over who owns this. it is worth $800 million. the presumed owner said he paid 400,000 it in 2001, but lost the bill of sale. a tallahassee man caught the state's longest gator on record. more than 14 feet long. it was killed in the state's annual alligator harvest. hauling it to land took an epic two-hour battle. it beat the previous record by three inches. you know, the medal of honor, there is no greater distinction in the u.s. military and just ahead, honor in the valley of death. barbara starr's special on the young man who will receive the medal tuesday, but first, i want to give you some headlines. near cancun, mexico, at least seven people including a child, were killed by a powerful

blast at a resort four of the dead were canadians. mexican authorities say the explosion appeared to be caused by a gas leak, possibly a stove. the resort is the grand rivera. a bizarre missing person's case in ohio. a police s.w.a.t. team bursts into a home this morning. they rescued a missing teen who was bound and gagged in the basement. the girl's mother, her brother and a family friend are still missing. police arrested 30-year-old matthew hawkman of kidnapping charges. the community has organized a massive search effort. a british couple is free tonight after more than a year in captivity. somali pirates kidnapped the two last year. family will not confirm if a ransom was paid, but sources say

the pirates received $750,000. well, this tuesday, life here on cnn, you will see history made. army staff sergeant sal jinta will receive a medal of honor. it hasn't happened to a living service member since the vietnam war. it was october of 2007 in afghanistan. a rugged and forbidding no man's land along the pakistan border. taliban and al-qaeda fighters call it home. u.s. forces call it the valley of death. now, the area is so dangerous that nato, earlier this year, pulled its forces out. barbara starr spoke with the sergeant about the moment that earned him honor in the valley of death. >> the whole time frame maybe lasted between two and three

minutes and five or six lifetimes. i don't know. >> reporter: but in those two three minutes, army staff sergeant sal giunta went from a soldier to a hero, now deserving the nation's highest military honor. we've come to afghanistan to find the men that sal fought with. many are here on this remote combat outpost, but their thoughts and memories are with sal and what happened that night. he was walking along the ridge line with other members of his unit, assigned to protect other soldiers walking back to their base. >> we opened up into a small clearing out of a lightly forested area and single shot rang out. >> reporter: it was what the military calls an l-shaped ambush sprung by the taliban, which means taliban fighters were in front of the men and to

their side cht. >> there's not just one or two, probably more than ten and they're not that far away. >> they actually watched the guy pull the trigger that was aimed at you. >> it seems like your world is exploded in bullets and rpgs and everything. >> just bad situation. >> we looked and it was along our whole side. our flank. >> reporter: every soldier that night was shot. >> you know, i got shot running backwar backwards. >> they started coming out of the trees and getting closer. i shoved over a berm on my back and got hit a fourth time. >> reporter: hit eight times was the man walking in front. sergeant josh brennan of mcf mcfarland, wisconsin. he talked to his dad, mike, a few days before. >> he volunteered for that mission that day. >> reporter: he was down sh severely wounded. sal raced ahead into the face of

taliban fire. >> he got to the front. he killed one of the guys that was dragging my team leader away, brennan. wounded another one. recovered sergeant brennan, brought him back to an area where we could secure him, started the aid on him. i mean, for all intents and purposes, the amount of fire going on, the conflict at the time, shouldn't be alive right now. >> this is where it gets rough for me. you know, every time i -- i can try -- i can try to explain it and i can try to put it into terms so peek can understand it and the more i do that, talking about it doesn't help me. and it weighing heavy on me to this day. >> reporter: sal saved his friend, josh brennan, from being taken away be the taliban.

