged in an accident two days earlier.

Officers Carson and Nguyen drove safely over the bridge, heading west to deliver traffic cones and flares to other officers already halting the oncoming traffic. But they did not return safely.

CHIEF ROBERT TROY, JERSEY CITY POLICE: These heroes, they went over the bridge and they delivered the flares, and when they got done delivering the flares the other officers were setting the flares up. Another incident did occur there, not related to what they were doing, which distracted a lot of the officers at the scene. These two officers got back in their truck and headed east, not knowing that the bridge was open for an oncoming tug.

HUNTINGTON: Unaware that the center span they had just crossed safely was now elevated, leaving a huge gap, Carson and Nguyen plunged into the swift and frigid waters of the Hackensack River.

MAYOR JERRAMIAH HEALY, JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY: Because of the hour, the darkness, the rain, the fog, I'm sure it was impossible for those two fine young men to see what they were driving into, their own -- their own demise.

HUNTINGTON: Rescuers from the Jersey City police and fire departments, as well as U.S. Coast Guard and New York City harbor patrol responded within minutes. They soon recovered Officer Carson, who was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. Shortly before 2 a.m. the submerged emergency vehicle was pulled out of the river. But despite an ongoing search, Officer Nguyen's body has not been recovered.

HEALY: I knew both of these young men personally. One of them went to high school with my oldest son, and the other fine young man was a coach to one of my sons in track. So this is a terrible loss for all of us.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTINGTON: Now, the Jersey City police chief confirms that in addition to the broken gate on the drawbridge warning bells that would ordinarily sound when raising the drawbridge did not go off. The tragic irony for officers Carson and Nguyen is that they fell victim to the very kind of accident they were trying to prevent -- Betty.

NGUYEN: Oh, it's just such a tragedy. Chris Huntington, thank you so much.

Moving on to other news right now, the ocean floor rumbled and split, the waters convulsed, more than 200,000 people were swept to their deaths. It was the day after Christmas 2004. The Indian Ocean tsunami, one of the biggest natural disasters in modern history.

One year later, tears and commemorations. The latter timed to coincide with the killer wave's assault on southern Thailand, northern Indonesia, southeast India, Sri Lanka, and a half dozen other countries.

Now, Indonesia's Aceh province alone lost an estimated 130,000 people, many of whom were buried by necessity thousands at a time in unmarked graves. Today survivors flocked to those sites to pray for the dead and the living.

The epic catastrophe triggered a seismic global response, roughly $13 billion promised, almost $10 billion delivered so far. Still, the aid group Oxfam estimates 80 percent of the 1.8 million people who lost their homes are still displaced, many still living in tents.

One of those is Nasir, an Indian boy whom CNN's Alex Quade met a year ago in the decimated city of Banda Aceh. This month Alex returned, and she met Nasir again.

Here is her report, first seen on CNN's "ANDERSON COOPER."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEX QUADE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When we first met Nasir, his life was hard: his family and village gone, swept away by the tsunami. A year ago, while other children swam, 13-year-old Nasir scrubbed laundry. Just getting by was a daily struggle, with work and memories.

NASIR, TSUNAMI SURVIVOR (through translator): I ran to the mosque to save us. Then the mosque was hit by the wave and the water came in. I had my two sisters on my lap. They kept calling for my mother. More water came in. They couldn't breathe and were limp. I didn't let go of their hands. I held them tight. Then I couldn't breathe anymore, so I let go. Somebody saved me.

QUADE: Nasir thought he was orphaned and ended up here, in a refugee tent, cooking...

NASIR (through translator): I want to buy vegetables, but have no money.

QUADE: ... cleaning...

NASIR (through translator): all I do every day is wash the dishes.

QUADE: ... feeling guilty.

NASIR (through translator): The last time I saw my father, "Take care of your sisters," he said. Then he left. Half an hour later the water came.

QUADE: Days later, Nasir's life changed again. The mother he thought dead showed up at his tent.

NASIR (through translator): Before I found my mother, I couldn't eat. I couldn't sleep at night. Every day for a week I went searching for my mother.

QUADE: She helped him wash for prayers but was too depressed to do much else.

