he's going to his lawyer, scott gilbert, who's superb, worked tirelessly on this.the other thing i remember, we were flying there and watching some of the news on the airplane. and i said, alan, you're free. and he got up and he threw his arms around me, hugged me. he said, patrick, i finally know i'm free. and we were both shaking, very, very emotional, as it should be. now let's take the next steps forward to make all the time he spent there, all the effort on his behalf, let's make it worthwhile for the future of our country and of cuba's. >> senator flake, what was your impression? we spoke with his wife, judy, a few weeks ago and she was afraid she would never see her husband again. she thought he was actually dying in that cuban jail, losing sight in one eye, having all sorts of other problems. but he looked pretty good, at least in the video that we're showing our viewers right now here in the united states and around the world. you spent three hours on that plane with him. give us your impressions, senator flake. >> well, he was ready to come home. i met wi

. >> alan found out yesterday morning that he was going to be released from his lawyer, scott gilbert. scott told alan on the phone he was--there was a long silent pause, and then alan said, i'll believe it when i see it. the plane this morning from andrews took judy gross, alan's wife, scott gilbert along senators leahy and flake and congressman van holen down to havana. they landed. they found alan there. they were on the ground for about a half hour. when they got back up on the plane there was a big bowl of popcorn waiting for alan because that's one of the things he said he has missed during the last five years that he was in prison. he also got a corner beef sandwich on rye with mustard, and they had apple sauce and sour cream there. that was a nice hanukkah present. the pilot announced they were entering into u.s. air space, and alan stood up on the plane and took a deep breath. he called both of his daughters, and the words he said to them both was, i'm free. president obama called alan while he was on the plane in washington. he congratulated him on his freedom, and alan than

congressmen, his wife, judy, his attorney, scott gilbert. alan gross was only told yesterday that he was going to be freed. after his attorney told him by phone the news that he was going to be freed, alan gross was speechless. he couldn't believe it. he left havana this afternoon around 8:a.m. when he was told they had cleared cuban airspace. he rose from his seat and was unable to talk he was so emotional. then he phoned his two daughters. his first words were, i'm free. he landed at andrews air force base a little while ago. he's going on now to try to recover the health that was so badly damaged by five years in cuban prison. but there's a much bigger story here, which is a loosening of decades-long restrictions. cubans are still finding out about this basically from u.s. media that's here. they don't have easy access to the internet or regular access to channels like cnn. and raul castro is due to address the nation here any moment now. the cubans still haven't been told by the official state media that this very important change is tak

and my lawyer and personal scott gilbert and their efforts to produce my freedom. the relentless and intense efforts by judy scott, they made me take the jacket off. but they made me take it off. they have been inconceivable, their efforts have been inconceivable. senator patrick leahy of vermont, and i want to thank all the members of congress from all sides of the aisle such as senator flake, van holland and others who spoke up for me, subjected themselves to my ranting and helped me to regain some of my weight. even in cuba m & m's melt in your mouth and not in your hand. for all those who were trying to visit me but were not able to, thank you for trying. i'm looking forward to new teeth, and i hope they're strong enough to make a difference. to all the executive directors, staff and volunteers participating in jcrcs, schools, and other jewish, christian, and muslim organizations nationwide, god bless you and thank you. it was crucial to my survival knowing that i was not forgotten. your prayers and your actions have been comforting, reassur ing and sustaining.

i know you're not 44 1/2 anymore and my lawyer and personal moses, scott gilbert. and their efforts to restore my freedom. they have my endless gratitude, love and respect. the relentless and often intense efforts by judy and scott, the partners and associates and staff of gilbert llp law firm, that's where we are right now, they made me take the jacket off. i didn't want to take it off but they said i had to take it off. tim from capitol hill, jill, their efforts have been inco inconceivabl inconceivable. senator patrick leahy, and i want to thank all of the members of congress from all sides of the aisle such as senator flake, and numerous others who spoke up or visited me, subjected themselves to my ranting and helped me regain some of my weight. even in cuba, m & ms melt in your mouth and not in your hands. to all of those who tried to visit me but were unable to, thank you for trying. i am at your service as soon as i get some new teeth and i hope that they'll be strong and sharp enough to make a difference. to the washington jewish community, ron in particular

