good morning, we are following significant breaking news this morning. the truce between israel and hamas is now over and this is what we have been seeing today in gaza. airstrikes have been raining down and fighting is raging once again after the week-long pause ended at midnight eastern time. the hamas-controlled ministry of health says israeli strikes have already killed people. the number now 32 people killed in gaza as we're told trucks

with the humanitarian aid have stopped going into gaza for now. israel is accusing hamas of breaking the truce by firing rockets on communities near the gaza strip. >> so the big questions this morning, what happens now? qatar says negotiations are ongoing to pause the fighting and exchange hostages again. no clear answer as to whether or not that will reach a resolution. what about the remaining hostages? israel says 137 are still believed to be in gaza. a senior u.s. official telling me before the pause fell apart hamas was claiming it didn't have any more women or children hostages to exchange, which was the agreement that lasted seven days. israel saying that's not true. a u.s. official telling me hamas didn't submit a list of hostages to release last night like they had been doing in days prior. what happens now to the civilians in gaza? the biden administration has been pressing the israeli government to protect those civilians. secretary of state antony blinken met with israeli leaders yesterday. he says he told them the massive loss of life could have been

seen in northern gaza cannot repeated in the south. joining us now idf spokesman lieutenant colonel peter learner. appreciate your time this morning. with what we're seeing right now should it be characterized that operations in the south are officially underway? >> good morning, phil. yes, indeed. since hamas decided to cancel the ceasefire by not releasing women and children, we have instructed -- been instructed to engagement before we conducted any sort of activities, hamas had already fired rockets from southern gaza before 6:00 a.m. this morning here in israel. they have been firing throughout the day at israel. so, yes, we are engaging. we are seeking out hamas wherever they are. we are evacuating people from specific areas that we intend on operating on. this is the nature of warfare. >> on your last point, there have been leaflets dropped with

a qr code, that code leads to -- you put out a statement in multiple languages. tv has a civilian evacuation map. but it basically has numbered zones, parceled out throughout that area. two questions. one, internet connectivity has been a problem at various points throughout gaza. does that concern you for people actually knowing their zones? second, how are people supposed to understand what this means? >> of course, if you zoom no on that map if you live in a specific location, you will know where you live and you will know if you are told to evacuate from one point to another that you should take that advice. this is precisely the idea of getting people out of harm's way. so if you know that there is going to be an idf operation in your area, you should try to evacuate if you are not a hamas terrorist. this is precisely the efforts that we are going to in order to try to alleviate the difficulties, the challenges that the civilians of gaza are

facing following the war. a war that israel didn't ask for. a war that hamas opened and launched on the 7th of october, brutally mass kerg, murdering, butchering, beheading and raping and abducting so many israelis on that brutal horrific day. so we are now at war with hamas. we have resumed our activities this morning and we are continuing to operate within the guidelines of the laws of armed conflict distinguishing between noncombatants and hamas. >> discussions between u.s. officials and the counterparts in your government, my question based on what you are outlining here, evacuate to where? particularly in the south, given the scale of movement of the civilian population from the north, there are so many people there. are there specific places they are supposed to go when you warn them? >> so if you look again at the map, you will see there are specific areas we are saying this is where you need to

evacuate from. these are places where we are intending to conduct our operations. therefore, beyond those areas are safer areas. this is precisely the distinct between civilians and terrorists, noncombatants and terrorists. it gets difficult, especially due to the ruthless enemy we are facing. hamas have put their terrorist capabilities within the civilian arena intentionally putting the civilians of gaza at risk, whether it's in hospitals, schools, mosque, high-rise buildings, wherever they are, they are using the civilian arena in order to try to conduct their attacks. this is the challenge we face. >> i know that you are representing the idf. you are not in the political side or the government. do you have any understanding -- does the idf have any understanding in terms of now that the hostage swaps, the pause have broken down, as israel's made clear they believe because hamas not putting a list