NASIR (through translator): I am responsible for my mother now. She can't work. She thinks about my sisters. When the tsunami came, my mother almost surrendered. She wanted to die with her children.

QUADE: So Nasir worked even harder, to care for them both.

NASIR (through translator): The difficult part is thinking about my dead family. And what my future will be.

QUADE: One year later at a new camp an hour away in the hills, I find 13-year-old Nasir still living in a tent.

NASIR (through translator): We are given a bag of rice three times a month. We put the food in here so no flies get in.

QUADE: He, his mother, and 1,500 other tsunami victims share this camp with cows, goats, cats.

NASIR (through translator): After 12 a.m. there are 20 dogs that bark all night. It's difficult to sleep.

QUADE: It's noisy. There's no privacy.

NASIR (through translator): We bathe and wash clothes in the communal toilet area.

QUADE (on camera): Last time that we talked you were doing so many things for your mom. Are you still doing so much?

NASIR (through translator): I did all that stuff at the first camp because I had no other family. But now my mother does more things.

QUADE (voice-over): But she is still too depressed to work.

NASIR (through translator): My mother could not survive without me. I worry when I leave her alone to go to school. I asked, "Should I quit school to work?" And she said, "No, you must go to school." It's hard to find money just to survive.

QUADE: He wants to get a job picking coconuts.

NASIR (through translator): I need a good job so if my mother is sick there's money to go to the hospital. I hate to see her suffer.

QUADE: Nasir, too, suffers. And prays at the mosque five times a day to help deal with his pain.

NASIR (through translator): I really miss my father and my little sisters, because no one can replace them. I've had the same dream more than 10 times. When I wake up, I wonder if it's going to happen again or not. Last night I dreamed the tsunami was happening here, at the new camp.

QUADE: Only one thing brings him joy in this refugee life.

NASIR (through translator): This is my monkey named Joy. I got Joy from the tsunami.

QUADE: His best friend at camp.

(on camera) Has having a pet monkey made it easier to live in the camp?

NASIR (through translator): Yes. I'm very happy to play with Joy.

QUADE: But his future beyond this camp weighs on him.

NASIR (through translator): When I was 5 years old, my father told me when you grow up you must be a place man. So that's what I hope to do someday.

QUADE: Until then Nasir will get through this chapter in his life with a little Joy.

Alex Quade, CNN, near Banda Aceh, Indonesia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: In Alex's travels she met another young tsunami survivor who's haunted by the lives he could not save. And she will join me for that story in the next hour of CNN LIVE FROM. and you want to be sure to join CNN's "PAULA ZAHN NOW" for more of our special coverage of the tsunami, one year later. That is tonight, 8 Eastern, only on CNN.

Coming up right here on LIVE FROM, CNN meteorologist Chad Myers is all over the map, and that is a good thing if you have travel plans -- Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Travel is good today for the most part.

NGUYEN: Is it really? I thought it would just be a mess.

MYERS: I know. But the weather has cooperated except for just a couple of airports. The rain is finally over for the west. All the rain ended now from Reno down to San Francisco. But if you look at the map behind me, there's another large storm in the wings for the west coast. Details on that coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Want to take you live now to Fairfax County, Virginia, where five people were killed in what police believe was a murder- suicide. Let's take a listen to what they know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... comprehend that much more difficult. Major Callahan and Captain Spradlin (ph) will explain the chronology of yesterday's events before taking your questions.

We hope to be able to make the community understand what happened. But perhaps we'll never answer the question which is perhaps the most prevalent, and that is why. I emphasize that our investigation is ongoing, and perhaps we cannot answer all your questions at this time, but we'll try to do our best. Thank you very much.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Next up is going to be...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're just going to lower the mikes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm sorry, gentlemen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's sort of useless if we can't see you all. Let's lower them down, guys. Everyone with their own...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Whose mic has the blue -- OK.

NGUYEN: All right. Right now we're waiting for this press conference to get under way. We heard just a little bit of what they're trying to answer as to exactly what happened when five people were found dead inside two suburban Virginia homes. We'll take you back to that when everything is said and done and it's ready.

