he didn't build a completely new house. they did something small although it added up to $80,000. >> and he did it with the help of so many others, too. it was a team effort. >> more people get involved, the more it grows, the more gooder it gets. >> we love the gooder. >> that's it for us. a lot of news we're following this morning. let's get you to the newsroom let's get you to the newsroom with ms. carol costello. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com thanks so much. happening in the newsroom. >> didn't get what you wanted this christmas. >p >> incredible door bust >> ger>> get ut>> ge>>. >> how does 75% off sound or 100 bucks off a mac book? we're live as millions hit the malls. power problems, many americans and their cold, chilly christmas. tens of thousands shivering without power since last saturday after a major ice storm paralyzes people from michigan to maine. >> plus, this. waived by and down!

>> boom! will lebron's amazing dunk aftek after dunk. king james heating up the lakers miami style. ♪ ♪ queen b, bieber breaking bad, the must-see most talked about tweeted facebook, instagram, snap chat and instagram stories that got us talking on 2013. "newsroom" starts now. good morning. i'm carol costello. thanks so much for joining me. christmas presents open. wrapping paper discarded. now it's time to buy more stuff, and retailers are certainly ready. they're offering massive discounts to get you through the door. savings up to 70% in stores like saks fifth avenue. best buy is offering a free

iphone 5c with a two-year contract. amazon has 32 inch tvs for just $180. sears is offering 40% off sears appliances if you pay with your credit card. thousands of angry families are waiting for their gifts to arrive. u.p.s. is in full damage control mode as irate gift givers take to social media. we're covering both stories for you this morning. margaret conley is outside of macy's harold square in new york eyeing those deep discounts. nick valencia is eyeing the deep outrage. margaret, lots of people in the stores? >> reporter: carol, today is the day for deals and discounts. christmas sales were down about 3% compared to last year, but that hasn't stopped a lot of stores from extending their hours and offering more discounts. you mentioned a few of them. toys"r"us, they're open for 14 hours today. walmart, they're offering sales 25 to 50% off and jcpenney,

they're giving out could you pongs. macy's right here in harold square, they were open at 6:00 this morning. here's what the shoppers had to say. >> we're here to do a little bit of shopping and feel the tourist attractio attractions. we're going on a helicopter flight over new york. >> we're from sweden and we're going back home today. we had one shirt and it was the wrong size, the wrong figure. everything was totally wrong. he was coming home and he's like, oh, my god. it's so small. i will look like a sausage. >> go to saks. >> my son is at champs and i'm over here getting some last-minute gifts and we're having a good time doing it. >> now those returns can be costly for retailers, carol. on average, retailers can get about 2 to 10% in returns. >> all right. margaret conley, thank so much.

while excited shoppers are hitting shoppers, enraged customers are lashing out at u.p.s. many gift greeters are treating the shipping firm like the grinch who stole christmas going online to talk about an epic fail. u.p.s. couldn't get all of the packages delivered. don't blame the drivers though. one driver told "usa today" he delivered 505 packages on monday alone. he said, this has been the worst christmas ever. some people are pointing fingers at customers. trade tricks tweeted, people should shop and ship earlier. don't say #upsfail for poor planning. there are 364 days in a year so take responsibility for your ni us. >> so >> so many enraged. thousands of you are still

looking out your front windows waiting for your u.p.s. driver to bring the christmas gifts that didn't make it under the christmas stree. >> u.p.s. and fed ex apologizing and the two companies are saying, it's not all their fault. >> reporter: u.p.s. trucks are back out in full force this morning trying to deliver packages that were supposed to be delivered by christmas morning. >> i waited around for hours and hours for it to show up and it never did. >> thousands of gifts not delivered on time waiting in u.p.s. warehouses to be shipped. u.p.s. says they've already delivered an estimated 132 million packages in the last week alone. blaming the back log on an unprecedented surge in online sales and bad weather. u.p.s. released a statement saying the volume of air packages in our system exceeding the capacity in our system immediately preceding christmas. >> they're still blaming it on the ice storm which was 2 1/2

weeks ago. it's terribly disappointing because we ordered these things on december 1st. >> we got to the front of the line after waiting for about an hour and they said it hasn't been processed yet. >> reporter: disappointed customers stormed online customer support tweeting got same message. still waiting for the response from this morning along with my granddaughter's christmas gift. >> how are you doing today? >> reporter: u.p.s. isn't the only delivery company experiencing delays. people lined up in oregon on christmas day. >> they left me a note so i can go to my parents and give my mom her gift. >> meanwhile, u.p.s. expects the vast majority of packages to be delivered today. >> and it's not just u.p.s. and fedex that are in trouble with their customers, it's those online companies, carol, that rely on their services. amazon.com says they'll be refunding shipping charges, giving out gift cards, $20 gift cards. who knows what the estimated

impact will be but they're trying to make up for this blunder. a lot of people very upset this morning. >> if they had sent out some kind of message saying we're backed up. your gifts may not get there in time, just a warning. >> it's not just gifts, it's medications for people, diabetes, insulin, important medications that people rely on. it goes beyond the superficial christmas gift. >> we did reach out to u.p.s. and fed ex. >> waiting to hear back. >> yes, nick, thank you so much. a christmas cruise has taken a turn for the worst. they're trapped in ice near antarctica. none of the 74 passengers on board has been hurt and three ice breaking ships are now heading their way. luckily they have plenty of food on board while they wait. it is the day after christmas and thousands of people are waking up to another day without power, but there is some good news for those in michigan. the power is slowly being turned back on. power crews are braving ice and

freezing temperatures to get those lights back on and the heat, too. one man says instead of calling to yell at the power company, do something nice for the hard-working crews. >> the more you get upset about it, try to argue with somebody at customer service to get the power back on. it's not going to help. if you see a crew out here working, treat them nice. bring them some coffee. see what you can do for them because it's cold out here. they're stuck out here. be nice to them. >> it's not their fault. chad myers is keeping an eye on the cold and icy conditions. he's live in new york this morning. good morning, chad. >> carol, good morning. not only was it icy and the power is out, but it has been brutally cold. look at the last three mornings in detroit, 23, 12, 11. up towards burlington. this entire area, through toronto, hydro canada has put so many lines up i don't think they can count them. all the way up to burlington where the morning low yesterday was 0. it will be warming. this is the coldest of the rest of the week. we warm up 3 to 4 degrees. barely getting anywhere. when the power lines come back,

at least your heat comes back. silver city in the u.p., 16 inches of snow in the last 14 hours. at least they had power. snow into binghamton, scranton, buffalo. no big surprise the snow will move into buffalo. could see some delays with deicing. then on up toward maine we'll see some snow. the next couple of clippers coming down from the northwest. i do believe there is a potential for a storm to run up the east coast and really mangle sunday afternoon and monday traffic here especially if it gets cold enough. we'll have to see. every progressive storm is just a couple of degrees colder so what was a rain event two weeks ago will now be a snow event as we see highs only in the 30s, even chicago 15. but it feels like right now in the windy city it is windy. it feels like zero, carol. >> just makes me shiver. chad myers, many thanks. also this morning, a heartbreaking plea from an american who was taken hostage in pakistan more than two years

ago. in a video released by al qaeda on christmas day a former u.s. government contractor, warren weinstein, calls on president obama to negotiate his freedom. >> now i need my government, it seems that i have been totally abandoned and forgotten. >> cnn's barbara starr is at the pentagon with more on this story. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, carol. worth recalling what happened to this man working in pakistan as a u.s. government contractor. 72-year-old warren weinstein was taken captive, kidnapped out of his house when gunmen broke in and overpowered his security team. the head of al qaeda claimed responsibility for that attack. there have been previous videos, photos, signs of life but this latest video shows weinstein really in pretty poor shape.

he is a man who is making a plea for help. have a listen. >> i'm now over 72 years of age. i'm not in good health. i have a heart condition. i suffer from acute asthma and the years have taken their toll. i have been cut off from my family. my wife, who's over 70, my two daughters, my two grandchildren, my son-in-law and perhaps new members of the family whom i have never met. needles to say, i have been suffering deep anxiety every part of every day not knowing what is happening to my family, not knowing how they are and because i am not with them. >> reporter: this 13-minute video obviously made under some conditions of duress as he is

being held. no response yet from the obama administration, but he does make that direct plea to the president. secretary of state john kerry and the american public for help in getting him out of there. al qaeda's been asking for a release of its prisoners in exchange. no reason to believe that the u.s. position has changed, which is it does not negotiate. carol? >> barbara starr reporting live from the pentagon this morning. thanks so much. still to come on "the newsroom" duck dynasty and why jesse jackson takes aim at the show's star and his controversial comments next.

