soldiers released after months in captivity, the lebanese army received the body of a soldier who wasd last year and al jazeera arabic abraham was there when the exchange happened. >> translator: it was a long and difficult journey to reach this point. we are here in al-nusra controlled territory. we are witnessing the release of the captive lebanese soldiers, the release of these soldiers were mediated by qatar and efforts by al-nusra front and lebanese government to make this deal happen. this is the convoy of the lebanese security forces bringing@nusra prisoners to be exchanged coming from i.s.i.l. >> for the prisoners it was a moment of joy and relief. >> translator: god has blessed us and we would like to thank al-nusra. >> translator: we thank everybody who helped broker the deal and thank al-nusra front for helping a lot and also thank the lebanese government. >> translator: i'm a prisoner here and thank god for being released and thank everyone for the release and to return back to our homes. >> reporter: let's get some analysis from al jazeera who is with me in the studio and

it is important to recognize that their mother captivity left lasting scars. thank you.nk you, dr. gordon. way to goe is no easy from captivity to one of our nations most beloved songs, it its music and lyric of both the possibilities of a unified nation. we now present, "america the beautiful." ♪ [applause] mr. sellars: over 14 months, the united states soldiers, sailors, marines, and civilians were held captive here at andersonville. their memories honored by the reathes during patriotic ceremonies throughout the nation. wreath onsenting the armyf of the united states command major stringfield. mr. sellars: presenting a wreath on behalf of the united states navy, logistic specialist third class justin logan, hospital m cole.ond classed amon mr. sellars: presenting a r wreathe on behalf of the marine admiral.rgeant and mr. sellars: presenting a wreath on behalf of civilians, national park service regional director sherry fields and mattie and michael sellars. mr. sellars: thank you. we would also like to acknowledge the additional wreaths that have been placed here toda

captivity, possibly from a us-led coalition airstrike.as henin was released in april 2014 along with three other french journalists. i began by asking him if air strikes are the answer to combating the islamic state. >> airstrikes in syria, the way they are done, are a mistake. i'm not saying that our countries should deprive themselves from any military option. no. the military action should remain in the panel of the strategy. it should be kept as one way to counterterrorism. at the point is that in a counterterrorism strategy, military shall remain a very little part of the overall strategy. because eventually, what kind of fight are we fighting? that is a fight for propaganda. so basically, the side -- the party that will win this war is not the party that will fight harder or have the most expensive or the newest weaponry or the bravest fighters, it will be the party that will manage to have the people on its side. and the problem is, with all of this bombings -- anybody at the moment is bombing syria. all of these bombings have terr

we know that elephants do not fare well in captivity. they often fail to reproduce, if they do get pregnant they sometimes injure or kill their young. until we know more about how to meet the physical and psychological needs of elephants in captivity, we should not have elephants in captivity at all, much less much less be using them in experiments to bring back mammoth hybrids. the ethical challenge will be different depending on the species was thinking of bringing back. they are extremely important to keep in mind. it be remiss of me not to acknowledge that the world has changed a lot since many of the species went extinct. in many cases, there may be nowhere to put them without having a significant terrible effect on the ecosystem and population of species that are ready there, this picture is the east coast. this this is the range of the passenger pigeon. it went extinct 100 years ago. this is a candidate of species for extinction but where would they go if we brought them back given how different their habitat is today than it was

lebanon exchanged rebels in syria and joyful scenes on both sides and 16 captive soldiers released afterths in captivity, the lebanon army received a body of a soldier who was killed last year and al jazeera arabic abraham was there when the exchange happened. >> translator: it was a long and difficult journey to reach this point. we are here in al-nusra controlled territory and witnessing the release of the captive lebanese soldiers and it was mediated by qatar and efforts by el nusra front and lebanese government to make this deal happen. this is a convoy of lebanese security forces for exchange coming from i.s.i.l. >> for the prisoners it was a moment of joy and relief. >> reporter: this is what we can describe, god blessed us when we were released and would like to thank al-nusra. >> thank you for brokering the deal and thank you el nusra a lot and also thank the lebanese government. >> translator: i'm a prisoner here and we thank god for being released and we thank everybody due to our release so we can return back to our homes. >> reporter: one of the prisoners released by lebanon