on the table, not complying with the agreement, do you know where the 130 plus hostages are at this point? and is there any hope those negotiations could lead to another pause? >> well, here's an idea you'd like to entertain perhaps with you. of course, this isn't policy. think about this for a moment. hamas could unconditionally surrender and release all of the hostages and there would be no need for any more war. this is a reality we are facing currently. the government instructed the idf to engage hamas. we intend on defeating hamas. we intend on one hand dismantling and destroying hamas as a government authority and intend on bringing the hostages back. we have an obligation to the families that, you know, there are now 140 israeli families have been torn to pieces, their lives torn to pieces for 56 days now. we are heading into our eighth week in conflict with a ruthless

terrorist organization that is conducting psychological terrorism, that is trying to squeeze us extensively. hamas have to go. we need to bring back the hostages, bring them back now. we will use everything in our disposal, operational, intelligence capabilities in order to try to realize that. but indeed there is a huge challenge in that effort. obviously, their presence influences the operational activities that we are conducting, but absolutely there is there are two goals to be achieved. >> one final question. our reporting on the frowned is that humanitarian aid trucks have been halted going through the rafah crossing. i believe there were commitments humanitarian aid would continue at the significantly surged levels that came into place over the last search days. was there an order given to halt the crossings? >> so, throughout the last search weeks now, almost eight weeks, we have been conducting a

humanitarian effort that operate hand in hand with the operational effort. indeed, as you rightly pointed out, over the last week, hundreds of truckloads of medical supplies, food supplies, shelter, water, fuel, gas have all come in. i can say that i have some indications from this morning that there has -- some of that has actually been siphoned off by hamas. so there are concerns. i can't say that i -- from what i know today there has not been any transfer of goods today, indeed, but we will be looking into that throughout the next coming days. >> lieutenant colonel learner from the idf, thank you. >> let's bring in cnn military analyst retired air force colonel cedric leighton. could you respond to what you heard, that last answer i think was crucial from peter learner of the idf. i mean, that sound like aid is not going to go in. is that what you're hearing? >> that's what i heard as well, poppy. good morning to you. so when you look at the

different areas here that we have with gaza being right here, the crossing points right there at rafah, all of that is basically blocked off. frankly, if i were on egyptian truck driver going gaza i wouldn't want to at this moment in time. it's just flat out too dangerous and there is no way that the israeli forces are going to discriminate against the efforts by the truck drivers, the aid groups to come in there. so what that means is it's just too dangerous to distribute u.n. aid or any other aid coming in. >> okay. so perhaps no more aid going in. and let's pull up this other map, which is the evacuation zone map for southern gaza where phil was talking to the idf representative about that. where are people supposed to go, colonel, to be safe? and why wouldn't hamas operatives go with them to the

safe zones? >> that's the biggest danger, poppy, right here. when you look at this map, and it's a very detailed -- they have very small zones, either usually three or four digit numbers. what they will do, if i understood colonel learner correctly, they are going to tell people to evacuate like this zone here is 2231. so if they evacuate this zone, then they can move into other zones. but they will probably be using a series of zones that will be the area in which they are going to be striking. if that's the case, they are going to basically force people to move, let's say they are striking in this area, they will move out of all of these different zones. there are probably 20 different zones here. when they come out here where are they supposed to go? theoretically, everything that is not mentioned is safe. so they could potentially go here or here or here. but if they do that, then they have to, of course, be cognizant

this could change. if there is a lack of internet connectivity, is a problem. >> which we know is a problem on the ground for a lot of people. >> colonel, thank you very much. >> you bet, poppy. well, the biden administration warning israeli officials to approach southern gaza differently than their operation in the north. what that means. also, new reporting this morning suggesting israel knew about hamas' specific attack plan for more than a year. how this could impact prime minister netanyahu's political future.

