>> who is there? >> would you like to go see your daddy? >> daddy! hi, daddy. we miss you. i love you. >> if that doesn't leave a tear in your yishgs i -- in your eye, i don't know what will. thank you to everybody who is serving the country. serving the country. dana bash is in for wolf. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com hello, i'm dana bash and it is 1:00 p.m. in washington, and wherever you are watching from around the world, thank you for joining us on this christmas day. we begin with the long cleanup just beginning after a powerful storm that brought tornadoes and pounding rain to parts of the south. 14 people are now confirmed dead

in three states, including tennessee where the destruction is in a word breathtaking. and home after home, and just wiped out, and replaced by piles of splintered wood. this just in, new video of the monster tornado in holly springs, mississippi, killing two people, and here is another angle watching the upper right-hand corner of the screen, and you can see the giant cloud move n and then seconds later, immense rain and wind. emergency crews are hitting the ground in that state trying to clear the debris and restore power with more rain and thunderstorms in the forecast. cnn forecaster allison chinchar has more, but we want to go to nick valencia with more on the survivors who rode tout storms. >> hey, there, dana. it has been a batch of brutal storms, and tennessee tand mississippi and georgia hard t

hit, and we may not be out of it yet. >> reporter: scenes of devastation this christmas throughout the midwest, and tornados tearing across several states. >> it started where i heard a real loud roar and i said, we need to get to the house now. >> it sounded literally like a freight train and the sounding of the horn, it was coming. >> reporter: in ashland, mississippi, the only thing left of teresa's home is the porch. she and her husband were inside, and they ran and hid in this truck. >> nothing left of my house. not one thing. nothing but all of that debris. >> reporter: this building may have saved tony goodwin's life when the tornado hit perry county, tennessee. >> i had my grandson in my arm, under my arm, and everybody got in except for my sister-in-law, and i'm yelling at her, come on. and she got n and as soon as she did, i shut the door. >> reporter: the tornado knocked the house off of the foundation, but he and six others survived

by taking cover in the storm shelter. >> you will never know how important it is to seek shelter immediately however you can, because it is a lifesaver. >> reporter: two of those killed in tennessee were husband and wife, anne and antonio, and according to the storm prediction center, at least four tornadoes hit mississippi, but a single twister did most of the damage. >> this is a miracle, because no way that three individuals were in this house at this time, and they were able to walk away. >> communities are coming together thankful to be alive. >> i went to buy toys for kids, because i also have a little gi girl, and for them not to have christmas, and toys and stuff, it's not a holiday. >> it is no doubt going to be a difficult christmas for a lot of the survivor, and we must remember the victim, and the youngest reported at 7 years old in mississippi, and that string of tornadoes where there are some accounted for, and this

severe weather threat is a possibility, and allison can tell you about the potential of flooding, and more severe wind coming through the state. dana? >> thank you, and it is heartbreaking to report this news, and any time, but especially on christmas day. thank you for the report. we want to go to as nick said allison chinchar who is going to be telling us about the forecast which is looking soggy after these storms, and now we are looking for flood advisories? >> yes, we have a loft them out there, dana, because we have a lot of rain hitting the same places over and over again. you can see the line of rain stretching all of the way back to louisiana and up towards pennsylvania and starting to move in, and it is heavy rain, and not just light rain, but out in front of it, temperatures in the 70s and 80s, and is some of these temperatures are temperatures they have never yet seen in the month of december in some of the cities. take a look at new york city. 66 for the high to dday, and th is 40. if they make it here, they are

going to be topping out warmer than los angeles today. you don't think of new york being warmer than l.a. in in time of the year. and here is the map, and the red dots are areas that we are likely to tie or break record highs to today. all of the warmth out in front of the front, and the cold air behind it, and the clashing of the two different airs that are cause ing t causing the fuel for some of the storms. here's a look at where we expect the severe weather with the green being a minor risk, and the yellow being a slight risk, and tupelo and birmingham will be some of the cities with damaging winds, and possibly a few tornados as well. and the big threat out of today is the flood. the green areas are the flood watches, and warnings and advisories and the red are flash flood warning, and that is where we are seeing the roads under water, and homes with no