for over a year -- and policemen held captive for over a year. as countries race to replace fossil fuels to make power, we will look at europe's biggest solar panel form, which goes into operation today in france. and combating heart disease in the united states. a new saltshaker symbol will tell if a meal contains more than the recommended daily intake of salt. that and more on the way, but first our top story. the paris climate conference kicked up yesterday with dozens of world leaders pledging their commitment to climate change. the goal over the next two weeks is to come up with a global, binding, and long-term packs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. the major focus today was on the situation in africa. france has pledged 2 billion euro over the next four years to develop renewable energy and replace climate-harming fossil fuels. here is more from francois hollande. president hollande: first it is a measure -- it is a matter of renewable energy. africa has huge potential in this regard but remains largely unexplored. the fight priority is

we know that elephants do not fare well in captivity. they often fail to reproduce, if they do get pregnant they sometimes injure or kill their young. until we know more about how to meet the physical and psychological needs of elephants in captivity, we should not have elephants in captivity at all, much less much less be using them in experiments to bring back mammoth hybrids. the ethical challenge will be different depending on the species was thinking of bringing back. they are extremely important to keep in mind. it be remiss of me not to acknowledge that the world has changed a lot since many of the species went extinct. in many cases, there may be nowhere to put them without having a significant terrible effect on the ecosystem and population of species that are ready there, this picture is the east coast. this this is the range of the passenger pigeon. it went extinct 100 years ago. this is a candidate of species for extinction but where would they go if we brought them back given how different their habitat is today than it was

bergdahl spent five years in taliban captivity after walking off a u.s. military base in afghanistan. two military experts recommended against jail time for bergdahl. but after republicans demanded punishment, an army commander ordered bergdahl to face the most serious military tribunal possible and potential life in prison. this comes just days after the "new york times" revealed a 2012 incident in afghanistan when three navy seals abused detainees so badly that one died from his wounds. but the seals were cleared of any wrongdoing. we will speak to a former top military legal expert who has criticized the court-martialing of bowe berghdal while calling for the navy seals abuse case to be reopened. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. a new investigation by the pulitzer-prize-winning outlet insideclimate news suggests that nearly every major u.s. and multinational oil gas company was aware of fossil fuels' impact on climate change as early as the late 1970's. earlier exposes

in exchange for prisoners held captive in lebanon.f those is the wife of the isil leader. >> translator: ill was a long and difficult journey to reach this point. we are here in nusra-controlled territory we are witnessing the release of the captive lebanese soldiers. the release of these soldiers were mediated by qatar, and there were substantial efforts by al-nusra front and the lebanese government to make this deal happen. this is the convoy bringing the nusra prisoners to be exchanged. >> reporter: the lebanese army also recovering the body of one of its soldiered killed by the al-nusra front last year. >>> when we come back, we'll talk about the new effort to help you watch what you eat. new york rolling out a new law. >>> plus hackers stealing information from millions of children. the details when we come back. ♪ >>> all of this will be hard. getting 200 nations to agree on anything is hard. and i'm sure there will be moments where progress seems stymied. and everyone rushes to right that we are doomed. but i'm convinced we'll

captives, meant no attack i.s.i.l. and find out more about the group in the area or whether it was designed to free some hostages as we saw earlier in october when such an operation was carried out, but details are sketchy about it and we are still waiting to hear from the kurdish government regarding an official response about this, whether this operation took place or not and what are the exact number of i.s.i.l. killed and captured >>> there's a trial of 36 men in baghdad accused of a mass killing of army recruits by i.s.i.l. tell us about that. >> reporter: more than 160 army recruits were-- 1600 army recruits killed by i.s.i.l. this as housed air force cadets, more than 1600 of them were massacred by i.s.i.l. there in 2014. this is the second bachelor of people who have been accused of taking part in this i.s.i.l. massacre after the-- batch-- the iraqi forces took them back. in july we saw 25 people sentenced to death and this trim hasn't begun and this is trying 36 people that took part in that massacre. the tria

