. >> our david mattingly is there and he joins us now live. it was interesting, interesting strategy because the first lady spoke first and she spoke for a lot of the time and he referenced her. that's an interesting strategy when it comes to the exit from iraq. >> reporter: that's right. plus, the first lady, we have to remember, has been a tireless advocate for the needs of the families of these troops who have been over there fighting this war. it was probably appropriate that she gave the first words since she probably had the most personal contact with families that have been involved in this conflict and the president himself pointing out the families have had a bear a large burden of this conflict, along with the soldiers who have been there on the ground. >> and i know that while your children and your spouses and your parents and siblings might not wear uniforms, they serve right alongside you. >> reporter: that was just one of the many big rounds of applause and cheers that came up today as the president and the first lady not only r

david mattingly, i know you've been talking to a number of vets, soldiers, iraq war vets. what was the response to hearing the president speak today? >> there was a lot of cheering today, especially when the president came out with the simple words marking what he calls a very profound moment for this country when he said to the troops here, welcome home. he repeated that several times. the cheer went up in the crowd and there was so many people walking away today with big smiles on their faces, a sense of the satisfaction of the war that has been done in iraq. they are also satisfied that the the troops wanted to hear a commitment from the president that the country will continue to stand by them for their needs as their year goes on, whatever problems that they have from their service in iraq. the president and first lady both saying very strongly that the country will stand by them the way that the troops have stood up for the country. brooke? >> i'm sure they are thrilled to be home in time for the holidays as the president had promised but they have to be. some of the

david mattingly live at fort bragg for us this morning. david, the troops are coming home to an uncertain bad economy. let's put it in stark terms like that. they will be looking for work. do they think about that? >> reporter: for the last nine years, so many soldiers here at fort bragg has been departing from iraq over and over again. now that they are back home, when the president was speaking here yesterday, there was one big question on their mind -- and that was what is going to happen to us now in the years to come? >> welcome home. [ applause ] welcome home. >> reporter: soldiers out of iraq and home for the holidays. that alone is worth celebrating. but troops at fort bragg are looking for more. assurances from the president their sacrifices will not be overlooked. >> there's a lot of things we will never understand but we do know that the government is going to do its cutbacks. >> reporter: after eight years in iraq and budget cuts at home, soldiers worry about holes opening and safety nets, pensions, medical support, treatment fo

i want to bring in cnn's national correspondent david mattingly with more on this.elp us connect the dots on this very troubling story and what more can you tell us about how an abortion at a state licensed clinic can now turn into a case of murder. >> this all came about last fall when police went in there doing an investigation and they found a freezer in there. inside they found frozen aborted fetuses. they were able to examine those fetuses, and they were also able to examine records who were at the clinic and they're now alleging that the doctors performed abortions on aborted fetuses that were viable and could have lived outside the womb in cases that did not fall under the legal exceptions that the state of maryland allowed. these exceptions being the health of the mother and also the possibility that the fetus may have had some sort of severe genetic problem or abnormality. these cases are resulting in murder charges and five against dr. brigham. one count of first-degree murder against dr. reilly, and we talked to the attorneys and the attorneys for brigham

david mattingly joins me now.'s listen to a portion of the call for help. >> are you with the person right now? >> well, i'm outside the bus so i can hear you. >> okay. so he's inside the bus? >> yes, he's inside the bus. >> okay. how old is he had. >> he is 25. >> okay. is he awake? >> he wasn't responding. we thought he was breathing, he was making noises imt but i don't even know if he's breathing now. >> okay. is he awake do you know? >> his eyes are open. he's not responding. >> okay. but is he breathing? >> i have no idea. i cannot tell you that. >> okay. >> he just threw up. >> he just threw up. >> yeah. >> like i said, i have help on the way. i want you to keep -- was he like shaking or anything like that prior to this? >> no. he wasn't shaking. >> you interviewed robert champion's parents after his death. what we're hearing on the tapes, is that consistent with what they say happened that night? >> yes, it is consistent but that only goes so far. there's no clear cause of death released. the sheriff has s

bragg. >> david mattingly, thanks so much from ft. bragg there. ia borger and david gergen listening intently to those remarks. a few things stand out. the president saying iraq is not a perfect place but america is leaving behind a sovereign, stable and self-reliant iraq. this had to have been a difficult thing for the president to say because as u.s. senator, he did not endorse this war in iraq. now, he had to certainly say, these are the great things that came from the u.s. involvement in iraq. why was that necessary for this commander in chief to spell it out that way? >> well, i think that wihile he did oppose the war, he won the presidency or nomination of the democratic party in large part because of his opposition to the war in iraq. i think he as president has embraced the goal george w. bush set, which was to withdraw now. i think he feels proud of the way he has done it. he's got reason to feel proud. i must say today his speech was a gracious healing speech, one of the best of his presidency, one where he revived memories of the obama o