>> due to the severity of josh's injuries, he did everything that he could to try to render aid to josh along with several other soldiers. >> reporter: six hours later, josh brennan died. also killed that night was the medic jugo mendoza of el paso, texas. >> drove to the ambush and if it hadn't of been for him running up and doing what he did, who's to say they wouldn't have kept trying to press the advantage. you know? he probably saved a lot of people's lives that night. >> reporter: it's that act of bravery that was above and beyond with sal running into enemy fire and getting to josh to help save him. >> i think about it and it hurts. but say it out loud makes it

that much more real and i feel like i've said it enough. i know it's real, but sometimes i can trick myself and just not think about it for a while. sal keeps insisting he does not deserve the nation's highest military award for heroism. >> when i first heard, i felt lost, kind of angry. it came at such a price. people want to put a medal around my neck and congratulate me on a good job when there's two people that have just given their entire lives for this cause, that mission, for the people of the united states of america and now, i'm going to be the one they're going to shake hands with to congratulate. it didn't seem real and at the same time, what did seem real shouldn't happen. >> reporter: talking to sal, you get the impression that if he could, he would just as soon not

be the living american service member since the vietnam war to receive the medal of honor. >> it's very bittersweet. it's such a huge hostage. it's a great thing, but it is a great thing that has come at a personal loss to myself and so many other families. >> that is what you want people to know. >> absolutely. >> he is a wonderful man and incredibly humble and i think that he will just by who he is, he communicates to every american why he deserves to be recipient of this award and i think -- i think just his own presence and personality and that of his wife are all that's needed here in terms of communicating to the american people what an extraordinary man this is. >> wow. barbara starr joins us now from washington. tell us more about the sergeant. where is he form? how did he join the army.

i want to know more about him. >> oh, this young man is just -- just remarkable. we sat down with him a couple of weeks ago in italy. he is from iowa. he is from the midwest. and you might wonder how he came to join the army. well, a few years ago around the age of 18, he was mopping the floors one night at a subway sandwich shop in his hometown, he says. the radio was on. there was a commercial on the radio, come to the retruting station and get a free t-shirt. he thought, i'll go get a free t-shirt. he wound up joining the army and as you say, don, next tuesday, this 25-year-old soldier will step into the pages of american history. he will stand next to president obama and receive this honor and he yet he will tell you he'd rather have his friends back. >> barbara starr, stand by.

we're going to talk much, much more about this. there's more that you don't want to miss tonight. his valor came to the pentagon's attention almost immediately. listen to what general david petraeus said in this interview with barbara starr. >> he is going to say it is not his actions, what anyone would have done, it was the team. let me tell you, it was his actions. they were incredible and he is so very deserving of it. >> winning a medal of honor. to understand what it means, you almost have to win one yourself. in a moment, you'll hear from some members of that exclusive club. n some fresh bread that he'd made from our pale ale. and from that first bite, i knew my business would never be the same. [ male announcer ] when businesses see an opportunity to grow, the hartford is there. protecting their property and helping them plan their employees' retirement. ♪ beer or bread? [ male announcer ] see how the hartford helps businesses

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hero. he was just trying to survive and help his buddies survive. but something in his actions during these brief, terrifying moments transcended the desire to live. it was bravery on a grand scale and everybody knew it instantly. almost as soon as the shooting stopped, the process began of recommending him for a medal of honor. again, cnn's barbara starr. >> reporter: perhaps no one knows the nature of courage more than these men. some of america's more than 80 living medal of honor recipients. >> one of the criteria is above and beyond. >> reporter: but decided who deserves the award for going above and beyond the call of duty is a long and involved process, some say too involved. in his case, it began within hours of a fire fight in eastern

afghanistan. >> the same night i got medevaced to bag rahm airfield. >> reporter: the statement here became part of an evergrowing file that wound up on the president's desk. just six hours after the fire fight, unit commander captain daniel kearney because the formal paperwork. >> he went through the ambush, grabbed his best friend, sergeant brennan, killed several other insurgents, pulled him back through the ambush and then started giving him aid. oh, by the way, he was shot twice himself. >> reporter: his recommendation went up through the army's entire chain of command. >> that would consist of the brigade commander, combatant

commander, central commander. >> reporter: throughout it all, one phrase is key. incontestable proof of the heroism. >> the situation occurred can't be refuted in public, couldn't have an individual say this didn't happen. >> reporter: usually, that means at least two eyewitnesses. the process has only produced one living medal of honor recipient since the vietnam war. >> this shows you bureaucratic and lslow the department of defense has become. i think frankly, that the d.o.d.'s standard has changed to where you have to do more than ever before frankly, some even say you have to die anymore in order to get the medal of honor. >> reporter: defense secretary robert gates told me standards haven't changed. it's the way u.s. troops fight. >> i think part of the reason is