. >> and the so would held captive for years in afghanistan. bowe bergdahl is sharing new secrets. you're watching "world news now." innocence "world news now" weather, brought to you by no! no! hair removal. let's get these dayquil liquid gels and go. but these liquid gels are new. mucinex fast max. it's the same difference. this one is max strength and fights mucus. mucinex fast max. the only cold and flu liquid gel that's max-strength and fights mucus. let's end this. we are inage neutral.ageless. age defiant. age agnostic. olay is a purveyor of ageless. only the best 1% of ingredients make it into our products. for transformed skin without expensive brands or procedures. it's the ultimate beauty victory. nobody has any idea how old you are. with olay, you age less. so you can be ageless. olay. ageless. >>> this is a sight that was turning heads in youngstown, ohio. a car nearly almost vertical against a telephone pole. >> how did it happen. >> amber johnson says she was driving down the street, turned around just for a second to give her 2-year-old a snack, a lot of us do that

also captivating hearts? this portland mall's traded in his classic red velvet suit for an updated look-- complete with jeans, cardigan, and of course, a man-bun. and in true portland fashion, hipster santa is health conscious-- using a bike to get around town instead of his sleigh. no word yet though on whether he is kicking his cookie habit in favor of quinoa. and from the west coast to the east coast, the holiday spirit is spreading... at thursday night's national christmas tree lighting in washington, d-c, michelle obama read "'twas the night before christmas" along with a very special guest... (miss piggy) and what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a miniature sleigh and 8 tiny reindeer,,, and even the president got in on the holiday fun, leading the first family in a rousing rendition of 'jingle bells' for take a look at this, i'm jennifer whalen. " coming up in sports....the sioux city bandits held their open tryouts this afternoon. hear from the defending champs when we come back. plus..the new

lebanese army is involved in a major prisoner exchange deal right now with al-nusra front rebels. 16 captive soldiers are being released in exchange for prisoners held by the lebanese government. the former wife of i.s.i.l.'s leader is among those being freed after a fairly lengthy negotiation, delegate negotiations as well. the brigadier general is still on the line here for us. this is quite, as you can see, an emotional time. we're looking at prisoners who are about to be exchanged. >>> yes >>> okay. i don't know if you can hear me. just explain the significance. >>> yes. i hear you well. okay. go ahead >>> explain the significance of what we're seeing here. >>> i think that they are accompanying the prisoners after al-nusra-- of al-nusra. there is a woman carrying a baby. the women is the wife, maybe, of the i.s.i.l. leader >>> these are the people who are being exchait by lebanon for the 16 lebanese servicemen; right? <>> tell us something again for the benefit of anyone who has just joined us. how long has it taken to get to this point? what

bergdahl's five years in captivity being broadcast in a podcast.taliban described their prisoner as a small cat baby with shining blue eyes. it was gathered by an afghan journalist by some of the taliban who captured bergdahl. >> the taliban describe him as strong and aggressive. other times he's meek and pathetic. for those who may not have been with a werner before or maybe not even with an infy dell, a non-muslim, bowe was exotic. that lal said he was like an animal captured by kids. his pail skin was weird, the way he spoke was weird. his eyes were blue which sami says is somewhat suspicious in afghanistan. there's a saying that you should keep away from blue-eyed people. in the mosque, that hala. >> i'm joined by former air force colonel and j.a.g. attorney larry younger and peter monsour. i want to touch on the podcast serial and how the taliban describe bowe bergdahl. colonel, when you listen to that, what do you think? >> there are a lot of places in afghanistan that are so remote that people have never seen a foreigner. blond hair and blue