take more children with the

wounds of war. there are children everywhere. these children are sleeping, there was a bomb 50 meters from here thcht is a war on children. >> war on children. stark words from a unicef spokes spokesman as the truce has ended. he was speaking from one of the last remaining hospitals operating in gaza. the health ministry says 6,000 children have been killed in gaza since the october 7th terror attack. and this is a live look at gaza right now where we are seeing large plumes of smoke once again. . idf says it is resuming combat operations against hamas after that seven-day truce expired. >> negotiations are still technically ongoing despite the fighting. there are more questions than answers about what's going to happen next.

barak, you have been covering every in and out and moment of this over the course and particularly the negotiations the last seven days. is there any chance that they come back to life? i know the qataris say they are talking. u.s. officials say that israel -- talking to intermediaries. so is hamilas. how real is that? >> i think it's real. i think we just moved, let's say, a week ago, ten days ago, israel and hamas were holding indirect talks under fire. then we had this pause and the talks went on during the pause, during the ceasefire. now we're back to talking under fire. and i think we can find ourselves again, maybe again, not today, not tomorrow, it will take a few days, but we can find ourself again in some sort of a pause around some kind of a renewed or a bit different hostage deal.

i wouldn't close the door on this at all. >> all your reporting on the israeli military, do you agree with that assessment? >> there is no question that the military offensive is what has been instrumental in putting pressure on hamas to even get them to think about a deal, right. we have to remember, what was hamas' strategy? they massacred and bucbutchered people, they are showed that the intelligence was flawed. why did they take the hostages? they wanted to cause israel pain and wanted to have that leverage. israel's offensive on the ground put hamas into a corner and got them under pressure. they felt this is the way to relieve some of that pressure. it's like a valve. they opened it for a bit, released about 100 hostages, there are 130 or so in the gaza strip. now fighting resumes. at some point they will be willing to open the valve again. so i think that the pressure by the idf is important, is key to get these hostages home.

>> part of that pressure, obviously, is the southern operations that have been a significant point of debate between u.s. fishes and israeli counterparts over the last several days. we talked to lieutenant colonel peter learner from the idf. they have released a map, a numbered map people can evacuate to if they are warranted that hostilities are coming. that doesn't sound like the scale of what u.s. officials think is enough. is more coming? do we have a sense of what the safe zones would look like, where they may be? >> i think when it comes to the safe zones in gaza, i'm not sure that that's exactly what the u.s. wants because i think that the assessment of the biden administration is that those safe zones are not necessarily safe on the one hand. on the other happened,nd, there cooperation by international organization or u.n. or palestinians themselves for going into those areas in order

to avoid getting hit. therefore, i think that, you know, this map that the idf has put out is more in line of what the u.s. wanted, meaning you are not giving the civilians there just one area and telling them, okay, everybody go there, but parse the gaza strip into small pieces and you tell them every time, okay, whoever lives in this quite small part of the gaza strip, go now out of this part for, i don't know, an hour, two hours, a day, and then you can come back after we finish operating there. >> dumb question, perhaps, but i keep wondering why wouldn't hamas just go with them? >> go with the deal of? >> no. i'm saying to these zones. to the safe zones. they have a history of surrounding themselves with civilians. see what i'm saying? is this the most effective way -- >> this is israel's way of trying to say -- and i think israel has been clear since the beginning of the conflict. the war is not against the

palestinian people. it's against hamas. israel wants to give the people of the gaza the opportunity to flee the areas. they did that in the north. despite the heavy toll -- and we have to recognize, there is a tragedy unfolding in gaza. we cannot ignore that. i argue it's on the fault and responsibility of hamas. they are the ones who embed themselves in civilian infrastructure, they hide under hospitals and schools and in mosques. unfortunately, israel is a country that has a right to act in self-defense and take out the military targets. peep are going to get killed. that's the ugly truth of war. hamas is going to continue to use the civilians. that is their modus operandi. t that's how they continue to survive and fight. >> we appreciate it. thanks, guys. >> thank you. george santos just hours away from possibly joining elite company. he could become the sixth elected official ever kicked out of congress. he says he is not going quietly. >> i didn't think that my tenure in congress --

