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. and packers, bears, aaron

rajjers is back, and the sunday showdown is -- aaron rogers is back, and the sunday showdown is next. "newsroom" starts now. good morning, i'm carol costello. thank you very much for joining me. a car bombishrupts, and the mass -- bomb erupts, and the massive blast reverberates to washington. the target in downtown beirut, a key friend to the united states. lebanon's former ambassador to the united states more importantly echoed washington's concerns in the region. he was a fierce critic of embattled president and hezbollah, a terrorist group. it's not clear who killed him, but the fears are ominous. his death threatens to bring instability to lebanon as it grapples with syria's civil war just across the border. mitchell prothro is a journalist based in beirut. he works covering lebanon and syria. tell us more, mitchell.

>> reporter: well, we're here at the bombing scene where investigators continue to comb through the wreckage of the convoy that was hit this morning as they were leaving a meeting of the future party movement. we've also gotten a statement in the last hour or so from the head of the future party, a former prime minister, where he accused the killers of his father who died in a similar car bomb until 2005 of conducting today's attack. >> can you tell us about the casualty? is the fire still burning? what does the scene look like? >> reporter: they were able it get the fires out relatively early. there was about a dozen vehicles on fire and a number of hotels and luxury buildings have all had their window blown out. right now, we've been told that six people have been killed, and at least 70 have been wounded. although those figures are expected to rise throughout the course of the afternoon. >> all right. report for mcclatchy news. thank you very much for joining us this morning. help is on the way for an

expedition ship stuck in the antarctic sea ice for four days. three ice-breaking ships are headed to the stranded vessel including this chinese ship that had to travel through a cyclone. the expedition leader says despite the circumstances, everyone on backward had a great christmas. >> everybody's fine and safe and very well. morale is really high. i don't know if you saw any of our youtube reports, but a got hit by a heavy blizzard yesterday. wind speeds in excess of 70 kilometers an hour. fortunately, the winds have diminished as the low-pressure system moves away. and a lot of pressure has eased back as the winds have subsided. >> the professor says getting stuck actually gave the crew time to study life under the sea ice. that's looking at the glass half full. for machines of americans it's one -- for millions of americans, it's the one thing keeping them afloat in their uncertain economy, unemployment

insurance. tomorrow, some will lose that money when benefits expire. cnn has more on one woman's struggle. >> reporter: for mary carrie, this is home sweet home. >> you'll see him big feet. >> reporter: at 53, she lost her job in june after 2 years as a medical biller. now she's desperate. how many have you sent out? >> probably between 300 and 400. >> reporter: she's one of more than one million americans receiving emergency unemployment. up to 99 weeks instead of 26. >> we're asking for a helping hand so that we can gets a job. >> reporter: you're actively trying to? >> every day. probably 12 hours a day. >> reporter: president obama wanted lawmakers to extend them. >> if members of congress dent act before they leave on their -- don't act before they leave on vacation, millions will lose their lifeline. >> reporter: they're set to expire december 28th. >> i know i will survive. i know my son will survive. no, i won't have this home that i've worked hard for for eight

years, but i worry more about my animal animals because they didn't have a choice. >> reporter: in true washington form, it's become a political debate. >> it's practically immoral to do this to people who work hard, play by the rules, lose their job through no fault of their own. >> i do support unemployment benefits for the 26 weeks that they're paid for. if you extend it beyond that, you do a disservice to workers. >> reporter: michael strain is an economist at the conservative leaning american enterprise institute. >> the problem with that logic is that while it may apply pretty well in a healthy economy, it doesn't apply as much in an economy that's still very weak. >> reporter: strain says people on unemployment benefits generally stay unemployed longer. but in a recession, it's different. >> if their benefits expire, they may conclude that their job search is hopeless. they may just leave the labor force which mean that they, you know, some might end up on public assistance rolls. >> reporter: something marry

carey says -- mary carey says she'll be forced to turn to. >> are you ready to see me on the street begging for food? i know i'm not ready to. my life's not over. i might be -- have slowed down a bit, but i -- i can be a very contributing member of society. >> reporter: mary carey could be waiting weeks for benefits if highway is gets them at all. -- if she get them at all. the house has gone home for the year. senate leader reid says he won't take up any extension until after the new year's. with republican opposition, that's far from a sure thing. cnn, washington. president obama taking a break during his christmas vacation for a very good reason -- to help avoid another government shutdown. president signing into law the much-touted bipartisan budget deal which provides a framework for federal spending meaning washington will be open for business for the next few years. the new budget eases some of those automatic spending cuts. we're less than 30 minutes away from the opening bell. the dow looking at the 50th

record open for the year. it's to track for the best year since 2003. the s&p which holds most of the stocks in your focus is up nearly 30%. does flying so high just mean we have farther to few? are we at the point where a bubble is about to burst? alison kosich is in new york to answer the question. sit down for this one. by most accounts, this rally is for real. and there is a huge amount of money that happens to be going into mutual funds now. in fact, money flowing into stock funds has reached an all-time high. investors stashed $346 billion this year into mutual funds and exchange traded funds that own stock. that's more than the $324 billion that investors put into these funds in all of 2000, which was the biggest annual inflow on record. we've all seen strength in the economy. obviously, the economy's not exactly where we want it to be, but there is that strength.

that's giving investors confidence to put their money back into the market. you look at gdp. it's stronger than first thought. the jobs picture is getting better, although it's not quite where we'd like it to bement car sales are solid. -- to be. car sales are solid. and the easy money policies of the fed, the federal reserve, buying $75 billion of bond every month. and by most accounts, the fed did a good job in conveying the fact that it was going to go ahead and cut back on its bond buying by $10 billion a month. what you're seeing now at the end of the year as investors taking this news enthusiastically to say the least. >> investors are taking this news enthusiastically and i don't mean to be debbie downer, but there's a new cnn poll that shows most people, 70%, don't feel the economy is getting better. what gives with that? >> reporter: you know, there's the continual disconnect that we talk about. and you know, a lot of that really has to do with jobs. you know, what's interesting is you look at the things that make people feel wealthy. their house, the value of their house.

housing prices are going up. your portfolio, portfolios are probably doing pretty darn well. the problem is, not a lot of americans, probably only half of americans, are invested in the stock market. there's half of the american out there aren't even invested. they're not reaping the rewards. then you look at the jobs picture, yeah, we're adding jobs. but the problem is, these are mostly low wage jobs. that doesn't make people feel confident about where the economy is being. >> the bottom line is people have less money in their pocket these days even though they may have a job. they just don't have the money to invest in the stock market to celebrate with the rest of america. at least the, you know, the top 10% or so. >> exactly. exactly. i mean, that expendable income is being spent on necessities like food and medicine hopefully. >> thank you very much. still to come in the newsroom, thousands still without power after this week's deadly winter storms. more bad weather could be on the way this afternoon. chad is in new york. hi. hi, carol. yeah. you know what, warm air, then

cold air, and all these people with no heat. i'll have to deal with a couple more days of no power, i'm afra afraid. the update coming up after this. 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. 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.