. >> together they've told a tale that captivated millions and even became the must-read book for a president. now they've begun a new journey, using a shared passion for education to help rebuild a shattered society. >> here in the u.s., people take their education for granted, and he can say, "well, i walked 800 miles, uh, through a war-ravaged sudan just to-- to sit on--on the grass and-- and learn abcs in the dirt." >> wow, a human can do this? you know? you know, i'm happy, and i laugh about it, and i say, "i'm proud to be a part of this society as well." >> [singing in native language] >> this is something you won't often see in the west, crowds of kids excited about going to school. >> [singing in native language] >> in southern sudan, it's now every child's dream to get an education. not so long ago, children weren't marching to school, they were fleeing for their lives. valentino is determined to give these children the chance his generation never had. >> i want something best for my country. i want something better for my people. i want something that will bring them peace. >> he wa

nine others remain in captivity. but they're being held by isil, a groupal war with al nusra. the lebanese government said it's doing all it can so secure the release of the remaining hostages. >> we have a target, a big target that is a real challenge. i mean, the military personnel being captive by isil, and we need to free them and liberate them for the sake of lebanon for the sake of our nation. >> among those released was the former wife of isil leaders al baghdadi. she insists, though, she had nothing to do with him. >> they said i am the wife of al baghdadi. i have been divorced for seven years. he was not baghdadi at that time. i want to go to turkey. i will go once i get my passport issued. i will go. >> the families of those released some of whom have been kept in central beirut for months spoke to al jazeera about their release. >> i can't recall my happiness. what i have to say, thanks to god for their safe return, and we hope to see them soon. >> they return with a dream for us, and thank got it happened. we thank everyone who works to secure their release. >> tue

forward killed during captivity. further nine remain in the hands of the islamic state group. some of the families of those taken hostage had been cap being -- had been camping is a government palace in an attempt to secure their safe release. it killed us every time they threatened to kill the prisoners and every time someone died. thankfully, god appreciated our efforts and in the end, he rewarded us with their freedom. lebanese security ex-wife of a the former islamic state group leader was arrested last year and said she intends to go to turkey with her three children. peaceful and transparent -- that is some of the high praise of the latest presidential election which brought a former prime minister to the president's office promising to look after the fundamental needs of his fellow countrymen. he had just 53% of the vote with his nearest rival, 29.6. reporter: plenty of reaction that on news that sunday evening, the former prime minister won the presidential election in the very first round. a little earlier, we heard from the european union group of election observers

that's why we're in captivity. punished.y we're being you've got to come back to his laws, okay, and he'll save you captivity.s e the one save us from this capti captivity. read deuteronomy 68-28. disobey tell you, if we the law, he will send us to the okay, pt, with ships, that goes for efrain, which is levites, o ricans, which is the hattians. we're all a big nation and we're all in captivity. it is what it is. host: lawrence is up next, in st. paul, minnesota. lawrence. caller: good morning. opportunity. the my take on it is, one, there are a million billion acts of kindness that go on across this country, across this world, betweenankly, every day people of different religions, ethnicities, cultures, call it what you want. problem is of the we tend not to recognize the fact that there are good people people, e are bad y,gardless of gender, ethnicit culture and what have you. yes, we do have problems in this country. problem look at every that comes across our table in race, then we miss he opportunity of recogn

he was held captive by the taliban for nearly five years after he allegedly deserted his unit.e u.s. released five taliban detainees in a controversial prisoner exchange last year. cnn's nick valencia has details. >> reporter: by now you've probably seen this video, a u.s. black hawk helicopter lands in the middle of taliban-controlled afghanistan. with each passing second, u.s. army sergeant bowe bergdahl takes a step closer to freedom. after five years in taliban captivity and torture, he is finally going home. >> like you're standing there screaming in your mind, in this room you're standing in this blackened dirt room that's tiny and just on the other side of that floozy little wooden door you could probably rim off the hinges is the entire world out there. >> reporter: that's bergdahl describing his captivity in an interview with a popular podcast. in it we get a chance to hear from bergdahl ourselves, a man who was discharged from the kogalymavia for psychological reasons only to land in the u.s. army under what he calls inept leadership. bergdahl says as a 23-year-old pr

