good morning. welcome to "new day," tgif. it is friday, we made it, december 27th. 6:00 in the east. we have breaking news, a car bomb takes out a former ambassador to the u.s., a powerful explosion in beirut killed at least five people, 70 more injured. who was behind the plot to kill the official and why? mohammed jamjoom is live in istanbul with the latest. what do we know? >> reporter: well, chris, this is a very disturbing development at a time when lebanon is already on edge. this happened in the last few hours, an assassination targeted today was a former finance minister in lebanon, a former lebanese ambassador to the u.s. nobody has yet claimed responsibility, but all indications seem to show that this was yet more spillover of violence from the syrian civil war, which is raging right next door to lebanon. now, in the last few months, you've had several car bombs in different parts of the country, some targeting militant shiite

group hezbollah, some targeting sunni areas in the country. shaata was a former aide to fa re -- hariri assassinated in 2005. this is a commercial district, where a lot of people live. everybody i'm talking to alarmed about what this means for the future of lebanon. people i spoke to that were miles away said they felt the blast and are concerned about what this means for lebanon at a critical time. back to you. >> mohammed, real quick, is the situation under control? i know we see the video but is the situation under control? >> reporter: we're being told there are still investigators on the scene, they've cordoned off the area. when this kind of thing happens in lebanon, there's oftentimes fears there will be secondary explosions. that's happened in the past.

today it has not happened but the officials i'm speaking with concern there could be more violence throughout the day and they are concerned that the death toll my rise throughout the day as well. right now, five people killed, over 70 people injured so far. kate? >> mohammed, thank you so much for that update. we'll clearly be checking back in with you. we're looking at four days and counting without electricity for hundreds of thousands in the northern u.s. and canada, all because of the snow and ice storms earlier in the week. at least 19 people are now dead. many succumbing to carbon monoxide poisoning from generators they had to resort to to stay warm. chad myers in for indra petersons this morning. how's it looking now? >> when the power goes out, i have a 9-year-old, just think of it like we're camping. it's okay. when the power goes out for four days and never gets above freezing, that's when it gets dangerous. talk about another blow. hundreds of thousands of

residents in the northern tier of the country are still waking up with no power, this as another blast of arctic air was on the way. >> it was tough. it was dark. candles only do so much. the fire, you have to keep that going. that's our only option. >> reporter: this morning people in pennsylvania are recovering from multiple mass casualties and pileups on state highways as the dramatic scenes unfolded thursday, first responders rescued more than 40 people injured, transporting a couple dozen to area hospitals. more snow is expected from michigan to maine. this comes as a blow to power crews who have been rapidly working against the ice and freezing temperatures to try to restore power to some of those left in the dark since last weekend. crews have been able to fire up their electrical grids but are warning some people won't have power until at least the end of the weekend. >> it's been challenging. >> reporter: crews even sacrificing their christmas to restore the city's power after being hit by what bangor

hydroelectric company is calling the most damaging ice storm since m1998. >> this is the worst time of year to have something like this happen. >> reporter: up in canada, another cold weekend is in store. leaving citizens in toronto icy cold. >> the trees are still down. the power lines are still down. nobody's been to our street to fix anything. >> reporter: crews have a couple of days to get things back up with temperatures at least above freezing or at least close. 29 in toronto today, 33 chicago. 40 in new york city. there's some good news and bad news here. when you warm it up like there, almost 40 degrees toronto for tomorrow, that ice that's sitting on the trees, the trees that are bent over will snap back up and knock the power lines back off for the power lines that just got put back up. we talk about the cold blast, this is sunday, minneapolis 0, here's monday, chicago gets to a high of 8. more cold air is on the way. that's winter.

it goes up and it goes down. we just need more up than down until we get this powerback on, guys. >> ice is bad but everything is relative. you know who knows that? people stuck on a ship in antarctica. it's been going on since the 23rd. an expedition ship with 74 people aboard has spent four days trapped in the ice. someone on board the stranded vessel has sent cnn video showing the reaction when they finally saw a chinese ice breaker approaching the ship. even though it's still hours away, they saw it out on the horizon. cnn's diana magnay has the latest from moscow. diana? >> reporter: hi, chris. that's right. it's been a very frozen christmas for the 74 people on board this ship, stuck in the ice in frozen antarctica. as you say, help not only on its way but also in eye shot. just hours ago, joy on board the ship, passengers pointing out into the distance as a chinese ice breaker set to rescue them

slowly makes its way towards them. this russian flagship, stuck in the ice for four days now after weather conditions turned bad. but help is on its way. behind it, two more ice breakers, one french and one australian. if the snow dragon gets stuck, too. on board, are 74 researchers, a mix of professional and amateur scientists who decided to spend their christmas checking out the effects of climate change in the frozen antarctic. they sailed around 100 nautical miles east of their starting point when they got stuck. despite blizzards with wind speeds of nearly 45 miles per hour, we've heard the moral remains high and while they wait, they've had a few friendly visitors checking in to say hello. this morning's visitors are far more welcome. and chris, this trip is re-creating the steps of an

antarctic explorer who made this mission 100 years ago. he spent two years here. he got stuck here. >> 100 years have passed but the threat remains. diana, thank you very much. let's turn now to pamela brown, in for michaela. more of the top stories. making news today, a deadly crash in fresno when a small cessna plane slammed into a front yard just a few hundred feet from an airport runway. the pilot and 9-year-old boy on board were killed. unemployment benefits will end tomorrow for 1.3 million americans. funds are set to run out for a program created during the recession. so supplement state benefits. another 1.9 million people will lose benefits by the middle of next year. president obama has given his okay to a new defense policy

law that changes how the military deals with sexual assault cases. and also makes it easier to transfer detainees out of the prison at guantanamo bay. the president called the guantanamo provisions an important step towards closing the facility. disturb i-- 27-year-old conrad barrett facing federal hate crime charges. prosecutors say he videotaped himself sucker punching an elderly african-american man in houston last month. the criminal complaint says the victim suffered two jaw fractures and was hospitalized for several days. christmas feasts aren't over for goats at least. a farm in colorado is asking people for their leftover trees. the couple that runs the farm says the trees are a great form of roughage for the goats because they have four stomachs and are fast eaters, apparently. their goats completely devour trees in less than an hour. who knew.

who knew, right? >> the things we learn some days. four stomachs. >> reuse, recycle. >> that's one of the suggestions that had been -- how to reduce the federal budget, instead of cutting grass, bringing in goats to manage the loans. >> because that's where we're at. >> it would work. >> that's the main fix we need. take care of that and we're good. >> i'm just going to sit here and smile. >> that's what we do. >> it's like they have four stomachs down there. they can't eat enough i my tax money. >> that was good. >> that was fun. thanks, guys. >> pam is like, and i quit. new developments in the christmas delivery debacle. as many customers still wait for packages from u.p.s. and fedex, there are new promises of refunds but the anger directed at the shipping companies isn't going away. nick valencia has more details this morning. >> reporter: two days after christmas and some of you still don't have packages.

u.p.s. says the issue was so widespread, even some of its employees didn't get their gifts on time. the world's largest package delivery company today still dealing with the fallout of its broken promises. better late than never? >> it says it hasn't been processed yet. >> reporter: not quite, especially when it comes to christmas gifts. >> i can't tell you how many countless hours we have spent on the phone dealing with this issue. >> reporter: fedex and u.p.s. are delivering normally today, after delays in christmas shipments. neither company has released any numbers but it's estimated thousands were affected. both companies have apologized but a u.p.s. spokesperson couldn't even guarantee all delayed packages would be delivered by thursday. >> they can only do what they can do given the conditions. >> reporter: u.p.s. says it hired 55,000 seasonal employees to keep up with their projected demand of 132 million packages. fedex says it hired 20,000 people and they, too, admit they had minimal service disruption

despite the increased volume. u.p.s. blamed, quote, a perfect storm, bad weather and an increase in online sales. fedex noted a shorter holiday shopping season. >> weather is always going to be a factor somewhere. that's not a good enough excuse. >> reporter: experts say shipping companies can't simply look into the past as predictors anymore. the internet is changing things. >> this is really 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. >> reporter: online sales broke records this year with sites like amazon leading the way reporting sales of over 36 million items on cybermonday. promising on-time shipments. u.p.s. says they will absolutely be looking at changes in policy during the holiday season but couldn't say what kind of changes they might be. neither u.p.s. nor fedex made deliveries on christmas day but after this, it's something they

might reconsider. a congressman from con can't is calling on u.p.s. to issue shipping refunds to he's that customers affected. u.p.s. says it will give refunds to some of its customers. no telling how much this will cost them financially but it's already damaged their reputation. >> can't put a price on goodwill. if they don't deliver on time, it hurts going forward. thank you for the reporting. appreciate it. >> you bet. the ship trapped in that ice around antarctica, the leader is professor chris turney. we got him on the phone right now. professor, can you hear us? >> yes, i can. sorry about earlier. >> listen, don't worry about it. you're stuck in the ice on the bottom of the world. a little bit of communication problem is the least of the concern right now. what is the condition of the vessel and the souls on board? >> the vesle is fine and safe and everyone on board is very well. moral is really high. and i don't know if you saw our

youtube footage but we got hit by a heavy blizzard yesterday with wind speeds in excess of 70 kilometers an hour. fortunately the winds, the low pressure have moved away. a lot of the pressure have moved away from the hull now. just on the horizon is the chinese ice breaker. it is approaching us, which is fabulous news. >> if i understand you correctly, even though conditions picked up yesterday, you were mentioning 70 mile-an-hour winds from a blizzard, you're saying the pressure on the vehicle has eased as the wind has shifted. that's better to for the integrity of the hull, makes it easier to get you out. you can see the ship. how much longer until help arrives? >> i don't know. this is multi-ice that's built up around us, unfortunately over the last few days. we have 2 to 3 meters with be maybe 4 in places surrounding us. at one point yesterday, the ship

was tilting a little bit because of the pressure on one side because of strong winds. it eased back a bit. [ inaudible ] >> what has been the greatest difficulty to handle on board since the 23rd? >> basically it's been maintaining a science program, keeping a sense of objection and objectivity. this is a science experiment to see how much change has taken place. this is a newly discovered concept. the amazing data -- it's a fabulous comparison to today. a group of scientists, we can bring measurements and comparing

to measurements a century ago and communicating as best we can, using social media. >> i think this is the first time i've ever heard that the power of science was able to delay the dread of being stuck in the ice and waiting to be rescued. i would have never thought of it as a way to counter all the anxiety that must be on board. >> you're going to say -- >> not at all. i can't think of what would be tougher to do, to be in owes conditions for that long and not know if help was coming. >> you had a great relief to know the vessels are in the vicinity. we kept the team busy, briefings, let them know help was coming and we just made sure we kept things working forward. that makes a huge difference. it just gives you a sense of humility and also inspiration to those amazing teams a century

ago in the wooden ships. >> imagine being back then, the fate what would have, what the chances would have been. certainly progress has helped us in that regard. we see the people outside the hull. hopefully they'll be home soon. we'll check in again, hopefully with good news. stay warm. >> thank you. >> spirit of what? what's it called? just so we can tell people? >> we'll make sure they know after the break. >> we'll give it to you. there's a website where they're putting out live picture, live feed. you might as well check it out. we'll take a break so i can figure out the website. >> we want to talk to you about the flu, it's here and having unusual impact. it's especially dangerous for younger adults. we have the latest information for you. also, two major breaches of airport security. one in newark, the other phoenix

