obamacare deadline. in order to have your health insurance kick in january 1st, you need to sign up on the exchanges by this monday, december 23rd. that's all the time we have today. "new day sunday" continues right now with pamela brown and victor blackwell. ice, rain, and freezing temperatures are gripping the midwest as flooding sinks cars, streets and back yards. but sfdespite a storm stretchin from louisiana to canada, the northeast is enjoying spring in december. >> the conflict in south sudan has now become an american problem. when u.s. military members there were fired upon and injured. they had to abort their rescue mission. the question now, how to evacuate those stranded american civilians. >> and a third person is come forward alleging racial

profiling in a macy's store in new york. he'll join us live to explain what happened when he tried to buy a $2400 gift. your "new day" continues right now. thank you for joining us. i'm pamela brown. >> and i'm victor blackwell. we want to begin with winter weather grinding its way across the country. this unusual system is being blamed for killing two people in mississippi and one in missouri. >> in des moines, iowa, plows worked through the night to remove half a foot of snow off the roads. >> the blizzard made driving slow and some drivers were frozen in their tracks. this is out of milwaukee. it is the scene that is being repeated all over the map on this busy holiday travel day. cnn is all over the story. >> from reporters in the severe weather center to chicago's o'hare airport to kansas city,

missouri, we find cnn's nick valencia this morning. how's it going, nick? >> good morning, victor. don't adjust your tv screens at home. they're not shaking. the first day of winter, surely lived up to it. it's really cold here. it feels like single digit temperatures, more towards in the 20s here in kansas city right now. we woke up and saw about three to five inches of snow. and that really sort of is resonating throughout the midwest and south. a possible tornado in arkansas. a lot of severe weather in oklahoma and here in missouri there were problems as well. joining us is chris redline. he is with the department of transportation. he is telling us about road conditions. what are people waking up to this morning? >> the streets are covered and slick. highways are starting to get better. expect bad conditions across the board. >> what are the most difficult issues you're dealing with statewide? you're talking about flooding and fatal accident. >> southeast missouri, we have over 50 roads closed right now due to flooding.

then on the opposite end of the spectrum, freezing rain and ice north of here last night that we're dealing with. >> didn't that lead to one death, a car descent, is that right? >> yes. there was a fatality. >> the roads are kind of empty right now. that's going to change in a matter of hours. we have a big game tonight, kansas city chiefs playing. 80,000 or 90,000 people expected there. are you prepared for that? >> we have full staff and we're going to work hard until we get the roads in good shape. >> people won't miss out on that kansas city chiefs game. they're more concerned about the cheefdz ga chiefs game than the weather. this is a state no stranger to blizzards and severe weather. for right now, it seems the worst is past. back to you. >> before we go, want to make sure something. this death, this fatal accident, is that being blamed specifically and solely on the weather conditions? >> that's right. that is weather related, victorment one death here and two in mississippi. we keep checking in with highway

patrol. in fact, we just checked in with them a little while ago. there were other deaths overnight. but those weren't weather related. so far, three deaths that cnn can confirm now as a result of this severe weather system. >> all right. nick valencia, thank you. just a reminder of how dangerous and treacherous the conditions are on the roads for people. you know, a lot of people trying to get out right now to make their christmas trips. but all the stormy weather putting a lot of people in neutral. cnn's george howl is at chicago's o'hare airport this morning. so, george, tell us. are you seeing any delays, cancellations there? >> pamela, as the day goes on here in chicago, we will see more cancellations on the board, more delays surely. we're getting to a point now where more travelers are coming to the airport. you see over here the early birds who are, you know, trying to get ahead of the storm. as i mentioned in the earlier hour, that's the best plan. the weather conditions here in chicago will be changing. let's go over here. i want to show what you is

happening right now outside. the weather is changing. the temperatures right around 33, 32. it's dropping. and now we're starting to see out here -- you pan over there, jake, you see the snow. snowing in chicago right now. we're used to that sort of thing here. but again when you talk about a busy travel week like this, the snow is not helpful. we do expect delays anywhere from one to two hours here in chicago. you can see delays in washington, d.c. and new york. the storm system continues to pass over. but again, the people who got out early, those are the guys that will have the best luck in this later in the day the situation can change weather-wise and travel not nearly as easy as we're seeing right now. >> interesting perspective there. take us outside. george howl keeping an eye on things at chicago's o'hare airport. thank you so much. >> it's coming down in chicago. people hitting the roads for christmas, too. the roads are really where most of the people will be.