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checking our top stories at 13 minutes past the hour, connecticut state police will release the final report on the newtown shootings later today. the redacted report is several thousand pages long. includes texts, photos, and 911 calls from last december's attack. adam lanza killed 27 people, 20 of them children, before committing suicide. have you had your flu shot yet? the flu season is kicking into high gear. and widespread infection rates have hit several states including new york, louisiana, alabama, and texas. texas is reporting at least five deaths from h1n1. also known as swine flu. you may remember the outbreak in 2009 that closed some schools and triggered widespread fears. the "duck dynasty" controversy is writing a new chapter on social media. as you can see on this new facebook page, fans of the reality show are encouraged to wear camouflage clothing and eat at chick-fil-a next month.

notice the spelling has been altered to p-h-i-l, as in the star who was suspended for controversial remarks on gay rights. the same issue had drawn criticism of chick-fil-a. day four of no power and no heat for hundreds of thousands in the northern united states and canada. this week's snow and ice storm sent tree branches crashing into power lines and slowed crews trying to restore power. at least 19 people have died. some from carbon monoxide poisoning from running generator. cnn's chad myers has more for you. >> reporter: talk about another blow. hundreds of thousands 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, candled can only do much. the fire, you've got to keep that going. that's the 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 hospital. more snow is expected from michigan to mountain mountain. this comes as a blow to power crews who have been rapidly working again the ice and below freezing temperatures to try to restore power to 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 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 probably the worst time of year to have something like this happen. >> reporter: this portland inn even opened on christmas day to feed crews racing to bring back power. and up at canada, another cold weekend is in store. leaving citizens in toronto icy cold. >> the trees are still down. like the power lines are still

down. nobody's been to our street to fix anything. >> let's bring in chad meyer. i feel so sorry for those people. 55 in atlanta. i wish i could make the weather rise up. >> what's the longest you've ever been without power? >> probably only a couple days -- like two -- i can't imagine being without power. >> exactly. right. i think my biggest power outage was like two hours. it was a tragedy, oh, my ice cream's going to melt. >> right. >> could you imagine four days, carol, with no temperatures in the area above 32, morning lows to about zero. and no heat. you have no heat because the furnace won't turn on. the furnace won't turn on because the gas when it comes on, it won't get blown by the blower. all of a sudden, the little heat furnace gets too hot, and your furnace turn off because the blower doesn't run. that's always a problem when you don't have power. people try to turn on their gas furnace, and that doesn't work. they try to turn on the gas

stove. it does work, but it puts carbon monoxide in your house, and you can't do that. go to a warming center, try to find a cheap hotel or friends. here's the next storm system. mostly a rain event moving up the east coast for saturday into sunday. and toronto, it does warm up. look at this -- we're talking about toronto, talking about flint, michigan, to maine. temperatures will get above 32. what happens when a tree that should be standing up right now is like this because there's ice and the ice melts and falls off. it snaps up, knocks the power lines off the other direction, then the ice falls on you. be careful, we don't want people hit by this stuff. as a kid, icicles fell off buildings like spears falling off these thing. minneapolis, by sunday back to zero. it gets cold. hopefully the power is back on by the end of the weekend, carol. >> like happy new year, everyone. thank you. still to come in the newsroom, from miley cyrus' twerk fest at the video music awards to cheryl sandberg telling us all to lean in, we've got the moments that got women

talking in 2013, next. ç=

oxford dictionary may have proclaimed selfy as the word of the year. we're pretty sure twerking gave it a run for its money. earlier, i sat down with cnn correspondent kelly wallace and asked about the incredible year miley cyrus has been having, as well as some of other stories that got women talking in 2013. kelly, i guess the number-one person might have been, oh, miley cyrus. >> you think, right? hello? i have to admit i didn't quite know what twerking was until the vmas. i know. what an outrage. this story got people so worked up for so many reasons including girls and women because many people look at miley cyrus -- hello, she used to be hannah montana only a few years ago. and you had a lot of women and men around the country saying, is she really the best role model for our kids, right?

what she's doing now. on the other hand, this is the entertainment industry. only doing what the industry requires. people are buying her records and watching her videos. and she's just doing in some ways what it takes to get noticed. it was provocative and continues to be as ween for the end of the year. >> she's going on a global tour. her album is -- is a best seller, right? people are talking about her. you know, the kind of yuckiest part about this story to me -- her mother is her manager. >> i know. i know. and what's hard, i don't know miley cyrus. we don't know what goes on behind closed doors. i know if miley were my 20-something daughter, i don't know that i would be comfortable in so many ways in terms of female and men -- trying to put her best image forward. many people on line were saying they think that there should be more parental discussion and maybe parental supervision going on behind the scenes.

