About the Show
Anchored by Jake Tapper, The Lead airs at 4 p.m. ET on CNN.
On the Next Episode of The Lead
We've moved! Come join us at our new show page.
buried lead
Gold Star kids: Remembering the children of the fallen
(CNN) - Nearly 5,000 boys and girls will not have a mom or dad to tuck them into bed tonight. The military estimates that's how many American children have lost a parent in combat, to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The children of the fallen are known as Gold Star children.
Cierra Becker was just seven years old when the knock on her door came.
"There's a Gold Star medal in the military, and daddy was awarded that medal after he passed away," Cierra says.
Cierra's father, Staff Sargent Shane Becker, was killed in Iraq in April 2007.
The documentary "Gold Star Children," airing on the Pentagon Channel Monday night, traces the story of Cierra and her family.
"I almost felt like the world was pressing down on me to make a decision sometimes, to make a decision to completely change my personality and gloss over what happened, or whether I just act like daddy's there everyday," she says in the film.
Now 14 years old, Cierra is hoping the film and her story will help other Gold Star children continue to heal.
"When I say something to a kid who has just lost their loved one, is that, 'Yes everything will be okay, and you'll be okay too,'" Cierra said. "You'll laugh again, and you won'g feel guilty for laughing, or having fun without the person that you lost."
FULL POST
national lead
How the company behind 'Call of Duty' helps veterans find jobs
The unemployment rate for young veterans of the post 9/11 era is 10.1%, yet these are usually disciplined, highly trained individuals with some of the toughest on-the-job training skills.
"Employers tell us they have a hard time plugging into the network to find the veterans," said former Marine General James Jones, co-chairman of The Call of Duty Endowment.
About 130,000 veterans will return to the civilian workforce this year; about one million veterans will return over the next five years.
Employers who may have little military experience "might have a hard time equating the military occupational specialties, with the needs of their work force," said Jones.
FULL POST
world lead
Marines head to the Philippines after typhoon catastrophe
(CNN) - After taking a chopper tour of the carnage in the Philippines, an American general said there were bodies everywhere.
The Marines have now touched down in the nation, to help the more than four million people affected by what could be the biggest storm ever known to man.
CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr has more on America's humanitarian effort in the aftermath of the typhoon.
world lead
Roundtable: Iran talks at a standstill
Talks with Iran over its nuclear program stumbled at the 11th hour this weekend, after diplomats taking part had hinted a deal was close.
Days earlier, Iran's foreign minister said a framework was in the works. Two U.S. administration officials told CNN that under the potential deal, Iran would halt enriching uranium to 20%, one step below weapons grade, and refuse to open a heavy water reactor, a second path to a bomb.
So what happened? Secretary of State John Kerry blamed Iran.
FULL POST
world lead
Typhoon survivor: The beauty of the Philippines endures
The pounding rain was relentless, and the wind was so strong, it sounded like someone crying.
"I felt like this is it, I'm going to die," said Shirley Lim, who survived Super Typhoon Haiyan, which tore through the Philippines Friday.
FULL POST
Recent Comments