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find your passion and create your future at contra costa college. start today at contracosta.edu in two hours, the house of representatives will vote on whether to expel embattled congressman george santos. if two-thirds of the house does vote to expel, it would make

santos only the sixth member to ever be expelled. at this moment according to a pair of senior republican sources, top republicans are not sure how this is going to go down. if he is expelled, the new york republican will not be going quietly. he is threatening to spill tea on several of his colleagues if he is expelled. harry enten joins us now with more. if you look at the numbers, does he have a chance to stay in congress? yeah. so let's look. this comes down to math, with which is something i like to talk about. the house votes needed to expel him, 290 to expel him. among republicans you need 77. if every democrat votes expel. the question will they get to 77? let's look at the stage play. 77 likely needed. 24 republicans have previously voted to expel. an additional 20 more say they will now. so that's going to need an additional 33. keep in mind, many gop members are not saying how they are

going to vote. so this is all the reporting we have right now, essentially that we don't know how this is going to go down. it looks like it's going to be a close. >> there there any republicans in congress that are fearful that if they expel santos, vote to expel, that they will face repercussion also from voters? >> yeah. this to me is the interesting thing. republican voters are more than willing to go along with the idea of getting rid of george santos. so take a look at republicans nationwide, positive view of george santos. it's just 15%. remember, the last republican president who resigned was richard nixon. 50% of republicans had a positive view of him. so the fact is republicans nationwide, there is no reason why house republicans should fear repercussions from voters. the real thing they are looking at is the u.s. house balance of power. at this point, it's just not nine seats. it's tied for the narrowest majority in the last 90 years. it's not really the voters that they necessarily fear, but more the idea this they do not necessarily want such a small

majority. >> what happens to the district? >> if he gets expelled, this is a tight district. republicans won this the senate race. biden won in 2020. it will be a toss if this goes to a special election. >> thank you. despite the allegations against congressman santos, not every republican is declaring they will vote to expel him, including congressman matt gaetz. >> since the beginning of this congress, there is only two ways you get expelled. you get convicted of a crime, or you participated in the civil war. neither apply to george santos. and so i rise not to defend george santos, whoever he is, but to defend the very precedent that my colleagues are willing to shatter. >> very important caveat. nod defending george santos there. joining us to unpack, back to unpack, congressman santos's communications director resigned

in may after he was indicted on fraud and money-laundering charges. great to see you. as somebody who worked in his office, knows him, spent time with him, what would you tell republican lawmakers who are on the fence right now who don't know which way they are going to go? >> well, that's a difficult question. no, i shouldn't say a difficult question. a great question to ask. it's a difficult situation to be in because, yes, he has not been convicted or as of yet. at the same time, you know, chairman getz spent time on the floor yesterday laying out the house ethics report and what the -- the work that they had put into this, and highlighting that, in fact, that the congressman had many opportunities to cooperate and provide information and he failed to do so, and that was a big shock to me. but as a member of congress who was on the fence, let that serve as a confirmation this was not a biased report. it was conducted very

thoroughly, and the staff who did a tremendous job, who they reviewed over 172,000 pages worth of information and interviewed over 40 people, that should be a confirmation right there. if we are looking to earn the trust back of the american people, let this serve as an example by expelling someone who is truly unfit to serve. >> did you watch the congressman's defense in front of the house chamber yesterday? >> i did watch it. >> so my question throughout, and there is a lot there, to try to unpack, when you watched that, did you think there was a strategy? did you recognize it? was he just in a different place now? >> honestly, he announced back over the thanksgiving holiday. what i saw it seemed like he was very on, you know, often the cuff. and did not seem to be any kind of strategy involved here because, you know, you should have taken that opportunity to

create a plan, practice, you know, take -- draft a speech, practice and, you know, even have your staff draft up some questions that could potentially be asked by reporters, and start practicing that. we didn't see that yesterday. what i saw was just, you know, it was about 18 minutes of a speech and of taking a few questions. the one that really struck out at me was he had highlighted in social media that he had planned to basically relay information about other members of their infidelity, which a report asked him that and he said go do the research yourself. that was just another lie or a tease of just drawing reporters to come to a press conference where he screamed, i am a victim, i'm being bullied. at the end of the day, he is not a victim. he is not a bully. and, you know, this is an issue

that was of his own making. >> yeah. and he going to receive judgment from his colleagues in the house in about two hours. thank you. appreciate it as always. >> thank you. well, an update on the war in ukraine. progress has been slow on the eastern front of the war with russia. why sources are telling cnn's jim sciutto ukraine forces are facing a tough winter and a difficult year ahead. stay with us.