the -- the nature of war today. in the sense that if particularly in afghanistan, our enemies generally use weapons at a distance from us. so, there's -- there's a proportion, there's less hand to hand. >> reporter: his heroism met all the standards. the file on his actions went through the army and finally, to secretary gates. >> each one of these, when they come to my desk, it's about a three-inch notebook. >> reporter: maps, drawing, eyewitness accounts. >> the file is extraordinarily complete, but when you start to read the details and really, whether it's for this living recipient or the ones being presented postmousily, you

wonder, how could anyone do this. >> reporter: agreeing he desevered the honor, gates sent the file to president obama. in september, almost three careers after the fire fight, the president of the united states called and told him he would be receiving the medal of honor. >> barbara, the u.s. has been involved in two wars for most of the past decade, yet very few medals of honor have been awarded to people who have died. have the requirements changed or is it the nature of modern warfare? >> secretary gates believes it's the nature of modern warfare. not to say he hasn't been pressing for this. he's made it very clear he wanted to see some answers and wanted to know why a medal of honor had not been awarded to someone who had lived to tell of such valor and courage. behind the scenes, more files

are being worked on. more are expected in the coming weeks and months. this is something that does reflect the changing nature of war, but this now after this coming tuesday, i think we will begin to see some movement on this, don. >> he saved some buddies. what about the other guys who survived? will they be there is this. >> yeah, i have to tell you, i've gotten some e-mails this weekend, most of battle company is home. they are back. several of them have, as of today, arrived in washington. they are reuniting. i think it's fair to say there will be a good deal of thirst quinching going on amongst the guys. they are thrilled to be together. they are going to remember those who didn't make it back. this is a brotherhood that is going to exist forever, don. >> absolutely.

we call it adult beverages and they can have as many as they'd like. cnn will have live coverage of the ceremony on tuesday, but with pride though comes a strong dose of sadness. >> it's very bittersweet. i mean, it's such a huge honor. it's a great thing. but it is a great thing that has come at a personal loss to myself and so many other families. >> he says he will accept the medal, but not for himself. he says it belongs to every american who's fought in afghanistan. that's coming up right after the break. etfs? exchange traded funds? don't just give me ten or twenty to choose from. come on. td ameritrade introduces commission-free etfs with a difference-- more choice. over a hundred etfs.... ...chosen by the unbiased experts at morningstar associates. let me pick what works for me.

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u.s. forces pulled out of afghanistan's corn gal valley as part of strategy. many troops found that hard to accept. by withdrawing, did they die for nothing? i want you to listen to staff sergeant sal giunta.

he will receive the medal of honor tuesday from president obama. again, barbara starr has the story. >> reporter: in afghanistan -- valley, it happened almost every day. a place where medal of honor recipient sal giunta says nothing was easy. >> everything is hard. people are hard. vegetation is hard. >> reporter: film maker tim spent a year in the area -- they followed sal giunta and many of his teammates. how violent for the troops there? >> there were 150 american soldiers there and they were in almost 500 fire fights during their deployment. i was told that that was almost one fifth of all the combat in all of afghanistan.

>> nearly 50 american lives have been lost and countless more people have been injured and countless civilians have been killed as well, caught in the cross fire. death is daily reckoning. >> reporter: why were soldiers sent to the area in the first place? to help build a road near the pakistani border and yes, win hearts and minds. a mission some now say was d destined to fail. the valley became so vicious, so bloody, it became known as the valley of death. the military finally made the decision to leave. many of the soldiers have come to terms with the decision to leave the valley. >> i've made by peace with that. what was done there, i hope was done for the benefit and it hopefully helped a lot of people and the medal of honor that i will receive happened in that

valley, but it wasn't for that valley. it was for the people. we did everything we could. everything that was asked of us. did exactly what our commanders wanted us to do. what the army decided to do after that, it was on the army. >> reporter: is there a bit of irony here, it became a place where the u.s. military decided it didn't fit the strategy of afghanistan, to be some place where it was so unwelcome and it withdrew and there are no more troops in the valley of death. >> i think it has some iconic value as you say. just because of books that have been written about it and the documentaries and so on, but i don't see a particular irony in it. >> reporter: so many battles for so many troops. heroism every day. sal giunta says for him, the medal of honor is for all of those who have fought.