But right now let's check in with Chad Myers to talk about the travel holiday. This is one of the busiest days of the year, Chad. (WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: All right. Well, you know, Chad, the calendar says it's the day after Christmas. We know that by all the traveling. But take a look at this, Chad.

Scenes like these make it feel more like the day after Thanksgiving. You know what we're talking about, all the crazy shoppers out there. They are heading back to the stores to bargain hunt and make the most of their gift cards. I got one of those.

CNN's John Zarrella is watching all of it at a Target store in Aventura, Florida.

Did you get your gift card? Are you ready to make a return and a purchase today, John?

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Betty, if I didn't have to get up today to do this, I would have stayed home. It's been nuts out today. I tell you, the shopping is -- people, if they weren't traveling today to come back home after the holidays, they were probably out shopping.

The store opened here this Morgan, this Target, at 7 a.m. And I was surprised. There were 60 to 70 people waiting outside the door when they opened. And a lot of them that we asked, I said, "What are you doing here?"

And they said, "Well, this isn't even our first stop." They had been at a JCPenney's that opened at 6 a.m. And this was their second stop, and they had three or four more stops to go.

You know, they consider this about one of the top 10 busiest shopping days of the year. And a lot of folks are out there getting those big returns, some returns. But even more than returns the bargains: 50 to 60 percent off. The after Christmas sales and the gift cards. Target, for example, says that 25 percent of their holiday business is done in gift cards.

And a lot of the retailers have been telling us that they are hoping for a big after Christmas sale because from first blush a lot of the pre-Christmas sales people waited until the last minute and was a little bit -- a little bit sluggish -- Betty.

NGUYEN: You know, we saw that video just awhile ago, people rushing into that Target. I didn't see any fights like we saw the day after Thanksgiving, which is a good thing. It seems like people, like you say, are using those gift cards and they're also coming with returns in hand. That's got to be a huge deal for retailers today.

ZARRELLA: You know, the thing about it is for example, here, you can take a look. This is the return area. And this is about the way it's been all day here.

Hey, how are you? Good. What kind of return do you have today?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bathroom rug.

ZARRELLA: Bathroom rug. That's, it huh?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's it.

ZARRELLA: Not a lot of returns.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We wanted to get something and it was out of stock.

ZARRELLA: That's part of the problem, if you heard her. She said they wanted to buy something and it was out of stock. And that's -- some of the big items, Betty, like the Xbox 360.

There's a thing called a Tamagachi that all the little kids have that you kind of -- I can't even describe it. You can actually press the buttons and it responds to you. It goes to sleep. It wakes up. You can't find those kinds of things on the shelves.

And then there are, of course, gifts that you absolutely can't give back, right?

NGUYEN: Right.

ZARRELLA: Like the gifts you get from relatives. Uh-huh. Like what I got from my 17-year-old son, the Godfather belt and buckle. I can't...

NGUYEN: Nice. You did not get that from him.

ZARRELLA: I can't give that -- yes, I did. I did.

NGUYEN: And you're not returning it?

ZARRELLA: And that's something you just can't return. So I'm stuck with it. And I will wear it one of these days on the air.

NGUYEN: OK, next time we talk to you, I want you to have that on. Can you put it on for us?

ZARRELLA: I will definitely. There you go; I'll do it.

NGUYEN: Well, you know, I remember the after Christmas when the lines would be so huge. Maybe they're not so big this year because everyone got gift cards. I know I did.

Thank you, John.

ZARRELLA: That's a lot of it.

NGUYEN: We'll talk to you soon with the belt buckle on, all right?

ZARRELLA: There you go.

NGUYEN: OK. Coming up, LIVE FROM is on a roll. Make that a cinnamon bun. Does it remind you of anyone? Take a close look. Details on a crime that has Nashville in an uproar.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: We are learning a little bit more about exactly what happened in Fairfax County, Virginia, at two homes where five people were shot in what police believe was a murder-suicide. Let's take a listen to Robert Callahan, who's with the Fairfax County Police Criminal Investigations Bureau.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERT CALLAHAN, FAIRFAX COUNTY POLICE: Yesterday at about 10:25 in the morning we received a 911 call from the Sycamore Springs Lane address. Officers from the arresting station responded to that call. The call was determined to be originating from inside the house. It was reporting a person at the house with a gun firing at -- firing at the house and then later inside of the house.