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checking our top stories at 15 minutes past the hour. southern california, strong wind warnings raising concerns over tinder dry conditions and brush fires like this one that raced across ten acres in the seemy valley. red flag warnings are expected to be pulled later today as record high temperatures begin to fade. the reverend jeff see jackson weighs in on the "duck dynasty" controversy.

his comments about gays and african-americans smacked of, quote, white privilege. the decision by a&e ignited discussions. they're close to their goal of 250,000 signatures. next year's mid term elections may be a big deal for washington, but for much of the nation's voters it's shaping up to be one big snooze fest. that's according to a new cnn/orc poll which showed 43% of registered voters are not enthusiastic about voting in the upcoming election, that's compared to 30% who say they're jazzed. when it comes to who voters prefer in office, democrats appear to be losing ground. 49% now say they would choose republicans in the mid terms up seven points from just october. democrats coming in at 44%. that's a decline of 6 percentage points. but before republicans get too giddy about their lead over democrats, there's one other number we should point out.

a majority of americans think the people running washington are the worst ever. story from our chief congressional correspondent, dana bash. >> reporter: freshmen angus king and joe donnelly just wrapped up their first year in the senate. their take on the inches city too us is telling. >> it's still pretty bad that we haven't been able to get more done. >> the more cooperation we can get, the better off we'll be. >> reporter: a new cnn/orc poll shows 67%, 2/3 of the country, calls this the worst congress of their lifetime. nearly 74% have lived a long life. they're 50 and older. 73% say congress has done nothing to address the country's proble problems. >> the publica profl is still pretty low. does that surprise you? >> no. because what they see every day on television is deadlock, in fights and screaming. what you don't see every day is large groups of both democrats and republicans coming together

saying how can we work through this process. >> one thing that is bipartisan, the blame. public doesn't trust either party. 52% say policies of democratic congressional leaders will move the country in the wrong direction. republican leaders fair only slightly worse at 54% saying the gop will move the country in the twrong direction. moderate republican susan collins spent the year organizing bipartisan discussion to solve big problems. she wants americans to have hope for 2014. >> i hope that the american people will realize that there's some of us trying to build bridges and bring people together and solve problems. >> congress did leave for the year on a higher note than when it started passing a bipartisan budget through the house and senate. several senators told me that they had people coming up to them all over their states thanking them for being reasonable. one told me at first he thought it was a nice compliment but then he realized that's a pretty lobar. dana bash, cnn, washington. and in about 15 minutes our political panel will take a look

at the impact of a tough political year on washington and how republicans are trying to purge their party of, quote, fools. still to come in "the newsroom" whether kids were making questionable choices or just doing the right thing. we've got all of this year's most controversial stories for parents. that's coming up next. i took my son fishing every year. we had a great spot, not easy to find, but worth it. but with copd making it hard to breathe,

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some of this year's most controversial stories involved kids and the decisions they made. a 6-year-old boy who chose to kiss a girl, a teen punished for going to pick up a friend who was drunk, but another story that got everybody talking was an essay in "time magazine" about choosing not to have children and the judgment involved in that decision. earlier i asked cnn correspondent kelly wallace why the child free life and other parenting stories struck such a note here. >> so much of the discussion is about moms, right? we talk about working moms versus stay-at-home moms, how many kids moms are having. we don't often talk in a national way about women who

choose not to have children, and i really applauded "time magazine" for this article because i think too often, and i will admit, i'm sorry to say, sometimes i even think about it, when i first hear a woman who says, i don't want to have kids, we make a judgment. but you know what, there is a growing number of women who are saying, i don't want to have children and it should be okay and i shouldn't be judged for it. >> cnn ireport went viral on this topic. i want to read you a portion of one woman's report to cnn. she said, quote, i have a hard time identifying with people who do have children and have been the brunt of many of their judgments. i have been called selfish, materialistic, and worse, i don't believe that i am selfish by any means. i think it would be far more selfish to have a child for the wrong reasons. kelly, you know i also chose not to have children. many times people will say to me, do you have children? i'll say no. they'll say, oh, i'm sorry. what's wrong with you? >> right. they'll think something's wrong with you. they'll think, are you selfish?

wow, maybe you can't have children and you're not revealing that. when we talked about this story months ago i said, people never come up to me and said, kelly, why did you have children, right? they don't flip the question. it's assumed, of course, every woman wants to have children and i think it's important for us to respect the judgments of every woman whatever decision she wants to make. >> that's why i like you so much, kelly wallace. we also saw a 17-year-old boy suspended for a year simply because he hugged a teacher. that story, too, got people really worked up for obvious reasons, i guess. >> obvious reasons, carol. we've seen a number of these stories where people say, are you kidding me? after a hug? the kid gets a year long suspension. there are people who say in some ways they feel that schools have the zero tolerance policy against certain things but that it goes in the way of common sense and any of those kinds of stories that we saw this year got people fired up. they say, years ago the principal might have called the

mom and said, you know, maybe he shouldn't have hugged the teacher. now he's slapped with a year-long suspension. >> you're right. there are a lot of these. we heard about the 6-year-old who kissed the girl on the hand. >> yes. >> he was charged with sexual harassment and it went on his school record. the school later changed, you know, i guess the charge to misconduct but you talk about common sense and you wonder why schools come to these conclusions. >> you know what's been hard, actually, is reporters on these stories, it's not always black and white, right? there are always sort of these gray areas. in the case of that 6-year-old colorado boy, the mom said, oh, the girl was fine with it. she considers him boyfriend/girlfriend, but the girl's mother reportedly said, no, the girl isn't fine with it and she wants him to cut it out. so you often hear a little bit more to these stories. and schools i think sometimes feel limited about how much they can communicate because of, you know, fears of lawsuits or complaints. we don't always get all the facts. once you hear all the facts,

there might sometimes be more understanding of the school's decision. >> the other thing, it's really confusing to students, even teenagers. for example, in massachusetts, a 17-year-old honors student was suspended bus she went to pick up a drunk friend at a party. the school said she violated the zero tolerance policy. she was trying to do the right thing. >> i know. and this one is saying, what message do we want to send our kids, right? if a girl's friend calls her up and says she's drunk, can you come get me and take me home, should she be thinking, no, i shouldn't go to that place. alcohol is being served. if i go, i'll be suspended from playing volleyball? of course not. she wants to help a girl saying i'm drunk, i can't get behind the wheel. we understand school policies. we understand their rules, but i think common sense in a lot of these cases needs to prevail. at least that's what the general consensus has been online. >> thank you, kelly wallace. for more families about family, career and life you can head to