barbara starr, cnn. >> barbara is with us again now. let's talk about the ceremony at the white house tuesday. it's going to be historic. young man from iowa joins the army on a whim and ends up being awarded the highest honor. >> it is. the whole strategy of grand u.s. plans and all of that, what it boils down to for sal giunta, for battle company, men and woman who have served across the generations. whether it's vietnam, the fields of france in world war ii. when men and women serve in battle of course, it is not for the grand strategy of the nation, but to serve with their brothers and sisters. this is what the men of battle company tell us and this is what we know. a young man fights to save his buddy on the left and his buddy on the right.

sal giunta will tell you that he did no more than what any other soldier who you have done. the president of the united states will differ and say that sal giunta is an extraordinary american and i will wrap by saying that battle company wants everyone to remember those who didn't make it home. all t . >> i'm sure sergeant giunta would trade his medal to have his friends back. will you help me out? there's some video we took from the cnn tower cam. it was the 40th brigade. their return from afghanistan. this is my video. i was going to work. i got out of my car, barbara, and started videotaping them with my iphone. they were marching from canton to downtown atlanta this weekend to commemorate veterans day.

48-mile march began saturday and ended at sen tin yal olympic park. i asked one of the guys wharks do veterans mean to this country and why should we honor them? >> because of these soldiers, you have to liberties of freedom that is you do and you may not like it, but please appreciate it. >> barbara, he is right. >> oh, absolutely. you know, it is worth always remembering i think the united states military is an all-volunteer force. these are people who raise their right hand, join the military, they know these days they are going to war. that they are risking their lives for the country and for their buddies who joined them in battle, don. >> we thank them for their service and we thank you. great reporting there. really appreciate it. >> thank you. >> when we come back, we'll

update you on the headlines including a deadly explosion at a resort in mexico. plus, a british couple is finally free after being held by somali pirates for a year. and it was ben bernanke last year. who will be time magazine's person of the year this year? tdd# 1-800-345-2550 i mean, i still need help. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 but not from some guy that's just going to sell me stuff. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 i need somebody who works with me, tdd# 1-800-345-2550 speaks a language i understand, tdd# 1-800-345-2550 and basically helps me make better decisions. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 maybe i'm still being naive? tdd# 1-800-345-2550 [ male announcer ] no hard sell. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 no attitude. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 no broker-speak. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 it's different when you talk to chuck. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 ♪

we want to update you on the missing person's case in ohio. police have rescued a missing teenager found bound and gagged in a home in columbus, ohio. the girl's mother, brother and family friend are still missing. police arrested a 30-year-old man on kidnapping charges. the family went missing on wednesday and since then, the community has organized massive search efforts. the neighbor describes the

massive rescue. >> s.w.a.t. team came and the blast i heard, the blasted the door and went in. and you know, i heard the guy was sleeping on the couch and they found one of the girls that was missing tied up down in the wamt. and developing tonight, as many as seven people including a child were killed today by a blast at a mexican resort. four of the dead were canadians. another 20 people were hurt including two americans. mexican authorities say the explosion was caused by a gas leak. the grand princess rivera is on the yucatan peninsula. a british couple is free tonight after more than a year in captivity. somali pirates kidnapped them last year. the family will not confirm if a ransom was paid, but -- the

pirates initially demanded $7 million. al those arizonaians waiting to inhale, they have determined that prop 203 has passed by about 4300 votes. no votes had been leading the anthony public anthony public reports, but until officials began counting ballots, it all changed. arizona becomes the 15th state to allow medical marian. still ahead, my conversation with a mega church pastor who recently announced he was gay. and what do lady gaga, the founder of wikileaks have in common? they're in the running to be time magazine's person of the year. boss: and now i'll turn it over to the gecko.