welcome back. an update on the war in ukraine. western officials are warning that ukrainian forces face a tough winter ahead. lately, the counteroffensive's progress has been slow forward movement has been limited to just about one mile a day in some areas. >> a big factor, the lack of air power to support ground operations. without it ukraine will likely struggle make significant movement on the front lines while russia's bombardment is expected to expand and inflict more suffering on civilians during the cold winter months. cnn's jim sciutto joins us now. this is his reporting. fascinating in terms of the analysis that the western officials are get at here, particularly that last point. what might be next for russia, because it has some familiarity

to what they did last winter as well. what do you know? >> no question. and listen, it's a reminder that this is still a brutal, devastating war going on right now in ukraine. it's been getting less attention. but things are bad today. they are expected to get worse. western intelligence expects russia to amp up its attacks, particularly on civilian infrastructure inside ukraine in the coming weeks via drones, missile strikes, artillery strikes, with the express intent of worsening the suffering of the ukrainian people. that's part of russia's war plan particularly during the brutal summer months. so in addition to slow progress on the battlefield, they expect this to be a tough winter because of those strikes. and ukraine is bracing itself for it. >> do the ukrainian officials you speak with, jim, think they are going to get more money from the u.s. to continue this counteroffensive? >> listen, it's an open

question. they don't know for sure. they have hope. and i have spoken both to democrats and republicans who believe that ukraine aid will get through. i have spoken to european officials who come to washington asking that very question, and they are getting assurances, even from republican leaders. but from the ukrainian perspective, they have seen delays before. so, listen, they have to take some of those assurances with a grain of salt. it comes, as you said, poppy in the introduction, as progress on the battlefield has been extr extremely slow. weeks and weeks of battle to gain perhaps a mile of territory here, a few miles of territory there. that's where this war is settled now. the sad fact is western intelligence doesn't expect it to change anytime soon. >> jim, i was struck in your reporting, i read the line twice, about western intelligence officials looking at the 2024 election not just on the u.s. side, but also the russia side. why? >> yeah. well, there is russian presidential elections in march.

putin's up again. he is going to win, right? it's not a free election, as we know. but they do worry that after that election and after victory day, the inauguration, victory day in may, that putin may attempt a big russian push against ukraine, even the possibility of a bigger mobilization, a draft, in effect, of more russians to try to strike a death blow against ukraine. ukraine will have some advantages because under those circumstances it would be the defending power in terms of territory. but it's not something that western intelligence thinks will be pretty and it is another thing beyond this winter looking further ahead they are bracing for. >> fascinating reporting. jim sciutto, thank you. >> thank you. the truce between israel and hamas has ended after seven days. so once again explosions are rocking gaza. you see those giant plumes of smoke again rising over the skyline. it's the middle of the afternoon there in gaza. the latest from the ground ahead. a group of mississippi

police officers called the gun squad was arrested for attacking innocent people. now the sheriff in charge of them is speaking out.

felicity huffman speaking out for the first time in an interview about her participation in a scandal known as operation varsity blues. she was one of dozens of wealthy parents who worked with the college admissions consultant and committed fraud to get their children into college. she says she did it to give her daughter a future. she said, quote, i know hindsight is 20/20 but it felt like i would be a bad mother if i didn't do it. she says the fbi came to her home, woke her and daughters up a at hand point, she was handcuffed and said i thought it was a hoax.