jennifer grey is in the cnn severe weather center with more on how this could affect the drive. jennifer? >> yeah. we could see some wet roads. if you're taking your trip by road, i would wait until tomorrow. conditions are going to be much better tomorrow. if you're hitting the skies though, chicago could be delayed up to two hours today as well as d.c. d.c. we're going to see showers and even thunderstorms start to develop this afternoon. new york city, we could see delays up to two hours as well due to thunderstorms a little bit later in the day. here's the big picture. here's why. we have mainly rain. it is stretching all the way from the florida panhandle all the way up into the northeast. and so we're going to be dealing with possibly flooding situation today. the good news is the tornado threat has come down. so we will see some thunderstorms develop today. it's mainly going to be a rain event. and then all up to the north, that's where we're seeing the snow. we're seeing snow anywhere from chicago to milwaukee all the way up to grand rapids and then even in upstate new york we're seeing

snow in maine as well and even freezing rain around burlington. we've seen reports up to three quarters of an inch of ice in some of these northern areas. so very dangerous situation. even power outages up there. so very cold morning for you. down to the south, like we mentioned the rain, just starting to enter the perimeter in atlanta. and that stretching all the way up. i-40 is going to be hard hit as we go through the next couple of hours. we could see anywhere three to five inches of rain around atlanta. two to four else where along the mid-atlantic. and then as we travel through the next 24 hours or so, it's basically just going to sit on the east coast. and then start to move out by tomorrow. so tomorrow looks like a much better day if you're traveling 95, say, up the east coast. it's going to be better and better as we get to the next day or so. temperatures have been very, very warm in the east, though. we're going to enjoy another day of 67 degrees in new york city. you should be at 41 this time of

year. just give it a couple of days. by tuesday, you'll definitely start feeling like the holidays. it will be back in the 30s. guys? >> all right. jennifer grey. everybody's going to get some before the end of the year. >> mixed bag there. all right. thank you, jennifer. >> now nasa completed first emergency space walk to repair the cooling pump on the international space station. two astronauts stepped outside the station yesterday to try to fix that cooling pump which essentially makes sure the equipment isn't overheated there. the mission took about seven hours in total. the pump which failed last week weighs almost 800 pounds. about the size of -- about the weight of a refrigerator. >> a nice sized refrigerator, too. >> and today's walk is scheduled for tomorrow. a dangerous situation in east central africa. a surge of violence. we're talking about south sudan. dozens of americans are caught in the middle. >> plus, an amazing rescue. a fisherman stranded at sea. what kept him afloat for 15

hours after their boat sank? we're going to have the stories and more after this brek. this is for you. ♪ [ male announcer ] bob's heart attack didn't come with a warning. today his doctor has him on a bayer aspirin regimen to help reduce the risk of another one. if you've had a heart attack, be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. if you've had a heart attack, be sure to talk to your doctor if yand you're talking toevere rheuyour rheumatologistike me, about trying or adding a biologic. this is humira, adalimumab. this is humira working to help relieve my pain. this is humira helping me through the twists and turns. this is humira helping to protect my joints from further damage. doctors have been prescribing humira for over ten years. humira works by targeting and helping to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to ra symptoms. for many adults, humira is proven to help relieve pain and stop further joint damage.

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so join the loyalty program that lets you earn free nights in any of them. plus, for a limited time, members can win a free night every day. only at hotels.com sudanese troops are finding forces loyal to the former vice president. our reporter joins us in washington. an evacuation attempt saturday was aborted. we now know why. the u.s. helicopters took fire wounding four americans. how will they get these

