>> i love that. >> you were saying, yours were baptized -- >> my children were baptized not quite like that, but believe me, if you understand my sister and she's really big on opulence, she was trying to help me acquire something like that. so it went for a great second, offwhite. >> it's a boy. >> i know. >> thanks for watching "around the world" today. "cnn newsroom," brianna keilar next. see you tomorrow. >> more damage control for tack in the hacking controversy. pin numbers problems, denials from the retailer. right now the u.p.s. trucks are rolling as they try to make up for missing so many christmas deliveries. other companies pitching in to lessen the blow to customers. retailers in colorado getting licenses in the mail and those businesses could start selling pot as early as next

week. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com i'm brianna keilar in washington. wolf blitzer is off today. start with the next chapter in the target hacking drama. a report that pin numbers are at risk, possibly letting thieves directly into your bank can account. zain asher joining me on this story. this is scary, if you think you might be vulnerable here. we knew that 40 million customers could be vulnerable but this takes it to a new level of true, right. >> reporter: absolutely. according to a reuters report. about does, if it's true, it does open a whole, new can of worms. a thief gets access to your atm pin number, it means they can go directly into your account and steal money. it goes beyond using your credit or debit card details to go shopping. a debit card pin is more

valuable to a hacker for several reasons. first of all, less of a chance that the transaction's going to be denied. if you go to bank or atm, you type in a pin, the banking institution assumes you must be who you say you are, and that's valuable to hackers. but also, just beyond withdrawing money from atm, they can see how much money you have in your account, they can check your balance, which allows them to determine how much they can steal from you and potentially get away with. i want to say, we did get a statement from target, denying pins may have been compromised. here's what they're having to say. to date, i'm reading the statement, no evidence that encrypted pin data has been compromised. that statement is cleverly worded. they're saying there's no evidence. they're not guaranteeing it didn't happen. they're sort of hedging themselves now, so foenpotentia leaving door open it may have happened, we're not sure yet. >> these are debit cards which obviously are of most concern,

if you've known anyone where someone's gotten into their checking account, it is quite an ordeal to try to restore those funds. credit cards, not as much. but you have quite a process to go through there. are we talking about credit cards or is this just debit cards? >> with pins, you mainly have to worry about debit cards and that's problematic. debit card froud aud is more difficult to resolve than credit card fraud. they're taking money directly out of your account, you have to wait for the financial institution to give it back to you. you have to report within a certain amount of days, 60 days and takes two weeks to get money back. with credit cards you can dispute the charges, i didn't make this charge, and then you won't be billed for it. with debit cards, it more complicated. >> zain, that is why it's so scary. we'll continue to monitor this to see if that pin information was compromised. you know, today is make good day

for u.p.s. the shipping giant offered a christmas apology when it realized packages were not going to get there on time. blaming bad weather and too many packages. nick valencia following the story from atlanta. when are we going to get packages delivered? probably, i would imagine, houses where packages are supposed to go and relatives may have taken off and they'll arrive and no one will be there to get them. >> reporter: lots of enraged people there. i got off the phone with u.s. and they don't have official numbers but it's estimated thousands still waiting for christmas gifts that never made it under the trees. u.p.s. and fedex responding to scores of angry customers apologizing but they say it's not entirely their fault. well, we had a piece there, but getting back to my statement with u.s., saying that they have

put a lot of resources into trying to work with the holiday demand, but it wasn't enough. their staff didn't meet up with the demand, called it a perfect storm. past ice storms in dallas, as well as increase in online sales, that was really the big one, lots of people doing shopping online, and remember, as well, a shortened holiday season, there was fewer days in between thanksgiving and christmas this time around. i did get a statement from u.p.s., i spent a few minutes on the phone, i do understand why people are upset. u.p.s. apologized to customers who's packages were delayed. we had additional operations in louisville on christmas to packages would be delivered today. i can't say all packages will be delivered today. she says, majority of the packages will make it into the homes, those folks that feel that they had their christmas ruined by u.p.s. and fedex.