i literally turned to one of the fbi people in a flak squakt with a gun and went, is this a joke? she pleaded guilty to federal charges in 2019. served 11 days in prison. also this morning, an update on a story out of mississippi earlier this year. if you remember a group of law enforcement officers went to prison for assaulting and torturing two black men in january. now for the first time the sheriff of rankin county in charge at the time of the attack and just re-elected last month is speaking about his department's so-called good squad. now, she's six ex-law enforcement officers pled guilty to multiple state and federal charges stemming from the abuse. five are from the rankin county sheriff's office, one from the richland police department. cnn's ryan young has been covering this story and has more details. ryan, what's being said here? >> phil, we are waiting to see how long these men will all face in terms of jail time. that sentencing happens next year. i can tell you many people in the community who wanted to hear from the sheriff because they want to understand how did it

get this far. and to be very clear, the two men who were beaten and tortured and had racial epitaphs yelled at them did nothing before this attack happened. >> i had a group of thugs wearing badges that got out and went and committed a home invasion against two innocent men. it was completely -- everything they did was outside the scope of their duty. >> reporter: the sheriff speaking about his department's so-called good squad. in january, five sheriffs deputies and one police officer from a neighboring department forced their way into a home in rankin county. that night one deputy sernlt a text message asking, are y'all available for a mission? eddie parker and michael jenkins were inside. the two black men were tortured, tased, and say they were sexually assaulted for two hours. at one point a deputy put his gun inside jenkins mouth shooting him. according to court documents the good squad tried to cover it up.

jenkins told cnn about the pain he still suffers. >> did anyone from the department ever reach out to you and apologize? have they asked for anything at all? >> no. >> i would like to apologize to them. apologize to them on camera and everything like that. i have seen them one time in person. >> reporter: it's the first time the victims have been offered a face-to-face meeting. >> i am sorry for what happened to them. again, that was not a deputy sheriff that did that. that was a criminal. >> reporter: bailey won re-election earlier this month. he ran unopposed. now the community is grappling with questions about leadership. >> i know brian bailey's heart. he is law enforcement all the way and he loves jesus all the way. >> he is still in because they want him in. >> reporter: despite his victory, the rankin county naacp has begun collecting signatures calling for bailey's resignation. >> we want law enforcement officers to be held accountable, to be punished for these kinds

of behaviors. >> reporter: jenkins and parker claim the deputies called them the n-word and used other racial slurs during the beating. in a county that's majority white but neighbors jackson one of america's blackest cities, bailey says he doesn't want his deputies' actions to reflect on him. >> it's over with. there is good and bad, right and wrong. i don't care what color you are. >> reporter: the sheriff said there were new efforts within the department to retrain deputies. every taser use is logged and deputies recently received civil rights training. the naacp doesn't think that's enough. >> the only way that we will be able to get the trust of the people back is to get -- remove sheriff bailey from office. >> reporter: with a pending federal sentencing of his former deputies casting a shadow over the department, residents we spoke with still have questions about the future of law enforcement in rankin county. >> i still have a lot of support within the community asking me not to resign, they want me to

stay here. they believe in this department. >> yeah, phil and poppy, basically we had to talk to the sheriff at this point because there are so many questions in the community and they feel like this hasn't gotten the attention that deserves. those two men were completely innocent in this case. they didn't even know that they were even under the watch of anybody at the sheriff's department. but as you move forward, the community's trying to figure out exactly when the sheriff's department is going to step forward and lay out the guidelines they made changes to. that's something he wanted to do with us. that's a reason we got the interview. you can understand those men and lawyers are still very upset. they point to the fact this was a failure of leadership. >> so important you stayed on the story. thank you. nearly 50 years ago, a school bus carrying 26 children just disappeared. the new cnn film debuts this weekend with one of the biggest crime stories you have probably never heard. we'll speak with the film's director and a survivor next.