Officers arrived there, were able to establish a perimeter on the house and attempted to stabilize the scene. There was a vehicle in the driveway that was running. That vehicle was determined to be registered to an address of 8514 Lewinsville Road.

Subsequent to that, officers from the McLean station went to that address as a measure to see what connection that vehicle was to the shooting incident, and officers found the body of an adult female in the driveway area to the rear of that address on Lewinsville Road.

At about 11:30 a person came out of the house on Sycamore Springs Lane. Police made entry into the house and were able to secure portions of the house. A tactical response was initiated, which then led to a complete and thorough search of the home, in which four bodies were found in the house.

The -- what we've determined is that Nathan Cheatham apparently had been at his mother's house on Lewinsville Road at about 9:30 or 10 a.m. Information we'd obtained from witnesses there. We believe that murder occurred in the 9:30 to 10 range.

He left in his vehicle. Right now we believe he went pretty much directly to Great Falls and started his -- the incident at Great Falls on Sycamore Springs Lane.

We do know that he has a -- he's acquainted with the family that lives on Sycamore Springs Lane. We really do not know yet what motivated him to go up there and do what he did.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: You've been listening to Robert Callahan with the Fairfax County Police Department's Criminal Investigations Bureau on the latest information made available about that incident where five people were killed at two different homes in Fairfax County, Virginia. And of course, as we learn more we'll bring it to you.

A massive catastrophe that offered the land -- that altered, I should say, the landscape of several nations. Today we stop to remember what happened the day after Christmas one year ago. Revisiting the tsunami disaster, when LIVE FROM returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Who could ever forget these terrifying images? Exactly one year ago, a deep-sea earthquake set a tsunami barreling into Indonesia and Thailand, as well as the Indian subcontinent in Eastern Africa. It would be days before we realized the staggering impact.

On this somber anniversary, survivors pay tribute to the nearly 300,000 people believed to have died. Buddhist monks in Thailand offered prayers. And hundreds of people marched in solidarity in southern India, where entire coastal villages were erased.

Many people in the most devastated areas are still struggling to recover. CNN's Atika Shubert with a look at the moving tributes across the region.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A new day dawns in Aceh, one year after the Indian Ocean tsunami devastated its shores, marked with prayer in this devoutly Muslim province of Indonesia. At 8:15 a.m., a moment of silence and the sounding of a siren, the country's new tsunami warning system. Aceh lost more than 160,000 people, by far the hardest hit in this disaster. Indonesia's president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, asked the world to look beyond the pictures of despair.

SUSILO BAMBANG YUDHOYONO, PRESIDENT OF INDONESIA: In a catastrophe of this size, it is easily to see only ruins. But look past the rubble, you will see progress. By the roads that are being built, including one that will reach Malabo, you will see villages slowly taking shape. You will see markets brightening up landscapes. You will see children back at school and new teachers being trained.

SHUBERT: In Thailand, too, thousands gathered to mourn their lost families and friends, wearing white, according to Thai custom. The tsunami struck the holiday destinations of Phuket and Khao Lak at 10:00 a.m., less than two hours after devastating Aceh, a wall of water traveling the speed of a jetliner.

Of the more than 5,000 killed in Thailand, nearly half were foreign tourists. Many survivors, friends, and families returned to Thailand to bid final farewell to their loved ones.

INGRID HASTIE, MOURNER: Very sad, very sad. And hopefully, this time we say goodbye will be the last time and it will go on from here and be a nice life from now on. And maybe my mother will be restful now, I think, with a year gone by. It was a very hard year, last year. SHUBERT: The tsunami hit the island nation of Sri Lanka an hour later, wiping out entire villages and destroying the Queen of the Sea, a train carrying more than 1,000 aboard. A bell was sounded at the exact moment the waves hit, marking two minutes of silence.

In India, where more than 6,000 were killed, a memorial was opened, featuring an eternal flame to remember those who lost their lives in this disaster.