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welcome back to "new day." that website we had mentioned when we were speaking to the professor aboard the stranded ship in the antarctic, it is spiritofmawson.com. you can see it at the bottom off your screen. we haven't talked much about flu season but it is under way and it has proven deadly in at least one state. experts say the time to get your

flu shot is now before the virus hit its peaks. here are more details on the upcoming flu season. >> reporter: the flu season is officially upon us. although it is set to begin, the cdc is reporting widespread infection rates in several states including alabama, louisiana, and new york. but texas has been the hardest hit, reporting at least five deaths from the h1n1 strain, also known as swine flu. >> the majority of hospitalizations for influenza occur in people age 65 or older and the majority of deaths also in that group. we know h1n1 does cause more infections in younger adults. >> reporter: in 2009 it caused a pandemic that may have killed hundreds of thousands worldwide. >> try to relax this arm. >> reporter: health officials

say if you've not gotten a flu shot, you still can. >> every formulation of vaccine that you can get will protect against h1n1 and also protects against other influenza viruses that we think are circulating. >> reporter: wash your hands often, cover your coughs and sneezes, stay home from work and school if you're ill. the cdc says flu season is expected to reach fever pitch in february. last year, 380,000 people were hospitalized by the virus. medical officials advise take warnings seriously. >> many people think that flu causes sniffles or cold-like symptoms for about a week. it can cause very serious illness in people. it puts people in the hospital every year and unfortunately it kills people every year. >> reporter: victor blackwell, cnn, atlanta. all right. it is monday time. the markets are up big time, housing, jobs, all these other

indicators, all up, up, up. but the most telling think may be about how you feel about the economy. our new poll shows that metric is not good. a new cnn/orc poll shows most of you think things are pretty poor and many don't think the economy will be much better a year from now. why this disconnect? stocks soared again yesterday. alison kosik. main street, wall street, not the same thing. >> one america and two economies. the most obvious disconnect is the stock market, the dow reaching its 50th record high of the year. that's incredible, the s&p 500 hitting records almost on a daily basis. but then you've got this cnn/orc poll showing americans are not getting it, even though signs that the economy are getting better. gdp up for the third quarter showed markedly much improvement, 4%. mind you, it is just one quarter but it does show that there's improvement in the economy. home prices are up.

jobs are being added. you would think that people are feeling good. well, guess what, they're not. in fact, only half americans -- actually a third of americans think that the economy is in good shape. >> doesn't it lead us to the inevitable conclusion, that we are misanalyzing what matters and impacts on the families that need help the most, that they don't did the benefit from the market and even the companies that get more equity from what happens in the market aren't hiring them. they're not getting better jobs. so the main swath of the country doesn't benefit from all this glory that we're hearing about. >> most americans aren't invested in the stock market. they're not reaping the rewards. >> and they're companies aren't hiring. >> that's another thing. the kind of jobs that are being added are low-paying jobs. that doesn't make people feel confident. one of the best gauges on how americans feel is really if people are putting off purchases? guess what, they are putting off big purchases like furniture, appliances, and clothing. because people don't feel

confident about where the economy is going. there's even been a small increase in people who cut back on food and medicine in the past four years since the recession. that's really stunning. and really scary, too. these are necessities. it shows either people done the have the money or they don't have the confidence in the economy. >> that's why most of what i'm saying right now comes from alison. you are dogged about this, showing the disconnect and showing there's work to be done. the polls are what they are no matter what we see. >> go knock on your neighbor's door. i bet you anything they don't know what the stock market is showing. >> alison, appreciate the analysis. thank you for breaking it down as always. what do you think? tweet us #newday. what do you think about the economy? is it getting better for you? and two security breaches at two airports. one man running across the tarmac up to a plane. what went wrong and what are the

airports doing to make sure it doesn't happen again? now the faithful will get to pray with him in person.

welcome back to "new day" once again, let's get straight over to pamela brown, in for michaela for some of our top stories this morning. making news on this friday morning, at least six people, include a former ambassador to the u.s. are dead in beirut after a powerful car bomb hit the city's central business district. dozens more about volcano huhav.

no claim of responsibility. more than 200,000 power customers are still in the dark in below freezing temperatures right now. utility companies are issuing a warning. many of them may not get powerback until the weekend, at least. parts of michigan, northern new england and southeastern canada dealing with the brutal winter storm that's now blamed for at least 19 deaths. another study linking concussions to alzheimer's disease. a study published in the journal neurology suggested elderly people who have had serious conditions showed symptoms typically linked with alzheimer's. the findings suggests the amount of time since the head injury is irrelevant. the study's author acknowledges the findings are complex and more work is needed. egypt continues its crackdown on the muslim brotherhood, now arresting dozens of supporters, a day after declaring the group that backed ousted president mohamed

morsi a terrorist organization. the government now saying anyone caught taking part in protests organized by the brotherhood will face five years in prison and promoting the group will be considered terrorism. here's a bizarre story out of argentina. have you heard about this? a school of carnivorous fish went on attack in a river as thousands cooled off from 100 degree temperatures. 70 people were injured, including 7 children who lost parts of fingers or toes. area beaches were closed but it was so hot, many people went back into the water within a half hour. >> the dreaded carnivorous fish, i love them. >> do you, chris? >> they went back in. it's part of think life. >> they're crazy. >> they're tough and go back in. >> it must have been really hot. >> that's exactly right. >> if they were willing to go back in the water with piranhas. >> most people you hear

carnivorous fish, that's it, it's over. tiger tough. >> tougher than me, that's for sure. >> stop it. now we've gone too far. all right. tell you about another story this morning, two brazen airport security breaches on opposite ends of the country, both happening on christmas day. radar, motion detectors, surveillance cameras, none prevented a man in women's clothing from scaling a fence and walking on to airport runways at newark airport in new jersey. in phoenix, airport workers say they saw a man climb over a barbed wire fence and run on to the tarmac at sky harbor. why is this happening? why aren't they being caught in alexandra field is here with us. what do we know? >> these were tense moments, both incident prompting reviews. security around airports as opposed to at gates and on planes is a decision that is handled by local authorities. it varies from airport to airport.

here's how those systems stood up to similar tests on christmas morning. a pricey perimeter security system at newark liberty international airport wasn't enough to stop an intruder from making his way on to the runway christmas morning. this morning, there's new information about what went wrong. port authority police say a high-tech surveillance system was working, a statement reads, quote, an alarm was signaled and the cameras captured an image of an individual coming over the fence. the investigation is now focusing on the actions of the operator who monitors the camera and the alarms. officials say the suspect was coming from the new jersey turnpike and jumped the airport security fence. he made his way across two runways before reaching gate 70 at terminal c where an airline employee stopped him. he was arrested and charged with trespassing. police say the 24-year-old jersey city man was wearing women's clothes and told them he

had been in someone's car when he got spooked and ran off. officials say planes were never in danger but the episode has, again, raised questions about the effectiveness of a security system that's in place at all new york area airports. >> when the system is working and working effectively, it becomes a good layer of security. an additional layer and layer that goes above the regulatory standards. >> reporter: the system includes radar, surveillance cameras and motion detectors. it came under fire in 2012 at new york's jfk airport when a jet skier who ran out of fuel was able to climb out of the water and on to the tarmac undetected. a similarly frightening scene was caught on surveillance video in arizona this christmas morning after this man climbed over the 8-foot tall fence of the phoenix international airport. watch as 49-year-old robert bump runs across the tarmac near terminal 3, police arresting him shortly after. airport officials say he exhibited signs of possible drug or alcohol impairment. >> it's very disturbing because

you have a system that's been installed and tested over the last several years and there continue to be different breaches at the different airports in the port authority jurisdiction. >> bryant was charged with trespassing but has since been released. cnn has made several attempts to contact him and we have not been able to. it is interesting to point out, a spokesperson at the phoenix airport said they had an opportunity to install a similar system to the one that's in place at newark, they decided not to do it citing the cost of that system. >> it is interesting. you pointed out an important item right off the top. outside the airport, every airport could have a different security system because it's handled on the local level. >> there are federal standards these airports need to meet and achieve. they need to file their security plans on a federal level. how they design the systems is different. in fact, the systems around the new york city area surpass federal guidelines.

it was a step that added an extra layer of protection, a step that some have questioned. >> thank you. the sandy hook massacre was just over one year ago when it happened. today we're set to find out much more about how it all played out and also more about what happened. thousands of pages of documents detailing the investigation are being released. could they shed new light on a motive? and if you've been grocery shopping lately you've seen it firsthand, the prices, why are they going up on everything? hold on to your wallet. they'll be going even higher, beef, chicken, bread. there's a reason. we'll tell you when we come back. [ male announcer ] every inch. every minute. every second -- we chip away. with an available ecodiesel engine... and a best-in-class 30 mpg highway and 730-mile driving range... for all the times you dreamed of running away from home -- now you can. with enough fuel to get back. this is the new 2014 jeep grand cherokee. it is the best of what we're made of.

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welcome back. let's go around the world starting in china where an explosion and fire at a shopping mall has turned deadly.

kristie lu stout has the latest. >> reporter: a massive fire broke out at a shopping mall late on thursday evening. take a look at these pictures. you can see the flames engulf the first and second floors of the mall. it's located in lujo city in sichuan province. at least four people have been confirmed dead and 35 others injured. that toll could rise as officials sift through what remains of the building. back to you, kate. >> thank you so much. another first for pope francis. some locals in rome will get to anded it his personal daily mass. erin mclaughlin explains. >> reporter: it looks like the leader of the world's 1.2 billion catholics wants to be closer to those in his own backyard. according to media reports, starting in the new year, people from parishes across rome will be invited to join pope francis for his morning mass here at the vatican on a daily basis.

another papal first for francis who's focusing on making the church more service oriented and inclusive. an example of why many here are calling him the people's pope. back to you, kate. >> erin, thank you for that. all right. so, this is a story that we talk to you about a lot. interest in why a young man became a deranged killer in newtown, connecticut, continues to grow. there may be more pieces to the puzzle. here's why. police in connecticut plan to release thousands of pages of material from the investigation along with the 911 calls that came in that day. the hope is the release does more good than harm. the harm would be re-opening these wounds for the victims' families. pamela brown is here with what we understand this latest wave is. what's going to happen now? >> it's a huge compilation. thousands of pages coming from connecticut state police that will be released later today at 3:00 p.m. eastern time. and essentially it's going to have a witness statement. we'll see pictures as you said

911 calls. really just all the information that police have gathered ever since the school shooting last december 14th and try to create a clearer picture of what adam lanza did what he did. in november, there was a 44-page document that were released from prosecutors and it basically told us that adam lanza was obsessed with school shootings but didn't give an idea of motive. we learned from paul vance back in november, this is compilation might include more clues as to a motive for adam lanza. that is not for certain. we simply won't know that until we see the documents at 3:00 p.m. this afternoon. >> what you know for certain is, it bothers the victims' families and for obvious reasons. some believe it's interest in the macabre. there are those interested in the educational side, the forensic side and the therapy side. saying we need to see the pieces that lead to the pattern. that's where we want to

intervene, earlier. they have a guiding interest, i believe, in helping people understand it. maybe it helps stop the next one. >> absolutely. that's the hope, the information gleaned from this report will prevent future school shootings. >> what is done. what is done. otherwise it is just about re-opening the wounds. >> thanks, pamela. let's get back over to chad myers in for indra petersons with another look at the forecast. what are people going to face when they head out the door this morning, chad? >> warmer than yesterday. it will feel like 40 this afternoon, in new york city. 29 in toronto. that doesn't seem like a huge warmup but it is compared to where you've been. this ice, we've been talking about falls off the trees tonight. maybe falls on your head. watch where you're walking. when it falls off the trees, the trees spring back up and knock more power lines down. remember that. this is the next arctic blast. it comes in on sunday and into

monday and finally into tuesday for the northeast. it takes a time to get there but this is cold air. minneapolis 4 degrees below 0. warming up to 4 above for bismarck, finally on wednesday. the good news is because the warm air is here, the next storm that comes out of the southeast is rain. it's not a snow event. if things change on timing a little bit, i might have to change the forecast. but for new york city, it's a rain event for monday. if you happen to be going on a cruise next week, showers in the caribbean but temperatures will be around 80 degrees. >> ooh! sounds like a dream. >> chris, kate, back to you. >> thanks so much. the prices you're paying for food are going up. in 2014 won't be any better. that delicious steak, a loaf of bread probably going to cost you even more. why? we'll tell you, coming up. also ahead, he was not flying so high. a man in a wing suit just a few feet off the ground. what was he doing? is he completely crazy? it's our must-see moment.