kelly wallace's page on cnn living. this is cnn breaking news. we have some better news to pass along to you about target and that massive hacking scandal that went down a couple of weeks ago. alison kosik is in new york. this involves the pin data. >> right. so what's been happening now is reuters has been reporting possibly in addition to the 40 million credit cards and debit cards that were possibly put at risk because of this hacking at target that righters is also reporting that possibly pin numbers could have been at risk as well but target just coming out with this statement now saying that target is in very early in an ongoing forensic and criminal investigation being conducted by law enforcement and an independent forensic team. to date there's no evidence that unencrypted pin data has been compromised. this reuters report is saying the direct opposite. it's quoting its source saying that that could have been the

sort of impetus for jpmorgan chase to limit how much its customers could withdraw from atms and how much money they can spend. this sort of -- we're hearing two different stories. target saying no pin data was compromised. carol? >> the reason this is so important is because if someone has your pin number, this he can use your credit card or your debit card at will. >> that and/or the crooks could just dip into your -- let's say you have a debit card linked into your checking account, that crook could then get into your checking account possibly and take out money. yeah, it's a huge red flag. hopefully target is right in saying this. we shall see because, you know, this is still in the early stages of the investigation. you have to remember, this happened over a three-week period from november 27th through december 15th when these hackers got into these cards so every time you went to a target during november 27th and december 15th, you could have been at risk if you use your

debit card or credit card, carol. >> i'm rereading this statement that you read to our viewers and it says that this investigation is being conducted by law enforcement and an independent forensic firm. target says unencrypted pin data has not been compromised. we'll just assume they're right. we'll see. alison kosik, thanks so much. still to come in "the newsroom" the current congress has managed to go where no one before them has gone, at least in the minds of the american voters. most of you think this congress is the worst ever. break down the numbers for you. ç=

good morning. i'm carol costello. thanks so much for joining me. happening now in the newsroom, you hear the opening bell just rang. we'll tell you why today is the day to invest in stocks and why you'll probably see a nice return on your cash. plus this. >> it's just a matter of seconds. another 10, 15 seconds, there just would have been too much fire. >> a tense rescue. a 72-year-old man clinging to life after his car careened into the dividers and burst into flames. the heart-stopping rescue all

caught on tape. and this -- >> my god. oh, my god! yeah! >> what is it? >> a christmas to remember. an 11-year-old and an auburn football ticket that made his day. "newsroom" continues now. here are this morning's top stories. dozens of people spent their christmas trapped in waters off antarctica. their cruise ship got stuck in some heavy sea ice yesterday. diana magne says help may be at least a day away. >> reporter: three vessels are on their way to rescue a ship stranded in ice in the ant arctic. the russian flag vessels carrying 74 people on board, we're hearing that they're safe. we know this is a ship designed for polar exploration. the australian coast guard who's

coordinating this mission says that the ship is 100 nautical miles east of the french base of dumont durval in the ant arctic. they said wednesday it could take some two days to reach the vessel. luckily passengers have plenty of food on board as they wait to be rescued. the man accused of shooting and killing a tsa agent at lax last month will be arraigned today in court. paul see ciancia is facing char. opening bell as i said just rang on wall street in celebration of the pinstripe bowl at yankee stadium this weekend. the head coaches of notre dame and rutgers are ringing this morning's bell. and with stocks rallying before the christmas break, the markets are looking up this morning. surprise, surprise, surprise. you think the 2013 congress is the worst ever. check it out. according to the latest cnn/orc poll 67% say the 2013 congress was the worst in their lifetime.

break it down. 60% of democrats say congress was the worst. 71% of independents pile on and 68% of republicans add their voices to the worst ever congress. but what are we going to do about it? with me now, robert zurman a democratic strategist, ron christie, a republican strategist. >> great to be with you. >> happy boxing day. >> fantastic. i hadn't realized but thank you. establishment republicans are already at work. according to the wall street journal, the u.s. chamber of commerce is spending $50 million in 2014, quote, our number one focus is to make sure when it comes to the senate, that we have no loser candidates. that will be our mantra. no fools on our ticket. ron, by fools he means tea party candidates. the question is, will those candidates be so easily defeated? >> well, i don't know, carol, if he's talking about tea party

candidates. i think he's talking about candidates primarily sitting incumbent senators and senate republican house members who while they might be popular to a certain extreme element of the base they might not win in the general election. i think the important thing we need to do is we need to bring republicans, democrats, independents to washington who can work together rather than those who sit in their ideological corners and kick sand in the sand box. >> robert. >> the problem -- >> go ahead. >> ron, the problem is though, the individuals who end up beating these conservative senators are -- tend to be -- are always exclusively tea party candidates. christine o'donnell, sharon engel. as former republican congressman mickey edwards said as long as rush limbaugh can move more republican primary voters, the republican party will be doomed by this extreme fringe which has really captivated the party. >> but $50 million is a lot of money. >> that's a lot of money, but i would say to my friend robert, i

think the extremism exists in both parties. i think that's why across the board with republicans, independents and democrats, people are saying, enough already. you have a number of people who have really vetoed or had the opportunity to shut down sensible republican bills coming over from the house dealing with energy, dealing with environment, dealing with health care and trying to find a way to move forward to make sure people aren't harmed by the affordable health care act. >> here's -- >> wait a minute. wait a minute, robert. ron is right. democrats are not exactly popular either. in another cnn poll democrats no longer have the edge over republicans in the mid term elections and you can't blame obama and his health care rollout for that. so if republicans push the fool's, quote, out, the democrats are in trouble, aren't they? >> well, here's the reality. i mean, i've said this on the air and i've gotten in trouble with my own party. were it not for the tea party candidates, there's no question the republicans would have probably won the senate in 2010 on certainly in 2012. this poll is a powerful wake-up

call that cnn released today because my party's been trying to claim, well, the republicans are worse than us. the country's stopped keeping score. they want to see a congress delivering and producing. here's the good news, not just a christmas celebration hangover or extra egg nog this morning. here's the good news. you see republicans and democrats in the senate working together. together they have produced an immigration bill, an ichb from structure bill, a farm bill. there's some break through. ultimately you see john boehner as speaker changing his tune and taking on the tea party because of the public outrage over the republican shutdown of the government. so as long as you have public participation and public outrage, you can bring about some resolution. the republican civil war will tell the story. >> if the republican civil war is over or actually is being won by establishment republicans, ron, then democrats really may be in trouble. i mean, if people perceive that, and the mid terms roll around, then, you know, what have

democrats done for me lately? they had a lousy healthcare.gov rollout and that's all people are going to remember. >> i think that's right, carol. if you look back at what president obama said, he was going to cut the deficit in half, he didn't. the president said if you liked your health care plan, you could keep it. if you liked your doctor, you could keep it. we've had millions of people being thrown off their health care coverage the last couple of months due to the affordable care act, which isn't affordable. i think heading into the mid term elections you find plenty of senators up for re-election who are fleeing for the hills. they're pushing for delays in the individual mandate, they're pushing for delays. my thing is i want to see what happens, carol, when we get into the spring when small business employers are looking and saying, you know, i'd rather pay a penalty and throw my employers off the exchanges rather than keep them. that's where the winter of discontent for the democrats will occur in the mid terms. >> ron, what i want to see is the republicans offer alternatives. for example, now democrats dsh. >> robert, we have offered -- >> excuse me, ron. democrats are going to run on

shlt fact that they are, in fact, saving millions of people from being thrown off their health care because of pre-existing conditions or because they're being dumped because of illness or age. democrats are going to run over the fact that obama administration has reduced the deficit almost by half at this stage. the deficits going down with the cost of health care and that's also going down. >> i would say to you the republicans have forced the president into reducing the deficit through sequester which the president wanted and millions upon millions want coverage due to the affordable care act. i don't think you can say millions more people have gotten coverage when millions of people have been thrown off their coverage and only tens of thousands have signed up. >> no, 2 million have signed up. that's the latest -- >> 2 million, carol, have accessed the white house. that's incorrect. >> they've accessed. >> they signed up. many millions more have signed up for medicaid. that seems to be working. >> entitlement, program, carol, and it's not affordable.