zeke: i do not know -- "captive" -- that is a little strong. people talk about regulatory capture all the time. it is a very pretentious thing. you have to understand the mindset of a federal bureaucrat. i do not mean that in a negative way. most of these are incredibly smart people working incredibly hard, often, as we are about to enter again, another period of the government is going to shut down, you will be forced to not get a paycheck, and it is a little stressful. one of the things that ends up happening, i think for many people who are in the federal government wanting to do the right thing is they have i think a motivation of minimizing incoming criticism. so what happens is you try to tread these fine lines. the meat industries a lot more concerned with what happens in the regulation than consumers. they are worrying about mad cow disease, and they're worried that my chicken will actually be clean, and they are worried about my fish and i actually get the dish that is labeled in the food store. but those industries have a lot at stake

in comparative literature i believe and who was taken captive while working as a journalist in syria2012 and held for almost two years by the nusra front. his mother, nancy curtis and cousin amy rosen who worked eventually with a coalition of people throughout that period to get him out. and then larry wright, correspondent for "the new yorker," who wrote a very powerful piece called "five hostages" for "the new yorker" earlier this year that told the story of theo's captivity and that of the four other hostages and their respective fates and what i'm hoping we can do is explore the story of what happened to theo and how you managed in the end to get him out. and also, theo, you have now had probably more direct experience at incredible cost of this movement that is at war with the united states than any other american and we're hoping to get to some of the insights that you learned. and, nancy, i wonder if we could start with you. and the moment when you first realized that something had gone wrong. you knew theo was in turkey and you were in touch with him, right? >> yes. i knew he

he was held captive by the taliban for nearly five years. he was freed after the u.s. detainees in a controversial exchange last year. here with details. >> reporter: by now, you've probably seen this video, a u.s. blackhawk helicopter lands in the middle of controlled afghanistan. with each passing second, u.s. army sergeant bowe bergdahl awaits. >> it's like you're standing there screaming in your mind. in this room you're standing like in this blackened dirt room and it's tiny and on the other side of that flimsey door is the entire world out there. >> that's bergdahl describing his captivity. >> from his american life, it's cereal, one story told week by week. >> reporter: she chose bergdahl as the subject and we get a chance to hear from bergdahl from himself. and bergdahl says as a 23-year-old private, he didn't feel like his concerns would be taken seriously. >> all i was seeing was basically leadership failure, to the point that the lives of the guys standing next to me, were literally, from what i could see in danger of something seriously going wrong and some

four were executed, one died of injuries, nine others remain in captivity.ut they are being held by isil, a group which is at war with al-nusra. the lebanese government says it is doing all it can to secure the release of the remaining host agency. >> translator: we have a target, a big target that is a real challenge. i mean the military personnel being captive by isil, and we need to free them, and liberate them for the sake of lebanon, for the sake of our nation. >> reporter: among those released was the former wife of the isil leader. she insists, though, she had nothing to do with him. >> translator: as i said, i'm his wife. i have been divorced for seven years. he was not the leader of isil at that time. i want to go to turkey. >> reporter: meanwhile the families of those released spoke to al jazeera about their release. >> translator: i can't withhold my happiness. what i have to say thanks so god for their safe return, and we hope we will see them soon. >> translator: their return was a dream for us, and thank god it happened. we thank everyone who w

. >> this morning, i called bob and janie bergdahl and told them that after nearly five years in captivity, their son is coming home. >> that was president obama in the white house rose garden in may of 2014. it was in june, 2009 that bowe bergdahl disappeared from his remote army outpost in eastern afghanistan. he was unarmed. a day later, he was then captured by the taliban. >> my name is bowe bergdahl. >> and held prisoner for five years. this is how he described that experience. >> it's like how do i explain to a person that just standing in an empty, dark room hurts. i couldn't see my hand. i couldn't do anything. the only thing i could do is touch my face. >> after international political chess, it was all over in the spring of 2014. bergdahl handed over by the taliban, placed aboard to helicopter flown by american co man dose and in exchange, the release of five taliban prisoners in guantanamo bay. >> we maintained ironclad commitment to bring our prisoners of war home. >> shortly after bowe bergdahl's return, soldiers who served with him began to speak out. >> he is not an american