electricity. and this is where we will see an additional of 2 to 4 inches off rain on top of what they have had. and then the next threat are through the weekend and now it is winter storm problems. blizzard watches already in effect for parts of texas and also into new mexico, and in this system, dana, it is going to be pushing farther east bringing more rain and snow as it makes its way through the atlantic, and something to watch over the next couple of days. >> okay. so it is snowing in texas, and short sleeve weather as you can see in the northeast. >> it is going to be interesting, because the sun bowl is this weekend and we are talking about the snow showers as soon as the sun bowl is over. it is not sounding like it should be though. >> it is not. and i appreciate that report, alison, and if you are looking for ways to help people impacted by the storms, go the cnn.com/impact, and you can find ways to volunteer or donate. and now, the turning to politics and the debate over illegal immigration. the democrats are blasting the

president obama edadministratio because they have a reported plan to deport undocumented workers from central america. let's bring in our cnn correspondent michelle kaczynski in hawaii where the obamas are spending the holiday. what do we know about the deportation plan? >> well, okay, so what has been reporting, and you know, the administration is not giving a hot of detail, because it is reported as a plan in the works, but what has been put out there which by the way the department of homeland security is not denying, but they are looking to deport families, and not unak xaend children coming in droves, and now, those families are ticking up again, but these are families that have been ruled by a judge to be ready to be deported and they have had the due process. what dhs is saying about this, and the statement is this that immigration and customs enforcement focuses on the individuals who pose a threat to national security, and public

safety and border security. our border is not open to illegal immigration, and if individuals come here illegally and do not qualify for asylum and have final orders of removal, they will be sent back con s consistent with the ideals and the values. it is consistent with what the administration has said back when this really came to the forefront when all of the unaccompanied minors were coming. they weren't the only immigrants crossing the border, but because they were children without a parent here that the really focused the attention on the issue as a whole. and so a num bber of of the peoe are going to be getting the due process, but there is criticism from both sides, because back then when the children were kept in states and bus around the country, there was criticism are from the right, why are you letting them stick around for so long, and some of whom won't then return to have their asylum hearings, a then criticism frth

don't you let more of them stay, because they are facing violence and poverty in their own country, and similar now, criticism from the democrats on this, dana. >> and looking at some of the criticism, two democratic candidates for president, senator bernie sanders says that the u.s. should protect the refugee families and not kicking them out, and also, martin o'malley, a candidate for the democratic nomination, a christmas day immigration round-up is something that donald trump would concoct, and jesus was a refugee child who fled death gangs. and michelle, maybe the things that people don't realize with the noise within the republican presidential primary on immigration is that president obama has had a lot of criticism from the democrats calling him the deporter in chief. >> of course. >> and so are they concerned ab

this? >> and yes, depending upon which side you are listening to who is criticizing this, and again, criticism from both sides, and it is a horrible situation, and they are saying that jesus is not an immigrant, and the other side is saying that you can't let the people stay, and there are risks, and are you really going to the deport them now? you will get a terrible view depending upon who you are listening to, but the administration has deported a lot of people, but you have to look at the numbers in perspective, too. in the last fiscal year, you seeing the numbers of nearly a quarter million deportered, but looking back at 2012, it was closer to half a million people deported, so it is dropping precipitously, but it is still a large number of people being deported, and it raises the question, too, what about the administration saying, that we are going to to be focusing on the people who committed crimes. we will not deport families, and they were saying felons and not families, but talking to the dhs

about that, and they said that it applies to the people who have been in the country for a long time, and for the recent arrivals which is what we are talking about now sh, they are fairer game, and not subject to as much discretion as the people who have spent a lot of time in america, dana. >> well, mirnl, thank you for that, and as we finish the conversation, and no surprise that donald trump tweeted about it and took credit for it saying that it is about time, and basically saying that the obama administration is listening to him, and we can talk about that at another time. thank you, michelle. merry christmas. and the taliban is disputing a statement by russia that it is sharing intelligence on isis. what is behind the conflicting claims? that is next.