The Indian Ocean tsunami was one of the largest natural disasters in history, but the final death toll may never be known. There are still tens of thousands missing, their bodies presumed to be washed out to sea.

(on screen): On this one-year anniversary here in Aceh, those who are still missing will be proclaimed dead, bringing the estimated death toll throughout the region to a staggering 230,000 people killed in this disaster.

(voice-over): In the mosques and temples, a time to pray for lives stolen by the disaster, but also to recognize the enduring resilience of survivors across the region and their hopes for the future.

Atika Shubert, CNN, Banda Aceh, Indonesia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Well, among the legions who responded to the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster a year ago was the Salvation Army. I also want to tell you, though, what's on screen. You want to join CNN's "PAULA ZAHN NOW" for more of our special coverage of the tsunami a year later. That's tonight at 8:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

We're going to talk about that right now, the response to this disaster. We have Major Seth Leleu with the Salvation Army, who spent some time over there. He was on the forefront. And he's just back from Indonesia. He joins us live now from London to talk about this one-year anniversary and what he saw over there.

You've been talking to the people. How are they coping? And is the Salvation Army encouraging people to talk about what they experienced as a way to heal from it all?

MAJOR SETH LELEU, SALVATION ARMY: Yes, it's still a very painful experience for the people. A lot of things have been happening. Homes are being rebuilt. Clinics are being built, and some hope is being returned to communities.

But how do you replace families that are lost? And how do you get through the fear that people feel? The Salvation Army and other NGOs have been working closely with children and the survivors so that they can talk about their issues and find some resolution so that they can move on.

This anniversary is a very poignant moment because, from here, they are looking back on a year and they're looking to the future. And it is a tough time for them. And we need to be, as an international community, ready to stay and work alongside them.

NGUYEN: Are the children talking? Do they want to talk about what they've experienced and where they're going from here?

LELEU: Well, it depends on how hopeful they see the situation. Where they are back in school, where they've got places to stay, people to look after them, then, yes, they are talking, and they're starting to laugh again and play.

And I was recently in Malabo. And I saw kids playing with our workers. And this is good, because children should laugh and play. It's the natural way.

NGUYEN: You know, I was reading that some 80 percent of tsunami survivors are still living in tents and shelters. You've been there. Talk to us about those conditions. They still have to be desperate. I mean, up to eight families in one tent?

LELEU: I'll tell you, it is heart-wrenching to see the condition that people are living in. And it really requires us not to give up at this point. You know, it's easy in 12 months to say, "Well, that was the anniversary of the tsunami," and to move on. But all of us need to be stayed focus to what we're doing and carry on until these people have got a decent livelihood again.

You know, in just a few seconds, people who had quite a comfortable existence became instant paupers. We have to stay there for the long term to help these people back on their feet.

NGUYEN: A lot of aid has been pouring into these countries, yet, as we just mentioned, all the people still living in tents. What's taking so long to build the homes?

LELEU: It's just the scale of things. You know, I've been working in disaster work since 1994. And I've never seen anything on this scale.

And the logistics, both for the international community and also for the government, is simply not there. You know, we just don't cope with disasters on this scale. And I'm pleased to say that, you know, the first few months were unbelievably frustrating because we were not being able to do the stuff that we could do.

But I believe in the last -- I'd say the last quarter of the year, good things are happening, and everybody is seeing progress ahead. So we're hoping this time next year there will be a very different picture.

NGUYEN: Progress also comes in getting people back to work. How is the Salvation Army aiding in that? I was reading, too, that you're helping build boats, you're helping people get the supplies they need so they can start their trade up again.

LELEU: This is right. You know, people living in temporary shelters, if they can get into work again, then they're earning money, they have a sense of personal self-sufficiency, and so life becomes, in a way, normal again.

And so we've been doing things with building boats, getting women back into their occupations, whatever those occupations are, from making chilies to making special masks, boats, just about anything that the people have been involved with that is their way of making a living.

And when that happens, even if people are still living in temporary shelters, people feel that life is returning and that hope is coming to their community.