i asked her to respond, she says we understand why people are angry, but we did try, it's not for a lack of effort. >> it makes you remember, too, though, nick, that christmas isn't supposed to be just about the presents, it's supposed to be about a time of togetherness, as well as if you're religious, about something beyond that as well, but you know, i wonder if a lot of people did have their christmas ruined by this. how many packages that we may be talking about here? >> reporter: an average, for u.p.s., 16 million a day, and at their peak, it goes up by 8%. and you know you can look back at this and look on this from the outsider's perspective and say, people are being sour about this, no lives were lost, no one -- this isn't a life or death type situation. but this is also not just the super official christmas gifts. these were people some of which waiting on medication, insulin, diabetes medication, asthma inhalers. there were critical packages that missed the deadline on this

one, and this is a big story today on cnn.com. a big story for viewers out there, folks sounding off on social media, #upsfail, if it's not trending on twitter it's getting there now. lots of people weighing in. >> those are the packages that really matter. president obama, he opened christmas presents, sang a few christmas carols and personally visited u.s. troops, and thanked them for making, quote, incredible sacrifice for their country. the president and first lady went to a marine ghas ohbase in hawaii. on christmas eve, president obama called and thanked service members from each branch of the military, including navy s.e.a.l.s wounded in last weekend's south sudan mission. well, congress doesn't get back to work until the new year, the lawmakers will have plenty on their plate when they do.

a lost americans see the idea of congress working as a bit of an oxymoron. >> reporter: freshman king and donnelly wrapped up their first year in the senate. their take on the institution is telling there 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% call this the worst congress of their lifetime. and nearly 3/4 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 deadlock and 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. public doesn't trust either party. 52% say policies of democratic congressional leaders will move the country in the wrong direction. republican leader fare slightly worse, 54%, saying the gop will move the country in the wrong 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 are some of us trying to 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 senate. several senators told me they had people coming up to them thanking them for being reasonable. one thought it was a nice compliment but realized, that's a low bar. dana bash, cnn, washington. coming up at bottom of the hour, i'll be talking with the "time" magazine political reporter zeke miller about

congress. maybe not your favorite subject, but we'll cover it whether members can dig themselves out of the hole they're in. also ahead, drama on a los angeles freeway. a car bursts into flames, the driver, seconds away from losing his life.

more snow and hundreds of thousands of people still without power in canada. look at this snowy video from toronto, where crews are working around the clock, trying to repair utility lines. some people may not get power back for a whole week. let's bring in jennifer grey from the cnn weather center in atlanta. so, jennifer, what areas are expecting more snow today? >> well, luckily, toronto's only expected to see a couple of flurries, most snow lake-effect snow. they had this ice storm during the weekend. temperatures haven't gotten above freezing. ice is still there. all of those power lines, tree limbs, so stressed, that we're still seeing some of those break. but the good news is, temperatures should get above freezing saturday and sunday, and if we get sunshine, that will melt some of the ice as well. so, good news for the weekend, temperatures will finally get

above freezing. temperatures are very cold, though, across the north. we have power out annuals in northern maine, like new hampshire, vermont, seeing some of that temperatures in teens and 20s. temperatures start to warm a bit over the weekend, before the next cold blast early next week. but like i mentioned, most of the snow today will be lake-effect snow. we'll see snow in buffalo, upstate new york, vermont, new hampshire, and we'll some snow accumulations, 1 to 3 in maine. toronto shouldn't see much accumulation as we go through the next couple of hours. >> this is the day where you put all of your loot in the car and drive home or put in a suitcase. so many traveling today. >> most of the country experiencing very nice weather. we are going to warm up quite a bit in the midwest. could see isolated showers in south florida. but most of the country calm, really the only thing we're seeing, a couple of lake effect