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the taliban is denying a claim that they have been cooperating with russia in a fight against isisment earlier this week, the kremlin said that it is exchanging information on isis with the taliban. robyn kriel is following developments from london. and robin, the taliban is denying contact with the russians, but the taliban seems to be splintered so how can we or maybe can we tell what is true or not true here? >> well, dana, there are indeed i indications of infighting and fractures as you say, so it might be in fact that one portion of the taliban is talking to the russians, and that another is coming tout deny it. but one thing is certain that isis on the ground would not be good for neither the taliban or

the russians, and that is why this is so, has become a prominent issue with more than 3,000 according to the u.s. commanders isis fighters on the ground in afghanistan at the moment. so anything like this could make the situation more volatile and dangerous for everyone. >> it could. and so taking a step back, why would the russians and the taliban beyond what is going on in afghanistan, why would it be in their interests to get it out in the open, for the russians in particular, that they are sharing information? just to be, you know, make vladimir putin look like he is fighting the world's fight to try to get rid of isis? >> i definitely think that the relevance, and the need for russia to be relevant, and to show that it is a strong nation is part of this reasoning, and definitely we have seen it in crimea and ukraine and other places, and part of it to get on the world stage, and isis on the ground, and gaining ground is not good for the taliban,

because they could face defection, and aligned to al qaeda, and as we have seen in somalia, this could cause an al qaeda/isis dispute as well. >> talk about strange bedfellows. thank you very much for that report. iraqi forces are saying they are days away from liberating ramadi from isis. it would be a hard-fought battle before it is done, if they can get that far. this is the view from the ground. iraqi troops are making slow progress inching their way through the neighborhoods rigged with explosives. this is the view from the air, and iraq's ministry of defense the released this video showing that the air strikes are hitting various targets. joining us now from the pentagon is our pentagon correspondent barbara starr, and insider and author michae weiss and cedric layton, and thank you all so

much for joining us on this christmas day. and barbara, we will start with you. how optimistic are the forces that they are gong to be able to liberate ramadi within the next few days? >> well, it is hard to tell, but certainly, they are on the path to getting ramadi back, and we have been talking about the ieds and the explosives, but they seem to be making progress, and the pentagon and the obama administration is optimistic at the moment, and perhaps because it is a very important victory for the iraqis. they cannot afford the lose of course, but also for the obama administration which has been trying to prove that its strategy of training the iraqis to take on this battle is going to work. so a lot invested all of the way around, dana. >> sure is. and michael, the site intelligence group s s is sayin that isis is posting statements that it has inflicted major

losses in ramadi, and how much of it can we believe and how much of it is propaganda, because we know that they are very, very good at propaganda >> yes, isis lies all of the time claiming responsibility for attacks they have knot tock do with, and if you look at the internal newspapers that they put out in aleppo, they are claiming to be in control of ta crit -- takrit, and kobani, and cities that were lost months ago. and there was an attack on the headquarters of the federal police, and what is interesting is that attack by all accounts was repelled by the iraqis, but the police is controlled by the inside of iraqi government, and that is controlled by the bodicor. and so it is not so much my concern the liberation of ramadi, and it is imminent, and

if not days, it is weeks, and it is what is going to happen after that. and the u.s. has been putting out commentary that the militia guys have been staying out of the fight, but that is because they are embedded within the inf structures and the police, and the other pro baghdad institutions around and the fear is, dana, what happens once it belongs to the iraqi force, and what is there going to be? because in areas such as takrit, the sunnis are seen as collaborator, and they are speared away to dungeons or killed. >> and resurgence of the sectarian violence. and colonel, sitting home on christmas day, to watch the nitty-gritty of the battle to liberate ramadi, but everyone wants to know how this plays into the larger fight to get rid of isis.