and my lawyer and personal moses scott gilbert.ir efforts to restore my freedom. >> those who don't think this is a good deal, can you at least feel good for that family. ask yourself the question, would you like to come home? >> cuba has also released a u.s. spy who was in jail for 20 years. united states released three prisoners convicted 15 years ago. it has brought historic change with cuba. a new day dawning. on tuesday president obama spent45 minutes with raul castro and earlier he delivered the news. >> today the united states is changing its relationship with the people of cuba. and it's the most significant change in more than 50 years. we will end an outdated approach that for decades has failed our sister and instead we will begin to normalize relations between our two countries. i've instructed connect kerry to immediately reestablish diplomatic relations that have been severed since january 1961. the u.s. will reestablish an embassy in havannah. we will advance shared issues on health, counter terrorism, drug trafficki

and my lawyer and personal moses, scott gilbert. and their efforts to restore my freedom. they have my endless gratitude, love and respect. the relentless and often intense efforts by judy and scott, the partners and associates and staff of gilbert, llp law firm. that's where we are right now. they made me take the jacket off. i didn't want to take it off. but they said, you got to take it off. tim reiser of capitol hill, jill zuckman of skc knickerbocker have been inconceivable. senator patrick leahy of vermont has been instrumental in shepherding the arrival of this day. i want to thank all of the members of congress from all sides of the aisle, such as senator flake, representatives chris van holland and barbara lee and numerous others who spoke up or visited me, subjected themselves to my ranting and helped me regain some of my weight. even in cuba, m&ms melt in your mouth, not in your hand. to all of those who tried to visit me but were not -- were unable to, thank you for trying. i'm at your service as soon as i get some new teeth. and i hope they'll be strong and sha

last four and half years we have an married, and my lawyer and personal moses, scott gilbert.nd their efforts to restore my freedom. they have mike in list gratitude, love, and respect. the relentless and often intense efforts by judy and scots, the partners and associates and staff of gilbert llp law firm, that is where we are right now, they made me take the jacket off. i did not want to take it off. tim research capitol hill, gilles simon of s k knickerbocker has been inconceivable. senator patrick leahy of vermont has been instrumental in shepherding the arrival of this day. i want to thank all of the members of congress from all , such asthe aisle representatives chris van hollen and barbara lee, and numerous others who spoke up or visited me, subjected themselves to my ranting and helped me regain some of my weight. &m's in cuba, m melting your mouth, not in your hand. for all of you who tried to visit me and not able to, thank you for trying. i am at your service as soon as i have new teeth, and i hope they will be strong enough to make a difference. confusedde and comm

and then another emotional reunion with his washington attorney scott gilbert who worked both cuba and.s. for his release. gross's first words to his family, i'm free. arriving at andrews air force base in suburban washington, d.c., a brief glimpse before thank you at a news conference. >> today the first day of hanukkah. and i guess so far it's the best hanukkah that i'll be celebrating for a long time. what a blessing it is to be a citizen of this country. >> reporter: here in havana, bells rang as cuba witnessed something people here thought they might never see, presidents from the u.s. and their home island agreeing on the future. a rare sense of optimism now in havana. i've been covering this country for more than 20 years. and for the first time now, we're beginning to see hope from the people that a country so close in distance will soon be a country close in fact. jim avila, havana. >> the president's move was met with some criticism, as well as a dose of caution here in the bay area. it marks a change that local cuban americans and many in the silicon valley have been waiting

and my lawyer and personal moses, scott gilbert. and their efforts to restore my freedom.

my lawyer and personal moses, scott gilbert. to restore myrts freedom. they have my endless gratitude, love and respect. the relentless and often intense efforts by judy and scott, the partners and associates and staff of gilbert llp law firm, that is where we are right now, they made me take the jacket off. kim reeser of capitol hill -- their efforts have been inconceivable. senator patrick leahy of vermont has been instrumental in shepherding the arrival of this day. i want to thank members of congress from all sides of the aisle. senators chris van hollen, barbara lee, and numerous others who spoke up or visited me, subjected themselves to my ranting and helped me regain some of my weight. even in cuba, eminem's melt in your mouth, not in your hand. to those of you who were unable to visit, thank you for trying. i'm at your service as soon as i get some new teeth. i hope being they will be strong enough to make a difference. to the washington jewish inmunity, ron howard particular and his staff at the jewish community relations council, all the executi