showers around the great lakes. so, kansas city, up to 44 today. denver, 52, which is almost balmy compared to what your temperature has been over the past week. mid-atlantic, d.c. at 43, new york city, even above freezing today at 36. >> yeah, i can dine outside in 52. that's a beautiful day in denver. while many of you were tearing open your gifts on christmas day, a dramatic rescue was taking place on the l.a. freeway. a california man got into an awful car crash, as you can see, and it could have been fatal but good samaritans, including a police officer, were in the right place at the right time. miguel marquez has this amazing story. >> reporter: hard to tell, but that's a black mercedes. it lost control on a major freeway in los angeles. harder to believe, the man driving survived. >> it was a matter of seconds. another, 10, 15 seconds too much

fire. >> reporter: seconds to rescue the 72-year-old man whose car burst into flames after smashing into the center divider. >> reached in, fumbled, found the button, popped the belt, grabbed him, and pulled him out. >> reporter: adding to the miracle, don thompson, a 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 and first-degree on the side. >> reporter: 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 immediate patient assessment, get other resources on scene quicker because he happened to be the commander of the dispatch center and called them directly to do so. >> reporter: a horrible accident, impromptu act of heroism. >> makes me feel good to know i saved a life. >> reporter: understatement from

a veteran cop, all in a day's work. >> miguel marquez, thank you. ahead on newsroom, an american held by al qaeda and he's appealing to the u.s. for help in a new video. [ male announcer ] this is george. the day building a play set begins with a surprise twinge of back pain... and a choice. take up to 4 advil in a day or 2 aleve for all day relief. [ male announcer ] that's handy. ♪

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he's an american held hostage by al qaeda. now we are hearing from warren weinstein in a video message provided to "the washington post." he says he feels totally abandoned and forgotten and is calling on president obama to negotiate for his freedom. but we must tell you, cnn cannot independently verify this video. elise labott joining us with more on this. what's the headline? >> a horrible story. held for two years in lahore, militants overrun his compound, overran his security guard, held for two years. we've heard from him over the years a bit but in latest message, desperate plea from president obama saying the president, this is in his second term, he doesn't have to worry

about reelection. let's take a listen. >> you're a family man, so you understand the deep, mental anxiety and anguish that i have been experiencing and, i'm therefore appealing to you, on a humanitarian basis, if nothing else, in asking that you take the necessary actions to expedite my release. >> and this is a 72-year-old development executive working for usaid as a contractor on the ground. he spent his whole life in public service for the u.s. government and he's asking not just the president but secretary of state john kerry, the american people, and the media, to remember him, let's not let me be another statistic. >> what is the u.s. government

doing? >> they're being very quiet about it. all that we've heard from the state department, they're working to authenticate this is a recent proof of life from him, they don't want to say more except reiterate calls for his release because these things are done very quietly. also, another thing, al qaeda militants that are holding him, they want release of prisoners, of al qaeda prisoners, stop the drone strikes in yemen, somalia, pakistan and afghanistan and that's not going to happen. the u.s. maintains its position. it's not going to negotiate with terrorists. >> hard to imagine the u.s. government would gauche yate with al qaeda. when you see this story, you think it's -- sort of makes you think of robert levinson held in iran. but there are differences here, right? >> it's different for a couple of things. they have an idea of who's holding this guy. and that's al qaeda. and they're not going to talk to al qaeda. when you -- he's a contractor, you never know whether his company, a private company, is

doing something behind the scenes. they might be negotiating for his release. they don't want to any saying. with robert levinson, it's turned out, we've seen over the last couple of weeks, the guy was working for the cia, they don't want to say anything, they need to get him home, but also they believe he's being held probably by the iranians and that's a government they can work with, negotiate. they're just not going to talk to al qaeda and make it on par with them because they don't want al qaeda to start taking other -- kidnap other americans because they think the u.s. is willing to negotiate. >> elise labott, thanks for breaking that down. the next story contains graphic images that may not be appropriate for children. you may want to take the kids out of the room for the story. fears a new civil war may erupt in south sudan propelled two leaders to go to the the capital and trying to kick start peace talks. deadly violence erupted christmas day, stores looted, homes burned, hospitals have no

medicine, no doctors. arwa damon tracking tensions in south sudan from uganda. >> reporter: fighting continues in the oil-rich northern portion of the country, other pockets, as well. but in the town of bor, where much of the violence intensified at beginning of the conflict on wednesday, there was evidence of fresh flood, images emerging showed bodies lining the streets, some burnt, we're not clear why. stores had been looted, stores and homed razed to the ground, we're only beginning to get an idea of how terrifying it must have been. civilians returning home, trying to salvage what they can before going back to u.n. bases, not feeling entirely safe to stay out on the streets. throughout the country, some 58,000 civilians continue to seek sanctuary at various u.n. bases with the u.n. still saying that it is going to be sending in an additional force of some