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so just in time for the biggest game of the season, the green bay packers will have star quarterback aaron rodgers back. why is that impressive? well because he broke his collarbone. >> i can't believe he's coming back. >> i had it. he did it in early november. he's already back. joe carter has more in this morning's "bleacher report." this is a big deal, joe.

>> it is, chris. obviously aaron rodgers are the star player for this team and they have so much at stake this sunday. their season is on the line. if they beat the bears, they win the division and get into the playoffs. if the packers lose to the bears, their season is over. aaron rodgers makes them a legitimate playoff threat if they get in. before he broke his collarbone, the packers were 5-2, one of the best teams in the nfl, then things drastically changed after he got hurt. the packers went on a five-game winless skid and shuffled through three starting quarterbacks. they're happy to have number 12 back. trending on bleacherreport.com, last week at this time, jon kitna was teaching math and coaching football at tacoma, washington, at a high school. now he's the emergency third string quarterback for the dallas cowboys. the best part of this story, the 41-year-old quarterback says he's going to donate his entire $53,000 game check to the high school he works at in tacoma,

washington. if the dallas cowboys were to win on sunday and beat the eagles, then he'd get a nice playoff check that he'd probably donate to the high school as well. a nice feel good story all around for jon kitna and the cowboys. >> i like it. let's hope he plays. >> he was a starter for many years and for him to come back in and recognize what really matters, very cool. >> that's great. >> i'm a kitna fan. >> we're pro kitna. >> pro kitna. >> thanks, joe. as you're preparing breakfast this morning, you've probably realized this. it's been a tough year at the grocery store. a drought in the plains coupled with demand overseas has driven up prices. let's talk about what you should expect when you hit the grocery store. we have a consumer spending analy analyst. bearer of bad news. >> i apologize for that. i'm just the messenger. >> what items should we expect to see being more expensive when

we hit the grocery store? >> you hit on a couple of them. one of them is the beef prices. in may of this year, beef hit its all-time high. per 100 pounds it was trading at $201. if you divide that, it's about $2 a pound. that doesn't seem that high but that price will be going up. it went up for 2013 3% to 4%. for 2014 it's going up 7% to 8%. also milk prices rising, they'll be going up and grain prices. cereal. i know a lot of people spend a lot of money for cereal. expect that to go up a couple dollars as well. >> what's lindh all that? we often say it's weather and demand, really two of the things that contribute. what else is going on. >> remember back in 2012, let's go way back, there was a huge drought in the summertime. we are now -- that basically had an effect on the not only did it have an effect on crops, other crops, but also had an effect on

grain that was being fed to the cattle. that in turn started depleting the cattle reserve out there. people, because cattle weren't going to be able to be fed, a lot of them died off, herds got smaller and demand started going up. we are feeling the aftershocks of that. even last summer we saw drought in the midwest as well. as you mention, overseas demand was really high. we're now seeing the effect that happened two years ago. >> wow. >> what do we do? >> become a vegetarian. stop eating chicken. no. but in all honesty, the prices will eventually come down. it's just a matter of when that demand kind of comes down as well as supply increases. one way to do it is to, you know, i guess right now if you don't want to pay that price, the only option is to start eating chicken or look at alternate meat. pork is not that expensive right now. but unfortunately if you're a beef eater you'll have to spend a little bit more. >> what about at restaurants,

fast food restaurants, that kind of thing? >> you're pretty much expected to pay a lit bit of premium on beef when you go to restaurants in addition. you're right. restaurants will have to pass on the price increase to you. when you order your favorite hamburger, i'm a huge fan of shake shack. better believe i'll spend a little bit more for that hamburger. >> it will trickle down to the consumer no matter what. >> absolutely. >> not a bad time to start new dietary habits. >> exactly. maybe this is a good thing. >> right in time for your new years resolution. >> as i said, pork is a little less expensive but if you can, maybe this is a good time to getting the veggie burgers on the grill. i don't think they taste as good as a beef burger. >> great to see you. >> thanks for having me. all right let's turn to today's must see moment.

and this may make you a little nervous, especially if you're afraid of heights like me. a team of wing suit flyers gathered in france looking to glide their way down a famous gully. pretty steep. as one of them descended he got pretty close to the ground, just a few feet in fact. maybe the closest any wing suit pilot has flown above mother earth before. he was probably going about 160 miles per hour. >> wow. >> no big deal. >> 160 miles per hour. that's worth repeating, right? >> i know he has a chute but if he's that close to the ground, he must have had to go to a place -- he must have turned up, got morrell vacation so he could land. >> i think he has nearer term problems. >> i wonder what the french equivalent is. >> that is impressive. >> i can't get enough of that. >> the squirrels in the trees

are like, ooh, he's the man. >> coming up on "new day," we're keeping a close eye on the antarctic. a ship has been trapped for days, stuck in the ice. a rescue effort is under way. a chinese ice breaker has been making way way through ice that is ten feet thick in places. a philadelphia monsignor, we'll talk with his lawyer in our next hour. [ sniffles, coughs ] shhhh! 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. hey there, i just got my bill, and i see that it includes my fico® credit score. yup, you get it free each month to help you avoid surprises with your credit. good. i hate surprises. surprise!

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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.

there's a lot of relief amongst the team and there's a lot of happy faces. >> happening now, a dramatic rescue at the end of the earth. an ice breaker set to free that stranded ship in antarctica with dozens of researchers and tourists on board. we're live with the latest. overturned, a landmark conviction thrown out, a priest sent to jail for allegedly covering up sexual abuse in the catholic church may now be walking free. victims are outraged. his lawyer joins us live. flash sale. a glitch in delta's website sent prices tumbling, less than 50 bucks to fly across the country. too bad it was the day after christmas. still, customers snatched them up. hear what delta is doing now. your "new day" starts right now. >> announcer: this is "new day" with chris cuomo, kate bolduan and michaela pereira. >> welcome back to "new day," it is friday, december 27th, 7:00

a.m. in the east. tgif. we begin with breaking news. a former ambassador to the u.s. has been killed by a car bomb in lebanon. the blast and resulting fire rocking an area of the city loaded with workers in hotels where westerners are known to stay. death toll and number of injured is rising. let's get to mohammed jamjoom covering the story from istanbul. mohammed? >> reporter: this is 'dive stating attack. the residents say they could feel the blast miles away. this happened in one of the commercial hubs of the city, officials in lebanon is calling this an assassination, the targeted mohammed thaata, a former ambassador to lebanon from the u.s. and former finance minister for lebanon. there are pictures showing the thick, plume of smoke rising

from the car bomb. at least six people killed as a result of this today. officials fear the death toll will rise throughout the day. at least 70 people injured so far. this seems to be another indication that syria's violence from the civil war, which is right next door to lebanon is spilling over once more into lebanon. nobody has claimed responsibility for this killing or this attack. mohammed shaata was a fierce critic of hezbollah and this is the latest in a string of troubling attacks that have been going on in lebanon the last few months. chris? >> i'll take it. thanks so much for the update. we'll check back in throughout the show. power problems are dragging on for hundreds of thousands in the u.s. and canada. the cause is the snow and ice storms earlier in the week. at least 19 people have died, many succumbing to carbon monoxide poisoning from

generators. chad myers is in for indra petersons this morning, taking a look at what is going on, chad. >> the power goes out for you for two hours and it's just disgusting. what am i going to do? i lost all my power, my stuff is going to melt in my freezer. think about this where you're out of power for four days and the morning lows go down to zero. that gets absolutely dangerous. talk about another blow. hundreds of thousands of residents in the northern tier of the country are still waking up with no power. this as another blast of arctic air is on the way. >> it was tough. i mean, it was dark. candles only do so much. the fire, you have to keep that going. that's our only option. >> reporter: this morning people in pennsylvania are recovering from multiple mass casualties and pileups on state highways as the dramatic scenes unfolded thursday, first responders rescued more than 40 people injured, transporting a couple dozen to area hospitals. more snow is expected from michigan to maine.

this comes as a blow to power crews who have been rapidly working against the ice and below freezing temperatures to try to restore power to some of those left in the dark since last weekend. crews have been able to fire up their electrical grids but are warning some people won't have power until at least the end of the weekend. >> it's been challenging. >> reporter: crews even sacrificing their christmas to restore the city's power after being hit by what bangor hydroelectric company is calling the most damaging ice storm in maine since 1998. >> this is the worst time of year to have something like this happen. >> reporter: this facility opened up to feed people on christmas day. up in canada, another cold weekend is in store. leaving citizens in toronto icy cold. >> the trees are still down. the power lines are still down. nobody's been to our street to fix anything. >> there are so many power lines

down. there's a triage going on. if one line will get 100 homes back online, if that line goes to your house, and you're the only house out, you have a long wait. buffalo seeing light snow. chilly temperatures from toronto. it warms up even into the 30s and 40s for the weekend. by monday, back down well below freezing. in fact, the morning lows back down below zero for some of the areas that still don't have power. chris, kate, back to you. ice is a problem here. but everything is relative. there are agonizing hours left for a ship stranded in the ice off antarctica. it's been four days since the expedition ship got trapped in the thick, thick ice there. the good news is, the chinese ice breaker ship can be seen in the distance. less than eight miles away. due to the thickness of that ice, it could take up to eight hours to reach those stranded. cnn's diana magnay has the latest. diana? >> that's right, chris.

well, this ship was an academic scientific research vessel. basically they were doing test on the marine wildlife and the birds around the antarctic when the temperatures dropped on monday and they were literally frozen where they were. and on christmas day in the morning they sent out a mayday signal and it's taken three days since that signal for these three vessels to arrive and the first is now not just on its way but literally within eye shot. just hours ago, joy on board the ship, passengers pointing out into the distance as a chinese ice breaker set to rescue them slowly makes its way towards them. this russian flagship, stuck in the ice for four days now after

weather conditions turned bad. but help is on its way. behind it, two more ice breakers, one french and one australian. if the snow dragon gets stuck, too. on board, are 74 researchers, a mix of professional and amateur scientists who decided to spend their christmas checking out the effects of climate change in the frozen antarctic. they sailed around 100 nautical miles east of their starting point when they got stuck. despite blizzards with wind speeds of nearly 45 miles per hour, we've heard the moral remains high and while they wait, they've had a few friendly visitors checking in to say hello. this morning's visitors are far more welcome. it's summer in the antarctic now. it's light all day and all night long. even though we're approaching midnight in the antarctic, they'll be able to watch the snow dragon make its painstaking way towards them. >> there may be light but is there heat? those people look cold on that ship. earlier we spoke with chris turney, the leader of that stranded expedition.