it's an entitlement program as opposed to saying that the people are going to reduce the cost. >> these millions are voters so you have to take that into account. >> i have to end it there, guys. thank you so much. >> thank you. still to come in "the newsroom." highway horror. an elderly man trapped in a burning car. as the seconds tick away, heroic motorists come to the rescue. you'll want to see more of this story. this is the quicksilver cash back card from capital one. it's not the "juggle a bunch of rotating categories" card. it's not the "sign up for rewards each quarter" card. it's the no-games, no-messing-'round, no-earning-limit-having, do-i-look-like-i'm-joking, turbo-boosting, heavyweight-champion- of-the-world cash back card. this is the quicksilver cash back card from capital one. unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase, everywhere, every single day.

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in los angeles, flames shot from a crashed car and black smoke covered the highway. most horrific of all, the elderly driver was trapped inside and helpless. but in a twist not even hollywood would try to sell, heroes in uniform just happened to be passing by. cnn's miguel marquez has this remarkable story. >> hard to tell, but that is a black mercedes. it lost control on a major freeway in los angeles. harder to believe, the man who was driving survived. >> it was just a matter of seconds. another 10, 15 seconds, he just would have been too much fire. >> his car burst into flames after smashing into the center divider. >> i reached in there and i pulled him out. >> the 26-year-old veteran.

he happened to be on his way to work. his shift started early. driving into the flames. >> singed hair here and first degree on the side. >> thompson did have help. miracles sometimes need company. a los angeles firefighter happened to be driving by making the rescue seamless. >> to be able to help to do an immediate patient assessment and get other resources on scene quicker because he happens to be the commander of the dispatch center and called them directly to do so. >> reporter: a horrible accident and an impromptu act of heroism. >> it makes me feel good to know that i saved a life. >> reporter: understatement from a veteran cop, all in a day's work. >> amazing, right? the 72-year-old driver complained of neck and back pain but somehow he escaped any serious injury. [ male announcer ] this store knows how to handle a saturday crowd.

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the queen of southern cooking loses her throne amid a racial controversy. we can't leave out toronto's crack smoking mayor, rob ford. joe jones has a look back. >> number ten, beam me up, baby.

it's seldom you get the crack question of the year and the crack answer of the year in the same place. but it happened to the now notorious star of his own crack smoking video. >> am i an addict? no. >> reporter: toronto mayor rob ford when he got put on the spot in an open forum with the whole world watching. >> have you purchased illegal drugs in the last two years. >> yes, i have. >> reporter: ford was a trendsetter in 2013. leading the pack with mayors gone wild with honorable mention to number 9, san diego's mr. smooth himself, bob filner, who resigned as mayor facing a tidal wave of sexual harassment allegations. a former female employee who filed suit, irene mccormick jackson, alleging that filner asked her, wouldn't it be great if you took off your panties and worked without them on? he was sentenced to 90 days home confinement and three years probation for assaulting women.

number eight, quamy kill patrick, convicted of racket tearing so pervasive it pushed the motor city into the largest bankruptcy in american wasn't elected to serve. 28 years in federal prison. speaking of elections, number seven on our list isn't a mayor, but he could have been. new york's former congressman, anthony weiner, hit performer for the sexting controversy that made him leave capitol hill. encore running for the big apple's top job. when more explicit pictures surfaced that were sent to a 22-year-old woman under the alias carlos danger, weiner, who is married -- we're number one hand signal as a parting shot. while on the subject of popularity, number six on the

list is that agency everybody loves to hate. in keeping with the season what might be described as the notorious naughty list of recent history. somebody at the irs got bright idea of singling out tea partiers. it sparked outrage from coast to coast. investigation by the other federal agency fear and anxiety everywhere, the justice department. nongovernment players must be mentioned for outstanding performances in 2013. number five, the former man of steel, lance armstrong. a guy who was master of the cycling world and the big lie, winning the tour de france seven times, that he wasn't doping to enhance his athletic performance. after being banned from the sport, he gave a tell-all, sort of, interview with oprah. he confessed and what may be remembered as the biggest

understatement in the history of sport. >> i'm not the most believable guy right now. >> that phony sign language interpreter who crashed the nelson mandela memorial service. it would be funnier if it weren't so creepy. this guy got within arm's length of the president of the united states, making meaningless gestures. it later came to light he was once accused of rape and murder but was found not guilty. number three was paula deen. embroiled in a lawsuit where somebody was going to ask her under oath whether she ever used the "n" word when she knew she did? can you say settle the case already? number two on our list is the not so secretive anymore nsa, national security agency. who would have thought that one government outfit that was supposed to be stealth city could manage to embarrass or anger just about everybody in the u.s., by letting a rogue

former contractor named edward snowden download a busload of secrets, so-called secret intelligence, from its computer system, splash some of it to the media and then run off to russia, of all places, while the goodies continue to be spilled item by item for maximum effect. coming in on our list for the award of the year, congress, for the insplikable government shutdown crisis of 2013 that featured an absurdist dramatic reading of a dr. seuss classic in the midst of a 21-hour senate talk-a-thon. >> i do not like green eggs and ham. i do not like them sam i am. >> and not to be overlooked, the obama administration for the utterly disastrous bungled rollout of the health care website. law of the land upheld by the supreme court with the stated aim of getting rid of the

presidential signature achievement or the video replays of the leader of the free world promising that his signature achievement would allow anyone to keep the status quo only to find out, well, it just wasn't true. >> if you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan. >> reporter: joe johns, cnn, washington. >> oh, man. that was a good package. thank you, joe johns. still to come in the "newsroom" king james puts on a clinic, couple of monster dunks. awesome, joe carter. >> good stuff. if the nba put together a top ten list like we just did, this would probably fall somewhere arguably one, two or three. they're that good. we'll show you those dunks, plus the reaction of a young auburn fan who finds out he's going to the national championship. the reaction that have little kid is priceless. we'll have that kochling up. ♪

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lebron james, couple of monster jams against the kobe-less lakers. it was amazing. >> it was good. obviously the nba is front and center to the nation on christmas day. all those games. some of the best match-ups. obviously a lot of the stars were missing because a lot of those guys are injured, including kobe bryant. we didn't see him yesterday with the lakers. he is out with a fractured knee but lebron delivered in such a good way. kobe and lebron embracing a little bit. he will be back maybe in february. >> oh, please. >> watch this. so smooth. nice alley-oop pass from dwyane wade. reaction is great. dwyane wade off the glass. look at that. magic johnson said it was one of the greatest plays he has ever seen. miami heat goes on to win. they like to play on christmas

day. they've now won five years in a row on christmas day. not the match-up we were expecting but still a good game. this was the last year of the b bcs. which two teams play for the national championship? next year we'll move to a committee and will select four playoff. new cnn/orc poll showed that 61% of people said the bcs got it right this year, that the computer was correct picking florida state and auburn playing for the national championship. do you agree? >> the whole thing is so confusing, i don't know what to believe. i guess i agree. >> 16 years it's been around, most of the time they've gotten it right. maybe one year is debatable that they didn't. speaking of the championship game in january, this little fan's reaction is priceless when he opens up his christmas present and finds out that mom and dad got him tickets to the big game. >> oh, my god!