americans who are trapped there out? >> victor, this is what they're assessing right now. defense secretary hagel and his miment advisors working with u.s. africa command. they're discussing how to move forward. of course, in coordination with the state department. but right now the state department is urging citizens to hunker down and avoid the area of the airport. they're not coordinating flights right now out of bor because it's too dangerous. right now they're reviewing options. i think it's fair to say the u.s. doesn't want to offer much detail about what they're doing until these get out because the swak is so tenuous. >> and we've been reporting that president obama's envoy to south sudan donald booth expected to arrive today. given how dangerous the situation is in south sudan, is that still going to move forward? if so, how can he calm the situation there? >> well, first he has to get there. and with the security situation the way it is, it's unclear when he would arrive. he's in the region right now. there's no shortage of diplomatic efforts going on

right now. several african countries have already sent envoiz. so ambassador booth is working with them on the ground to try to find a diplomatic solution. they want to get government and rebel groups loyal to the former vice president who the president believes -- blames for starting the fighting to sit down and start a dialogue. and he's going to press the leaders to reign in the rebel groups under their control. stop taattacks on civilians and this violence among ethnic groups. south sudan, the world's youngest country, was born out of decades of civil war. they want to get everyone to step back from the brink and prevent this from ethnic violence which is new phenomenon relatively erupting into a full blown civil war. >> yeah. we hopefully this envoy will be able to calm the situation. understandably, the u.s. government would not want to announce a projected wheels down time considering the threat that those four u.s. servicemen are

under. >> thank you. hopefully we can get the americans out safely. >> absolutely. the white house says the president is being briefed on the situation in south sudan while he's on vacation. knees hawaii with his family. and he has a warning for the people and the government there. cnn's athena jones is live in honolulu. how is the president reacting to all of this? >> good morning, victor. well, we know that immediately upon landing here in honolulu late friday night, the president was briefed while still aboard air force one. given a status update on the status of these four american service members who were injured in that attempt to evacuate those american citizens from bor. we also know that later saturday morning after his national security team had a meeting on the situation in south sudan, that meeting lead by susan rice. the president had a conference call with susan rice. his deputy national security advisors as well and the rest of his national security team to talk about the situation in

south sudan. he directed his team to continue working with the united nations to try to evacuate the american citizens. this comes, of course, as you heard them talk about the ethnic and political violence, rising violence we've seen there in that country. and so those americans were working for the u.n. in south sudan and they're going to keep trying to get them out. the president, as you mentioned, also had a warning for the leaders of south sudan. this is a country that is only two years old. he said south sudan's leaders must know that continued violence will endanger the people of south sudan and the hard earned progress of independence. he said it's the responsibility of the leaders in south sudan to help the u.s. secure the american personnel. any effort to seize power, this power struggle you heard her talk about through the use of military force will result in the end of long standing support from the united states and the international community. and so the president asked that his team continue to keep them updated. and that's where things stand now.

victor? >> yeah. only 3:15 in the morning where you are there in honolulu. of course, we expect the president to be briefed later this morning. thank you for that report. police in massachusetts have seized more than 1200 packages of heroin labelled with the word obamacare. some bags were also marked kirk cobain. police arrested four people after stopping a car for speeding and found the stash of drugs. police say the obamacare label is only a marketing ploy. so drug users know what kind of product they're getting. imagine this. imagine not being able to taste your favorite food or any food at all for that matter? that's a reality for a 10-year-old girl who suffers from a chronic illness. why her passion is keeping her in the kitchen despite the hurdle she faces. ç= [ laughter ]

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you may need a sleigh to get through this. it is coming down in milwaukee. high, 30 degrees. feels like 19. ♪ come on >> lovely weather for a sleigh ride together. two fisherman clung to a cooler floating in the ocean for 15 hours and they survived. this incredible rescue off the coast of australia, yeah, caught on camera. >> a helicopter came and plucked them out of the water. the men sent out a may day call for help on friday just before their boat sank. they were rescued on saturday. and, of course, they were both exhausted. but remarkably, they're doing okay. >> they are okay. that's what's important. >> we want to introduce a girl from connecticut.