moments ago, new york congressman george santos taking another run at it with a vote to possibly expel him from the house. here's what he said. >> i want people to vote their conscience and i don't want to make anybody feel uncomfortable. if it's their choice to change precedent and loop me in with twoe confederate turncoats expelled for treason and two convicted in a court of law, i will be the first to be expelled without a conviction or without committing treason.

so coming this sunday we are bringing you an all new cnn film "chowchilla" and this tells one of the most shocking true crime stories that you've probably never heard. it is about the 1976 kidnapping of a school bus full of children and their driver. this happened in california. they were actually buried underground for more than 12 hours before orchestrating their own dramatic escape.

the incident captivated the nation at the time, it also became a turning point in our understanding of the treatment of childhood trauma. here is a clip. >> i started hearing sawing and hammering. and then all of a sudden the door flies open. >> they took andre out first. >> and then they grabbed one of the kids, the door flies shut again. >> a few minutes would go by, they would reach in, grab another kid. and i scooted myself way to the front of the van again. i was trying to survive at that

point. >> i felt helpless. that to me was one of the scariest because now we're going to find out what's going on. >> joining us now is paul sollet, the director of the film, also jennifer brown hyde one of the survivors of that kidnapping. thank you for being here. it is gripping and such an important story for more to see. jennifer, you were 9 when you were kidnapped and you were in that dclip that we saw talking about the kidnappers taking the children one by one out of the van. can you take us back to what happened then? >> for me at that point the nightmare actually just started because at the time that we were driven around in the vans we were together and had gotten used to that atmosphere, and then once they removed us from the vans, it was a whole another

nightmare that was beginning to unfold with the unknown terror of what are they going to do with us next? >> paul, i became familiar with this based on promos on cnn and i'm kind of stunned by that. why did it slip from the national conscienceness and, too, how did you find out about it? >> yeah, i had the same reaction. you know, i learned about the kidnapping a number of years ago just doing research for a scripted project and i had the exact same reaction, i was completely shocked, i had never heard of it before. it really is one of the most bizarre crimes i think in american history. as i started looking at the research, at the previous coverage, i was really sort of struck by how little there was about the escape that had taken place and i think even more so how little there was in the way of follow-up with the kids over the years. you know, as i started reaching out and getting to know some of

the survivors, i really fell in love with them and was incredibly moved by what they had been through not just that day but really ever since, just trying to reclaim what was taken from them that day. >> jennifer, what was that like for you as a survivor, exactly what paul is talking about as a survivor but of something that really did slip from the national consciousness in many ways as you were having to endure and live through and work through the trauma? >> it's been a life-long struggle of trying to be normal when your childhood is stolen from you and my life was never the same from that moment at nine years old. it's had such an impact on not only myself, but my parents and how they parented, and then also myself as i have raised my own children. you don't think about the overall effects of the generations that this has touched upon and the unknown

life that it's led for all of us. >> i think to that point in the film itself i think the effect on childhood trauma, learning about childhood trauma, that these survivors i think demonstrated to some degree, what did you take from it? >> i think, you know, one of the interesting things is that at the time there was just a much less sophisticated understanding of what childhood trauma was about and what the effects of an event like this would have on kids. there was a lot of focus on were they physically harmed? and, you know, their parents, you know, for instance, were instructed to ignore their nightmares, that they would go away if they didn't dwell upon these things. you know, we now understand that that's actually the exact opposite of what they needed. you know, the kids were actually taken to disneyland, which i think was a really lovely sort of sweet gesture that a lot of kids really appreciated, but i think it's also indicative of

the lack of sophistication in the understanding of what childhood trauma is like. you know, the idea that you could replace, you know, such a severe, traumatic memory with a good one and sort of eclipse it is a very naive conception. >> jennifer, what does it mean to you that this story is finally being told? >> i hope that it shares a message of hope and inspiration for others because the life-long effects that it's had on the survivors is something that we share as a bond that nobody else could possibly understand, and the fact that we have each other to lean upon and try to get through life's experiences is great, but i hope that other people who have been through any type of child trauma can see a sense of hope and inspiration an