here's a little bit of what he told us. >> the vessel is fine and safe and everyone aboard is very well. moral is really high. and i don't know if you saw the youtube footage but we got hit by a heavy blizzard yesterday, wind speeds at 70 kilometers an hour. and fortunately the wind has passed, the low pressure system has moved away and a lot of the pressure around the hull of the vessel has eased back now as the winds have subsided. the ice has built up around us unfortunately over the last few days. we have 2 to 3 meters, 4 in places surrounding us. yesterday, the ship was tilting a little bit because of the pressure on one side because of the strong easterly winds. >> there's more good news coming if that ship can make it. one of the interesting things here is they can't get out but

technology can get in. you can watch what's going on in the eventual rescue online, www.spiritofmawson.com, m-a-w-s-o-n. >> track the progress. we'll be tracking it as well. in the headlines today, major airport security questions raised on christmas day after two breaches, at two airports on opposite ends of the country, newark airport, a man in women's clothing scaled a fence and walked on to two runways in sky hae harbor and phoenix airport. the family a california girl who suffered complications following a tonsillectomy is asking the hospital to help get her transferred to another facility. a judge concluded the 13-year-old jaha mcmath is brain dead and only has to be on life support until monday. the family found a facility

willing to take jahi and treat her. >> a crazy fight to show you right outside a florida movie theater. take a look at this. this happened on christmas night. some 600 people involved in a brawl in jacksonville. police say this group tried to storm the doors without tickets and get past an off-duty officer working as a security guard. he called for backup and the crowd went crazy in the parking lot apparently. police were able to break up the fight and five people were arrested. only minor injuries and limited damage, we're told. a controversial u.s. military base in japan will be moved but it's likely to take a decade. officials there have won permission to relocate the marine base in okinawa to a less populated area. the u.s. has been trying to move the base for years but residents opposed it saying it was unsafe and too loud. the local government gave its okay after promises of cash to spend on infrastructure projects there. "duck dynasty" fans continuing to make their opinions known.

they want phil robertson back on the show. some 250,000 people signed a petition demanding a&m reinstate the family patriarch. he was suspended following remarks he made. the petition says robertson was just expressing biblical views. chris and kate? >> a lot of popularity on that show and even more popularity for literal translation of the bible. >> yes. >> no surprise that people are rallying in his favor. but what will a&m do? we'll have to see. what will a & e do? we'll have to see. we'll tell you about the fresh new threat as the terror organization's affiliates are said to be getting stronger. also ahead, a monsignor's conviction linked to a sex abuse

scandal now overturned. but is monsignor william lynn in the clear? we'll talk to his lawyer, coming up. smoke? no, i'm good. ♪ [ male announcer ] every time you say no to a cigarette, you celebrate a little win. nicorette mini delivers fast craving relief in just 3 minutes. double your chances of quitting with nicorette mini.

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welcome back to "new day." terrorist plotting their next moves against the u.s. experts say al qaeda is making a comeback, the hatred is the same but al qaeda itself is different. as pentagon correspondent barbara starr shows us, the terror group is several groups in different countries but united in their desire to strike the u.s. >> reporter: chris, kate, the obama administration likes to say al qaeda is decimated, on the run. but going into 2014, there are new al qaeda affiliates growing

in strength. cnn has learned recent intercepts of messages from senior al qaeda operatives in yemen are renewing concern the group is planning new attacks. the intercepts don't indicate specific targets but are described by one source as, quote, active plotting. >> there are multiple indications that al qaeda in the arabian peninsula is plotting attacks, both within yemen against u.s. and other western structures as well as overseas. >> reporter: the group is yemen well known for the failed underwear bomber attempt to bring down an airplane christmas day 2009. four years later, the u.s. intelligence community believes it poses the greatest threat of an attack on the u.s. >> they are still capable of conducting attacks outside of yemen, including plotting attacks against the united

states in multiple locations, including trying to conduct attacks against the u.s. homeland, especially by taking down aircraft. >> reporter: analysts say the group rebounded in 2013 from battlefield losses. u.s. drone strikes have had mixed results. inside syria, a key al qaeda affiliate, also stronger than a year ago. about 100 americans, along with potentially hundreds from europe, are fighting alongside thousands of militants. >> if they were able to return to europe and get access to the united states or return directly to the united states, they were not put on a watch list, they would pose a very serious threat. they're well trained, radicalized and they have the ability and intent to strike the u.s. homeland. >> reporter: analysts say the rise of the new al qaeda affiliates is part of the price paid for years of attacks against the old line core al qaeda. many of those leaders, including

osama bin laden are long gone and now the new affiliates and the new leaders have much more autonomy to operate and they are becoming a growing danger. chris, kate? >> barbara, thank you. attacking the old al qaeda somehow gave birth to the new al qaeda? let's bring in cnn terrorism analyst paul cruickshank to try to get perspective. is this what this is about, the natural evolution of the threat? >> to some degree, yes. i think barbara's report is spot on. we're facing a resurgent al qaeda network in the arab world. al qaeda has shifted its center of gravity from the afghanistan/pakistan border region back to the arab world. it's taken advantage of the political turmoil caused by the arab spring to build up a presence right across the region. much of this is being fueled by events in syria. al qaeda's affiliate in iraq has

morphed into a significant and growing presence, both in syria and also in iraq. nearly 2,000 europeans have traveled to fight in syria, according to some estimates. there are also estimates of up to 11,000 foreign fighters fighting in syria, many from around the arab world, many fighting with al qaeda affiliated groups and security officials are very worried about what happens when these fighters return home, both to the arab world and also back to europe, chris. >> so was this expected or is this proof that all previous efforts have been counterproductive? >> the united states has made significant headway in the afghanistan/pakistan border region. al qaeda central has been degraded there. that sort of has forced them to concentrate much more on the arab world, chris. also the group in yemen, some of these drone strikes were effective at curtailing some of their operations but

unfortunately, al qaeda's affiliate in yemen is still there, still present, still a threat to the united states. we saw a plot orchestrated by a group that led to the shutdown of 20 american embassies is cross the arab and muslim world. the leader of al qaeda in yemen is the new number two in the al qaeda global network. that's increased pressure on him to attack u.s. interests, chris. >> what do you make of this latest hostage video of warren weinstein that's been released by al qaeda in pakistan. is that an extension of the new tactics there? >> i think this is a ploy by al qaeda central in pakistan to remain relevant. the limelight has been stolen from them by these other al qaeda affiliates back in the arab world. this is them telling their followers we're still trying to do something here. we may not be able to orchestrate the kind of terrorist plot you were seeing

three or four or five years ago but we're still trying to do something, chris. >> we've been told, you've said it to me on this show, al qaeda has become somewhat of a brand now. don't read any extension of al qaeda as the original organization growing, it's just being borrowed by new groups. and yet when people hear this information, paul, they're going to say are we losing? is that what this means? does this mean we're losing because the threat is growing faster than our ability to stop it? what's the right perspective to have on this? >> i think right now if you're going to think about what's the terrorist threat against the united states right now? i don't think it's quite as high as it was five years ago. al qaeda siene trillion in pakistan has been weakened by drone strikes. they're not able to train westerners in the way they were to go and launch attacks back in the west. this was the group most focused, most obsessed with attacking the united states. what you see now is the evolution of the threat, the strengthening of the broader

al qaeda network back in the arab world. most of these groups are sort of focused on the fight over there right now. not so focused on haitting the united states. the worry in the future is that that could change and that would be of great concern to counterterrorism officials here in the united states, chris. >> it's interesting. the threat is growing but there are inside disputes going on that distract from the original mission of just attacking the u.s. paul cruickshank, thank you very much. these are deep waters to wade through. thanks for taking us through them this morning. >> thank you. conviction overturned against a priest convicted in the catholic church's sex abuse scandal. why did the appeals panel say he wasn't responsible and what's next in his case? we'll be joined by the monsignor's lawyer in just a few moments. if you went on delta's website yesterday, you got a heck of a deal on air travel but will the airline honor the super low prices following what turned out to be a glitch?

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welcome back to "new day." a landmark decision now unanimously overturned. a priest accused of covering up for and protecting abusive priests with be a three-judge panel rejected the argument that monsignor william lynn was legally responsible for the abuse. victims are outraged this morning. miguel marquez is here with the brand new developments coming out. >> good morning. this is an outrage for victims

because they saw this as precedent-setting. it was the first time an official wasn't prosecuted for not abusing kids -- or abusing kids but instead for covering it up. monsignor william lynn's child endangerment conviction overturned. his attorneys are calling for his immediate release. he spent the last 18 months behind bars for the way he handled sexual abuse complaints. as a high-ranking official he was assigned to investigate reports of abuse. during his june 2012 trials prosecutors argued he covered up abuse inside the catholic church and allowed a known predator to stay in the ministry. he was sentenced to serve three to six years. thursday, a three-panel judge unanimously rejected arguments made at the time of the trial that monsignor lynn was legally responsible for the welfare of an abused boy in 1998. his attorneys have always

countered saying that pennsylvania's child endangerment law only applies to parents and caregivers. his trial, the first in the u.s. of such a senior official in the church and it was considered an historic moment for survivors of abuse. now the decision to overturn his conviction has survivors outraged. >> it really does not exonerate the monsignor at all. all the court is saying the statute is so narrowly defined that it does not encompass the acts that are alleged to have been committed by monsignor lynn. >> reporter: pennsylvania district attorney seth williams voiced disappointment with the ruling say be, while we are deciding what our next course of action will be, we most likely will be appealing this decision. >> he could be released as early as today. it is not expected, this ruling, to go beyond pennsylvania, because the specificity of this particular law in that state. chris? >> miguel, thank you very much.

we're joined now by thomas bergstrom, the attorney for monsignor lynn. >> good morning. >> the basic question is, is this about your klein the simply getting off on a technicality? >> no, no, it's not at all. let me explain that. first of all, the jury acquitted him of any conspiracy charge during the trial. he was convicted of a single count of endangering the welfare of a child. under the pennsylvania statute. that statute deals with basically three principles, a parent, a guardian or an other person supervising the welfare of a child. 30 years of precedent in the superior court of pennsylvania essentially defines that other person as one who has direct control, some affinity between that person and the child. obviously monsignor lynn didn't have an affinity with this child.

he had no control over this child. he never knew this child, never met this child. this child didn't even exist as far as he knew. >> right. >> it wasn't until 2010 that monsignor lynn even learned that this child had been abused back in 1998. >> let's take up that part of it. >> the parameters -- >> i hear you on the law. not here to debate you about the law. it seems like the law was misapplied here. that's why the appeal manuel sa -- panel said what it did. we'll let the courts deal with that part. >> clearly. >> the priest in question, avery, had admitted to things that it was known, that he was moved as a result of what he had already admitted to and that your client allowed that to happen. whether or not the law fits, that was kuzed in this case, isn't that something that deserves criminal responsibility after everything we've learned about the church scandal? >> well, wait a minute. a law is the law. i mean, if there is a law that

punishes that conduct he should have been charged with that conduct. he wasn't charged with that conduct. as a matter of fact, he was acquitted of conspiracy. the fact of the matter is, the superior court recognizes this clearly in their opinion, monsignor lynn did not have the authority or the power to transfer priests. that responsibility laid totally with the cardinal. lynn obviously -- >> he could have reported him to the police. forget about transferring him. we don't want them transferred. we want them prosecuted. >> that's a very good point. the d.a. made that point over and over and over again. guess what? the evidence in this case reveals two things. number one is reveals that these cases were reported to the police. the police did nothing about it and the reason they did nothing about it was, again, because of the law. in many of these cases, not just this one, but in many of these cases, and not just monsignor lynn, in many of these cases, the statute of limitations had

long expired. much of the abuse you heard in this record occurred in the '40s, the '50s, the '60s and the '70s. it didn't occur in 2004, 2005 and 2006. the statute had long run on those cases and there was nothing anybody could do about it. reporting it to the police was a nonevent. >> the kid in the avery -- first of all, i don't know that monsignor lynn reported these cases to the police. i didn't see that in the record at trial. if you have proof of that, that would be interesting to see. the kid, the victim, in the avery case is in his 20s now. that's not the '40s, '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s or '90s. that's why they prosecuted it. >> i agree with that. that's why they prosecuted. the problem is they prosecuted the wrong man. i mean, monsignor lynn had no direct control or authority or affinity to this young man. >> except through the priest. that's the part i don't understand. that's the part i don't understand. >> i'm sorry. >> avery pleaded guilty. they prosecuted that man.