>> but she's -- she's 20 years old, she's a grown woman. she's powerful in her own right. she's a very wealthy person. so hey, maybe in the end more power to her, right? >> exactly. right. right. >> okay. let's talk about marissa mayer, ceo of yahoo!. she got this big "vogue" write up, but everybody wanted to talk about how she was lying on a chaise lounge in this dress. >> right. in this michael kors outfit, skilleta heels. i know it's coming, but i'm always surprised. people are like, whoa, you're supposed to be appreciated for your smarts, you're a crowe and tech savvy, and your posing -- you're posing in a sexy way. a lot of women saying can't be smart and sexy? others say we want to make sure we're appreciated for our brains and talents. when you do something like that, maybe it gets in the way. they say how often do you see a

male ceo, right, posing in a sexy way on the cover of "men's health" or something like that. when we see that, maybe we have reached equality, carol. >> well -- that's something that always bugs me. there are so many articles written about women who hit the age of 50. and supposedly you can still be sexy -- and you can be. but why do you have to be sexy your entire life? when does that end? why -- why can't you just be smart or cute? why do women have to be sexy as long as they live. >> i am with you eight million percent. i agree. also what i think, carol, you know this, too. sometimes women are the worst on other women. we have this pressure to look a certain way and be sexy through our 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s. trouble comes from magazines and culture, pop culture, et cetera we often judge other women, right. we put pressure on each other

when i think -- i truly believe the most beautiful women are the women that age gracefully. spoke friend a woman who's aging, i don't know gracefully, but aging. me, too. i'm not doing nothing. too much work. okay. another topic -- sticking with the ladies of technology, cheryl sandberg. she pushed women to lean in in her new book, but it came with controversy. >> it does. she had this book and movement encouraging women to do more to get ahead. the controversy really was from women saying, wait a second, are you blaming us? are you saying we aren't doing enough? we need to do more, we are the revenue we haven't broken through the glass -- we are the reason we haven't broken through the glass ceiling? i read the book and loved. it i was looking for a job and would write in interviews, "lean in," because it spoke personally to me about being assertive. going for it. and i think some of the

criticisma -- everyone has their own view, but it got a little lost because in some ways it was a personally empowering book to some about how can we all do a little bit more to get what we want professionally and personally. >> i could talk to her all day. thank you very much. for more stories about family, career, and life, head to cnnliving, it's terrific. still to come, the pope as a political ally? that could be the goal for president obama as he works to shrink the income gap in the united states.

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happening in the newsroom, markets up. america's not buying. what's it going to take for the middle class to warm up to stocks? plus, the president and the pope. one is lagging in the polls. the other a rock star. what can president obama learn from pope francis? and piranha attack. swimmers losing fingers. the ferocious fish and terrible torrent of teeth.

"newsroom" continues right now. good morning, i'm carol costello. thank you very much for joining me. here are this morning's top stories -- no claim of responsibility after the beirut car bombing that killed six and wounded dozens. among the dead and apointer target, a cue friend to the united states. muhammad chata was lebanon's former ambassador to the u.s. and shared washington's concerns in the region. he was a staunch critic of syria's president and islamic terrorist group hezbollah. some people in fresno ran for their lives last night as a small plane came down in their neighborhood. the cessna crashed into a front yard. the pilot and a 9-year-old boy on board the plane were killed. no one on the ground was hurt. police believe the plane hit a tree and stalled. the pilot was unable to recover. they rang the bell.

another record-breaking day on wall street. on thursday, the dow closed at an all-time high. that's the 50th record set this year. stock futures were lower before the opening bell. pope francis -- well, pope francis -- i'll say it, he's a rock star. perhaps it's fitting that a fading star used the pope's luster to sell his message. president obama appears to be doing just that. according to the los angeles, the president ask -- the "los angeles times," the president asked a speechwriter to add a reference to the pope in a speech earlier this month. he did. >> some of you may have seen last week, the pope himself spoke about this at el kwant length. "how can it be that it's not a news item when a homeless elderly person dies of exposure, but it is when the stock market loses two points?"

>> the president talking about how the income gap is eroding the american dream. with me, will cain, columnist for "the blaze" and commentator, and mark lamont hill, also a cnn commentator and host for "huffpostlive." >> good to be here. >> mark, president obama wants to raise the minimum wage to $continue an hour. can the pope help him do it? >> i'm not sure if the pope can help him do it. this isn't like 40 years ago when there was a "catholic" vote where you could predictiontively s -- predictively say courting the pope would help you. but speaking to poverty resonates with people. the pope has managed it in masterful fashion. of course, the pope doesn't have to face political opposition and partisanship. >> that's true. the pope's approval rating is at 88%. the president has been praising him in other interviews, as well. the question is would pope francis embrace president obama? would he want his message president clinton sized? >> you know, that's a good

question. if pope francis giving just a message of morality and charity or if he's giving one that's political fis on see. what i would say is -- philosophy. what i would say is president obama is trying to change the subject. you pointed out pope francis a rock star and i, you said president obama is fading star. he'd like some of that 88% approval rating. he's attempting that. to turn the conversation away from obamacare. can we talk about -- i joke good this with mark, can we talk about how republicans hate poor people? can we get back to that and not this health care thing i've screwed up so massively? >> mark, you know, other presidents -- >> they're kpul nactually not competing claims. they're actually not competing claims. republicans are posed -- >> mark, what i was going to say -- >> it's better than not having it. >> other presidents have embraced the pope. for example, george w. bush borrowed "culture of life" from pope john paul to protest abortion. kind of worked for him, didn't it? >> it works until it doesn't work anymore.

reagan got great support from pope john paul ii on the soviet bloc in terms of its role in eastern europe. the most the pope says, wait a minute weather and traffic about the nuclear weapons you keep ramping up, reagan says, let's leave church out of this. the george bush the same with the economy. it's difficult to use the catholic church in a particular way if you're not willing to take the message in. as soon as abortion comes up, democrat are in a pickle themselves. it's definitely careful if n how they use the catholic -- careful in how they use the catholic church. >> and the president hasn't been in good standing with the catholic church the last several years. we'll see in front of the supreme court in the first half of 2014 an argument over whether or not the argument can force employers with catholic religious doctrines as part of their core being, whether or not they can force them to cover birth control. that's going to go before the supreme court. president obama's had a huge problem with the catholic church. i would suggest he be very careful about adopting economic pop limp because the pope gave a speech. >> the pope is one to talk about

issues like that, right? the pope wants people to stop talking about social issues so much, right, and concentrate on things like helping the poor. so that -- >> right. which is a social issue. i think sometimes we decide that thing like poverty, unemployment, aren't social and even moral issues. i think what president obama is doing wisely is saying, wait a minute, there's a moral agenda and social agenda that isn't at odds with the agenda of actually helping the most vulnerable citizens. to will's point, that's not about changing the subject. president obama has consistently said we need to address poverty. that's not to say that his social policies do it properly. he's not changing the subject. he's trying to get the american people where they need to be, whether it's raising minimum wage, extending unemployment, or whether it's invoking the pope's message. >> to bring the conversation full circle, you started out, should the president be adopting religious messages to turn them into political messages. and mark's right, this is ultimately a moral decision, a moral message. and i should point out, look,