oh, my god! >> what is it? >> tickets. >> tickets to what? >> to the game. >> rj meyers. mom and dad got a great gift, obviously, getting ticks to see his favorite team, auburn, play florida state in pasadena. coming up in a couple of weeks, he wrote a christmas list out to santa said he wanted nikes, x-box. tickets to the national championship game. he said if he couldn't get any of that stuff, he still wanted auburn to win. >> i don't think i ever reacted that way to a gift. >> good for him. >> i would over some stuff. unfortunately i'm not getting that stuff. thanks, joe carter. next hour of cnn "newsroom" starts right now. good morning. i'm carol costello. thank you so much for joining me. a short time ago, target announced it has absolutely no evidence that pin data was

compromised during a massive hacking of credit and dfltebit d information. 30 million customers had their data stolen between november 27th and december 15th. the minneapolis based chain says it's been working around the clock to address customer concerns. alison kosik has more for you from new york. if this is true, it could be good news for customers. >> it could be good news or if reuters is correct, it could be bad news. despite what the pr team is saying, reuters is saying that hackers were successful at collecting pin data. because the data breach is under investigation, they spoke anonymously. the concern according to reuters, sophisticated criminals stole the information from 30 million credit and debit cards might be able to crack into this

encrypted data and that might be one reason why we reported last week that jp morgan chase limited how much cash customers could take from atms and how much customers could spend at stores. jp has since eased up on those limits. target is disputing this reuters report, putting out a statement that says in part, there's no evidence that pin data has been compromised. based on communications with financial institutions, they have also seen no indications that any pin data was compromised. and they are working to continue this investigation. we have to still wait for all of this to flush out. we're getting two different stories, one from target saying the pin data was not compromised and reuters saying its source says pin data was compromised. carol? >> let's talk about wall street for a minute. finishing up the final days of 2013 on an absolute tear.

the dow and s&p 500 both opening at record highs. zain asher is tracking it for us. good morning, zain. >> really strong day for stocks. s&p 500 has risen 79% of the time. if we continue on this pace we are on track for the 50th record close so far this year. what you have right now is a situation whereby you have the perfect ingredients for a real sustained rally. all the uncertainty regarding the fed and that's out of the way. budget negotiations in the rear view. gdp coming in at 4.1%. earlier this week, we did get a reading on consumer sentiment, crucial this time of year. we've had the best readings since july. the better people feel about the economy, the more likely they are to go out and spend. that's a crucial part of gdp. you would expect to see some degree of profit taking, especially after five or six

days of rallies. we are on track for the 50th record high so far this year. carol? >> zain asher, many thanks to you. retailers are using deep discounts to lure you in. after christmas, they want you to shop, shop, shop, shop, offering deals like $200 off a mac book, bloomingdale's offering as much as 75% off if you shop before 1:00 pm and sears is selling appliances for more than 40% off if you use your sears card. margaret conley is following this at herald square. good morning, margaret. >> doors opened at 6:00 am at macy's. also a lot of people making returns. check the fine print. most stores have a 30-day time limit. be sure to double-check. it's not all items. macy's, bloomingdale's, bath and

bodyworks, costco and anthropology have unlimited returns. tracking consumers like you would track stocks. other consumers who will buy the same sweater in three different sizes and then return two sizes. what they're trying to do is advise some of these stores to maybe have a deal for those consumers that are their more high-value customers and maybe for the ones that are buying all those sweaters, offer them coupons for jewelry so they have a better chance of making a sale. >> margaret conley, reporting live this morning. thousands of people are waking up to another day without power. there is some good news for those in michigan, the power slowly being turned back on. power crews are braving ice and freezing temperatures to bring back the lights and the heat. one man says instead of calling to yell at the power company, though, you should do something

nice for those hard-working crews. >> the more you get upset about it, try to argue with somebody at customer service to get the power back on, it's not going to help. wait. let it happen. treat them nice. bring them some coffee. see what you can do for them. it's cold out here. they're stuck out here. be nice to them. >> and it's christmas. chad myers is live in new york. cold and frozen conditions. tell us more, chad. >> it had to happen first, before we could get these power lines up. crews in the buckets, for the wind to die off. you can't put a guy up there with 30 miles per hour with the bucket going down and the power lines still coming down. vermont, maine, through toronto and all of ontario back to detroit, that's where the main ice event occurred. we're finally getting down to tens of thousands rather than about half a million people without power. some good news there. i know if you're one of the tens of thousands, that's still not good news because it is cold and snowing. silver city in michigan, u.p. of michigan, almost a foot and a half of snow.

it's dry today, though. this is a water vapor loop showing us where there's water or humidity in the air. almost to atlanta to you, carol. it's a static cling alert kind of day. you have to wear the natural fibers. if you wear polyester today, it will stick right to you. >> you are the full service weather guy, chad. >> i do everything i can to make your life better, carol. that's my job. little bit of snow in new york today to make it pretty. otherwise, airports all acting fairly well this morning. >> i love that forecast. thank you so much, chad. >> you're welcome, carol. a christmas cruise is taking a turn for the worst. polar expedition ship is is trapped in ice in antarctica. three ice-breaking ships are heading their way, but they're at least a day away. luckily, passengers have plenty of food on board while they wait to be rescued. also this morning, a heart-breaking plea from an american taken hostage in pakistan more than two years

ago. in a video released by al qaeda on christmas day, former u.s. government contractor warren winestein calls on president obama to negotiate his release. >> now when i need my government, it seems that i have been totally abandoned and forgotten. >> that's painful to hear. cnn's barbara starr is at the pentagon with more. good morning, barbara. >> 72-year-old warren weinstein was kidnapped from his home in lahore, pakistan, in 2011, when gunmen broke in and overtook his security guards. at the time he was said to be working as a government contractor for a private company in pakistan. after that, the leader of al qaeda, ayman al zawahari claim to hold him.

a lot of information in this video about how weinstein is doing and it's not very good. carol, have a listen to what he has to say. >> now over 72 years of age, i'm not in good health. i have a heart condition. i suffer from acute asthma. and the years have taken their toll. i've been cut off from my family. my wife, who is over 70, my two daughters, my two grandchildren, my son-in-law and perhaps new members of the family whom i have never met. needless to say, i have been suffering deep anxiety every part of every day, not knowing what is happening to my family, not knowing how they are. and because i am not with them. >> he says, again, he feels abandoned and forgotten by his government. he makes a plea for president obama, secretary of state john

kerry, the american public to do anything they can to get him out. al qaeda has set the conditions. they want al qaeda prisoners back in return for this man. the u.s., of course, does not negotiate and, of course, it must be said that this video was made under conditions of duress. carol? >> barbara starr reporting from the pentagon this morning. duck dynasty and white privilege. jesse jackson taking aim at the show's star and his controversial comments. i need you. i feel so alone. but you're not alone. i knew you'd come. like i could stay away. you know i can't do this without you. you'll never have to. you're always there for me. shh! i'll get you a rental car. i could also use an umbrella. fall in love with progressive's claims service.