she has a passion and she has a plan. she's ten years old. her name is chelsea wheeler. now wheeler says she wants to become a chef and open her own restaurant when she grows up. >> but there is just one problem. wheeler suffers from a disease that prevents her from eating solid food. imagine that. cnn's reporter has more. >> reporter: 10-year-old chelsea wheeler loves preparing dinner for her parents. her dream is to become a chef. chelsea essentially can't eat food. >> i know my stomach doesn't work. that's why i have a line. because, well, i can't eat real food. so i've got to have iv fluids. >> those fluids which chelsea needs to survive come from a specially equipped backpack she has to wear 16 hours a day. >> do you feel it's unfair that, you know, you can't eat and other kids can? >> not usually but sometimes, yeah. i get really fed up with it. >> chelsea has been sick since

birth. suffering from a disease. she was diagnosed with pseudo obstruction and suffered intestinal failure a year ago. she's had more than 30 surgeries and once even went into shock. >> i have to finish home work. >> her parents recall she barely survived. >> last year was our worst where she went into -- >> last october. >> yeah, she went into septic shock and woke up in the morning and couldn't use half her body. >> chelsea tries to fit in with her piers but then we came by it was elves day in her fifth grade class. she refuses to wear her backpack in school. the next big challenge, chelsea's doctors say she needs a small bowel transplant to replace the part of her intense continue that failed. >> because of the seriousness of it and the incompetent pact on her quality of life, we have referred her for possible intestinal transplantation. >> she is waiting for a donor. the wheeler saz say they will

never give up fighting to their daughter's life. and their community is pitching in. they set up a giving tree at town hall and the children's organ transplant association started a website for donations to help with medical bills. >> what kind of life do you have for her? >> she has a tube in her stomach. she has a tube in her intense continues. i mean she's -- it would be nice to have a day where she's eating food pain free and not through a tube. >> and that -- >> and be happy. >> at the dinner table, chelsea can only have one popsicle. that's all her stomach can take. but she's already thinking about the menu for her future diner. >> what kind of food do you want to serve at your diner? >> you don't need to be a millionaire to eat there every night. but it's like you feel like a millionaire.

♪ please come home for christmas ♪ >> all right. you know what time is it. time for the good stuff. it was a homecoming she will always remember. cameron wood thought she was attending a pep rally in south carolina. >> but when she was called up to help unwrap a gift, she unwrapped it and the surprise of a lifetime was inside. there he is. her soldier dad air force major jason wood was home in time for the holidays. cameron and her little brother thought they wouldn't see him until may. but he managed to get two week christmas break. >> you just can't help but smile. >> and a community in pennsylvania helped make a dying girl's wish come true much last night nearly 10,000 people, 10,000 showed up to christmas carol in support of lany brown. >> brown was diagnosed with leukemia seven months ago and she said she's always wanted to carol at christmas. well, doctors say brown has just days left to live.

>> i can't even express how i feel. this is god's way of saying okay, listen, i need you to go over to see my little angel and give her that singing she deserves. >> and to top it off, the outpouring of support from brown's community came one day after her eighth birthday. so by now you probably have seen jean-claude van damme doing a split on top two of moving trucks. >> that makes me feel uncomfortable. in the event you didn't see it, here's a quick look. ♪ >> all right. so there it is. vandam's commercial for volvo trucks. >> not to be outdone ever, chuck norris has his own split.

>> so gracious is the time. >> yep. that is chuck. doing a split between two fighter jets while balancing 11 people standing in the shape of a christmas tree on top of his head. that's the way chuck does it. they later light up like a normal christmas tree would. >> just so you know, this isn't real. in case you thought it was. >> i don't know if anybody thought that chuck norris was really doing this stunt. >> don't put it past chuck norris. he may have used a little help can graphics to make this all happen. but you know, still funny and only a matter of time before we saw a parody. >> there is a book out there with the chuck norris does this and does that. it's hail airous. my favorite is chuck norris doesn't do pushups, he pushes the earth down. the book is hilarious to me.

hey, it happened again. a third person accusing retailer macy's of racial profiling. this time it's over $2400 bag. we'll talk to the plaintiff of this latest lawsuit live. the toaster cozy? yep. got all the cozies. [ grandma ] with new fedex one rate, i could fill a box and ship it for one flat rate. so i knit until it was full. you'd be crazy not to. is that nana? [ male announcer ] fedex one rate. simple, flat rate shipping with the reliability of fedex. [ male announcer ] fedex one rate. so when my moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis them. was also on display, i'd had it. i finally had a serious talk with my dermatologist. this time, he prescribed humira-adalimumab. humira helps to clear the surface of my skin by actually working inside my body. in clinical trials, most adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis saw 75% skin clearance. and the majority of people were clear or almost clear in just 4 months.

humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events, such as infections, lymphoma, or other types of cancer have happened. blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure have occurred. before starting humira, your doctor should test you for tb. ask your doctor if you live in or have been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. make the most of every moment. ask your dermatologist about humira, today. clearer skin is possible. ...are the hands that do good things for the whole community: the environment, seniors, kids, and animals. that's why we created the share the love event. by the end of this year, the total donated by subaru could reach 35 million dollars.

you get a great deal on a new subaru. we'll donate 250 dollars to a choice of charities that benefit your community. it feels good to be a helping hand. bottom of the hour now. great to you have with us. i'm pamela brown. >> i'm victor blackwell. here's five things you need to know. >> unusual winter weather causing big travel woes across the country. possible tornadoes in arkansas carved a path of destruction just a few days before christmas. and from missouri to mississippi, severe storms are now being blamed for killing

three people. further west, an ice storm left branches frozen and made even short drives treacherous. >> number two, a public relations executive and company have parted ways over an offensive tweet. this was posted on her way to south africa. going to africa, high pressure he don't get aids. just kidding, i'm white. she was an executive at interactive corps, a parents company of dozens of companies like college humor, daily beast. well, the company spokesman says that was unnecessary and condemned the tweet. >> number three, more grief this morning in the denver area. 17-year-old clair davis died eight days after shot in the head by a classmate. davis has been in a coma since the shooting. >> a graup of bikers accused of assaulting the driver of an suv

will face reduced charges. prosecutors say driver alexander leeian was not seriously injured. 11 people were indicted after video from the september incident went viral. investigators say lian was later pulled from the suv and beaten after he hit a biker while trying to drive away. the group could still face 15 years in prison if charges are reduced. george zimmerman, the man acquitted in the death of trayvon martin has sold a painting on ebay. doesn't sound like a big deal until you hear how much it went for. more than $100,000. the painting right here is a blue flag done in oil. zimmerman says he'll hand deliver the art to the buyer's front door. >> well, it's allegedly happened again. another shopper is now accusing macy's, the flag ship store in new york's harold square of racial profiling. >> a club promoter in new york is saying he was stopped and

unnecessarily searched because he's black. >> it happened in april as he was leaving macy's store with $2400 bag. well this is the third profiling claim against this particular macy's including one by rob brown who stars in the hbo series "tremendous main." two other shoppers made similar claims against barnies in new york. regarding this latest case, macy's had this to sayment we take any claim made by our customers very seriously and we'll investigate mr. sarif's allegation seriously. if macy's policies have not been upheld, we'll take swift and immediate action. macy's says they cannot comment further. >> joining us from new york is the club promoter. good to have you with us. i understand that you shot some cell phone video of this incident. i want you to explain what elevated this, in your mind, for

you from a security person, a store employee doing a check for loss prevention to being profiled? >> well, it was a basic observation what i saw. i was standing there and i saw one security personnel. i asked for his supervisor which led to me waiting to speak to his supervisor. i'm going there and waiting patiently to speak to someone above everyone else. what i observed was numerous people exiting the store. the door alarm ringing, nobody being approached, stopped, questioned. fortunately, i was. >> and not one of those persons was african-american walking out? >> correct. >> now we have to say that this cell phone video you've reported is not being releasedment your attorney decided that it will not be released. we respect that. but, you know, why are you suing macy's now? >> well, i mean for one, the

humiliation of me standing there. two, the way they were mistreating me and i felt i was being totally disrespected by the employees. i also asked the head supervisor if they worked for an independent company or macy's directly. therefore, they're being trained by macy's staff, macy's personn personnel. >> i have to ask, there were recent lawsuits. this incident involving you happened in april. you're suing now. i got to ask you, did you just feel this was an open tune time and why do the other lawsuits filed, why are you -- why did you wait so long to file the lawsuit? >> at the time of the incident, it was back in april of this year, i filed a complaint in the store itself. i went back on two or three occasions to inquiry about the complaint in which i never received a response. all i want is a response from macy's. they kept saying come back another month or two. i waited patiently. and it fell on deaf ears.