american give to charity at twice the rate of any other country in this world. if you want to bore into it, american conservatives give 3 % more on household than any other group in this country. we have to define who is in charge of taking care of the poorest among us. is it us as individuals and citizens? if that's the message president obama wants to put out, i'm happy and ready to hear that. or is it at the government's will and the government's force? and there our disagreements come up. >> could it be a little of both, or am i going way out on a limb? >> a little carries a lot of weight. a little of both. >> could be. >> i wondered, okay, let's talk about something else before you have to go -- i have to show you this picture. these strange political bed fellows. this new video. shows snoop dogg and secretary of state john kerry doing the big fist -- look, talking. i wish we could hear what they're talking about because the you'd yo is bad. look -- the audio is bad. look, look at the fist bump. >> i'll tell you, we know kerry's -- kerry said to snoop something about he invented the

thing you do, he invented your medium, rap. who invented it, and snoop's like, "you're right." >> i love that john kerry. the need to give snoop a hip-hop education. and by the way, something gives john kerry a pound -- john kerry gave snoop a pound. kerr dethis, then he did this. he was unsure that snoop was going to rip indicate. john kerry didn't -- reciprocate. john kerry didn't want to look crazy. i wish he looked as cool in 2004. he might have been him for president. >> five minutes before the interaction, did snoop know who john kerry was? >> probably not. >> i will say back in the day, snoop was such a rebel. now he's hob-nobbing with the government. just seems odd. >> right. fair point. the ultimate in going mainstream. there's hope for you, will. >> geez. will kaine, mark lamont hill, thank you very much for being with me. still to come in the newsroom, the great american economic disconnect. the government says the economy is growing. so why are middle-class

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there are plenty of signs the american economy is roaring back to life. the unemployment rate is at a five-year low. car sales are at a seven-year high. the dow jones is up 25% just

this year. why aren't middle-class americans feeling any of the benefit? a new cnn/orc poll finds that nearly 70% of americans say economic conditions are poor. just 32% said they were good. why is there such a disconnect and how do we fix it? i'm joined by personal financial columnist david wagner and david wetzel, contributor it the "wall street journal." welcome to you both. >> thank you. >> okay. first we'll start with a tough question. john, why is there such a disconnect? >> well, i think the main reason is because people aren't getting paid very much. they haven't had a raise after inflation for nearly a decade. they're losing money to increasing prices and feel poor. that's the way it is. >> does that mean the economy is roaring back it life, david? >> the economy is definitely getting better. but i think john's right. the benefits of that renewed

growth are not being widely shared. so we see the stock market going up, up more than 25% over the past year. but for the half of americans who don't own share, that doesn't do you much good. it's very unevenly distributed. you mentioned that unemployment is at a five-year low. that's true. but it's still 7%. in the old days, we'd consider that a recession. >> you're not kidding. let's talk a little more about the stock market because gallup has some interesting number. it says that as you said, david, only 50% of middle-class americans are invested in the markets now. that's actually down 66% from just six years ago. why is that? john? >> well, two reasons. first of all, you've had two soul-searing bear markets in the past 12 years. one of which was the worst since the great depression. people remember that. that's a generational loss. you lose 50% of your money in the stock market. so that's one reason. another reason is a lot of people are unemployed. they've had to yank money out of

the stock market just to live on. they've taken their savings and are eating their seed corn. that's what you have saving for. >> so david, when we talk about the wage gap and how important that is to our economy. that all plays into this, too, because people don't have this, as john said, so much money in their pocket to invest in anything besides housing and food. >> that's right. so middle class, people at the middle of the middle class, median hasn't gone up much the past decade. those people don't have money to put in the stock market. the typical american household, if you don't look at their equity in their house, has assets of only $17,000. that's all the money in the bank, their retirement, and everything. those people aren't playing the stock market and probably shouldn't. >> i'm going ask for answers now. what's the answer, john? is it the minimum wage going up to $10 an hour? i mean, what is the answer? >> well, you have profits in the country that are at the highest point in the republic's history.

you also have vast amounts of cash that companies are sitting on. what companies can do is peel off a little money and give workers a raise. reward the people that have given them so much success in the past five years. i don't think that's too difficult. henry ford did it when he was starting his company. people can only buy cars if they make enough money to, you know, to buy them. >> david, why aren't companies doing that? >> they don't have to. there's so many unemployed workers out there that they don't need to give raises in order to get workers. i think part of the answer is it would be great if the economy were growing faster. fortunately, there are a few sign that that may be beginning to happen. it's a good thing that congress has decided to relieve a little of the pressure of the sequester, the across-the-board spending cuts. that was hurting the economy. the second half of 2014 2013 -- of 2013 is promising. next year if unemployment comes dunn, worker are more scarce, companies will have to pay more, and as john says, they have the cash to do it.

>> okay. i'm going ask you to stick around because up next, we're going to talk about the year's biggest winner and losers in the business world. thanks, guys. we'll be back in a minute. ♪ [ male announcer ] at progresso, we believe the second chapter of your life should be just as bold as the first. try the new bold flavors of heart healthy soup from progresso. of heart healthy soup it's been that way since the day you met. but your erectile dysfunction - it could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain,

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2013 was a wild one for the business world. stocks shot to record highs, but we also know, you know, the

government shut down and the unemployment rate is still stubbornly high. what were the biggest winners and losers in the business world? i'm joined by "usa today" personal columnist john wagner and david wetzel, contributing columnist to the "wall street journal." john, tell us about your top picks for this year's business winners. >> well, the first i'll start with is the affordable care act which is a tremendous boom for small businesses. as you know, it's incredibly difficult for you to get insurance if you're 50 or older or if you're sick and have small children or are sick and need special attention. now what happens is people who always wanted to start small businesses but couldn't because they are locked into their job because they needed health benefit, now they can do that. also small business employers who wanted to hire workers and felt like they were not able to offer health care, now they cannot worry about that as much. the playing field is a bit more level for small business owners. it was a crummy rollout, but it was -- it will get better over the years.