NGUYEN: Yes, because they see a future, they see their livelihood coming back, there's a way to earn money to feed their family, build this new life. As you've been back and you've seen the progress so far, are you satisfied with it? Is it going as fast as you had hoped, as you had planned?

LELEU: Ma'am, there's no way you can plan something like this, because the disaster was on a scale never seen before. And so our plans were very optimistic. We haven't kept up to that schedule.

But what I can say is that there definitely is hope and progress is being made. And I think we just have to stay the course until we finish the job.

NGUYEN: And you will be there until the very last home is built, until all the need is filled?

LELEU: Yes, ma'am. We'll be there. If we're given the resources, we can stay and we can do that work. But it will require a long time. This is not a short process. And whilst the international attention will be gone, we'll still be there.

NGUYEN: Salvation Army there for the long haul. Major Seth Leleu, thank you for your time and your insight into the progress that's been made one year after this devastating disaster. Thank you.

Well, adults swear by its relaxing powers. Now some younger devotees are making yoga part of their day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: What does Namaste mean?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILDREN: The light in me sees the light in you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: See, there you have it. The school that makes inner peace part of the curriculum. That's coming up on LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) NGUYEN: OK, reading, writing, warrior poses? Confused? I am. But it's all part of the curriculum at one Chicago elementary school which stresses fitness and is getting great results. CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen paid a visit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COHEN (voice-over): On a cold Chicago morning, Alejandro Gutierrez (ph) runs to catch the bus.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILDREN: Good morning, Alejandro.

COHEN: And this is the bus. No fuel, just feet. There are no regular buses to this school. The principal banned them. She also banned pop tarts, pastries, and sugar cereals for breakfast, which many children eat here at school. And that's just the beginning.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Breathing in, peace.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILDREN: Peace.

COHEN: Welcome to Namaste Charter School...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In Espanol?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILDREN: Paz.

COHEN: ... where every morning starts with yoga and meditation.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, boys and girls, if you brought any extra energy with you today, let it go.

COHEN: Later in the day, there's an hour of phys-ed and then recess, too.

ALLISON SLADE, PRINCIPAL, NAMASTE SCHOOL: And what we've really seen is that kids who are healthy and active do perform better in the classroom.

COHEN: Allison Slade, the principal, said she's getting results. She started this charter school last year in a largely Hispanic neighborhood with low test scores and high obesity rates. Now many overweight kids here are slimming down and, in a city where most kids fall short of the state's literacy goals, 80 percent of Namaste students are now doing better than the city average.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What'd you make, Josh?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Apple.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Apple. You like red apples?

COHEN: Slade started the school because she was horrified by what she saw as a teacher in other public schools.

SLADE: I used to see my kids come to school and they ate fiery hot Cheetos for breakfast and lunch.

COHEN: Here, no chips, no fries at lunch. Instead, a mini salad bar and fresh fruit, which the kids actually eat. The school also serves foods like pizza and chocolate milk, just not that often.

(on screen): At this school, you don't have a lot of ice cream, you don't have a lot of cakes, you don't have a lot of cookies, you don't have a lot of fried foods. Do you miss them?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILDREN: No.

COHEN (voice-over): And in a neighborhood with a lot of violence, yoga permeates every aspect of this school, from the name, which is a greeting...

(on screen): What does Namaste mean?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILDREN: The light in me sees the light in you.

(voice-over): ... to story time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bark, George.

(CHILDREN BARK)

COHEN: To learning what to do when you get mad.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do this. And squeeze it hard.

COHEN (on screen): Squeeze really hard?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: About ten minutes, and then do this.

COHEN: Now, what does this help you do?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Calm down.

COHEN (voice-over): It all sounds pretty earthy-crunchy, and some parents were initially skeptical, including Ricki and Jesse's mom. But then she saw how the school changed her kids.

SABRINA BASQUEZ, RICKI AND JESSE'S MOTHER: They surprised me, because you don't -- I don't expect a 7-year-old to say no to Doritos or no to cookies.

COHEN: Right now, so many parents want yoga, meditation, and healthy food for their kids, the school has two applicants for every space.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, this is a peaceful school and not some, like, kind of junky school.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Namaste. Namaste. Good job. Bye-bye.