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checking our top stories at 13 minutes past the hour, raising concerns over dry conditions and brush fires like the one year look at. quickly raced across ten acres in simi valley and scrambled crews from two different departments. later today, record-high temperatures begin to cool. the reverend jesse jackson weighing in on the duck dynasty flack with very harsh words, saying phil robertson's comments smack of, quote, white privilege. a firestorm was ignited on both

sides of the issue. organizers calling for his return, reportedly close to its goal of 250,000 signatures. republicans and democrats are getting ready to square off next year's mid term elections, voters are really not all that jazzed. a new cnn/orc poll shows 43% of registered voters are not enthusiastic about voting in the election, compared to 30% who say they are a little bit jazzed, but that lack of enthusiasm may have to do with the fact that most of you think this is the worst konlg you've ever seen in your lifetime. dana bash has that part of the story. >> reporter: freshmen angus king and joe donnelly just wrapped up their first year in the senate. their take on the institution is telling. >> it's still pretty bad we haven't gotten more done. >> the more cooperation we can get the better off we'll be. >> reporter: 67%, two-thirds of

the country, call this the worst congress of their lifetime and nearly three-quarters of those people, 74%, have lived a long life. they're 50 and older. 73% say congress has done nothing to address the country's problems. the public approval of congress is still pretty low. does that surprise you? >> no, because what they see every day on television is de deadlock, fights and screaming. what you don't see every day is large groups of both democrats and republicans coming together, saying how can we work through this process. >> reporter: one thing that is bipartisan, the blame. the public doesn't trust either party. 52% of policies of democratic leaders will move the country in the wrong direction. republican leaders fare only slightly worse at 54%. moderate republican susan collins spent the year trying to

move americans in the right direction. >> build bridges and bring people together and solve problems. >> reporter: congress did leave for the year on a higher note than when it started, passing a bipartisan budget through the house and the senate. people coming up to them all over their states thanking them for being reasonable. one told me at first he thought it was a nice compliment, but then he realized that's a pretty low bar. dana bash, cnn, washington. >> yeah, it is. much-needed pay raise next week. how much? jennifer woest hoevesthoven joih details. >> they're looking at, at least acres little bit of a bump. sometimes when this is your salary for the year, that little bump makes a big difference. check out our map. you can see where we're seeing the minimum wage go up a bit. in some states it's only ten cents an hour.

in new jersey it's a dollar an hour. washington state has the highest minimum wage out there. it's $9.32, i think. but all of that is short of what we see all these protests, people at fast food restaurants saying they want a raise. they want $15 an hour there. they consider that a living wage. even what's going on in washington, d.c. among democrats is only $10.10. so far short of that. >> voters are taking matters into their own hands and voting themselves a wage in the minimum wage, right? >> yeah. >> however much that might be. >> we were just look at states, around seattle, tacoma airport, they are voting for $15 an hour in the locality there. but one of the things that's really important -- a lot of people think this ruins jobs. they think this is the conventional wisdom. i've really nns noticed a survey among economists. they're sple split. they're almost dead split and those that don't have an opinion

say there's not enough data about this. i would say there's really no evidence for the idea that it creates major job losses. >> the poll that you cited in the break is the most interesting. even among republican voters they are pretty much evenly split in wanting the minimum wage to come up a bit? >> among democrats that's easy, 78%. this poll was just done a couple of weeks ago. republicans, 45% against. statistically, that's a dead heat. that tells you that this is not just -- it's a partisan issue in washington, not necessarily in the rest of the country. >> many economists say the biggest problem is the wage gap and it's getting wider and somehow you have to fix that. people are divided about how. but, like we said, maybe voters are taking matters into their own hands and saying this is one way to do that. >> and that's how. >> jennifer westhoven, thanks so much. still to come in the newsroom, could these three men

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tensions rise in south sudan. u.s. marines still on standby to evacuate any americans that have not been air lifted out of that country. seen here in the black stetson, meeting with two leaders, kenya and ethiopia, together discussing possible plans for peace. frederick pleitgen has been following this in south sudan. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, carol. calling for an mete immediate cease fire and talks of the president from that country with the main rebel leader. that's not in the cards and no conclusion has been reached on that just yet. the fighting does continue there and does seem to be expanding in

many cases, in the morn part of the country, where a lot of the fighting is. a place called the unity state, which has a lot of the oil fields there. then there's the town where many, many people say that there's been widespread destruction and looting in bor. many people had to flee their homes. the number of killed in that conflict, numbers in the thousands. and tens of thousands of people, apparently approaching 100,000 people, who have been displaced or are seeking refuge in many of the u.n. bases. u.n. peacekeepers are not properly equipped to defend those bases against militias, but the united nations has decided to send in more peacekeepers. very volatile situation. the u.s. keeping a very close eye on this with those marines poised to go in there and defend the u.s. embassy, should the situation there get out of control. carol? >> frederik pleitgen reporting

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i'm carol costello. thank you so much for being with me. checking the top stories at 26 minutes past the hour, an american is calling for president obama to secure his release more than two years after he was abducted in pakistan. al qaeda released warren weinstein's video plea on christmas day. a brutal winter storm knocked down trees and power lines all the way from mchesz to maine. thankfully, the storm system has moved on. power crews are still fighting through ice and bitter cold to get the power turned back on. the main accused of shooting and killing a tsa agent at lax last month will be arraigned today in court. facing felony charges, including first-degree murder. 11 people were kiin that shooti rampage. 40 million customers were

affected when card numbers were stolen from late november to early december. target says it continues to work around the clock to help those affected. people are not happy with u.p.s. this morning, not happy at all. in fact, some of them are enraged. u.p.s. and fedex were not able to deliver all packages before christmas, that delivery date not kept. as abby tweeted so, sad. sorry, mom. amazon said it would be here by christmas eve. #upsfail. christmas until thursday. i miss santa. one u.p.s. driver told "usa today" this has been the worst christmas ever. with me now, chief industry analyst for ndp group. welcome. >> pleasure to be here. >> happy you're here. you don't usually hear this about u.p.s. and fedex. they're normally dependable. what happened? >> basically what happened was they underestimated the power of the consumer and they didn't

really read the tea leaves for this holiday very well. for example, when retailers offered up free shipping with just a few days left to go, free shipping monday and offered up these extra deals and think about what amazon does with amazon prime, guaranteed two-day delivery. all these things were leading towards a big surge at the back end of the holiday. u.p.s. didn't read that right because they tend to look at what happened the years prior. and you can no longer look at holiday from year to year. you have to read each one individually. >> well, you know, i think u.p.s. and fedex could have maybe -- i don't know, assuaged people's pain if they had come out online and said we know we promised to deliver your gifts on time, but we can't do it. >> when you look at what happened, you know, the first thing that came out is they were both blaming the weather. last year we had a snow storm in the midwest. the year before that, the northeast, the year before that,

the midwest again. weather is always going to be a factor everywhere. that's not really a good enough excuse. this is about underestimating the power of online now. and stores, as well as online retailers were driving so much traffic and so much opportunity to buy gifts and use it as a vehicle to ship it, the consumer became very comfortable and confident in u.p.s. and fedex to be able to deliver and they just fell short of expectation. >> i will say that not all customers are upset at u.p.s. many say procrastinating customers are at fault. they're upset that people are maligning santa's helpers in brown. is that fair? >> i'm actually glad you brought that up. that is fair. there are a couple of other different things at play. today if you were to fly and have to check baggage -- let's say you wanted to bring your gifts to your family and you were traveling across the country, you would have to check your bags and pay additional fees for that. consumers were also shipping

more goods ahead of time, shipping the presents. another key factor here is to recognize that because the retailers have put so many discounts at the back end of holiday, closer to christmas, it's caused lots of procrastination, even more this year than years prior. >> just on a last note, u.p.s. and fedex, you would think they would try to fix their brand. they've had a great reputation up until this year when many package packages weren't delivered on time. we did get a statement from fedex. i'll read it to you, marshall. 300,000 team members were focused on safely delivering our customers' packages this season and we're proud of their efforts. fedex was projected to handle 275 million shipments in this shortened holiday season between thanksgiving and christmas and we operated with very high service levels, over 99% at fedex ground, for example, during our busiest time of the year. i don't notice the words "i'm sorry" anywhere in that