>> david, also picked obama care. tell us why. >> i picked obamacare for the one million or maybe two million by the end of the year who actually managed to get through the maze of healthcare.gov and sign up. you're probably better off if you can get insurance through the health care exchanges, whether run by the state and federal government. particularly if you were in the dysfunctional individual market or didn't have insurance at all. if you got through, you're probably a winner. >> can i just ask you an aside about obamacare? is it going to tank our economy, john? >> well, you sure couldn't prove it from health care stocks which are my second pick. health care stocks have been tremendously well this year. they've beaten the s&p 500 by 10% points. health care companies have beaten earnings estimates by 55%, 55% of the companies have beaten their earnings estimates for this last quarter. that's across all segment of the health care industry. it's not just pharmaceuticals, it's hospitals, it's medical devices, it's the whole

enchilada. this has been a three-year trend. so if it's going to wreck the economy, i don't think it's going to do it from the health care industry. >> david, tell us, what was your number two? >> my number two was anybody who owns assets, particularly stocks or houses. half of americans own stocks. the s&p 500 is up almost 30%. the nasdaq up more than that. if you were one of those people that owned stock, you were a winner in 2013, but owning a house was a pretty good deal, too. this case schiller index of home prices is up 13% over the past 12 months in the 20 major markets. that's a big change from the past when house prices were falling. so for those 2/3 of americans who own their own house, 2013 was also a good year. >> i have to say for those americans who couldn't get rid of their house in the housing market and still owned them, i'm glad to hear you say that. let's talk about losers.

you again picked the affordable care act. explain. >> it was a dreadful rollout. it was an epic fail. it was one of those things that you cringe about. you can only blame obama, he was the guy at the top, and you have to blame everybody on down. you will say one thing which is that no one ever buys software on the first round. you don't buy 1.0 software because it usually is terrible and will set your mother board on fire. sooner or later the american way is to rollout awful software and improve it as it goes on. >> we'll see. it seems to be improving anyway. david, you have a similar take. let's hear yours. >> right. i'm worried about people who don't have insurance and is worried about healthcare.gov. i was talking to a makeup artist, she lives in the state of virginia. there are 48 million americans who don't have health insurance. the plan was that they were going to get it through health care.gov but because the software and launch was so

messed up a lot of them are frustrated. >> john, what's your next pick for business loser in 2013? >> it's kind of the flip side of people not being able to -- or people feeling that they're still in a recession. that is, companies are at the healthiest they've been ever. vast amounts of cash they have. at some point they have to open up their wallets and buy new factories and equipment. they have to pay their employees more. they're running out of excuses for it. before they were saying oh, it's because of obama care. obama care is the law, it's here. that's all settled. there's not another big election for two years. we do have the debt ceiling coming up, but after that if we get through that, you know, it's a pretty clear ceiling. they've run out of excuses not to spend money. >> david, your final pick for a loser. >> the 2.8 million americans who were out of work for the entire year of 2013 and say they're still looking for jobs.

1.6 million men and 2.1 million women. some are about to lose the unemployment benefits congress hasn't renewed. it's a reminder the economy is better but it is still far from good particularly for those people. >> john wagner, david westall, a fascinating conversation. thank you so much for being here this morning. >> thanks. checking our top stories at 53 minutes past the hour. two men climbing a high security fence and getting on the runway at two separate airports. happened on christmas day. the first in phoenix. a man ran up to a plane and hit it with his hands. the pilot had to shut down the engines. police say the suspect, 49-year-old robert bunk, appeared to be intoxicated. then at newark's airport a 24-year-old man wearing women's clothing was spotted running across two run ways. both men were charged with trespassing and released. in argentina a christmas day swim turned out badly during the city of rosario. a swarm of flesh eating piranha injured about 70 swimmers,

including some kids who may have lost fingers in the attack. an isolated bite isn't all that uncommon, about you to have so many people attacked at once is virtually unheard of. in canada a man slipped on some ice and plummeted off a cliff. the man was walking with a friend when he fell nearly 75 feet into a rocky area. firefighters had to repel down to rescue him. they put him on a stretcher and pulled him to a safe area. that man is being treated at a hospital to head injuries. still to come in the newsroom, aaron rodgers cleared to play just in time for their biggest rival. hi, joe. >> hi, carol. great news for packers and packers fans because aaron rodgers is much needed if they want any chance of beating the bears this weekend. we'll talk about what's at stake for the bears and the packers coming up in the bleacher report. ♪

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just in tame for their biggest game of the season, the green bay packers will get aaron rodgers back. joe carter has more on bleacher report. >> there's a lot at stake obviously this sunday between the packers and bears. whoever wins that game wins the division and obviously goes onto the playoffs. the loser has to wait until all of next season because they're the loser. aaron rodgers back with the packers i think changes the dynamics of this team and makes

them a legitimate playoff contender because when he was the quarterback of the team before he got hurt they were 5-2. they were cruising and he got hurt. the packers went on a five-game winless skid and they had to shuffle through three starting quarterbacks. having him back makes all the difference. >> is jay cutler in? >> the game just got much better. >> trending on bleacherreport.com, last week at this time john kittner was teaching math and coaching football at a tacoma, washington, high school. now he's the third string quarterback tort dallas cowboys. the 31-year-old says he's going to donate his entire $51,000 check to the school. >> the fastest man in rugby, they signed car land isles squad. >> he's 5'6", he weighs 120. >> he ran the 40 in 4.22.