do you believe it is a turning point in the war? >> it potentially could be, but it is more of a psychological turning point than anything else, dana. what we are looking at here is a change in momentum, and if everything goes as planned and the iraqi military does control, and get control of ramadi, then we have a momentum, the potential to build on momentum to go after mosul, and that is of course, the stated goal of the iraqi government, and they are trying very hard to do that, and the question then remains, can they do that, and will they have the logistical training to do that and the intelligence to do that and will they have be able to make it work from the strategic perspective. the other part of it is that there is more go g ing on than t ramadi. there is an offensive going on in syria in the euphrates river valley against isis, and so with those two major movements occurring, there is a good

chance that we would see more action against isis, and it is going to be coming up quickly, i believe. >> and barbara, so much discussion on the campaign trail, and you know, everywhere about the u.s. role in this. how really is the u.s. whacking up these iraqi fighter -- how much is really the u.s. backing up these iraqi fighters? >> well, majority is the air strikes right now, and when you are in the thick of the battle what you need is the u.s.-led coalition of air power to destroy the obstacles that you can't get to and allow your troops to continue to move forward on the battle, but i think that it is goes a lot to what michael was saying. the u.s. has trained a number of sunni tribal fighters hoping they can come into ramadi as the holding force to back up the government forces, but it is a small number, several hundred. the u.s. has been focusing a lot on training the regular iraqi force, and plus some sunnis, but the broader issues that michael is talking about the long term

sectarian divide in iraq, that is still a big problem to be solved. >> it sure is. thank you so much to all three of you, and appreciate your time especially on this christmas day. >> ahead, we will look at the compensation that has been 36 years in the making. the americans held hostage in iran for 444 days, and they are finally getting their due. stay tuned for details.

this is just in. a devastating fire at the birthplace of former president

bill clinton is now being investigated as arson. fire officials say they found evidence that an accelerant was used outside of the hope, arkansas, home, and the building is list hed on the register of national historic places, and it is going to need some repairs, but it is structurally sound. authorities are going to be assist manage the investigation. >> it has taken 36 years, but the americans held hostage in iran for 444 days will get compensation. the hostages were freed in 1981, but prevented from suing iran for damages. cnn national correspondent deborah feyerick joins us from new york. deb, i nknow that they have bee searching and pushing the u.s. congress to change this so that they can actually sue for compensation, and how did that happen, and more importantly, how much did they get? >> well, this is interesting, because so many of the families who died or were held hostage have been working with the government to try to get some sort of compensation. one hostage called it nothing

short of a christmas miracle. another who i was in contact basically said that it has been a really long journey for so many of the families. each family of the iranian hostages, the former hostages will receive $4.4 million, and that is $10,000 per day for each of the 444 days that the 53 captives were held hostage, and some of the people have died, but lit go to the estates, and some will get a lump sum payment that is compensation, and it is not coming from the iranian government. and when they were freed the hostages were told that they cannot sue the government, and so it is coming from the banks like, the $1 billion set aside to help those aside to help those who have lost loved ones in these attack, and that

includes the victims of the u.s. embassy bombings, and in kenya, and somalia, and the beirut bombings, and so this is far reaching consequences, dana. >> and you hear $4 million, and you say, wow, but people forget that these hostages who were taken in the iranian revolution, they went through quite an ordeal. i remember speaking to one about this issue, john lindbird a few years ago and he said when they were put in dungeons in like the movie of "argo" it did not happen, but it was a lot of torture physical and psychological. >> yes, nothing short of member tall torture and they had no idea if they would live or die, the and this is a defining moment of the u.s. psyche in 1979 when the iranian students took the u.s. embassy hostage, and stormed taking the people hostage, and these men and women

suffered grief psychologically and physically being away from the families, and not knowing if they are going to live or die, and what you are watching is a clip from the movie "argo" and that reinstated the whole iranian hostage taking into the american conscious. and six americans were able to get out miraculously from the embassy, but then they had to watch the other 53 who remained behind. and so this is really, this is going to back decades, 30 decades' compensation, and it is a good thing for all of the families and those involved. >> it is, and i remember, as i said, looking into the story a couple of years ago at the time when "argo" came out, and it was absolutely helpful to talk to a couple of the former hostages, so hooray for hollywood on this christmas day. >> yes. >> thank you, deb. and now, headlines dominated by international stories, and which ones made our top ten list? we will tell you.