6,000 peacekeepers are and police officers to try to continue to protect the incredibly vulnerable civilian population. tensions have been pretty high in south sudan, especially over the summer, when the president kiir dismissed longtime rival and former president. but mid month, the ethnic tensions between the dinka community and the nuer community erupted into the wide scale mass killing with atrocities being committed on both sides. both kiir and machar would be willing to negotiate but no concrete talk of a cease-fire or settlement to the ongoing fighting. arwa damon, cnn. >> now looking ahead to 2014, possible change in the balance of power in washington, could that be on the horizon? we'll be taking a look how voters are leaning and what can be done to change fortunes, next.

call centers are open again to help people enroll for

insurance plans under the affordable care ability. the deadline was tuesday but this was posted on healthcare.gov. sometimes, despite your best efforts you run into delays that prevented you from finishing the process on time. don't worry, we still may be able to help you get covered as soon as january 1st. so, there are some other deadlines to remember here. if you get coverage before january 1st, you have to make your first payment by january 10th. also, you have until march 31st to get coverage before facing a fine. remember, that's just for the people in the 36 states, not taking part in their own exchanges. 14 states with their own exchanges have their own deadlines. rhode island, for instance, it's december 31st for coverage next day. the federal government has put exceptions in place that could mean you have an extra year to enroll, so you want to check on eligibility for that. well, next year a lot of the

political discussion is going to be centered on the midterm elections. 35 senate seats, all 435 house seats up for grab. joining me, "time" magazine political reporter, zeke miller. and, first off, one of the things, zeke, that our new polling shows us, overwhelmingly americans think this is the worst congress ever, they haven't gotten anything done that matters to the american people. is that fair, do you think? >> probably saying that for the past couple of congresses. it's been a rough couple of years here in washington for lawmakers of both parties, whether the republicans in congress now to the president approval ratings across the board are way down been but it's definitely, i think, the last two congresses have given each other a run for the money here. it's hard to place yourself back, 12, 15 months ago but they might have been saying the same thing as well. >> overall, americans are not fans. >> they don't like us here.

>> approval ratings are abysmal. one of the new cnn/orc poll results. registered voters asked, are you more likely to vote for a candidate who supports the president or opposes the president? look at this. 40% said, supports the president. 55% said, they want to vote for a candidate in the midterm elections who opposes the president. voters very much against the president now how is this going to fare for democrats? are they in danger because of the sentiment of losing the senate? >> it's definitely an issue for them. they're worried what the president's doing to their own approval ratings. he's at the loiest point of the presidency now, that's common for presidents in fifth year of their administrations. and in the sixth years, they're usually bad. the trend line is, the sixth year midterm is the one that's -- the incumbent president's party loses a good chung of seats. and it varies between the

administration from administration. thinking back two, three months ago to the government shutdown, when everybody said republicans were down for the count, democrats might take back the house, right now, consensus, we'll end up around the same place now, republicans holding on at their lead in the house, but not changing the balance of power. but this whiplash, there's a lot of time -- still a lot of time on the clock here, certainly with the debt limit next month. i mean that's the next big marker, can republicans build on this momentum or will they throw it away again? >> exactly. americans aren't huge fans of republicans at this point, either. interesting thing is, the trend you see for what americans think about democrats and how it's changed over last couple of months. take a look at this next poll. if you look at, for instance, october and you asked americans who is your choice for congress, based on party, 50% said democrat, 42% said republicans.