david mattingly, cnn, atlanta. >> you know, authorities are still not releasing exactly what type of hazing they're talking about or investigating, but in the past, they've investigated things like paddling or drinking a lot of water, things like that that have been hazing incidents in the past. we just don't know what this one particularly was yet because authorities haven't told us. >>> all right, wall street protesters desperately trying to stand their ground in two more cities this morning. anger boiling over at occupy san fran. police moved in and barricaded some screaming protesters as a new deadline to leave their camp came and went. the city offered to move them to a new site, but many refused. in oklahoma city, occupiers filed a suit to stay in their park. they asked a federal judge to stop the city from imposing an overnight curfew. protesters have been camping out at kerr park in downtown oklahoma city for almost two months but were recently denied a new permit after there was apparently a drunken brawl that trashed the camp. the city gave them until 11:00 p.m. last night

i want to bring in cnn's national correspondent david mattingly with more on this. help us connect the dots on this very troubling story and what more can you tell us about how an abortion at a state licensed clinic can now turn into a case of murder. >> this all came about last fall when police went in there doing an investigation and they found a freezer in there. inside they found frozen aborted fetuses. they were able to examine those fetuses, and they were also able to examine records who were at the clinic and they're now alleging that the doctors performed abortions on aborted fetuses that were viable and could have lived outside the womb in cases that did not fall under the legal exceptions that the state of maryland allowed. these exceptions being the health of the mother and also the possibility that the fetus may have had some sort of severe genetic problem or abnormality. these cases are resulting in murder charges and five against dr. brigham. one count of first-degree murder against dr. riley, and we talked to the attorneys and the attorneys for brigha

a lot of smiles as these soldiers walked away after that speech. >> all right, david mattingly for us today. david, thank you, as always. >>> just past the bottom of the hour, let's turn back to politics and the countdown is on to iowa. caucuses just 19 days away and the first contest of the republican primary season and the candidates are prepping for a big debate tonight in iowa. this is the final faceoff they'll have before the voters start weighing in in that state. newt gingrich is coming under fire from all of his rivals, but some of them are gaining ground, as well. take ron paul, who basically tied with mitt romney for second in iowa. >> one thing is characteristic about our campaign is when people join our campaign, they rarely leave. they're real solid, determined supporters. they understand the message about and agree with that. i think it's a very good sign and i think in political terms, it means that we're probably peaking at the right time. >> look at this group. cnn contributor will cain, as well, political analyst roland martin. >> show time, baby! >> good to see you,

david mattingly has been following this for us and has more details about the call. >> police have hadr dies, listening to them over and over again. they were able to hear the very beginning where they hear someone whispering help but they weren't quite able to make out what came next until they got some new software in and that software gave them a whole new perspective on what was on that 911 tape. it is the voice of the killer and it is disturbing to listen to. if you want to not pay attention to this, this would be a good time to stop listening. we've written out the words because it is still very hard to follow so let's listen. >> hello, grapevine 911. do you need help? are you sick? hello? one moment. that's all you hear. it is so quiet. police believe he made that after he had gone through the apartment, killed his estranged wife, his teenage daughter, his teenage son, his brother-in-law, their sister-in-law, their child as well. >> it almost sounds like he shot himself before he called. >> he was shot in the head. police may he may have committed suicide -- pulled the triller a

david mattingly is with me now and has been working the story for us. ow did we go from late-term abortions to a murder case? >> this is very simply put a medical case that has turned criminal. prosecutors i talked to today, they say that the laws were broken when the doctors performed abortions aborting fetuses that could have been viable, that could have lived outside the womb. they were able to make this determination after they went to that clinic you saw in elkton, maryland. they looked at the records. they found the abortions have been performed on fetuses that were 20 to 35 weeks old. also they found in these five cases for one doctor, they found that they believe that this, none of these cases fell into the exceptions provided under maryland law, which means the mother's health was not at stake and there were no genetic problems for the child either. so that's, with that said, they said they have a case of murder here. we have five counts against one doctor, one count against another doctor. >> this all kicked off when a young woman went to see t

. >> thanks, david mattingly. >>> in an instant a california man lost his family when a military jetn compensation. we'll bring you that story. >>> and you can bet on the ponies and the playoffs, so why not presidential politics. coming up, one company's efforts to lift a long-time ban. we'll be right back. >>> checking stories from across the country. a man who lost his family when a marine corps jet crashed into his house has been awarded $17 million from the government. the crash happened three years ago in san diego. his wife, two infant daughters, and mother-in-law were killed. the pilot ejected before impact. military documents show he tried to steer the plane away from the house. >>> there are three trapped miners who were rescued after they were cut off by fire and smoke 800 feet underground. they are fine. 51 others got out of the zinc mine when the fire broke out yesterday. >>> and some of florida's biggest attractions had to close yesterday. why? too many people. the magic kingdom, the animal kingdom at walt disney world had to stop admitting customers along with leggo lan