statement. fedex, it seems, said we did the best job we could and it was a good job. >> well, it is a very good job. however, you have to then explain it to that one child who didn't get that gift or that one mom who didn't get the gift or the one customer who sat there and said i relied on you to do that. look what target did when they had the issue with the security breach. they got out in front of it right away. they apologized and offered different solutions. they found ways to resolve the problem. this is not that. this is about saying, look, we did a great job. we delivered all these packages. that doesn't work. look for, in the next day or two, for some pr to be done, and find out if you're going to get a better apology and even some game plans. right now it's left to the retailer to try to deal with the customer service issue of trying to find the package and locate it and get it to the customer on time. and reimburse the consumer for the ability to not get that package. but that's going to end up ultimately having to get put

back on the delivery companies. >> marshall cohen, thank you so much for your insight this morning. appreciate it. >> pleasure. it is a cautionary tale, another one, for online shoppers. a couple fined $3,500 for posting a negative review of cleargear.com is fighting back. the company says the couple did not read the fine print. now the couple says they're being extorted. more now from cnn's pamela brown. >> carol, this is a story we brought you about a month ago when it garnered a huge response from viewers who say it's unfair and should be illegal to be fined for posting a negative review. now the couple at the center of this story is fighting back. a utah couple fined $3,500 for writing a negative review of kleargear.com is now suing the merchant for retaliating against them, according to a lawsuit filed wednesday on behalf of the couple. john and jen palmer bought a few

christmas gifts from the website in 2008. but they say the items never arrived and their calls went unanswered. finally, the transaction was canceled. jen palmer vented her frustrations online, posting a review of the company on ripoffreport.com saying, in part, there is absolutely no way to get in touch with a physical human being, no extensions work. then 3 1/2 years later, they received this e-mail, appearing to be from klear gear, citing they would be fined $3,5 h00 if the negative review wasn't taken down in 72 hours. >> it's ridiculous that anybody would turn around and try to extort us like this for doing something as simple as posting a review. >> klear gear says they signed away their freedom, forbidding them from taking any action that negatively impacts klear gear.com. they tried to take the review

down, but couldn't. they then reported the $3,500 bill unpaid to a collections company. >> it was bad enough that when we went to get a second car it took a month to find a bank that was willing to finance us because of the huge ding this puts on our credit. >> reporter: they tried to reach out to settle this amicably, but never heard back from the company. >> jen palmer's original review online noted, part of the problem with klear gear's customer service is that they're difficult to contact. >> reporter: thus, according to the palmers, leaving them no choice but to sue, asking the court to declare that they never owed the $3,500 and seeking compensation to be determined by a jury. >> businesses don't get to extort money based on terms that the customers didn't read in the fine print. >> klear gear did respond via e-mail in november to our

affiliate kutv saying its request for the palmers to take down their comment was not blackmail but, quote, a diligent effort to help them avoid the fine. carol? >> pamela brown reporting this morning. >> still to come in the "newsroom," lump of coal from your cable company. listen up, dish and directv customers, you'll be paying more in 2014. ouch! heart healthy, huh?!

ugh! actually progresso's soup has pretty bold flavor. i love bold flavors! i'd love it if you'd open the chute! [ male announcer ] progresso. surprisingly bold flavor for a heart healthy soup.

in los angeles, black smoke covered the highway. most horrific of all, the elderly driver was trapped inside that car and helpless. in a twist, not even hollywood would try to sell, heroes in uniform just happened to be passing by. cnn's miguel marquez has this remarkable story. >> reporter: hard to tell, but that is a black mercedes, losing control on a major freeway in los angeles. harder to believe, the man who was driving survived. >> it was a matter of seconds. another ten, 15 seconds, there would have been too much fire. >> reporter: seconds to rescue the 72-year-old man whose car burst into flames after smashing into the center divider. >> i reached in there, fumbled a bit more and thank goodness i

found that button, popped the belt and grabbed him and pulled him out. >> reporter: adding to the miracle? don thompson, 26-year veteran of the lapd bomb squad happened to be on his way to work. his shift started early. diving into the flames, pulling the driver to safety. >> singed hair here, first degree on the side. >> reporter: he did have help. miracles sometimes need company. los angeles firefighter happened to be driving by, making the rescue seamless. >> to be able to help do immediate patient assessment and get other resources on scene a lot quicker, because he happened to be the commander of the dispatch center and called them directly to do so. >> reporter: horrible accident and impromptu act of heroism. >> it makes me feel good to know that i saved a life. >> reporter: under statement from a veteran cop all in a day's work. >> awesome. the 72-year-old driver complained of neck and back pain

but somehow he escaped any serious injury. i'll be right back. they're not really looking. not at the rings. i can feel them looking at my thick, flaky red skin. do i tell them it's psoriasis?

do i speak up and say it's not contagious? or do i just say... have a nice day!" when your psoriasis has gone from uncomfortable to unacceptable, visit psoriasis.com to connect with a psoriasis patient advocate from abbvie for free one-to one education and support. sign up at psoriasis.com, and talk to your dermatologist. i have a cold with this annoying runny nose. [ sniffles ] i better take something. [ male announcer ] dayquil cold and flu doesn't treat all that. it doesn't? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms plus has a fast-acting antihistamine. oh, what a relief it is! plus has a fast-acting antihistamine. "stubborn love" by the lumineers did you i did. email? so what did you think of the house? did you see the school ratings? oh, you're right. hey babe, i got to go. bye daddy! have a good day at school, ok?

...but what about when my parents visit? ok. i just love this one... and it's next to a park. i love it. i love it too. here's our new house... daddy! you're not just looking for a house. you're looking for a place for your life to happen. the state department says it's working hard to authenticate this videotape plea from american warren weinstein, abducted in pakistan and calls on the president to negotiate his release.

al qaeda released warren weinstein's plea yesterday on christmas day. waters off antarctica, their crew ship got stuck in heavy sea ice yesterday. help may be at least a day away. >> three vessels, carol, on their way to rescue a ship, stranded in ice in the antarctic. the russian flag vessel is carrying 74 people on board. we're hearing they're safe. we know also this is a ship designed for polar exploration. the australian coast guard, coordinating this mission, says that the ship is 100 nautical miles east of the french base in the antarctic. they said on wednesday that it could take some two days to reach the vessel. >> luckily, the passengers on board that ship have plenty of food as they wait to be rescued. north korean leader kim jung-untelling his soldiers to prepare for a war that could start without notice. information coming from north

korea state news agency says kim visited a military command center christmas eve and told soldiers to be ready for combat at any time. also a japanese paper claims kim was very drunk when he ordered his uncle's execution. "the new york times" reported the two had a heated disagreement over exports. satellite tv subscribers are getting a lump of coal this christmas, big jump in their cable bills. oh, yea, alison kosik. >> it's funny. it's always around christmas, this tr trend that's been happening in recent years. almost every available package from the two satellite tv providers will increase in price anywhere from $2 to $5. directv is going up 4.4% average price hike. that's what's happening for directv. higher than last year's 2.3% hike. dish tv on the other hand, for its part, once again raised prices. it says it would hike fees by