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welcome back to the viewers in the united states and around the world. there is no doubt that 2015 has been a whirlwind when it comes to the international news. from the notorious drug kingpin el chapo escaping from prison to the horrendous acts of violence carried out across the world by isis. no doubt it is a year to remember. anderson cooper takes a look at the top ten international

stories of 2015. >> reporter: our top ten start s with the shocking prison escape inside of the mexican prison cell of joaquin guzman. he escaped through the place where they shower. >> it is difficult to breathe down here, and a lot of dust, but this is the bike that el chapo drove out of the prison. >> reporter: and now the question still remains who helped him to escape. and number 9, cuba and america back on speaking terms. american americans boarding planes bound for havana, than knox the momentous thawing of diplomatic relations. >> it seemed impossible that the united states would be raising our flag, the stars and stripes over an em bbassy in a vanna. >> a massive earthquake. >> reporter: in kathmandu, there was with a earthquake that triggered an avalanche, and days

of aftershocks follow and more than 8,000 people died. few more stories were as divisive as number eight. >> poised for an agreement after decades -- >> reporter: some hailed the victory for diplomacy between the united states and iran. >> there is a reason that people call it a good deal, because it is a good deal. >> some call it a deal with the devil. >> this is making war more likely. >> reporter: powerful words from the leader of israel. and 44 seconds of uncomfortable silence of what he says is the deafening silence of iran towards the west. at number 6, the bloody war rages between iran and iraq, and u.s.-led targets are bombing isis rebels as well.

>> russia air strike s as are n targeting isis, but areas that will bolster bashar al assad. >> and then a shooting down of a russian plane. >> the russians are absolutely furious. >> president putin is calling it a stab in the back. >> reporter: and the world watched the biggest escalation of the military campaign against isis to date. >>ly not put american boots on the ground in syria. >> the americans are stepping up the personnel on the ground. >> for the first time sending special forces into syria to fight isis. >> reporter: rounding out the top 5 a rock star welcome for pope francis as he toured the

united states and cuba and before masses of millions. >> this is playing extraordinarily well on the new york stage. >> reverend, i want to listen in, because the crowds are so excited. >> reporter: off of the cuff moments, and glimpses into the life of the catholic leader that so many have come to love. he then went to the war zone in a central african republic, and part of the historic visit by the pontiff to africa. number four, a manhunt. >> reporter: there are the editor of the charlie hebdo newspaper have been under attack. >> reporter: two islamic brothers forced their way into the satirical magazine charlie hebdo, and opened fire. >> it is a very disturbing scene to see the people there, and people were crying out for help.

>> reporter: chaos spilled out on on to the street. and as they try to flee, the manhunt for the killers intensifies. al qaeda in the arabian peninsula claims responsibility, and meanwhile, jewish shoppers were held hostage, and not by the two brothers burk a man working in concert with them. and then 17 people are killed in paris. and andrea lubitz locks the pilot out of the cockpit, and steers the plane into the ground. the horror is unfolding on the black box recorder. >> i would remind you that the death was instantaneous. >> lubitz flying the plane into the side of the mountain and obliterating it and everything aboard. >> we are learned that lubitz reprogrammed the auto pilot

setting frit cruiit from 38,000 cruising flight to 30,000 feet. >> reporter: causing everyone to question if they trust ed their pilot on the plane. and a crisis not seen on a scale since world war ii. >> thousands trying to escape war and violence at home. >> reporter: bashar al assad ordered barrel bombs on his own people. and terrified people flee. >> they have fired more tear gas and people are panicking. >> reporter: at borders across europe, men, women, children pushed back, and tens of thousands more with nothing but the clothes on their back destined for unknown shore, and some would not make it. >> it is still so disturbing. the 2-year-old was found face

do down on the turkish beach. he drowned at sea while trying to cross the sea with his family. >> reporter: the picture of the lifeless toddler on the beach becoming the symbolic scene of those. but still, the fear of the unknown prevails. >> we have breaking news for you out of paris, france. >> reporter: and number one, isis terrorizing the world, and spreading the brutality beyond the borders of iraq and syria. explosion rings out outside of a soccer stadium in pairs, and the first of three suicide bombers to detonate marking the series of terror attacks the likes of which paris has never seen. >> the whole time, he said, don't run, just stay. those words saved my life, because the people who ran were shot. >> reporter: people were fleeing for their lives, and a pregnant woman who was so terrified that she hung from the side of a building for her life. and terrorists unloaded round after round. >> we are at war.