and unfortunately which i thought was an isolated incident started to say maybe it wasn't as isolated incident as far as mistreatment of myself. >> so macy's recently has come out with this customer bill of rights. i want to read a line from it. macy's incorporated prohibits unreasonable searches and prefiling of customers by any employee. it goes on. do you think it's fishefficient protection against the treatment you say you dealt with? >> definitely training of the personnel will alleviate a situation like this and also my video itself when i spoke to the head supervisor of the security personnel, he stated to me that his laws were acted properly. therefore, they weren't properly trained. hopefully this bill will help. >> what do you want to come out of this lawsuit? >> better treatment of all customers, not certain raceos o

ethnicities but all people who spend money there. >> you are suing for damages? essentially you want money for this? >> whatever comes out of it whether it's monetary gain or change of the policy, procedures of macy's. i. need some sort of change, period. my father complained and i went back two and three occasions and they said come back another month or two. i feel the complaint i filed against the personnel, they never even submitted. they may as well ripped it up and said this is nothing. >> let me take one more turn of that. are you looking to make money from this? is that what you're seeking? >> no, i mean, what i'm seeking is some sort of justification of why i was stopped and other individuals weren't. >> okay. all right. thank you so much for taking the time to speak us with. >> thank you. >> thank you for having me. >> sure. two very religious men with two very different views on the duck dynasty suspension. how christians are divided over whether or not homosexuality really is sinful. we'll have that debate after

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pope frances is getting ready for his first christmas as pope. this morning he held the weekly prayer at the vatican. yesterday he delivered his christmas message to vatican staff and urging them to stay professional, avoid gossip and stay dedicated to serving the rest of the church. then spent several hours at a local children's hospital greeting patients who gave him a basket full of notes with wishes on them, mostly hoping to get well. and for today's faces of faith, we're going to be talking about christianity and the stance on homosexuality. >> the comments made by the "duck dynasty" star put a highlight on the situation this week. robertson described what he thought was sinful saying, "start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. beastality, sleeping around with

this woman and that woman and that woman and those men. supporters of gay rights called the comments vile and insensitive. christian conservatives noted that phil was adhering to biblical teachings. >> joining us to talk about this, pastor robert jeffries from the first baptist church of dallas and frank schafer, a pastor defroked from the church after officiating his son's same sex wedding. thank you so much for being here with us. >> pastor jeffries, i want to start with you. are christians like robertson putting too much emphasis on the issue of homosexuality even as the pope believes that christians should probably focus on other elements of the christian doctrine? >> well, first of all, victor, i'm not here to defend every word that phil robertson has ever spoken or will speak, but what he says about homosexuality isn't keeping with what the bible teaches and what has been the understanding of christians for 2,000 years.

and that is that god created sex for a man and a woman and a marriage relationship. and any deviation from that, whether it be adultery or premarital sex or homosexuality is sinful. and when phil says that it's unnatural for a man to be with a man or a woman with a woman, it's a issue of the body, he is simply quoting what paul says in romans 1. people may not agree with that. they may want to attach some new interpretation to it. but people don't have the right to label phil or me or tens of millions of evangelical christophcys christians because we hold a historic understanding of the bible. let me just say this. homosexuality is sinful is no more hateful than saying adultery is sinful. >> let me ask you something you said. from july 2013 your radio

ministry, there are disproportion amounts of -- >> well, that is certainly borne out when you look at the general population. and so that is true. but look -- >> before we go past it? >> all sin -- >> it's true. what is your source? >> yes. i documented that in my book "outrageous truth." the fact is we're all sinners who need god's forgiveness. we all need the gift of forgiveness. and that's what christmas is about. christ came to forgive all sins. and phil robertson admitted in his programs that he is a sinner as well. victor, i'm no better than a homosexual or an adulterment we're all sinners who need god's forgiveness. he's willing to forgive us if we're willing to ask. but that means admitting our sins and not denying that sin is sin. the bible labels homosexuality, lying, adultery, these are all sins that we're all guilty of in some way or another. we all need christ forgiveness.