democrats were up there. it is flipped and flipped quite a lot, 44% say democrat, and 49% say that they would go for republicans. i mean, what do you think about this? how much -- this has to do with americans not liking republicans because of the shutdown, and now the flip is they're not liking democrats because of the rollout of obama care. how much does obamacare have to do with 2014? >> a huge issue, one way or the other. democrats will say, once people get coverage, once they start realizing the benefits of the law, of the exchanges getting coverage, that their attitudes might change, if it's not 2014 then by 2016. republicans might be running on the health care law or some component of the law. the implementation issues are not going away. we saw over the past week, even the confusion over deadlines, things extended, were they ex-pen tended, were they not? people outside washington say,

what's going on? da can't they get their act together? we'll know by end of march whether hitting enrollment targets, whether it's going to work or not for the long term. in between, between now and then, there is the daily battle, both sides will be fighting and that's dominate somewhere voters start at when midterms hit up by the summer. >> that's why it's essential for president obama and democrats to get the program working as well as they can. zeke miller, thanks for joining me. cycling champ finally comes clean while the queen of southern cooking loses her throne amid a racial controversy. we can't leave out toronto's crack smoking mayor, rob ford. some scandals of 2013. joe johns has a look back. >> reporter: beam me up, baby. seldom you get the crack question of the year in the same

place. it happened the notorious star of his crack smoking video. mayor rob ford, put on the spot in an open forum with the whole world watching. >> have you purchased illegal drugs in last two years? >> yes, i have. >> reporter: ford was a trend setter in 2013, leader of the pack in the category of mayors gone wild with honorable mention to number nine, san diego's mr. smooth himself, bob filner, who resigned as mayor facing a tidal wave of section ooul harassment allegations, unwanted advances including a former fee may employee who filed suit. irene mccormack jackson alleging, he asked, wouldn't it be great if you took off your panties and worked without them on? sentenced home confinement and three years propassi s probatio.

kwame kilpatrick, racketeering and extortion, it helped push the motor city into the largest municipal bankruptcy in american history. he got the term he wasn't elected to serve, 28 years in federal prison. speaking of elections, number seven on the list isn't a mayor but he could have been. new york's former congressman, anthony weiner, a hit performer on the list for the sexting controversy that made him leave capitol hill. an encore running for the big apple's top job. when explicit pictures surfaced sent to a 22-year-old, weiner, who is married, lost the primary with less than 5% of the vote. weiner gave the media, we're number one hand signal as a parting shot. while we're on the subject of popularity, number six on our list, that agency everybody loves to hate, the internal revenue service.

what might be described as one of the most notorious naughty lists in recent u.s. history. it seemed somebody at irs got the bright idea of singling out conservative groups, especially tea partiers, for extra special attention. the practice attracted outrage from coast to coast. and an investigation by the other federal agency that gins up fear and anxiety, the justice department. speaking of spilling goodies, nongovernment players must be mentioned for outstanding performances. number five, the former man of steel, lance armstrong. here's a guy who was master of the cycling world and the big lie. winning the tour de france seven times, claiming that he wasn't doping to enhance his athletic performance. after banned from the sport, he gave a tell-all, sort of, interview with oprah, where else, he confessed and offered what may be remembered as the biggest understatement in the history of sports. >> i'm not the most believable man in the world right now. >> reporter: number four on the

ligs, with another credibility problem, phony sign language interpreter who crashed the nelson mandela service. it would be funnier if it weren't creepy. the guy got within arm's length of the president of the united states making meaningless gestures. came to light he had once be found not guilty.nd murder but - three paula deen. >> goodness. >> reporter: what would possess a host of a popular cooking show to get herself embroiled in a lawsuit where somebody was actually 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? speaking of legal problems, number two on our list, the not so secretive nsa. 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, snowden, download a busload of secrets,