that's usain bolt fast. >> he better run fast because if anybody tackles him, he's dead. >> if they can catch him, he might have a spot. >> they're just looking at the speed. you remember this story, the jose canseco goat story. the diaper weari ining fainting goats. >> his neighbors aren't happy. the hoa, homeowner's association filed a complaint saying that these goats are, well, goating too loud, whatever goat sounds. >> they scream like humans. that's what goats sound like. >> they're loud. to the point where they say you have 14 days to get these goats off your property. people may remember this goat story connected to jose canseco when they were pulled over by police having goats drive with him in his car. wearing diapers. apparently so. such a strange situation. he bought these goats because he was trying to put together like

this adventure reality show that really never got off the ground. >> so sad. >> now he's got two goats. >> that would have been a great show. >> kinship. he doesn't want to let it go. >> fell in love. touching. thank you, joe. >> you bet. the next hour of "cnn the next hour of "cnn newsroom" starts now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com good morning. i'm carol costello. thank you for joining me. if you haven't had your flu shot yet, you may find a hint of dread. flu season is kicking into high gear. several states are reporting widespread outbreaks and doctors are seeing the swine flu that sickened and scared so many of us. the first u.s. deaths from the dangerous h 1 n 1 strain are trickling in. victor blackwell is here to walk us through this. hi. >> we're still weeks out from the peak. it comes in january or february so it's really alarming that these deaths have come so soon. but you know the cdc estimates

that as many as one in five of us could come down with the flu and it's because that the usual suspects to the flu, the very young and the very old are not the ones getting the h1n1, it's the young adults, that's why this is so troubling. >> reporter: 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 also known as swine flu. >> the majority ever strains are older. we know h 1 n 1 does cause infection in younger adults. >> h 1 n 1 first made headlines in 2012. the cdc said it infected 52

million people. about 24% of the world and may have killed hundreds of thousands worldwide. health officials 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 h. 1 n. 1 and it also protects against other influenza viruses that we think are circulating. >> reporter: they also recommend these simple steps to 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 riche fever pitch in february. last year 383,000 people were hospitalized by the virus. medical officials advise take warnings seriously. >> many people think that flu caus causes sniffles or cold-like symptoms but it can cause serious illnesses. it puts people in the hospital every year and unfortunately it

kills people every year. >> in addition to the four states seeing the widespread of influenza activity, there is widespread activity in every other state except one. >> really, who? >> vermont. >> fortunate for vermont, they are reporting no activity. it could change. there's a new report on the activity from the cdc coming out today at 11:00. we'll see if that number changes. >> if i got my flu shot, am i okay? >> the doctors say you're okay. it treats the h7n9 and also the h1n1. that strain changed and became resistant. it could go into april or may. they say again get the vaccination if your doctor recommends it. >> thanks so much. >> sure. tomorrow, more than 1 million americans will lose their unemployment insurance, money they counted on as they spend hours trying to rejoin a work force with few options. they're people like mary carey who spoke to cnn's torrey dunham

about her struggle. >> asking for a helping hand so we can get a job. >> reporter: you're actively trying to? >> every day, probably 12 hours a day. i know i will survive. i know my son will survive, you know. no, i won't have a home that i've worked hard for for eight years but i worry more about my animals because they didn't have a choice. are you ready to see me on the street begging for food, you know? i know i'm not ready to. my life's not over. i might have slowed down a bit, but i can be a very contributing member of society. >> tom foreman joins me from washington. i know president obama had sharp criticism for washington on this topic. what did he say? >> he said what democrats have been saying, recovery is slow. people are struggling. and this is something that really needs to be there as a

safety net. listen to his comments. >> because congress failed to act before leaving on vacation, more than 1 million americans are poised to lose a vital source of income just a few days after christmas. for many people who are still looking for work, unemployment insurance is a life line that can make the difference between temporary hardship or lasting catastrophe. instead of punishing these families who can least afford it, especially now, congress should first restore that life line immediately, then put our entire focus on creating more jobs that pay good wages. >> he's absolutely right in terms of people counting on this money out there, carol, because in many cases what you're talking about is people who have reached the end of their existing unemployment insurance. so people have gone past 26 weeks so you're already talking about people who are starting to verge into the long-term unemployed area. for many of those people, finding a job is incredibly hard

right now. many employers will barely even look at their resumes because they've been unemployed for a long period of time and this few hundred dollars every week that they get from this program can make a tremendous difference. that said, that said, this was part of a budget deal that the democrats and republicans all went together on because they felt a budget was important to deal with and there was an issue of controlling costs in this government. so it's a very difficult situation all the way around, carol. >> yeah, we're showing people from georgia applying for a job, looking for a job. 40,000 will lose their unemployment benefits in georgia alone. i know the senate majority leader harry reid will bring this up in the new year, but will it make any difference? >> it will make a difference because the republicans are trying to sort of cling to this notion that they are the fiscally responsible party and the polls show that they're getting away on that. people are beginning to trust them in terms of the benefits.

they're trying very hard to say that their party cannot appear to be tone deaf to the suffering of people. they're reaching out to people and saying we are the party that stands with you so i will actually be very interested to see what happens when both of these parties start wrangling with this over the new year to see how much the voice rises to say we do not want to be seen as the party of no as they have been painted so many times and at the same time being fiscally responsible. it is a difficult situation. it points out one of the persistent problems. even the jobs that have come back by and large have not been anywhere near as valuable or as good as the jobs that were lost. they're going to have to settle for something much less. >> tom foreman reporting live

from washington this morning. thank you. help is finally along the way for an expedition truck stuck in ant arctic sea ice. three ice breaking ships are heading there to help including a chinese ship that had to travel through a cyclone. everyone on that ship had a great christmas despite the circumstances. >> fine and safe and everyone aboard is doing very well. morale is high. we got hit by a heavy blizzard yesterday with wind speeds in excess of 70 kilometers per hour and fortunately the wind has passed. the low pressure system has moved away. a little bit of pressure has eased back now as the winds have subsided. >> most of the people on board that ship are scientists. that was professor german talking. he said getting stuck actually gave them a chance to study life under the sea ice. they're pretty darn happy. good for them. checking other top stories

this morning at eight minutes past the hour. no claim of responsibility for the car bombing that killed six and wounded others. muhammad chata was lebanon's ambassador. he was a staunch critic of syria's president. connecticut state police are releasing the final report on the newtown shootings later today. the redacted report is several thousand pages long. it includes texts, foe teaphoto several calls. thousands of flyers got one last christmas present yesterday. bargain basement prices on delta prices. we're talking 27 bucks to fly from florida to los angeles or 68 bucks from boston to honolulu to name some of the deals. so how the heck did it happen and why didn't it happen to me, alison kosik? >> i've been asking the same