>> at war. >> against terrorism. >> reporter: the unimaginable slaughter of 133 people in paris happening just 24 hours after this, in beirut lebanon, a pair of suicide bombs would blast and as the smoke clears, 43 people are dead. isis' ability to incite terror and fear across the world. >> new u.s. intelligence claims that the plane was most likely brought down by a bomb. >> isis is holding this photo up as proof that it downed metro jet 9268. >> isis says they detonated it in midair, and as you know, 224 people were killed. >> reporter: and then and atk the on ou.s. soil. >> a disturbed husband and wife drop off their little baby and drive to the holiday party and kill 14 people. >> reporter: a pair radicalized an inspired by isis carry out the deadliest terror attack since 9/11 leave manage to

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on this christmas day, pope francis issued a e plea for peace in the holy land and in other places of conflict throughout the world. the pope called for renewed talks between israelis and palestinians and expressed hope that a recent agreement would end the war in syria. >> translator: we pray to the lord that the agreement reached in the united nations may succeed in halting as quickly as possible the clash of arms in syria and in remedying the extreme grave humanitarian situation of the suffering people. >> many iraqi christians forced from their homes by conflict are spending this christmas as refugees in turkey. cnn correspondent sara sidner has their story.

>> reporter: a christmas celebration in a land that is not their own. they fled for their lives fearing death, but nothing could kill their faith. nearly 2,000 miles from mosul, iraq, where isis murders have tormented their people, including their muslim neighbors, these christian refugees have found a place to celebrate the birth of their lord and savior. >> "my last christmas was in my family house, my mom, and my dad and my brother and myself" she says "and we were hoping to be together once more." but right now, they are refugees a family torn apart, but praying. they are singing christmas carols converted into an old church hall to worship. as proud christians, they are

not fearing any reprisals because of their faith. they come from one of the most christian facilities in the country, but their own priest had the flee. what gives us solace, he said, is the bible. christianity is under siege in the very place it is born. iraq's population of christians used to be 1.5 million, but now only half remain. syria is even worse. of the 1.1 million syrian christians who once lived in the country, about 600,000 have fled. in the middle east, they call themselves by many names, a syrians, syriak, but they are all christians. >> it is sad to be far away from our country, are from our neighbors, from our friends,

from our families, and it is not easy, but anyhow, something is better than nothing, a nd thank for god that we have a priest here, and that we are gathering here, and we celebrate. i hope that everything can be okay. >> reporter: on this the day, the christians are humbly offering their thanks, grateful to be alive to celebrate one of the most joyous day s ts on the christian calendar. >> there is talk by the christian refugees whether christianity is dead in the middle east, the place where it began, and the word to the refugees to us say that it is not going to happen, and they truly have faith that they will be able to one day return to the homeland without being prosecuted or persecuted an however, they believe it will be a very long time. >> thank you, sara, for that beautiful piece about faith and perseverance. it is something that we should all remember today. thank you so much. and straight ahead, we are going to be looking at the u.s. here

to 2016 to somebody who wants the be the first female president. carly fiorina has spent her fair share of time in the spotlight, but we haven't seen too much about her husband frank. i had a candid interview with a very candid would-be first gentleman. and we will watch that next. toto the nation's capitalut to support an important cause that can change the way you live for years to come. how can you help? by giving a little more, to yourself. i am running for my future. people sometimes forget to help themselves. the cause is retirement, and today thousands of people came to race for retirement and pledge to save an additional one percent of their income. if we all do that we can all win. prudential bring your challenges®