signal intelligence, from its computer system? splash some of it to the media, then aren't off to russia, while items spilled for maximum effect. tied for first place for the broken government award of the year, congress for the absolutely inexplicable government shutdown crisis that featured a dramatic reading of a dr. seuss classic in the midst of a 21-hour senate talkathon. >> i do not like green eggs and ham, i do not like them, sam, i am. >> reporter: not to be overlooked, the obama administration for the utterly disastrous bungled rollout of the healthcare.gov website. which debacle was worse is in the eye of the beholder. the futile dis-a. temps to dismantle a law of the land upheld by the supreme court with the stated aim of getting rid of the president. signature achievement, or the video replays of the leader of the free world promising that

his signature achievement would allow anyone to keep 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. >> so many to choose from. what do you think was the biggest news story of 2013? we want to hear from you. cnn.com, you'll see a list of 20 stories. we want you to choose your top ten. december 30th, 9:00 a.m. eastern, onlean and on tv, we'll reveal the top ten stories of 2013, as voted on by you, our viewers, cnn.com/wyir. >> the couple fined $3500 for writing a bad online review. fighting back with a lawsuit. we'll tell you about it after the break.

it appears stocks are the gifts that keep on giving today. dow up 106 points. the dow and s&p 500 opened at record highs this morning. investors continuing their year-end rally. and you probably shoppe for the gifts, right, opened presents, and today many headed to the stores to exchange,

right? looking at live pictures outside macy's in new york city. but it's a good day to take advantage of good afterholiday sales. christine romans shows what bargains are out there and what to look for in the coming days. >> reporter: the most selfish time of the year, after christmas, discount are deep and shopping for everyone else is done. best afterchristmas sales clothe, banana republic, french connection. extra discounts of 30% to 50% off on top of sales up to 75% off. new year's day, best time to buy furniture. that's what brit beamer says. it's become a tradition for people to shop for furniture on that day. new lines come out in february, so old product to move. second or third biggest day of the year for mattress sales, mattress companies caught aunt to the furniture trend and piggy backed with major furniture sales.

if you want a big screen tv, think super bowl weekend. beamer says that the perfect storm. consumer electronic show is in january. super bowl is in early february. retailers are looking forward and moving out the old stuff. how about a new car? did you know, december 31st is the best day, dealer and au automaaut automakers want to meet their goal. the best possible deal on a new car on the last day of the year, maybe until january 2s, if it's included in the sales calendars. hunt for 0% financing for people who qualify and hefty cash rebates. christine romans, cnn, new york. >> a husband and wife are suing an online retailer after they say the company charged them thousands of dollars for telling truth. this stems from a bad review they wrote more than five years ago after their package never arrived. >> reporter: this is a story we brought you a month ago and 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 the story is fighting back. >> reporter: a utah company fined $ 3500 for writing a negative review is suing the merchant. according it a lawsuit filed wednesday on the couple's behalf bye public citizen. john and jen palmer bought a few christmas gifts from clear gear.com in 2008 but items never arrived and calls unanswered. the transaction was canceled. jen vented frustrations online, posting a review of the company on ripoffreport.com saying, there is absolutely no way to get in touch with the physical human being, no extensions work. then, 3 1/2 years later, they received this e-mail, appearing to be from clear gear, stating they'd be fined $3500 if the negative review wasn't taken

down in 72 hours. >> reporter: clear gear told the palms are they signed away freedom and terms and conditions nondisparagement clause preventing weinstei the palmers tried to take the review down but couldn't, they reported the $4500 bill as unpaid to a collections company. >> all right, we're having a little problem with that. but you get the drift. can you imagine writing a review and then having someone obviously sue you? well, we'll follow that story for you, and a big story for you, colorado shoppers can add one more item to the shopping list. milk, bread, and yes, pot?