i mean the military personnel being captive by i.s.i.l. and we need to free them and liberate them for the sake of lebanon, for the sake of our nation. >> reporter: among those released was the former wife of i.s.i.l. leader. she insists, though, she had nothing to do with them. >> translation: they said i am the wife of i.s.i.l. leader. i was divorced for seven years. he was not leader at that time. i will go to turkey when i get my passport issues. i will go in beirut and then i will go. >> reporter: meanwhile, the families of those released, some of whom have been camped in central beirut for months, spoke to al jazeera about their release. >> translation: i can't contain my happiness. thanks to god for their safe return. we hope we will see them soon. >> translation: their return was a dream for us and thank god it happened. we thank everyone who worked to secure their release. >> reporter: tuesday's release will ease pressure on lebanese government which has come under increased criticism since the soldiers and police men were capture

we know that elephants do not fare well in captivity. they often fail to reproduce, if they do get pregnant they sometimes injure or kill their young. until we know more about how to meet the physical and psychological needs of elephants in captivity, we should not have elephants in captivity at all, much less much less be using them in experiments to bring back mammoth hybrids. the ethical challenge will be different depending on the species was thinking of bringing back. they are extremely important to keep in mind. it be remiss of me not to acknowledge that the world has changed a lot since many of the species went extinct. in many cases, there may be nowhere to put them without having a significant terrible effect on the ecosystem and population of species that are ready there, this picture is the east coast. this this is the range of the passenger pigeon. it went extinct 100 years ago. this is a candidate of species for extinction but where would they go if we brought them back given how different their habitat is today than it was

so what better to cap captivate the millenial idea through two idioms we understand believe. music and also media. so i took those ideas together and really got together with my all female band, came up with an arrangement of iconic women recording artists everybody from beyonce to taylor swift and gloria estefan to kind of capture the message of what it means to really understand health and wellness and particularly cancer. i have all female band so it's to be a tribute to women who face cancer from all walks of life, all ages, and it's been amazing to see of we've had women that have been in chemotherapy that have said this is really helped them through their chemotime and also through families. it's been an encouraging thing to see . >> anchor: you have an upcoming performance at boston chin's hospital . that. as i said shall we got to launch the health and wellness campaign this summer in cincinnati and we did the children's hospital there and we had a great turn out there so they asked us continue a part of the children children's hospital, ryan seacrest studios here, so

base in the north two months after freeing captives in a joint operation with the u.s. this is al jazeera. thanks for joining us. also ahead flooding waters causes thousands of people to be evacuated in south america but some are refusing to leave their homes. relatives of 43 missing students in mexico keep the pressure on the government to find out what happened to their loved ones. u.k. scientists invent new tools that allow doctors to perform vital surgery on babies in the womb. iraqi kurdish forces have raid an i.s.i.l. base near the town of howijah. u.s. commandos are said to have been involved, but the u.s. has denied this. several i.s.i.l. fighters have reportedly been killed and others captured. it comes two months after u.s. and kurdish commandos conducted a joint operation there freeing 70 i.s.i.l. cap activist. our correspondent live from erbil. tell us more about this kurdish offensive. osama? can you hear me? >> reporter: yes. what we can tell you about this kurdish offensive is according to the kurdish media, it is saying that more than nine i.s.i.l. fight