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manager. there's a poll online that everyone can vote on. let's talk about these candidates. a bit of a surprise at first place -- why is he polling so high? >> well, it's -- >> you say it a lot better than i do. >> it's interesting. he's had a very big year. turkey is obviously a nation of huge geopolitical strategic importance and at the cross roads of europe and asia. heads really flexed his diplomatic muscle. >> very interesting. i found this one to be interesting, i guess i'll say. julian asange, number three. time doesn't also shy away from picking controversial people, does it? >> no, the person of the year as the founder of "time" put it,

the person who affects news of the year for good or ill. depending on your take of the ethics of wikileaks, you could go either way. >> the unemployed american, on the polls. they say this category when you do that is kind of vague and picking an actual person because in 2005, it was you were time magazine's person of the year. >> i do remember. i was very honored to be chosen. you could argue that it's a little bit of a conceptual gimmick, but i'm surprised to see how high the american is

polling. there are -- the unemployment rate is not dropping as quickly as people who have hoped and this may be the new normal we are living with. >> it is a sign of the times. says exactly what is going ton, what people find important. what's the criteria for picking the person of the year? >> you know, we, it's an editorial choice. it is not determined by the poll, i should say, although you can vote. the editors spend a lot of time thinking about the big stories of the year and how they have affected everyone around the world and we try to put a face to those stories. >> so then what's the purpose of the poll then? do you just want to know what's on viewer's minds? >> we'll find a way to acknowledge the poll results in the issue for sure. the purpose is to show people what candidates are on our minds and the other thing is that we are attuned to what people

think. it's interesting, fascinating for us editorial. >> so it might not be any of these people? >> we reserve that right, yes. next, george w. bush and his brother, together. plus, they defie the traditional views about money, education and achievement. how students in one low income school are succeeding. ♪ another dollar ♪ daylight comes [ dogs barking ] ♪ i'm on my way ♪ another day ♪ another dollar ♪ working my whole life away ♪ another day ♪ another dollar

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let's check what's crossing on the political ticker. congress returns to washington

tomorrow for a lame duck session and probably the most immediate issue for them to deal with will be the bush tax cuts. republicans want to see them extended across the board. democrats want to extend them for people making less than $250 thousand a year. white house adviser, david axelrod, wouldn't give a solid answer about it on the sunday talk show, but did say the middle class deserves these cuts the most because it has taken the hardest hit in this recession. could michael steele's days be numbered as the head of the gop? jim demint apparently thinks so. he told fox news republicans need a stronger -- and criticized his get out the votes efforts during the midterms. busy days for president

george w. bush. his memoir is getting a lot of buzz. on tuesday, ground breaking ceremonies in dallas. he sat down with our own candy crowley for an interview. joining him for part of that interview, his brother, jeb bush. they talked about the rumors that jeb would be perfect as republican national committee chairman. >> if i'm trying to achieve security for my family, i certainly wouldn't run for rnc chairman. >> and why do you think all this talk is always out there? why? >> because he's a successful person. he's smart. he's honest. and he had an unbelievably good record as the governor of florida. >> and your last name is bush, so there's chatter about that. >> yeah, but had he been a failure of governor as florida, wouldn't be touting him and if

he wasn't a decent person with a great heart, they wouldn't be touting him. >> for more on the interview, tonight at 8:00 eastern. just a few minutes from now. let's talk education now because a lot of people assume budget cuts lead to low performing schools, but that's not always the case. steve perry takes us to an alabama school that accepts no excuses in its pursuit of education alal excellence. >> educators here could make lots of excuses. ♪ but failure's not an option with this public school with 800 students. statusically, you don't exist. hopeless children in your school, this is the worst economic time and you have one

of the top ten schools in the entire state. why is it the resources are not holding back? >> quality instruction. as you added more chemicals, there are things you have to add. >> relationship between that student and teacher makes the difference. >> that makes a difference. >> ready? >> what makes your school a good school? >> our parent base is phenomenal. no matter what we may need, our parents are there to stand in the gap to do fund-raisers, volunteer time. we have people who understand that whatever it takes to get the job done, we have to do it and if somebody wants to come in and volunteer to help, we accept that help. >> so, you have found a way to inspire your teachers, children and parents to stay focused on the children and the business of education. >> we have to bring our a-game every single day. we can't make excuses. we have to make things happen.