lawyer and personal moses, scott gilbert. and their efforts to restore my freedom. they had my endless gratitude, love, and respect. the relentless and often intense efforts of duty and and t, the partners llp law es of gilbert right now -- e are they made me take my jacket off, is that i had to take it off, has reeser of capital hill been inconceivable. leahy in atrick vermont has been instrumental in today. i want to thank all the members sides of the n all aisle. or visited me, subjecting himself to my ranting, and help me regain of my weight, even in cuba. to all those who tried to visit me and were not able to, thank you for trying. i am at your service as soon as i get some new teeth -- i hope they will be sharp enough to make a difference. the washington community, howard in particular, all directors and staff who participated in synagogues and schools, and and r jewish, christian, muslim organizations, god bless you and thank you. it was crucial to my survival to know that i was not forgotten. your prayers and your actions have been comforting. to my extende

my lawyer and personal moses, scott gilbert. to restore myrts freedom.y have my endless gratitude, love and respect.

we need to mention alan gross's attorney scott gilbert who has spent more time in cuba than any othertalking to cubans, negotiating with carrying messages back and forth and really done the impossible in a lot of ways because people thought alan gross was going to die in prison. he's told he can't walk, that he had really given up hope and it turns out that hope was not lost. he will return to the united states today and this is the end of the nightmare for him and his family. >> obviously this is going to be about the controversy of change u.s. policy. the cuban community and the united states very forth right believing that cuba needs to be sanctioned. >> christian, what do you think the significance is? >> this is huge if the president of the united states is going to announce a resumption of the ties. this is a major big deal. it's not just about these individuals. they have sort of the obvious face saving if you like human manifestation of what appears to be a major policy change by the united states. europe where i am right now has long said, along with more an more americans th

the relentless and often intense efforts by judy and scott, the partners and associates and staff of gilbert l.l.p. law firm, where we are right now, they made me take the jacket off. i didn't want to take it off. tim of capitol hill, jill of skd nickerbacher, their efforts have been inconceivable. senator patrick leahy has been instrumental in sheparding the arrival of this day. wasn't to thank all of the members of congress from all sides of the aisle such as senator flake, representatives chris van holen and barbara lee and others who spoke up or visited me, subjected themselves to my ranting and helped me regain some of my weight. even in cuba, m & ms melt in your mouth, not in your hands. to all of those who tried to visit but were unable to, thank you for trying. i'm at your service as soon as i get some new teeth, and i hope they will be strong and sharp enough to make a difference. to the washington jewish community, ron halber in particular and his staff at the jewish community relations council, all of the executive directors, staff and volunteers of participating jcrc, federation,

the relentless and often intense efforts by judy and scott, the partners and associates and staff of gilbert llp law firm, that's where we are right now -- they made me take the jacket off. i didn't want to take it off. jill suckman of knicker bacher have been inconceivable. their efforts have been inconceivable. senator patrick leahy of vermont has been instrumental in shepherding the arrival of this day, and i want to thank all of the members of congress from all sides of the aisle such as senator -- representatives chris van holland and barbara lee and numerous others who spoke up or visited me, subjected themselves to my ranting and helped me regain some of my weight. even in cuba m & m's melt in your mouth, not in your hand. to all those who tried to visit me, but were not able to. thank you for trying. i'm at your service as soon as i get new teeth, and i hope they'll be strong and sharp enough to make a difference. to the washington jewish community, ron halber in particular, and his staff of the jewish community relations county, the jcrc, all the executives director, staff and volun

gilbert, andtt their efforts to restore my freedom. they have my endless gratitude, love and respect. the relentless and often intense effort by judy and scottthe partners and associates and staff of gilbert llp law firm, where we are right now, they made me take the jacket off. tim racer of capitol hill, have been inconceivable. efforts have been inconceivable. senator patrick leahy of vermont has been instrumental in shepherding the arrival of the day, and i want to thank all of the members of congress from all sides of the aisle such as senator flake, representative chris van hollen and in -- and numerous others who spoke up or visited me, subject to themselves to my ranting and help me regained some of my weight. even in cuba, m&ms melt in your mouth, not in your hand. to all those who were trying to -- who visit me but were -- who try to visited me. i'm at your service as soon as i get some new tees and i hope they will be strong enough and sharp enough to make a difference. to the washington jewish community, ron holbert in particular and staff at the cuban community relationship council, the executive director, staff and volunteer of