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donald trump spent some time on christmas eve trolling reporters on twitter and ripping his rivals saying he believe some covered him unfairly by not making more of cnn's polling

showing him in a commanding position. he tweeted two reports of the fail "the new york times," totally in the hillary circle of bias. think about bill and chuck todd, very dishonest in not showing the new cnn poll where i am at 39%. 21 points higher than crews. be honest, chuck. we believe that these are all first rate reporters. but on the issue of politics and his rivals, he also looked ahead to next year with a tweet, next year will be an interesting one. i look forward to running against hillary clinton, a totally flawed can't date beating her soundly. he ended with a rant and holiday cheer. speaking of hundred one of his rivals, car lee fiorina, she's used to being in the spotlight. not her husband, though.

he's somebody who is very accepting to the fact that he takes a back seat to her and i had a candid interview with him. listen to this. >> morning girls, how are we doing. >> inside corely fiorina's headquarters, a visit with a campaign aid. this is frank fiorina's role these days, a supportive husband who does whatever he can to help his wife's presidential bid. >> you are mr. carly fiorina. >> always proud to be. >> taking a back seat to his wife is hardly new to him. he predicted it when hi met carly over 30 years ago when we were both working at at&t. >> there was no doubt in my mind she was going to surpass me in the ranks at at&t, rightfully so, and she would be clahairman some day. >> did you tell her that in.

>> i did. ooh not sure why. at the time it was a great mixture of a great line and the truth. >> carly did become a ceo at hewlett packard and frank decided to quit his job to support her. >> you retired at the age of 48, the peak of you career to be carly's husband. >> that's true. it was controversial, believe me. i knew it was the right thing to do. >> playing the supportive role is not always easy. >> when you think of somebody that's that smart, hardworking and focused, it's hard to keep up sometimes. >> they never had children of their own but carly bonded with his young daughters like none of his other dates had. >> i was just like a disney movie. they would play havoc with my dates and when i finally brought carly home. it was clear to me that the three of them loved each other. >> in 2009 one of frank's daughters lori died of a drug

overdose, the same year that carly was diagnosed with breast cancer. >> it was a bad year. i kept saying this is going to end badly. she was too smart, too educated. she would never admit she had a problem. this was a necklace that carly bought her. >> i know it looks silly. >> no, it doesn't. >> i wear it all of the time. >> carly often talks on the campaign trail about the loss of her stepdaughter and the need to fight addiction. she also talks about frank who started out as an at&t technician and a tow truck driver keeps her grounded. >> do you like politics? >> frankly, not particularly. politics is to different than business. and of course i spent my whole life in business and working. >> he's often with carly on the

trail but mostly keeps his opinions to himself. >> i'm very cautious about when i give her advice, very cautious. >> why? >> because she has so many people giving her advice. so i really try to pick my targets. if there's something i really feel she's become misled about, i speak up. >> like most political spouses, he takes attacks on his wife harder than she does. >> when you hear criticism of your wife want what do you want to do? >> i'm an italian boy from pittsburgh. i don't need to quite explain what i would really like to do. but it just infuriates me. >> and when donald trump made fun of his wife's face. >> i almost thought it was humorous. i mean, out of all of the people on the stage, it would be hard to say anything was wrong with carly's face, i would say. >> do you think that she's treated differently because she's a woman? >> carly won't say this but i

will. i've watched for 34 years how she's been treated differently in everything she's done in life. everything. >> still, frank's prediction about carly's business success came true. they're both hoping he was also true about the politics. >> i said she was going to be president one day but i wasn't encouraging her to do that. i was just stating the obvious. frank fiorina told me if she ever becomes the first gentleman, he just wants to be called the first frank. as americans gather around their christmas tree to open presents, president obama is using his weekly address to urge americans to be compassion nate to those in need. >> today like millions of americans and christians around the world, our family celebrates the birth of jesus and the values he had in his own life,

treating for those with love and compassion, caring for those on society's margins, the sick and the hungry, the poor and the persecuted, the stranger in need of shelter. >> that's it for this program. i'm dana bash. thank you for being with me on this christmas day. the news continues right here on cnn. merry christmas. i'm kate baolduan in for book today. the washington post is reporting that the nationwide operation could begin as soon as early next month. according to the washington post, the department of homeland security is targeting central american immigrants to came to the u.s. last year. advocates say these immigrants were fleeing violence if their home countries. the raids will focus ondu