5.5% next year. that follows a steep 16% hike at the beginning of this year. but there is one thing that dish tv is doing differently. it's not hiking fees in 2014 on its bare bones $20 welcome plan and $60 america's choice plan. those will cost the same as this year's. >> do you know what people should do? they should watch everything online. you can watch cnn online. you could get netflix. >> that's what's happening. >> why do they keep raising these rates so much? because people aren't watching as much. >> also, the cost of the content are going up. so those costs are being passed down to members. and the price hikes also come at a time when directv, as you intimated, exploring ideas to making an online tv service to compete with the likes of hulu and netflix. yes, the online eyeballs are certainly the trend that these

companies are going after. >> all you need to do is buy, what, nfl football package? that's what i would get. all those channels offered on satellite tv, cable tv -- history channel doesn't do history anymore. it does like pawn shop stars or something. >> like the pawn shop stars? >> no, i don't. i want history. i'm a nerd! all right i vented. thank you, alison, for listening. i appreciate it. >> any time. >> i know. thank you. several years after the american auto industry was on the skids, the next several days could help set a record for new car sales. according to a new forecast by jd power, american consumers will likely shell out some $34 billion in december for new wheels, 4% increase over a year ago. still to come in the "newsroom". ♪ from beyonce to the biebs and the dark, dark heart of walter

white, we'll take a look back at the top entertainment stories of the year. just by talking to a helmet. it grabbed the patient's record before we even picked him up. it found out the doctor we needed was at st. anne's. wiggle your toes. [ driver ] and it got his okay on treatment from miles away. it even pulled strings with the stoplights. my ambulance talks with smoke alarms and pilots and stadiums. but, of course, it's a good listener too. [ female announcer ] today cisco is connecting the internet of everything. so everything works like never before.

monster dunks.

it was amazing, joe carter. >> it was. good day to do it. front and center on nba nation christmas day. best match-ups. a lot of the stars were missing, because a lot of those guys were injured, kobe bryant. we didn't see him yesterday because obviously he is out with a fractured knee. lebron delivered in such a good way. kobe and lebron, embracing there a little bit. >> oh, please. >> giving him well wishes he will be back in february. nice alley-oop from dwyane wade. finishes nice. beast mode. this is the best one i've seen yet this year. dwyane wade passes it off the glass. look at that. magic johnson, lakers legend magic johnson said it was the greatest plays he had ever seen. miami likes to play on christmas day. they've now won five years in a row on christmas day. not the match-up we were expecting, but still a good game. college football, last year of the bcs, last time we'll see a computer pick which two teams

play for the national championship. obviously, next year, we'll move to a committee and they will select a four-team playoff. it's made up of a lot of people. we had a poll that just came in, cnn/orc poll and 61% of the people said the bcs got it right this year, the computer was correct picking florida state and auburn playing for the national championship. do you agree? >> the whole thing is so confusing, i don't know what to believe. i guess i agree. >> 16 years it's been around, most of the time they got it right. one year is debatable that they didn't. speaking of the game coming up in january, this little fan's reaction is priceless when he opens up his gift and finds out that mom and dad got him tickets to the big game. check it out. >> my god! oh, my god! yeah! >> what is it? >> tickets. >> tickets to what? ticks to -- >> to the auburn game! >> that's 11-year-old r.j. meyers. mom and dad got him a great

gift, obviously, getting tickets to see his favorite team, auburn, play in the national championship game in pasadena, coming up in a couple of weeks. rj wrote out a christmas list to santa, that he wanted nikes, x-box. if he couldn't get any of that stuff, he still wanted auburn to win the national championship. that's how bigative fan he is, that little guy. >> good for him. i don't think i reacted to one gift ever like that. >> don't you wish you would get excited like that over a gift? >> i would over some gifts, but unfortunately i'm not getting those gifts. thank you so much, joe krter. sending drones and as ymiss. al qaeda-backed violence seeing a big surge in deadly attacks against civilians and security forces. the new england journal of medicine is raising questions about the value of a common knee surgery. according to the "new york

times," the study found that repairs to a torn meniscus in older people may not have very much benefit. by the way, that arthroscopic surgery is the most common orthopedic procedure in the united states. miley cyrus throws another shovelful of dirt on her wholesome alter ego, hannah montana. take a look at her video, the parts we can show on television. has the cyber verse all a twitter, because miley is lying on bed, touching various parts of her body. she was not alone in making headlines. oh, no. nischelle turner counts down the top 10 entertainment stories of 2013. >> justin bieber, hitting the scene in 2009 but 2013 found the

teen heartthrob making news for the wrong reasons. the daily beast declares it bieber's year of affluenza. >> what did you say? >> to pet monkey drama to neighborhood disturbances, he struggled to stay out of trouble this year. k kimye is born. their reign as the royal tabloid couple in 2013. sure, west had a number one album and hit tour but nothing made as much news as his love life. the pair welcomed the birth of their daughter, north west in june. post baby body. west then rented out at&t park in san francisco to surprise kardashian with a marriage proposal. >> we have been following this breaking news. actor paul walker has died. >> fast and furious death. fans heart broke after paul walker's unexpected passing over

thanksgiving weekend. the 30-year-old actor was killed in a car crash outside of los angeles. fans and famous friends came out to show support for the box office powerhouse who found success in films such as "eight below" and "flags of our fathers." beyonce's return to the stage. caused waves lip syncing the national anthem at the inauguration. her hit mrs. carter show after surprising everyone with the hit release of her studio album, quickly became the fastest selling hit of her career. queen b is ending the year at the top of her game. >> basic cable ruled tv, walking dead rose to record ratings, proving we're still inflicted with zombie fever. critically acclaimed breaking

bad concluded its five season run and nearly blew up social media in the process. and duck dynasty proving reality tv is still guiding the conversation. anti-gay comments stirred controversy. basic cable shows still kept people buzzing. from oscar gold to box office magic, jennifer lawrence received the best oscar. lawrence found herself at the top of the box office with the release of the hunger games sequel "catching fire." hollywood's latest "it" girl ranked only angelina jolie of forbes list of highest paid actresses. now lawrence is already receiving award buzz for her scene-stealing performance in "american hustle." angelina's brave choice. she shocked everyone with her "new york times" op-ed, revealing she underwent a double

mastectomy. oscar winner and mother of six underwent the procedure after learning she carries a gene mutation that increases her risk for developing cancer. the announcement inspired other women to consider the procedure as an option. paula deen's downfall. celebrity chef on top of the word. that all came crashing down after the release of a deposition in a lawsuit by a former employee. in the deposition, deen admitted using the n word in the past. fans turned their backs on the southern star, as did many of her endorsement deals. deen went on to apologize, but it's yet to be seen if she can reclaim her throne. actor james gandolfini has died. >> unexpected passing sent shockwaves through hollywood. sopranos actor died at a heart attack at the age of 51 while on vacation in italy. romantic comedy "enough said" opened after his death to

critically acclaim and earned gandolfini his final sag award nomination. controversial performance at the mtv vmas, hannah montana star proved her teen persona was nothing but a distant memory. news of her break-up with long-time fiance. "wrecking ball" hit album bangerz and the celebration of her 21st birthday. it's miley's world and we're just living in it. ♪ all you ever did was >> but we have clothes on. thank you so much for joining me today. i hope you had a great holiday, great christmas and great new year. i'm carol costello. "legal view" is coming your way, next.

totally abandoned and forgotten, an american held hostage since 2011 pleads to president obama to gain his freedom. warren weinstein appears in a video released by al qaeda. and if you didn't get your christmas presents, don't blame santa. santa's helpers, u.p.s. and fedex, say the ownness is on them, and they're rushing to get packages delivered today. a mystery deep below the streets of seattle and it stopped the world's largest tunnelling machine in its tracks. hello, everyone. i'm pamela brown in today for ashleigh banfield. it is thursday, december 26th. welcome to "legal view." up first today, an american held hostage by al qaeda for more than two years says he feels abandoned and forgotten. warren weinstein was kidnapped in pakistan in august 2011. in this new video you