. >>> bowe bergdahl in his own words, his story of captivity by the taliban plays out on a hit podcast. >> no-fly list, no guns. connecticut wants to deny firearms to people on a derryl watch list, but will it make a difference. >> a deeper look at the divide in chicago. >> a lot of people here are angry. >> we can do something different. >>> the house leader plans to vote on a bill to hold off a government shutdown. the senate unanimously passed a stop gap budget deal the day before the deadline. lawmakers have until wednesday to reach a longer term deal. >>> connecticut is taking steps to control the flow of guns into that state. the governor will issue an executive order denying gun permits for people on the federal no-fly list. malloy called it common sense that a person considered too dangerous to fly should not be allowed to buy a gun. >> the executive order would add an additional level of protection and require those who apply for a permit to be screened against government watch lists. that would prevent anyone on the list the ability to purchase hand governors, shotguns, rival

i think overall the things to note is that is just remarkable captive audience.e talking about obesity in kids. it's an amazing captive audience. you can't control it comes you can't control. they are there eight hours a day, six hours a day, eating there. there. it's about 30 million meals. 30 million kids each day that are fit. so that's a massive portion of the u.s. population that we get to decide what to eat. we just get decide what to eat. we can decide they should eat less that is caloric but we should decide they should only eat vegetables or any number of different things. that's a really, really big tool that government has. a wrinkle in the past couple of decades has been the rise of what they call competitive foods in schools, which really were not around when i grew up. what are they competing with? they are competing with the school lunch that is provided. those competitive foods historically have been soda, sugar, candy, increasingly branded fast food for many years in school, and lo and behold if you put pizza, burgers and fries for soda next to t

. >>> and tonight, a bit of closure for the american hostages held captive in iran back in 1979. they are finally being compensated for their ordeal, which dominated the headlines after years of their legal claims being turned down by courts. they will finally be paid millions. tonight, more than 30 years after those american hostages were paraded before the world, a measure of justice. the 53 americans seized by an angry mob that stormed the u.s. embassy in tehran in 1979. >> spend at least another night imprisoned in the american embassy. >> reporter: they game international pawns. their ordeal dragging on for more than a year. rodney sick month was one of them. a 22-year-old marine serving as a security guard at the embassy. >> being held hostage for 444 days of a bad nightmare. each day, we woke up, we thought we were dead. >> reporter: finally, on the day ronald reagan was sworn in -- >> they won freedom for 52 americans. >> reporter: in all the years since, the former hostages fought for compensation, and it's finally come. they will each receive up to $4.4 million. that's

that's $10,000 for every one of the 444 days they spent in captivity. sick manncalls it stice. when he heard the news, he actually pulled over to the side of the road and cried. >>> all right, we want to turn now to the holiday that is upon us, and the celebrations taking place around the world on this christmas eve. here's the scene in bethlehem tonight. the biblical city celebrating the traditional birthplace of jesus. and the vatican lit up. pope francis celebrating midnight mass. tens of thousands are expected to attend tomorrow's christmas day mass. >>> and there is still so much more ahead here on "world news tonight." last-minute shopping crunch, and plenty of deals still to be had. on the chase for the best deals and, canan you believe, the best deal out there,e, possibly, and iphone 6 for just a buck? >>> and, a tourist adventure takes a scary turn. what caused this chopper to swirl out of control? today people are coming out to the nation's capital to support an important cause that can change the way you live for years to come. how can you help? by giving a little mo

the former hostages were held captive for more then a year this. ewere prevented from suing iran as a condition of their release in 1981 spot birth place of former president bill clinton police say a fire break out overnight in damaged the national historic site in arkansas. fire fighters put out the fire as the blames spread to the second floor of the home. investigators suspect it was a case of arson . >>> strong odor of accelerant. there is also some graffiti around the point of initial setting of the fire . >> anchor: the historic site also has extensive smoke and water damage inside. >> anchor: wild weather creat creating a holiday horror for families in the south. at least 14 people have died after several tornados slammed mississippi, arkansas and tennessee. today, many of the survivors are left picking up the pieces and now families are sharing the horrific experience they made it through. this christmas scenes of devastation in pats of south and midwest. heavy rain causing widespread flooding across northern georgia and tornados tearing th