thing. why wasn't i looking for fathers between 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. yesterday on delta.com. we'll put that to another day to talk about. first of all, good to these people. delta has to honor these mistake fares because there's a d.o.t. regulation that requires airlines to honor these kinds of fares. this appeared on delta.com yesterday between 10:00 and 1:00 so customers who bought tickets quickly, they were so happy about their purchases, they went to social media. they went to facebook and twitter to brag about their big score. customers said some fares were as low as $12.83. i want to show you some of those super dooper rock bottom fares. round troop. some of these are round trip. some are each way. delta spokesmen though not saying how many tickets were purchased at these mistake rates, incorrect prices. if you're wondering if this has happened before, it has happened before. united, continental experienced

a similar problem. some fares were free not including taxes and fees, united also honored the mistaken fares. >> alison kosik reporting. still to come, power outages, freezing weather and traffic grinding to a halt. heavy winter storms don't seem to be letting up any time soon. chad is keeping an eye on it. hi, chad. >> reporter: hi, carol. another one may be on the way for sunday. it's a hit and miss thing. a lot of rain but some snow in the northeast. that forecast coming up in 2:30. ] 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.

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four days and still no power for thousands of people in the northern united states. severe winter storms caused outstages and also this multi-car pileup in pennsylvania. more than 40 people were injured. at least 25 had to be taken to the hospital. in toronto, trees literally split in half under the weight of all the ice. and just as crews started to restore power, it looks like more rough weather is on the way. oh, jack, say it ain't so. >> you know, i never heard the song, all i want for christmas is electricity, but i think

there will be a new version of this. it's day after day. i've been getting e. mailings and tweets about 2007 and 2009 in missouri and oklahoma and it was ten or 11 days, but the temperatures here have been down below zero day after day. if you can imagine being without power for a day. when you don't have power, your furnace doesn't run. even if you have a natural gas furnace, it won't go because the power doesn't blow the blower and it shuts down and you're done. so, another couple of days of warmer weather, then we're back into the deep freeze. i think at least try to get something done this weekend if you can. airport travel really good. seattle, portland, morning fog. the wind is routing around there. this is the next storm i was mentioning before the break. a rain maker for the most part unless you get towards the alleghenys, up into the adirondacks and the green and white mountains. by the time it gets there it will be cold enough.

new york city, boston, philadelphia, it is a rain maker. all for sunday. gone on monday. travel will be pretty good for monday into tuesday. here's how the temperatures look. 40 in new york city to 49 and be then 37, toronto, everything melts. that seems like a good idea. then the ice that was on the trees springs the trees back up and knocks power lines down from the other direction. minneapolis, here's the cold air. monday, tuesday, chicago to 8. tuesday, wednesday the cold air gets all the way to the northeast, carol. >> thank goodness. maybe 2014 will come in warm for everyone. >> if you consider 24 warm in the city, that's pretty good. >> i don't. i take it back. >> have a great weak end. >> you too, thank you, chad. still to come in "the newsroom" the world's youngest country and covered by a cloud, we'll show you how they respond to the escalating violence in south sudan. across the country has brought me to the lovely city of boston.

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within hours the united nations hopes to have more soldiers and police officers on the ground in south sudan, the after can nation that teeters on

the precipice of civil war. the gunshots faded, looters moved in. across the region there are calls for new peace talks in the oil rich nation. cnn's if he h cnn's frederick pleikin joins us. south sudan's government agreed to a cease fire in principle. what does that mean? >> reporter: well, that means that they're willing to talk without any sort of pre-conditions. it's something that the government has been saying for a couple of daze days now. they're willing to lay down arms without any conditions. the big if is whether or not the rebel factions are going to be doing the same thing. so far we've not heard from them yet. to implement the cease fire you need all sides to lay down their arms and stop fighting immediately. that's something the u.s. has been fighting for and the international community has been fighting for as well.

at the same time as the messages are coming out, this is how chaotic the situation is there in south sudan, we are hearing that the fighting is going on especially in the north of the country, which strategically is a very, very important region because that's where all the oil fields are and oil generates pretty much all of this country's revenue. the government says it's 100% in control of those vital areas, including the oil fields. the rebels say that they still hold part of them and that they are in control of some vital towns. it is a very difficult situation to discern what exactly is going on there on the ground, however, there does seem to be pretty widespread fighting. there is, however, one positive thing that we learned a couple of minutes ago, carol. do you remember the four navy s.e.a.l.s wounded trying to evacuate americans from south sudan. one of them was wounded pretty badly. we've just learned a couple of minutes ago that he was operated on in a u.s. military hospital in germany and is now in stable condition. that's one positive thing. >> thanks for leaving us with that. thanks so much.

still to come in "the newsroom" they are the stories that had america talking. were topics like george zimmerman or the boston bombing the conversation or the way the media covered the stories? we'll have the story next. (announcer) at scottrade, our clients trade and invest exactly how they want. with scottrade's online banking, i get one view of my bank and brokerage accounts with one login... to easily move my money when i need to.

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good morning. i'm carol costello. thanks so much for being with me. stories we're watching in the newsroom at 25 minutes past the hour. have you had your flu shot yet? the flu season is kicking into gear and widespread infection rates have hit several states including new york. texas is reporting at least five deaths from h1n1 also known as the swine flu. you might remember the outbreak that closed some schools and triggered widespread fears. the "duck dynasty" controversy is writing a new chapter on social media. fans of the reality show are encouraged to wear camouflage clothing and eat at chick-fil-a. it's been changed to phil. the same issue has drawn

criticism for chick-fil-a. a brand new crop of businesses will start to pop up in colorado next week. the shops will be heavily regulated by state and local authorities. cnn's anna cabrera has the story from denver. >> reporter: the countdown is on. marijuana becomes legal to sell for recreational use here in colorado in less than a week. the state hoping to generate tens of millions of dollars in new tax revenue. businesses are seeing green as well as certain pot shops already operating as medical marijuana dispen sarris open their doors to a whole new clientele. >> reporter: the green rush here in colorado is about to get even bigger. this week state licenses went out to local businesses giving them the green light to start selling recreational marijuana. >> and money does grow on trees and it's called the cannabis plant. >> reporter: january 1st