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in less than one week, colorado will be the first state in the nation to allow marijuana sales for recreational use, the first licenses went out this week and now pot shops are scrambling to open their doors. you're learning that only a handful of stores may be ready to actually open on january first? >> that is right, brianna.

hundreds of businesses here in colorado will be receiving their retail marijuana licenses this week from the state. but they also need to get licenses from their local jurisdiction, their city or county. they also have to make sure they complied with their regulations for recreational sale of marijuana, which are different than the recreational sales. we spoke to a lot of businesses who say they're not ready to go in a few days when the january 1st rolls around. here is what we do know, the 4800 retail marijuana licenses have been approved and sent out by state regulators, 108 went to marijuana grow facilities, 31 of those licenses went to marijuana product facilities, so those are companies that maybe specialize in edibles, and some went to testing facilities. and all of these businesses had

had to be operating as medical marijuana businesses currently. those were the only ones allowed to apply for sale for recreational use. a lot of licenses and fingerprint and background checks went out. and a lot of licensing fees just to give you some perspective there. and in some cases those potential fees cost the pot retailers upwards of tens to thousands of dollars, but they tell us they expect to pay off big time in the new year, even though they were expensive. >> a year ago i would have said i wish i wouldn't have done it, now i'm very excited i have done it. looking at a quarter of a million the first three months of 2014. >> so we're talking big-time money. in fact, experts estimate the marijuana industry at about one

and a half billion dollars currently nationwide. but analysts say that probably will quadruple in the next few years, brianna. >> so that is why it is big bucks, it is worth it for them, that is why they're jumping through big hoops. i mean, what will it mean for the state economy there? >> it is good news for the state economy there, obviously it was the voters in colorado that passed amendment 64 just last year which is what legalized the marijuana for recreational use. the taxes that the state will be able to recover and generate the amount of money is estimated to be nearly $78 million, going towards schools. so a lot of the marijuana money coming from the recreational use will go back not only to the state but also specifically in education in the state of colorado, brianna. >> all right, specifically for the education, interesting, and also colorado will be a model for other states, as well.

thank you, brianna. and not far from denver in las vegas, a high-rolling poker player won big and then left his winnings in a taxi cab. this is a bag of cash, we're talking about $300,000. up next, you will hear from the cab driver who returned this package of money to its forgetful owner.

. an angel does good in sin city, no less, a las vegas taxi cab driver found a bag of cash, the poker player stuffed his winnings in the bag and accidentally left it behind in the cab. well, the cab driver returned it to the rightful owner, and now he is being rewarded, arrest well. >> reporter: gerardo gamboa was behind the wheel of a cash cab and didn't know it. >> so he wanted to go to the palm place, and he carried a brown bag, and who knew what was in there. >> reporter: gamboa dropped him off at the palms place, little

did he know he dropped him off with big winnings. the guy got off at palm's place and left the brown paper bag behind. it was discovered a short time later by the doorman at the bellagio, who originally thought wasp in the bag was chocolate. >> i go to bellagio, i didn't even know there was money in my back seat. >> reporter: now at the site, gamboa was in store for a sweet surprise. >> you know, i just hesitate, saying what is in there, so i want to know what kind of chocolate. when i took it, about this big, hundred dollar bills. >> reporter: $300,000 in cold, hard cash. >> so i had a passenger, i said sir, look, you are my witness, i don't touch anything here. >> reporter: gamboa called his company, and did the right thing turning the money over.

soon, the 28-year-old passenger showed up here looking for his 300,000 bucks. >> he wanted to shoot himself in the head. he was devastated. >> reporter: the taxi company called metro police to do a full investigation to determine the money belonged to the man who said he lost it. it did. >> he is on the poker circuit, and very, very famous, worldwide poker player. >> reporter: for his integrity, gamboa was named driver of the year and received dinner for two at a high-end steak house and received a thousand dollar check for christmas. gamboa hopes his honesty goes a long way. >> even they call us sin city, but it is not. it is angel's city. >> yes, the cabbie said las vegas is not sin city, it is angel city. well, that is it for me, i'll be back at 5:00 eastern where

gloria borger talks, and more with kyra philips and brianna, thank you so much. good afternoon, everyone, i'm kyra philips in for brooke baldwin. and let's get right to it. it is the post-shopping holiday blitz, retailers offering the best deals of the year all in an effort to boost the bottom line before they close the books on 2013. and here are just a few of the deals out there. toys "r" us are offering buy one, get one 40% off on all video games. also sears with discounts on appliances, and macy's, up to 65% with free shipping if your order is over 75 bucks. just outside macy's, maet