you're saying the monsignor had no direct control over the child but he did have direct control over the priest who had direct control over the child. and why doesn't that assume any responsibility? in your opinion? >> because at the time that this offense occurred, the law did not provide for one in that position. the law has been amended. it was amended in '07, going forward, a supervisor of a supervisor can now be prosecuted. but in monsignor lynn's case, the law was not that in that time frame. they had to prove that he was either a parent, a guardian or a supervisor. and let me say this. there is no question in my mind that the district attorney in this case when they brought this charge against monsignor lynn, they knew full well he did not fit within that statutory scheme, because it was the district attorney's office over an extended period of time that lobbied the legislature to change the law, so they could in

fact prosecute people like monsignor lynn if they could prove it. the reality is, they knew going in that this law didn't apply to him. and it didn't apply to him. that's the end of the story. >> right. but it can't be, though. >> what do you mean it can't be? >> i get that it's the end of the process inasmuch as this statute was misapplied and that's gone but that's the system and how the system works that doesn't mean the right thing was done in the situation. you just said yourself there's a new law that would cover monsignor lynn. i wonder what your take is -- >> if they can prove it, yes. >> do you think your klein the did the right thing in the situation? >> i think he did absolutely the right thing. if you read the record in this case, you will be surprised at how hard he worked and how many -- how many priests he had to deal with that were accused of sexual abuse. it simply wasn't avery. there were many, many, many, and he handled each of them as best

he could. it wasn't a situation where he -- believe me, there is no evidence in this record. i sat through this trial for three months. there was no evidence in this record whatsoever that he willingly transferred -- he worked very hard. >> please, go ahead, mr. bergstrom. go ahead. >> that's all right. he committed literally committed avery, to nine months of inpatient therapy and the doctors in that inpatient therapy were satisfied that avery was not going to abuse again. he relied on those doctors time and time again. okay? he did his due diligence. i mean, he did all that he physically could do. >> did the monsignor report avery? did he report anybody to the police? >> oh, absolutely he reported people to the police. >> he reported avery to the police. >> he reported avery to the

police. no, he did not report avery to the police. >> you know he molests kids but you don't report him to the police. you understand why that frustrates people? >> wait a minute. the one case that was on monsignor lynn's radar back in 1992 was a case involving a young man by the name of -- i won't mention his name. >> sure, sure. >> it was a case that occurred in 1978. that's the case that was on monsignor's radar, not the avery case with this young man who came forward in 2010. it was a case involving alleged fondling, period. and the young man met with father lynn, father lynn then had avery committed with regard to that particular case. as i said, he was in nine months of therapy. monsignor lynn stayed in touch with that victim over time. so that was the only issue with respect on monsignor lynn's radar with regard to avery.

>> i understand your point. >> okay. >> obviously, i know you're not trying to say that fondling is less bad than other crimes. >> of course not. >> i know you're being specific about the allegation involved. >> that's right. >> why am i chasing on this? i'm chasing on this because the idea that those who knew weren't found responsible is really the key to why it continued so long. that's why there's sensitivity here. i understand the law wasn't properly applied in this stance. that's what the appeals panel said. as we both know, the new law would cover monsignor lynn in these situations. that's why the questioning is aggressive. >> the new law would indeed cover him. but you know, at the end of the day, i mean, i think we all understand this, and the emotion in this case, you know, it trumped the law so to speak. now we have the law trumping the emotion. that's where we have to come out. the law has to survive here. and the law has to trump things like emotion.

there are many priests who have been prosecuted and if they have abused children, they will be prosecuted going forward. but you know, at the end of the day, you've got to take a look at the law. you can't be guided strictly by emotion here. >> mr. bergstrom, thank you very much for your perspective on the case. i appreciate you coming on. i know it's not an easy discussion to have. >> that's okay. thank you. let's get over to pamela, she has other top stories this morning. making news on this friday morning, another cold, dark morning for more than 200,000 power customers in michigan, northern new england and southeast canada. utility companies say many might not get electricity until the weekend. frigid temperatures are keeping power lines coated in ice and michigan expects a thaw tomorrow but that could make tree branches snap and cause more outages. the storm is being blamed for at least 19 deaths. at least six are dead, dozens more injured in a car

bombing in beirut. among those killed, the former ambassador to the u.s. the bomb went off in the busy central business district. no claim of responsibility yet. and a bus crash in thailand has killed at least 29 people and left several others injured. authorities say the bus went through a guardrail and plunged off a bridge that's 165 feet high. it's unclear exactly what went wrong here. at least one report says police think the driver fell asleep. on a little bit of a lighter note, a charity soccer match brings out royal sibling rivalry. princes william and harry playing on opposite teams in a match between estate workers and locals, in a village 115 miles outside of london. the two princes collided at one point and harry scored the second goal for his team. the match ended up being a draw, 2-2. the brothers were able to put aside their differences, probably help but it was a tied

game. they did hug each other at the very end. all good. happy ending. >> we didn't see what happened when the cameras turned off, though. >> exactly. >> one of those slightly extra hard bro hugs. i love you, too. >> wonder if they would have hugged if it wasn't tied. >> that's true. >> thanks, pamela. coming up next on "new day," you might know someone who's had orthopedic knee surgery -- twice, chris. but is the surgery just a waste of time? doctors in the house within we come back. and cross-country flights for 40 bucks on delta yesterday? that's what the airline offered. that's what you bought. the question is is that price still good? we'll tell you. we're aig. and we're here.

to help secure retirements and protect financial futures. to help communities recover and rebuild. for companies going from garage to global. on the ground, in the air, even into space. we repaid every dollar america lent us. and gave america back a profit. we're here to keep our promises. to help you realize a better tomorrow. from the families of aig, happy holidays.

i've got a big date, but my sinuses are acting up. it's time for advil cold and sinus. [ male announcer ] truth is that won't relieve all your symptoms. new alka seltzer plus-d relieves more symptoms than any other behind the counter liquid gel. oh what a relief it is.

♪ i got the eye of the tiger ♪ the fire this is the perfect song to introduce chad myers in for indra petersons. he has the eye of the tiger, roar for us, chad, roar. >> i don't want to go with that. >> that was good. run away. >> he just got done with a blueberry doughnut, he has a sugar high and now he's throwing it to me. >> 48 today in d.c. 37 toronto, 39 in chicago. it does cool down after this warmup. it's a meltdown that will help at least a little bit. help get these power lines back up and the next shot of cold air comes in after that. we'll take the warmup while we can get it, chilly temperatures finally for monday for chicago and the like. we'll take the warmup because the next snowstorm could have

been coming up the east coast. it's not. it's a rain event. even rain for new york city because the cold air does not get here in time. that's amazing news. now it's going to get some snow up into killington, up into the ski resorts for late in the weekend, even into maine and upstate new york. for the major cities, i still believe this is a rain event. the cold air can't get here in time for all of this moisture to turn into anything frozen or freezing. here comes the forecast precip. there's a lot of it. flooding down across the deep south. at least an inch or two. multiply that inch of snow or rain by ten, that's how much snow you'd get. we're talking almost 15 inches potential in new york city. that's not going to happen. if all this changes and it moves to the left, watch out, indra will have that for you next week. right now i do believe this is a rain event for the northeast and we'll take that washing away some of the ice across parts of the upper midwest. kate? >> all right, chad. i love you, chad. thank you so much. a surprising new study shows the most common orthopedic procedure performed in the

united states, a type of knee surgery, may not even be necessary. a lot of people need to pay attention to this. the findings published by researchers in finland involved doctors performing an elaborately staged sham. half of the patients studied underwent the actual procedure but the other half underwent a fake surgery. the results, there was virtually no difference in knee pain reported by either group. let's talk about this and what this means. dr. raj, thanks for coming in. >> sure. >> so many people get this surgery in the united states. chris has had two? >> yes. >> let's talk about what it means to have a sham surgery study. it's fascinating when we do

studies, people were rolled into the o.r. a scope was inserted so the doctor could see what was going on. only half of the patients had the meniscusectomy. the other patients were sewn back up although they did take the same amount of time so the patients wouldn't know which surgery they had. a year later, the fake surgery patients reported improvement as much as the real surgery patients. >> nearly two-thirds on both sides of the study said they were happy with the results and would do it again if needed. >> why? >> this is one of the criticism, maybe that original orthroscopy. in general, people have shown that people with arthritis and

meniscus damage, this doesn't help. we're looking at a younger population, no benefit. >> and no trauma. that's important, too. no arthritis and no trauma. >> exactly. >> most people feel if you've had a sudden trauma or accident that caused a sudden injury, the surgery would help. the takeaway, everyone is an individual. speak to your doctor about your individual case, or not you have arthritis, and make a decision. it is a reason to take a moment, pause, see what the other options are, whether it's physical therapy, anti-inflammatories, losing weight, changing the way you do exercise. i think this will change the way people think of going to the surgery as a first-line step. >> age really should factor into the decisionmaking, too. >> age as well as what your lifestyle is, what kind of damage, why did the damage

occur, what kind of damage are you doing in terms of exercise. >> literally i'm an aging athlete. you have chronic pain, things hurt. i want that quick fix. the doctor says we can do the surgery. people jump at it with their backs, knees, shoulders but it's not always the best thing. >> let's also remember this was a one-year follow-up. we don't know what will happen five years down the road. it's one study. >> fascinating. >> where you see that placebo effect from surgery? >> there have been a few. it's not easy to sign people up for a sham surgery trial. they did it in finland. good for them. >> good to point out as we often say, every patient is individual but to take that moment to pause and figure out if there's an alternative that might be better. >> absolutely. >> a little cosomine-condritin

is a supplement you're supposed to take. >> this conversation made my knee ache. >> thanks, dr. raj. coming up on "new day," the flu is back. you better stick around. it's already proving deadly. we'll tell you who is particularly at risk this year. the strain sa bad. also ahead, delta says it will make good on bargain basement fares. you won't believe how cheap some of these tickets were. smoke? no, i'm good. ♪ [ male announcer ] every time you say no to a cigarette, you celebrate a little win. nicorette mini delivers fast craving relief in just 3 minutes. double your chances of quitting with nicorette mini.