>> we have to make it sound exciting. >> we're in the business of educations students. and if students aren't educated, we haven't done or job. still ahead, they're gruesome and graphic, but will they really stop people from smoking? we'll take a closer look at the new warning labels the fda wants to put on packs of cigarettes. plus, a mega church pastor tells me about his decision to tell his congress the world he is gay. ♪

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okay. would you buy a pack of cigarettes if it showed an image of burned out lungs or a hole in a smoker's throat? graphic warnings could be on the way, though. cnn's national correspondent susan candiotti reports on the fda's new labels that could have smokers swearing off the habit. >> reporter: they're yask, meant to be blunt and the fda wants them to make smokers think twice about lighting up. >> this is a truly historic event. >> reporter: cigarette warning labels haven't changed in 25 years. the proposed labels will be hard

to miss. >> these are pretty difficult not to pay attention to because it has to cover 50% of the front and back of package. >> reporter: they're required to show up on cartons by 2012. yet another tool including public service announcements to get smokers to kick the habit. >> now there is a hole in my throat. >> reporter: more than 30 countries use far more explicit images. this one from australia. another from thailand. >> they're not meant to offend anybody or to scare anybody off but to inform. >> reporter: we showed the prosed labels to young people belonging to a group promoting good health. how powerful a message do you think this is showing someone with a tracheotomtracheotomy? >> it's powerful but we're bombarded with images that you become numb to them. >> i don't think it's effective either because looking at the picture you see how he did perform this kind of surgery and

yet still smoking. >> reporter: do you think a woman addicted to smoking looking at this will think, hmm, maybe i shouldn't do that? >> no. they would continue doing it. >> reporter: why? >> smoking is addictive. they can't stop. >> reporter: the fda is taking public comments until january. tobacco company phillip morris says it plans to weigh in and rj reynolds is suing over being forced to show labels like these. susan candiotti, cnn, new york. the interview that you all had been tweeting and commenting on and made it number one on cnn.com so thank you. the pastor of a georgia mega church telling the congregation the secret he's been holding all of his life. that he is gay. i want to play part of my in depth conversation with him. how has your family and your kids, how have they reacted to? >> well, i would have never said publicly until i knew all four of my kids were okay.

i talked to each one of them individually. they knew there was a reason why their mother and i were divorcing because we have had an ammicible marriage. they never heard us fight or be disagreeable at all. i had to tell them and really had to make sure i had the green light from them before i said anything about it publicly because if they had said, dad, we don't want you to say this, i don't think i ever would have. >> all right. so we covered lots of topics. you can hear more from the pastor tonight at 10:00 p.m. eastern here on cnn. check out this rock. apparently it is the largest emerald in the world and also the subject of a court battle. we'll tell you more when we come right back. and when it does, men with erectile dysfunction can be more confident in their ability to be ready with cialis for daily use. cialis for daily use is a clinically proven low-dose tablet you take every day, so you can be ready anytime the moment's right.

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in 2001 and he lost his bill of sale after the house burned down and thought the defendants in the case played a part in that house fire. and experts testified the emerald is worth $800 million. thomas said he paid $400,000 for it. that would be quite a profit. a tallahassee man has major bragging rights. he caught the state's longest gator on record. more than 14 feet long, killed in the alligator harvest. hauling the 650-dpound gator to land took two hours and beat the previous record by three inches. 30 seconds may cost a deputy of 20 years his job. in washington state, an officer on the county sheriff's department is under internal investigation for possibly having sex while on duty. our affiliate king reports the officer may have accidentally tripped theke