COHEN: Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Chicago.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Wow, getting kids to say no to chips and hello to the salad bar? Something is obviously working.

Well, the presents, they are open. And anticipation is building for the new year. But, for many, blue -- yes, blue -- is the color of the holiday season. Family obligations, too much debt, unrealistic expectations, all of it can cause tension and stress. Well, CNN's Carol Lin talked to author and spiritualist Deepak Chopra about ways to make your holiday more peaceful.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEEPAK CHOPRA, AUTHOR: It is a performance anxiety. You know, you have to meet so many people, you have to call so many people, you have to buy presents for so many people. You have deadlines. At the same time, you're trying to balance, you know, your work with your family. And so people just get too stressed out about meeting expectations, and they worry about it.

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Do you feel that way? Do you feel that way? Because everybody expects you to be relaxed and at peace. I mean, that's a lot of pressure.

CHOPRA: No, I don't feel that way. For me, every day is the same. And holidays are a time to relax and be happy and get in touch with yourself and renew yourself and rejuvenate yourself.

LIN: How do you get to that place, especially if, for example, you do feel that pressure from your family to perform or, even if you're grieving the loss of a loved one, and the holidays remind you of that loss, how do you get through it?

CHOPRA: I think the worst thing you can do is be in denial. So if you're grieving the loss of a loved one, get in touch with your grief. You know, feel the sensations that accompany the grief in your body. Ask yourself, "What am I feeling? What's the need here?"

Nurture the remembrance of that grief and also the person that you've lost. And, in order not to let that totally overwhelm you, also put your awareness in your heart and experience all of the things that you could be grateful for. Just think...

LIN: How do you get to that place, though? I mean, how do you -- do you believe in prayer? Do you believe in meditation or just simply slowing down, you know, not turning away from that list of things to do?

CHOPRA: Prayer is extremely useful. Meditation is extremely useful. Sitting quietly, feeling the sensations in your body, is extremely useful.

But most importantly, you know, put your attention in your heart and think right now -- I would say to the audience, think right now of all the things in your life that you could be grateful for. One of the best ways to overcome depression or to overcome grief is to experience gratitude or think of someone that you're holding a grievance against or resentment and say, "I'm letting it go," or saying, "I'm not going to be attached to my idea of how things should be."

You know, these are things you need to tell yourself. But the most important thing really is to quiet your internal dialogue and experience the stillness that's in you. And you can do that in so many ways. You can watch your breath. You can repeat a phrase like "Thy will be done," or "The lord is my shepherd," or you can just feel the sensations in your body, or you can feel the area of your heart. Any of these things are very useful.

LIN: Body aware...

CHOPRA: Body awareness.

LIN: ... and just surrendering to your feelings and allowing yourself to feel whatever it is that you feel.

CHOPRA: And constantly asking yourself, "What am I observing? What am I feeling? What's the need, and how do I fulfill this need in a relationship?" Usually, it's something about, you know, self- esteem, or love, or ego ambitions, or higher guidance, whatever it is. Ask yourself, "What do I need at this moment?"

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Good advice. I feel less stressed already.

But you know what? Not the people involved in this next story. They are pretty upset, because LIVE FROM is on a roll. Want to make that a cinnamon bun? Look at this. Does it remind you of anything? Take a close look. We have details on a crime that has Nashville up in an uproar.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Take a look at some live pictures right now. The president and First Lady Laura Bush are arriving in Waco where they will travel on to their Crawford ranch, which isn't too far away. They're going to remain there until they return to Washington, D.C., on New Year's Day. Looks like they're greeting -- the first lady is greeting someone right now with them.

And Mrs. Bush and his family, they did spend Christmas Day at the presidential retreat at Camp David in Maryland, but not any longer. They are in Texas headed to the ranch, where they're going to celebrate -- I should say ring in the new day -- or the new year. And that will take place in Texas. Then he heads on to D.C. on New Year's Day.

Well, coming up right here on LIVE FROM celebrating Christmas on the Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. That is just ahead. Stay with us.

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