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it was the deal of the century for some lucky customers on delta airlines' website thursday. fares for as low as -- wait for it -- $25 for roundtrip flights across the country. delta called it a glitch. that means they're getting ready not to honor those ridiculous prices, right? i don't know. cnn business correspondent allison kosic is here. are they going to make good on what was offered and accepted? >> they are going to make good and accept it not because they're being kind -- maybe they are, but really there's a department of transportation regulation that's on the books that says, listen, carriers, if you put mistake fares up there, you got to honor them. everybody who got these dirt cheap fares are going to be able it fly on these -- look at the prices. there you go. one way boston to honolulu, one way, $68. one way tallahassee/l.a., new york to seattle, $25 roundtrip.

hit the jackpot. the real jackpot is new york to l.a., $40. >> roundtrip? >> these are roundtrip. at the end -- those are just some of the fares. this went on for a better part of the morning yesterday, the day after christmas. so the times are kind of all over the map. we're hearing between 9:30 in the morning to maybe as late as 1:00 that this was going on. people were so proud of their purchases that they took to social media and said, "look what i got." they went to facebook and twitter and talked about it. >> divine intervention, people desperate to get away from their family, looking for a flight, pay anything it takes, and got a cheap flight. >> i need to know where i was because i need a flight. i was going to do it yesterday and got distracted. i could have been one of the lucky ones. >> once again -- this has happened before? >> it has. united continental had something similar happen earlier -- actually, when was it -- this year. the fares were free, but you still had to pay for taxes and fees, but i'm sure that was pretty low. and those people had -- those

fares honored, as well, they flew practically free. >> do we know how many people -- >> how many? >> how many people -- >> delta is not saying how many, how many fares were sold at the incorrect prices. i like one thing that i saw, the associated press was quoting george hobika from airfarewatchdog.com. he said it looked like delta's programmers had a little too much egg nog yesterday. i love it. funny. >> is it as simple as they moved the decimal the wrong direction? i don't understand how the glitches occur. >> well, this guy from airfarewatch.com thinks that delta was making a $10 to $20 change and the programmer made a mistake -- >> only $10 and $20. >> the former programmer. >> poor guy or gal. >> a lot of people benefited for sure. >> very lucky. i wish i was one. >> they're honoring it, but they are no longer in existence. >> right. they were. >> thank. >> we can only hope to happens again at one of these airlines. >> if it does, don't talk about it on facebook. >> keep it a secret, come on.

>> thanks, delta. >> thanks. coming up next on "new day," flu season arrives in the u.s., and it could be bad for younger adults. at least one state is already reporting deaths. doctors say you need to get a shot before the virus really takes off. and a story we've been following from the beginning. an american sentenced to a year in a middle eastern prison for a joke. what is the u.s. doing to bring him home? what are they not doing? we'll talk to a senator from his home state and try get answers coming up. [ male announcer ] legalzoom has helped start over 1 million businesses.

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go call now! we'll finish up here. it was tough. it was dark. candles can only do so much.

the fire -- you got to keep that going. >> frozen. snow and ice covering big parts of the east, causing chaos. now another round of arctic air as tens of thousands are already without power. we're tracking it all. happening now, a ship trapped in antarctica. dozens of researchers and tourist on board. now an icebreaker is arriving to set them free. we're live with the latest. the flu in full force. it's started early in much of the country. multiple deaths in texas. why this year's strain is more dangerous for younger adults. your "new day" continues right now. welcome back, it's friday, thank goodness, december 27th, 8:00 in the east. hope you're having a good morning. power is still out and patience no doubt growing thin for hundreds of thousands in the northern u.s. and canada.

snow and icestorms earlier in the week have claimed at least 19 lives. many because of carbon monoxide poisoning from generators. the electric troubles will run into the weekend, and the forecast could pose more problems for people working to get it fixed. chad myers is in with a look at this nasty weather. chad? you know what it's like when the power goes out in your house for a couple of hours. it's a real inconvenience. you think about your ice cream melting, now what are we going to do, we're bored. think about that same thing for four straight days. the temperature outside is well below freezing. people now are getting extremely dangerous. talk about another blow -- hundreds of thousands of residents in the northern tier of the country are still waking up with no power. this as another blast of arctic air is on the way. >> it was tough. it was dark. candles can only do so much. the fire -- you got to keep that going. that's our only option. >> reporter: this morning, people in pennsylvania are recovering from multiple mass casualty pileups on state

highways. as the dramatic scenes unfolded thursday, first responders rescued more than 40 people injured, transporting a couple dozen to area hospitals. more snow is expected from michigan it maine. this comes as a blow to power crews who have been rapidly working against the ice and below freezing temperatures to try to restore power some of those left in the dark since last weekend. crews have finally been able to fire up their electrical grids, but are warning some people won't have power until at least the end of the weekend. >> it's been challenging. >> reporter: crews even sacrificing their christmas to restore power. after being hit by what bangor hydroelectric company is calling the most damaging ice storm in maine since 1998. >> this is probably the worst time of year to have something like this happen. >> reporter: this portland inn opened christmas day to feed crews racing to bring back power. up in canada, another cold weekend is in store leaving citizen in toronto icy cold.

>> the trees are still down. power lines are still down. nobody's been to our street to fix anything. >> reporter: what have we heard? how are people getting dangerous? they are bringing charcoal-lit fires into their house to warm them up. no. carbon monoxide. they are bringing propane stoves or propane grills from outside into the house to bring them up. no, carbon monoxide. turning on your oven with no other venting, no, your furnace can vent the carbon monoxide, ovens cannot. we always lose people, many, many more people after the storm than during it. so please don't do those things. find a warming shelter or a friend with power because now at this point in time, five, six, seven days without power, temperatures well below freezing, i know everybody's getting a little desperate. 49 in new york city, 54 for d.c. for tomorrow. warming up here. that's good news because a storm will run up from the south. and that could have caused a big snowstorm. it will just be a rain event for new york city. that happens on sunday and monday. if you're traveling on those days, expect very, very slow airports. chris? >> all right. thank you for the good advice.

i know it gets tempting, but people have to follow it. you have to stay safe. the cold snap will end. another story dealing with cold this morning, help is oh, so close for 74 people on a ship stranded in the ice off ant art ka. it's been four days since the expedition trip got trapped in ice that keeps getting thicker. now a chinese icebreaker ship can be seen? the distance. but the agony will not end for hours thanks to slow going in that deep ice. we've been tracking it all morning. cnn has the latest. what do we know? >> reporter: well, chris, we know that the "snow dragon," that chinese icebreaker, is about five hours away now. it is slow progress. because it's summer in the antarct antarctic, it's light all night long and is pretty much midnight now. they can watch as the vessel comes toward them, as their rescue gets closer and closer. let's take a look at how this started off. just hours ago, joy on board the ship, passengers pointing out into the distance as a chinese

icebreaker set to rescue them slowly makes its way toward them. >> on the horizon, chris -- that's the icebreaker coming to rescue us. >> brilliant. >> reporter: this russian-flanked ship stuck in the ice for four days now after weather conditions turned bad. help is on its way. behind it, two more icebreakers, one french and one australian. if the "snow dragon" gets stuck, too. on board, 74 researchers, a mix of proviedge and amateur scientists, who decided to spend their christmas checking the effects of climate change in the frozen antarctic. they sailed around 100 miles east of their starting point when they got stuck. despite blizzards with wind speeds of nearly 45 miles per hour, we've heard morale remains high. while they wait, they've had a few friendly visitors checking in to say hello. this morning's visitors are far more welcome.

apparently they had a great christmas on the ship. they've got heating, supplies. of course, they're looking forward to this coming to an end. back to you. >> hopefully that will come soon enough. a slow go. we'll be watching it. thank you very much, diane agreat to see you. now to two airport security breaches on opposite ends of the country. in newark airport a man scaled a fence and walked on to two runways. in sky harbor, in phoenix, you see the video. airport workers say they saw a man climb over a barbed wire fence and then run on to the tarmac. cnn national security analyst fran townsend is here to talk more about the situations and what it means for our airport security. she's a former homeland security adviser for president george w. bush. great to see you. >> good to see you, kate. >> we've got two different incidents, two different security systems that we're looking at. in both situations, when i look at this, i wonder how did they let these men get so far. what do you make of it? >> we've got to remember, an

intrusion detection system is a piece of technology that enables the human response. so it's not that the intrusion detection systems failed. they're not really meant to keep people out. what they're meant to do is alert authorities at the airport that someone has breached their perimeter. now, you know, we get different reports depending on which airport you're talking about. but those systems are usually manned by contractors. contractors who then alert port authority and security officials at the airport. the question in the case of newark, we're looking at the video at phoenix where you can actually see the man. and that's what those -- the intrusion detection system is supposed to do. it takes a picture, sets an alarm, and it allows an immediate response. that didn't happen in newark. it -- the system alarmed, they did take photographs of the guy who scaled the fence. this guy made it, in the case of newark, all the way to a terminal before there was a human response. port authority is investigating what -- where that failure took

place. was it that the contractor took too much time to alert port authority, was that port authority took too much time? so they need to understand how this system failed and why it took them so long to understand someone was inside the perimeter. >> a coincidence that both incidents happened around the same time. i guess it leads to my question of do you -- do you see these as one-off incidents, or does this expose to us that there are real holes in security around our airports that we would assume are pretty foolproof? >> here's the real problem -- not only does it expose to american and you and i the vulnerability, but by the way, there are bad guys who are going to watch and see that there's a vulnerability here. when you think about it, american have the right to be really pretty outraged over the fact we've spent billions on transportation security coming in the front door. we have tsa and explosive

detection screening as you go to the gate. all the while, if a guy sneaks in over the fence, he's running across the tarmac. they need to understand what is the problem with this intrusion detection system and how do they improve it. by the way, we haven't really heard from tsa. tsa points this is a port authority problem at the airport. while that's true, we expect and americans have the right to expect tsa will look at this in terms of why it has -- has this been a continuing problem across the country, and what needs to be done to fix it. >> that kind of leads -- another lingering question i had. local authorities, they kind of are in charge of the security around the airports. everyone is familiar with tsa inside the airports. what do you think is the role of the federal government? do you think they're pushing this off? when you want to look at the solution, when we see that there's a problem, it doesn't seem that throwing more money at it is going to solve anything here.