>> frank, i want to get to you now. pastor jeffries talked about the scripture that robertson is referring to. you have a differ take on that scripture. tell me your thoughts and what was he said really by what the bible says? >> well, i do have a different take on this. i think the holy scriptures, they're very important us to as christians, of course. and they do talk about truth and we are trying to figure out what that truth actually is and what it means. but the scriptures predominantly are there given for us for inspiration and for help. and as a minister, i just take to that approach and i tried to really inspire people. so comments made by phil and others that lump together homosexuality with promiscuity, they're offensive, especially to homosexuals. because that's not a choice. they weren't, you know, that's

not their choice. they were born this way. they were created this way. it is totally unfair and very hurtful. and i think what i would like to ask phil is, you know, who made you judge? who are you to judge? we just heard about pope frances and he went on record to say who am i to judge? but who is phil to judge? >> could i answer that? could i answer that? >> go ahead. >> phil is saying that -- when phil says homosexuality is a sin, he is not formulating a judgment. he is simply repeating what god has already judged to be true. and that is that homosexuality, adultery, premarital sex are all deviations from god's perfect standard. he zinld sex. in his instruction manual called the bible, he says this is how sex best operates between a man and a woman in a marriage relationship. and you know the bible says that there will be a day coming when people will call evil good and

good evil. and that's what we're seeing here. it is unthinkable to me that people would label phil robertson or dan kathy of chick filet as hateful bigots because they believe that sex should be between a man and a woman in a marriage relationship. that's simply outlandish. but that is certainly what the bible predicts is going to happen. >> pastor jeffries, you bring up a good point. you talked about it many times. we're all sinners and one sin, as you say, is as bad as another. i want to continue with this after the break. i'll come back on that point. stay with us. we'll continue this debate about christianity and same-sex marriage and comments from "duck dynasty" star phil robertson. i've ever had to make. stn jim, i adore the pool at your hotel. anna, your hotels have wondrous waffle bars. ryan, your hotels' robes are fabulous. i have twelve of them. twelve? shhhh, i'm worth it& what i'm trying to say is,

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are prone to infections, or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. ask your doctor if humira can work for you. this is humira at work. . welcome back. we're having a heated debate between pastor jeffries and frank schafer what was defroked because he officiated his son's same-sex wedding. >> he was suspended and really the question is to you, frank, you knew the parameters of the denomination when you entered it. you knew what the church taught. why now should the rules change because you have changed? >> i believe that the basis for

my belief is actually in the bible. you know, coming back to the former debates and it ties in here as well, i think we have a choice on how to use this book that we agree is holy and rich to us. you could take lift passages out of this book and make a case for polygamy or for slavery or for sexism. but that doesn't give us the right to use the book in this way. you're not supposed to use it judgmentally but we're supposed to use it in a way that is helpful to people in their every day struggle for inspiration and for help. and so when i look at this script tours and the passages, nowhere do i see that homosexuality is actually talked about in terms of a loving homosexual committed relationship. so my basis for my faith is biblical. and i'm saying the church must recognize that what we're doing is actually discrimination.

we treat our homosexuality brothers and sisters as second class christians. >> pastor jeffries, i see you shaking your head. jump in. >> look, moses said from the beginning that god's plan for sexuality was one man and a woman and a marriage relationship. jesus affirmed that in matthew 19. and here's the point. if you're going to say that god didn't mean what he said in the new testament about homosexuality, that it's okay, why don't you legitimatize adultery? why not legitimatize lying or cheating? i mean the fact is we can't pick and choose which parts of the new testament that we want to believe. and i believe that that's why the whole problem of liberalism is really hypocrisy. you know liberals in this whole debate about this duck dynasty, liberals are saying we tolerate all beliefs except those that contradict our own. >> let me ask you about that. about all beliefs that contradict your own, pastor jeffries. because you have said right here on cnn and the associated press which i read from october 2012,

you can't pick and choose which sins. there are lots of sins that are highlighted in the bible. this happens to be one that you continue to harp on. why this sin is so offensive that you must speak out over and over about it? according to your definition of it? >> well, that's right. you know, in my church, i probably preach 2,000 serm yonz. out of the 2,000 sermons, probably five dealt with homosexuality. so i'm not harping on the subject buchlt it is a subject that is in the news right now with same sex marriage. as a pastor and preacher of god's word, i have an obligation to say what the bible says about this subject when asked about it. and we're going to say without hesitation that god's standard for sex is a man and a woman in a marriage relationship. and, again, when you depart from that, whether it is polygamy or adultery or premarital sex, all of those things are violations of god's standards. >> all right. frank, i want to go to you