embassy in iran will be compensated for their 444 days in captivity. that's because of a spending deal passed by congress that will repay each of the 53 hostages or their families, the estates, 38 of those former hostages are still alive. they or their families will receive $10,000 for each day they were held captive. spouses and children could also receive a one-time lump sum payment of $600,000. joining me on the phone is thomas langford. he's a lawyer that's been working with the former hostages and their families for more than 16 years. and thomas, first of all, you've spoken to some of them. how are the victims reacting to news that they'll receive $4 million, more than $4 million? >> they are, first of all, gratified and joyous. i think they are, as well, emotionally spent. it's been a long, hard road for them, from november 4, 1979, when they were taken captive until today. so, it's a great holiday season. >> you know, the families, they were banned from suing the iranian government. that was a condition of their release. and therefore, they wer

the circumstances around his 2009 capture were somewhat unclear, even after his captivity ended last year with a controversial prisoner swap and the details really remained hazy of it. now he's breaking his silence and talking to the screenwriter behind movies like "zero dark thirty" and "the hurt locker." the interview on the new season of the wildly popular podcast serial. he told mark bowle that he walked off his base in eastern afghanistan with the attention of bringing awareness to bad leadership there. >> what i was seeing from my first unit all the way up into afghanistan, alls i was seeing was basically leadership failure to the point that the lives of the guys standing next to me were literally, from what i could see, in danger of something seriously going wrong and somebody being killed. now, as a private first class, nobody is going to listen to me. >> of course. >> nobody is going to take me serious if i say an investigation needs to be put under way that this person needs to be psychologically evaluated. >> he says within 20 minutes of leaving the base, he knew he made a

payments to the hostages held captive in iran more than 30 years ago. education in post-communist romania. and much more. >> woodruff: now, afghanistan, where government forces are trying to blunt a taliban drive in a key southern region. afghan troops had been losing ground, but officials say reinforcements and american air power repelled the onslaught overnight, killing a taliban commander and 50 fighters. afghan army convoys rolled north toward sangin district, as police searched cars and people on a main road. the strategically important section of helmand province has been under siege by taliban insurgents. fighting spiked this week, but today, the provincial governor rejected taliban claims that they'd routed the defenders. >> ( translated ): the district is completely under the control of the government security forces, the enemy never took control of sangin district. our security forces as well as our special force have arrived there by air and by ground, the military operation is ongoing now. >> woodruff: they were helped by u.s. air strikes ov

after being held captive for about a month. kim will be back in court on january 21- st./// ((sharie johnson)) > registering drones before they take the sky. ((brian loftus)) how much the process will cost and why the f-a-a says it's important. ((sharie johnson)) plus... a galaxy far, far away takes over the red carpet... the special way the new star wars film premiered last music my k-cup filter is back. now you can make anything, even a piece of home. the single serve-make-all-your-favorites exactly-how-you-like-it machine. > trending this morning... we're just days away from the new star wars movie! the film premiered last night in hollywood... hollywood boulevard shut down for what might be the biggest movie premiere.ever... the length of two full city blocks with a covered carpet longer than the oscars... and it was even decked out like the film. the very first "star wars" film had it's world premiere at the same location, hollywood's chinese theatre, in 1977. star wars: the force awakens opens up friday in theaters./// ad

army sergeant bowe bergdahl was brought home after five years of taliban captivity. amazing pictures, the big swapout, for five taliban fighters who had been held at guantanamo bay. a swap that led republican-led house committee members just yesterday to allege it was illegal, since congress wasn't give and kuwaand kwad notice ab remarkable pickup. i still can't believe it when i see these pictures. bergdahl had slipped away from his post. his post was in afghanistan. he's still awaiting a military decision as to whether or not he's going to be put on trial for desertion among other things. though through this all, he's made no public comments. and now he's talking. and, boy, he talking. the most downloaded podcast of all time, serial, is devoting its second season to a series of interviews that bergdahl himself did with the hollywood screenwriter. episode one is now available, including bergdahl's description of his capture, and his years of unceasing darkness. >> it was a road probably i don't know far off, 100 meters maybe. and a line of motorcycles probably about