>> no. i'm like you --not suggesting you throw more money at it. but what you also cannot do is say, well, we're going to throw technology at it. >> right. >> what you have to do is make sure you've got the process, the human process that takes advantage and leverages the technology. there's a real role for tsa to play to ensure system are adequately deployed, that there are best practices to make sure they're leveraged and tested properly. i think we ought to expect to hear from tsa about how they'll work with local authorities to better ensure the intrusion detection systems are used appropriately and made to work right. >> yeah. and improving kind of the minimum standard of the best practices and getting their -- the standard there across the board will be helpful. fran, great to see you. thank you very much. >> you, too. back over to pamela brown in for mikayla for more of the top stories. good to see you both. making news today, the death toll is rising from a car bombing in beirut that killed lebanon's former ambassador to the united states. at least six people have been

killed, dozens are hurt. we'll get the latest from istanbul. muhammad, what do you know? >> reporter: pamela, this is a very disturbing attack that tax place at a time when lebanon is already so on edge because of the spillover of violence from syria's civil rar which is raging right next door to lebanon. targeted in the attack, according to officials, are a former lebanese ambassador to the u.s., former academic, and former machines minister in lebanon. a sunni powerhouse, considered a moderate. nobody's sure why he was targeted, and nobody's claimed responsibility for the killing. the fact of the matter is that at least six people have been killed, over 70 injured. many officials i'm speaking with believe that the death toll could rise throughout the day. speculation in lebanon already building that perhaps how much of that was targeted because he is staunchly against the syrian president, bashar al assad, and has, the militant shiite -- and

hezbollah, the militant shiite group. all condemning the killing, but this goes to show how much lebanon has been affected and continues to be by the war in syria which continues to spill over its borders into lebanon. >> thank you for the latest. we're expecting final word from the connecticut state police from the sandy hook rampage today. thousands of pages will be released into the mass shooting. it's expected to contain photos and emergency calls. the study showed adam lanza acted alone and was obsessed with mass shootings. the shooting spree not far from new orleans has left at least three people dead including the suspected gunman. police say ben freeman went to two homes, killing his former mother-in-law, former boss, and wounding several others. his current wife also was found dead. the cause is not yet clear.

police say the families of his ex-wife and former boss had restraining orders against freeman. and check out this surveillance video right here. thieves back a van through a glass wall and into an atlanta dmv. so what were they after? that's the question here. two atm machines that weren't bolted to the floor. three suspects loaded the atms into a second stolen vehicle in about three minutes. police arrived less than a minute later. a security guard was in the building during the heist but ducked for cover shen called 911. >> smart. these guys obviously saw "the fast and the furious." they didn't realize it was just a movie. >> they were on a mission for sure. and that's your morning headlines. >> very good. >> thank you. i appreciate that, guys. >> i like ending on that -- i like when criminals are dumb. they get caught -- >> always a good note to end on, right? >> and her being alert, calling 911, staying safe. good always. coming up, put down your coffee.

it's important. the flu is ripping through the u.s. it's already proven deadly. it's baffling doctors because of who it's targeting. we'll tell you who and tell you how to keep your family safe. and later, you got to think some people will never step foot in the river again after a school of vicious, hungry fish with razor sharp teeth came after. we'll talk about it.

of. here's news i wish i didn't have to report, but it's true. flu season is here, and it's already shocking doctors. normally the illness is a big concern for seniors and the young. this strain can be particularly dangerous for young adults.

multiple deaths have already been reported. victor blackwell is covering the story from atlanta. what do we know? >> reporter: good morning. a lot of families are waking up this morning, the kids are home from school because of the winter break, maybe mom and dad have the day off. federal officials would like for you to take your entire family to get a flu shot. of course check with a doctor to make sure it's right for everyone in the family. here's why -- as many as one in five of us will get the flu this season according to health officials. this season is proving to be especially danger us on, not just for the very young and very old, but for some unusual suspects, as well. the flu season is officially upon us. although it is just the beginning, the cdc is already reporting widespread infection rates in several states including alabama, louisiana, and new york. but texas has been the hardest

hit, reporting at least five deaths from the h1n1 strain known as the bird flu. >> the majority of hospitalizations from influenza occur in people 65 or older, and the majority of deaths also in that group. that h1n1, this particular influenza virus, does cause more infections in younger adults. >> reporter: h1n1 made headlines in 2009 causing a pandemic that the cdc infected 52 million people and may have killed hundreds of thousands worldwide. >> try and relax this arm. >> reporter: health official say if you have not gotten a flu shot, you still can. >> every formulation of vaccine that you can get this year will protect against h1n1, and it also protects again other influenza viruses that we think are also circulating. >> reporter: health experts also recommend these simple steps to help stay healthy. wash your hands often. cover your coughs and sneezes. stay home from work and school if you're ill. the cdc says flu season is expected to reach fever pitch in

february. last year, 380,000 people were hospitalized by the virus. medical officials advise take warnings seriously. >> many people think that flu causes sniffles or cold-like symptoms for a week. but it can cause very serious ill innocence people. puts people in -- illness in people. put people in the hospital every year and unfortunately kills people every year. >> reporter: for people still on the fence about getting a flu shot, consider this from the cdc -- again, consult your doctor, but a recent study shows that last season, 79,000 hospitalizations were prevented by people who got the vaccination. that's enough to fool a football stadium, more than a -- to fill a football stadium, more than a football field. and 6.6 million illnesses were prevented by the vaccinations. >> wow. another -- you need to hear it again, another reason if you haven't gotten it yet you need get it. thank you very much. now to argentina. we're talking about a very bizarre attack by a school of

carnivorous plan airanha. dozens were injured when they went for a dip on the 100-degree day. pamela, we've been talking about this all morning. you're dig information to why if their happened. >> reporter: this sound like something out of a horror movie. men, women, children were bathing in a river aptly named piranha river north of buenos airs wednesday. a school of piranhas basically attacked them. 70 people injured including seven children who apparently lost parts of their fingers or toes. in fact, some lost their entire fingers and toes in this fish attack, according to a paramedic that was on the scene there. so really, really disturbing. but these piranhas were known to be in the river. i can only assume that's why it was called piranha river. apparently because of the unusually warm weather, they were congregating on the river's surface before the attack. still, these types of attacks from carnivorous fish rare.

>> they don't usually attack people. they usually attack live things. >> they usually go after carcasses of fish, that kind of thing. but this -- >> is this the common thread in this river, aptly named prona river. is this a common thread e thread folks know about here? >> they knew this is where piranhas like to congregate. it didn't deter a lot of people. if you can believe this, 30 minutes after the attack, people went back into the water because it was so hot. apparently there's a heat wave moving through there -- >> that is unusual. people know that about the fish. even the word in portuguese, it's fish and to cut. they know the reputation of the fish. >> right. there have been other attacks. in 2011/2012, you might remember this -- there was an attack in the amazon river basin. so these do happen. but again, usually these piranhas don't go after people. it's exceptionally rare event as one specialist put it. so -- >> thankfully.

>> very, very disturbing. i think bottom line, experts saying, you know, avoid swimming in south american waters during the dry season when food is sparse. they're thinking that might have played a role, as well. >> they're only like there big. they come in hundreds and hundreds -- >> if you have big teeth and are going to munch on my toes, i'll stay out -- >> i have seen them, swarms. no joke. >> a horrific scene. >> that is enough for me. >> i can't get over that people went back into the water after -- >> they know it's so rare. >> but they just saw it happen. >> i know. but it's like when a shark attacks, when the threat's gone, they go back in. >> okay. would you go back in? >> me? of course i would. completely reckless. >> please. >> i make bad decisions all the time. >> this is true. that's true. >> for your own safety, you -- with your own safety, are you reckless. >> i'm the only one with a kid who -- ow. >> good think ing. we'll take a break. coming up on "new day,"

minnesota's senator has been working to try and help free an american man held in you do by. now that he's been sentenced, what's the next move? what can the u.s. do to get him back? we'll tell you what the u.p.s. is doing to prevent a ghost of christmas past. we'll tell you what they're considering to make sure they deliver next time. customer anger still on the rise, and packages still not there.

welcome back to "new day."

pamela brown's in with the five things you made it to know for your new day. at number one, hundreds of thousands still without power in the northern u.s. and canada after this week's deadly ice storms. more rough weather is in store as crews work to restore service. and two security breaches at airport on opposite sides of the country. a man jumped the fence at newark liberty. a similar on inhappened ed i--r incident happened in phoenix on christmas day. at least six people dead, dozens more injured after a car bomb ripped through beirut. among those killed, lebanon's former ambassador to the u.s. no claim of responsibility yet. we're going to learn more today about the newtown school shooting when connecticut state police released documents, photos, and 911 calls from the massacre at sandy hook elementary school. 20 first graders and six school employees were killed. a surreal moment involving the secretary of state and snoop

dogg. snoop posting a video to instagram showing the two fist bumping at the kennedy center honors. we're always updating the five things you need to know go. to newdaycnn.com for the latest. kate? >> thanks. now to the latest on efforts to free shezanne cassim, the american jailed in the united arab emirates, for making a parody video. only that. he was sentenced monday to one year in prison. cassim's family is desperate to get him home. senator amy klobuchar from his home state of minnesota has spoken to secretary of state john kerry about the case and has been working with the state department for month in the continued effort to free shezanne cassim. senator klobuchar is here this morning. thank you very much for coming in. >> well, thank you very much, kate. and thank you for focusing on this case. it's very easy to forget one guy in jail very far away. this has been an outrage.

as you said, all this was was a parity video making fun of youth acting tough. what would sort of be like the suburbs of an american city, in this case, dubai. didn't attack the government, didn't attack religion. there he is in jail. i've been working with his family and ambassador to the u.s., ambassador corbin, u.s. ambassador to the uae as well as the ambassador from the uae to try to expedite his release. >> now, a lot to try to get to on this this morning. we know he's been sentenced to one year in prison. there is a lot of confusion how much time he will actually serve. he's already been in prison behind bars for eight, almost nine month. our report -- nine months. our reporter says that one of the uae nationals arrested wi e cassim. what are you hearing? >> i heard the exact same thing from his brother yesterday. and i believe that it's true and that one of these has been

released. they got shorter sentences. it's our understanding they got eight-month sentences which is also, we think, unfair. the point of it is, i try to look for the silver lining here. if we're starting to see some releases, maybe it improves his chances of either being loifd by being deport -- released by being deported which may be part of the sentence, and trying to expedite that process so he can come home to his family. also, the credit he gets for time served. he's already been in jail since april for simply posting a video. and so we're trying to figure out how much credit he can get is on that, again, we can expedite the release. >> and what is being done, if you can kind of pull back the curtain, to try to expedite the release? it's been going on for months. you know the family is desperate to get him back. i know you want to get him back in the u.s., as well. the state department's been working on it. you have been working on it. what more can be done? whatever has been done to this point hasn't worked.

>> well, i think part of this is one thing we did accomplish was getting a verdict. we didn't like the verdict, but for so long, t had been held in abeyance for months, nothing happening at all. they had hearing after hearing. at least now we've reached a decision point so we can push in another direction to try to get him home. the second thing is that we have just been getting the news out there, letting people know this is a country that prides itself on being a more open to the west. they have major nyu campus there. many american universitys. they have got google and facebook offices. they're having the rolling stones come in february. i figure it mick jagger can play abu dhabi, these guys shouldn't be in jail for putting a video up. those are kind of the irony of the situation and why we are pushing on the country to really live up to this promise that they are going to be the place for the world's fair, a place

for inventions and new ideas. you don't squelch ideas and simple videos on the internet. >> and senator, i think that's a point that should not be glossed over and should not be missed. this is a country that prides itself, that holds itself up as a model for society. it was not just a few things that would nod to a modern society. it even held a film festival recently. as a united states senator, when you take a step back and know this is happening to one of your constituents, do you think there should be consequences? >> well, one of the things we want to see is action. we want to see them look at their laws and understanding they have security challenges, as our country does. but they have some important security challenges. but this has gone way too far. as they change as a country, as they become more open to global visitors and court the world's fair, they also have to look at their laws and how they treat people who are in their country.

so i think that this is a very difficult, difficult case in terms of calling this to light. but if we have to start talking about it, at least we have an example of how they have to change their laws and change what they do. they have long been a country that our country has worked with. we appreciate the efforts of the ambassador. we appreciate that this is moving forward. but i think everyone that look at this -- and i really challenge your viewers to watch this video. you've watched it. you know it's -- in english. it is a ridiculous situation, they need to step back and look at what they're doing if they're trying to promote a free exchange of ideas in american universities. then they would put someone in jail who is nothing but a price waterhouse consultant who is there doing business, a graduate of the university of minnesota, and throw him in prison just for putting this youtube video on. you can't send those conflicting messages to people that are in your country. >> and everyone knows that when you travel outside the united states and travel to another country, you're subject to that country's laws. we all know that, f we travel

internationally. but what do you say to your constituents or to anyone watching who is thinking of traveling to the uae? this is not a good test case. if you're an american wanting to travel abroad -- >> well, i think they better be really careful what they put up on the internet. and that's certainly not the message that you're hearing when american universitys are inviting students to come and study there. >> exactly. >> i think the other thing to do is to just be careful in any country and know what you're up against and know what the laws are. but my goal is to get this young man home to his family, to his brother, to his sister who have been doing everything they possibly can to bring him home. then the second goal is to continue to work with his country to modernize their laws and to understand they're facing security challenge, but this has just gone too far. >> you called it outrageous in the statement that you put out following his sentencing, i think that is the perfect word to describe what's going on here. and hopefully people like you, senator, will continue to speak

up. when he comes home, there's a lot of conversation that should be had about why this happened. >> there sure is. if he's not home by the time of the rolling stones concert, they've got a problem. they can't have mick jagger up there singing his songs and have this guy in jail. >> senator, thank you very much. >> thank you very much. chris, over to you. >> next occupy "new day," what can brown do for you? for many, apology, refunds, not enough after u.p.s. missed their christmas delivery deadlines. so what else is on the table? we'll tell you. plus, miley, the biebs, kim, kanye. which star made the biggest splash this year? we're breaking down the top entertainment stories of 2013. and this will be your premium right here.