before we wrap this debate up. as we mentioned, you were defroked but now you've been offered a new job. is that right? is it with umc? >> yes, absolutely. it's such -- i don't even know how to describe it. it's huge news. it's good news not only for me that bishop from the california conference has come out to say we are proud of frank. we believe what he did is biblical and we do have to change our policy in the united methodist church. not only is it good news for me because it means i it continue to minister in my church, the united methodist church. it's good news for the united beth divot church because we are on a move here. there is a human rights movement under foot. i think this will lead to change soon. >> and this highlights the division within the clutch that he is defroked by one church within the united methodist church and then offered a job by another church within umc. we want to thank both of you for the conversation this morning.

pastor frank schafer and pastor robert jeffries, thank you so much for speaking with us this morning. >> thank you you to both. >> thank you. >> merry christmas. >> you to, too. >> merry christmas you to. for more stories on faith, be sure to check out our belief blog at cnn.com/belief. switching gears, a man who used to be russia's richest sat down exclusive wli cnn to talk about his time in prison for the first time since getting out. >> mchale was released on friday after president putin signed a amnesty decree. he was a major critic of the government and he's been in prison for ten years. charges in which he maintained innocence. he spoke about one incident where he says he was stabbed in the face. >> when i was stabbed with a knife. i was lucky. >> translator: it just -- he tried to get to my eye but got my nose.

as a result, the dentist who was there was somebody who was also a plastic surgeon. and carried out the operation on me which means it was virtually not noticeable. >> more of "new day" after the break. a subaru... ...are the hands that do good things for the whole community: the environment, seniors, kids, and animals. that's why we created the share the love event. by the end of this year, the total donated by subaru could reach 35 million dollars. you get a great deal on a new subaru. we'll donate 250 dollars to a choice of charities that benefit your community. it feels good to be a helping hand.

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snen snend. time now for more good stuff. can't get enough of this story. a camera man from an affiliate was working on a project for the station. get this, he interviewed a homeless man and during that interview, malone seen right here said he used to be a landscaper and music composer. he was not kidding. he revealed he was actually a member of carlos santana's original blues band before he became homeless. the camera man helped reunite malone with his former boss. take a look. >> man! >> magnificent malone. >> oh, god. oh, man. >> look at you. >> marcus, the ma magnificent malone. >> santana said he tried to find him over the years. but he came up dry. we're going to have more on this story later today. cnn's fred reeka whitfield will talk to santana about the

touching holiday reunion at 2:00 p.m. eastern time. turning focus to the weather. ice and sleet are not things you want to be hearing about when traveling the weekend before christmas. but, of course, neither are thunderstorms. jennifer grey tells us those things could be in the mix today. what is going on here? >> at least the tornado threat is down today. we could see a couple thunderstorms. i think the severe threat has really gone down. basically, just rain and snow. we also have freezing rain to deal with. but it's mainly extreme northern sections. i know green bay has been one area that has gotten a lot of snow. and continuing to snow just a bit there. should be improving as we go through the day to day. but it is going to be cold there. they are hosting the steelers. it is going to be about 22 degrees with winds of about 16. so it is going to be quite a chilly afternoon. but the rain should be pushing out later tonight and should be much, much better across the

nation tomorrow. >> something tells me nothing is going to stop the green bay fans from going. >> no. they are tough, tough people. >> they will be there. >> jennifer grey, thank you. thank you so much for being part of our sunday. >> i feel like all i have left is a wave. my voice is shot. >> you made it through. >> "state of the union with candy crowley" starts now. >> dozens of americans trapped inside and increasingly unstable south sudan. and imbalance at the nsa, security versus privacy. today a panel the president appointed tells him to reign in the national security agency. >> whatever benefits the configuration of this program may have may be outweighed by the concerns that people have on this potential abuse. there may be another way of skinning the cat. >> he talked to the democrat joe mansion about that. the future for obama care and harry reid's senate leadership. and --