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welcome back. u.p.s., the brown shurg with the black i -- -- brown company with the black eye. taking a beating because it couldn't deliver the goods by christmas. many are still wondering where the gifts are because they still haven't shown up. u.p.s. could end up paying big time for the great delivery debacle of 2013. cnn's nick valencia has the story. what's the latest? >> reporter: good morning. two days after christmas, and some of you still don't have your packages. u.p.s. says that a range of people affected was so diverse, even some of its employees didn't get their gifts on time. the world's largest package delivery company today still dealing with the fallout of its broken promises. better late than never? >> said it hasn't been processed yet. >> reporter: not quite. especially when it comes to christmas gifts. >> i can't tell you how many countless hours we have spent on the phone dealing with this

issue. >> reporter: fedex and u.p.s. are delivering normally today after delays in christmas shipments. neither company has released any numbers, but it's estimated thousands were affected. both companies have apologized, but a u.p.s. spokesperson couldn't even guarantee all delayed packages would be delivered by thursday. >> they can only do what they can do given the conditions. >> reporter: u.p.s. says it hired 55,000 seasonal employees to keep up with their projected demand of 132 million packages. fedex says it hired 20,000 people, and they, too, admit they had "minimal service disruption despite the increased volume." u.p.s. blamed "a perfect storm. bad weather and an increase in online sales." fedex noted a shorter holiday shopping season. >> weather is always going to be a factor somewhere. that's not a good excuse. >> reporter: experts say shipping companies can't simply look into the past as predictiontors anymore. the internet is changing things. >> this is really 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 gift and tuesday as a vehicle to ship it. >> reporter: online sales broke records this with sites like amazon leading the way, reporting sales of over 36 million items on cyber monday. promising on-time shipments. ups says they will absolutely be looking at changes in policy during the holiday season but couldn't say what kind of changes they might be. neither u.p.s. nor fed next made deliver oh -- fedex made deliveries on christmas day, but after this it's something they might consider. a senator from connecticut is calling on our shipping companies to issue refunds to all those affected. u.p.s. says tell refund some shipping costs. no telling how much it will cost them financially. no telling -- this says well already damage auto -- this has already really damaged their reputation. a black eye on the brown company

-- >> and on the reputation. thank you very much. coming up next, what a year it's been from hollywood to the music world. take a look at the biggest entertainment stories of 2013. hello, justin bieber. ♪ so you can see like right here i can just... you know, check my policy here, add a car, ah speak to customer service, check on a claim...you know, all with the ah, tap of my geico app. oh, that's so cool. well, i would disagree with you but, ah, that would make me a liar. no dude, you're on the jumbotron! whoa. ah...yeah, pretty much walked into that one. geico anywhere anytime. just a tap away on the geico app. ...are the hands that do good things for the whole community: the environment, seniors, kids, and animals.

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let's head over to chad myers in with the latest forecast. what do we see on the big board? >> pretty decent forecast for the weekend. >> nice. >> i mean, from new york city almost to 50 on a saturday. pretty good, especially saturday in december, almost january. 48 d.c. for today. 49 and 54 in nashville respectively. up to 57 by tomorrow afternoon. looks pretty good. bangor, gets up to 34. down 25. here's the bad news, i just gave you two good days of good news. here comes the bad news -- bismarck, minneapolis, chicago, cold air coming flying in by monday. but the good news, again, back to that. that when this rain from the south tries to get up here into new york city, it won't be cold enough to make snow. there will be snow in the adirondacks, green and white mountains of vermont where people want to play in. it go play in the snow. in the city, make it rain, that will be okay. scattered -- sudden into sunday, dry -- saturday into sunday, dry. sunday night it will be wet in the city. then we move ahead to new year's eve, washington, d.c., 29. here in the city with the ball

dropping, around 24. we'll see a windchill of around 18. i've seen a lot worse forecasts than that in new york city for new year's eve. rapid city, cold, minneapolis, the coldest icebox in the planet. might want to stay inside for that. 18 below zero for new year's time. so it's cold. that's 50 degrees below freezing to put it in perspective and your skin. >> yeah. thanks. >> happy new year. >> happy new year. >> i'm distracted because i can't get my mind around what is the biggest entertainment moment. i mean, how do you deny miley, you know, with all that controversy? >> i know. >> how about kim and kanye naming their kid after a direction. i don't know. it's -- these are baffling questions that can only be taken on with the comfort of the couch. let's go there and then see -- >> the most fun you'll have getting healthy. >> imagine that, guys. >> go to upwave.com and see how others have found a clear vision for an inspired life in "life on the upwave." to find out more, go to upwave.com.

hello. >> to the couch. you comfortable? you better be. as 2013 draws to a close, we're looking back at some the big moments from this year. certainly was an interesting time in the world of entertainment. from miley's tongue to angelina jolie's health to paula deen's controversial comments. the list of top ten entertainment stories of 2013. bieber's bad boy behavior. justin bieber hasn't left the spotlight since hitting the scene in 2009. but 2013 found the teen heartthrob making news for the wrong reasons. in fact, "the daily beast" declares it bieber's year of

affluenza. to pet monkey brawls and neighborhood disturb abses, he strug -- disturbances, he struggled to stay out of headlines. kim-ye is born. kim kardashian and kanye west continued their reign as the royal tabloid couple in 2013. sure, west had a number-one album and hit tour. nothing made as much news as his love life. the pair welcomed the birth of their first child, daughter north nori west in june. in the year of selfy and typical kardashian fashion, kim took to social media to unveil her post-baby body. west then rented out at&t park in san francisco to surprise kardashian with a marriage proposal. >> we have been following breaking news. actor paul walker has died. >> reporter: a "fast and furious" death. fans' hearts broke after paul walker's unexpected passing over thanksgiving weekend. the 40-year-old actor was killed in a car crash outside los angeles. fans and famous friends came out

to show their support for the box office powerhouse who also found success in films such as "8 below" and "flags of our father." beyonce's return to the stage. the singer caused waves after lip-synching the national anthem at the presidential inauguration in january, only to prove her star power in a show-stopping super bowl halftime show. beyonce spent most of the year touring the world with her hit "mrs. carter show" before surprising everyone with the release of her fifth studio album. it quickly became not only the fastest selling album of her career but also in itunes history. queen b. is ending the year at the top of her game. basic cable ruled tv. "the walking dead" rose to record ratings, proving we're still inflicted with zombie fever. the critically acclaimed "breaking bad" concluded its five-season run and nearly blew up social media in the process. and "duck dynasty" revealed reality tv is still guiding the

conversation. star phil robertson's recent anti-gay comments stirred controversy. basic cable shows still kept people buzzing. from oscar gold to box office magic. jennifer lawrence received the best actress oscar for her performance in "silver linings playbook" and won us over while falling on the stage to collect the reward. it wasn't long before she found herself at the top of the box office with thelyies of "the hunger games'" sequel, "catching fire." she ranked only been angelina jolie on the list of highest paid actresses. she's hearing awards buzz for her scene-stealing performance in "american hustle." angelina jolie's brave choice. she shocked everyone with her "new york times" op-ed revealing she underwent a double mastectomy. the oscar winner and mother of six underwent the preventive procedure after learning she carries a gene mutation that

increase increases her risk of developing cancer. the announcement inspired other women to consider the procedure as an option. paula deen's downfall. a year ago the celebrity chef was on top of the world. that 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. hbo is confirming that actor james gandolfini has died -- >> james gandolfini's passing sent shock waves through hollywood. the "sopranos" actor died at age 51 from a heart attack while in italy. his roman kick comedy "enough said" opened after his death to critical acclaim and earned gandolfini his siefinal s.a.g.

award nomination. miley cyrus got everybody talking with her on-stage antics. cyrus made news with her controversial performance at the mtv vmas. the former "hannah montana" star proved her teen persona was nothing but a distant memory. cyrus followed the performance with news of her breakup with long-time fiancee liam hemsworth. her first number-one hit with "wrecking ball," "bangerz" in time for her 21st birthday. it's miley's world, and we're living it. >> it's miley's world, and we're just living in it. i do like the haircut. >> really? >> yes. >> would it work on you? >> i would probably not have a job, but i would love to try it. >> it definitely would look good. >> kind of the haircut i do have. there you go. >> exactly. a lot to think about. we'll give you a break to do so. when we come back, a grinch steals christmas for a soldier fresh back from afghanistan.

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♪ you're a mean one mr. grinch ur really ♪ today, the end of the week. we're going on vacation. this is big. we'll start the good stuff by beginning with the bad stuff. the worst grinch of all stole christmas from a soldier returning from afghanistan. his name is corporal chris petrogian. from lodi, california. he just came back from a 17-month tour of duty. he's been ordering christmas gifts for his family for months in anticipation of the big day. imagine how he felt when he got home and found out that thieves had broken in and stolen everything. >> they actually took our forks and knives and just kind of

pried into it. i did most of my christmas shopping on line because i don't have much time when i come home. it was all here on the desk. they just ripped open all the packages and helped themselves to whatever they wanted, which was everything. >> that clearly is not the good stuff. what happened next is. the responding officer, a gulf war vet himself, told his fellow officers. they started raising money, word spread through the town of lodi. they started raising more money. by the time they were through, nearly all the gifts were restored. >> i've lived here a long time. and like i said, absolute strangers, complete strangers have come together. lodi adopt-a-child gave us a whole bag of toys for her. >> the gift were replaced. christmas was saved for a soldier who certainly deserves the best. of course, for his family, they had already gotten the greatest gift of all. >> daddy's home. >> how beautiful is that? >> all that matters to them. you know that. >> right. >> unbelievable. >> i tell you what, i hope the

person who broke into that home watches "new day." chances are they do. i hope they know who they stole from and that it makes them feel a certain way in the negative. a great way for people to come together -- >> a good reminder as people travel to thank your service men and women for what they do for us. >> absolutely. a lot of news. let's get to the newsroom and carol costello. >> happy new year, and thank you very much. happening now in the newsroom -- >> thanks. >> you're welcome. breaking news overnight. ambassador attacked. a massive bombing, six killed, 71 wounded. walls of flames. we're live at the blast site. [ bell ] market madness. the dow soaring and breaking records. this morning, we're asking will the bubble burst? plus, snoop and the secretary fist bump diplomacy front and center. what could these two be talking about? also, power problem. more snow and ice forecast for the thousands already without electricity. misery being mired in ice this morning.