recreational pot sales are legal and heavily regulated by both state and authorities. >> we're going to do some profit. >> reporter: anyone over the age of 21 will soon be able to buy marijuana, 136 medical marijuana dispen sarris now have state licenses to sell it and 178 businesses can now grow it for recreational use. >> they kind of say we're sort of like the united states amsterdam. >> reporter: morgan iverson runs canyon culttive vags. they make marijuana edible. she expects business to double in the next year. >> i really hope that people are responsible with it and don't mess it up. >> reporter: candy cultivation won't be ready on january 1st. retail outlets had major hurdles. fingerprint based background checks and fees up to $15,000. tony fox said she has more than $1 million invested in her medical marijuana facility 3d

cannabis center. her store is only one of a handful expected to be ready for business on that first day. >> a year ago i would have said i wish i hadn't done it. now i'm very excited that i've done it and i'm looking forward to the future. >> reporter: a future she and the state hope will pay off that massive investment. it was medical marijuana that paved the way for this new retail surge, so a lot of this is being rolled out on the existing infrasructure surrounding or supporting medical marijuana, including how the state plans to regulate or safeguard this product, and there are even stricter rules when it comes to recreational sale of marijuana, but keep in mind the federal government still considers all of this criminal. ana cabrera, cnn, denver. >> ana cabrera, many thanks to you. 2013 was a year in contrast or was it? if you paid attention to the biggest news stories of the year, there were no shades of gray. the story was either good or bad, right or wrong,

conservative or liberal. it all depended on who was telling the story and who was watching it. two of the biggest news stories that illustrate what i'm talking about are the trial of george zimmerman and the boston marathon bombing. with me to talk about this, steve mullsburke from news match, aaron boll lock from media mat terse and brian stelcher, cnn senior media correspondent. >> good morning. >> good morning. i'm excited for this conversation, actually. let's tackle the zimmerman story. eric, you say your job is to correct conservative misinformation. how in your mind did conservative media misinform in the zimmerman story? >> well, i think after the verdict there was almost a dancing on the grave of this poor unarmed teenager who was killed. i mean, i don't think any victim of gun violence should have his reputation smeared for 18

months. i mean, geraldo rivera on fox saying basically the hoodie killed him. if you dress like a thug you're going to be treated like a thug. he also said, you know, a jury of women would have shot him sooner than george zimmerman had done. i mean, to me that's just repellent and i think the verdict, even though he was -- george zimmerman was found not guilty, it's still unleashed this really unhinged reaction i think in the conservative media. a lot of ugly race baiting that had gone on for the story for 18 months. >> okay. on to you, steve. your job is to correct liberal bias in the media how was the media biased in your mind surrounding the zimmerman case? >> well, first of all, they perpetuated this myth which is absolutely not true that trayvon -- that george zimmerman was told, don't get out of the car. you can listen to the 911 tapes, i'm not going to go into that, but that was myth number one that they used to make a villain

out of george zimmerman. after the verdict was read, my gosh, the media kept saying, wow, every prosecution witness has turned into a defense witness. they're not doing their job. they don't have a case. when the verdict was read, oh, my god, how could this be? it must be racism. well, all along you knew this was going to be the verdict because there was no evidence but the media played the race car after the verdict. to the tee. >> it seemed like out in the public people were either on one side or the other. they either believed what steve says or what eric says. how does this coverage shape our culture. that's the wider issue here. >> everybody like me wanted to be by a tv to see what happened. i think both of the other guests

are right. many people had made up their mind beforehand in part because of the fury of media coverage around this story. what people were interested in that showed that they were only modestly interested in the trial but the media coverage of it was wall to wall. there were also divides in who was interested in the trial. the pugh poll showed that blacks, african-americans, tended to be much more interested in the trial paying much closer attention than white americans. you know, that is in part because we can all choose different media outlets nowadays. liberal media outlets. conservative media outlets, media outlets that kater to minorities. because we have different options we end up with different understandings of what the case is about. that's probably not a good thing overall for the country. >> okay. so let's move onto the boston marathon bombers. steve, you say the media spent days denying radical islam had anything to do with the bombings. explain.

>> well, even after they knew the identity of the brothers, i could quote person after person, one writer in particular was wishing out loud before they knew who it was hoping it was a white male. after they found out who it was, you know, right away the media's fearing a backlash against the muslim community for the safety of the muslims. the fact of the matter is they went on to deny, making excuses. we heard one commentator say that it was the bombings in the drone attacks in pakistan that led these brothers to do what they did, but when you listened to their own words of the bombers themselves, the writings of the brother who was alive, the miss callization, the mosques they went to, we knew there was no doubt what drove the two brothers. the media was so afraid to touch it. to this day there are people who are making excuses for these two brothers. >> interesting. eric, you say your take is different. conservative media. remember "the new york post"

cover. if we could put that up so we could remind people. they showed that guy in the backpack. he had nothing at all to do with it but, you know, the intonation was that this guy was guilty and had something to do with radicalism. >> yeah. rather than letting the story unfold and rather than letting the facts unfold, you know, the conservatives, they get the wiff of islam and they lose all perspective. "the new york post", those were two local massachusetts high school kids they put on the cover of their newspaper calling them the bag men not even with a question mark. then glen beck went off on this crazy week long conspiracy theory about another student in the boston area and saudi national student on how he was definitely behind the bombing and everything. this was after the federal authority said we're not doing this, we're not interesting in it. glen beck for a week continued

to smear this and tell the listeners. >> it was radical islam. >> yeah, but you can't pin the blame on the wrong people. >> no, but this was a guy who was spoken to by the authorities. he was wanted. they found him. they spoke to him. >> yeah. >> it was a strange circ couple standings. i mean, it was a strange circumstance. you speculate. >> brian, i'm going to bring you into it -- >> no, no, no, no, no. >> brian. just one second. brian, this kind of -- the kind of coverage that the media does is not going to change. i would predict that it's going to be like this for some time to come, and that's partly why journalists are as add 3450ird as journalists and car salesmen. i apologize to lawyers and car salesmen. what's the answer? >> i remember when i read about glen beck's comments, about the saudi national, i was curious. i was able to search other sources. places like media matters reminded us that glen beck seemed to be wrong about that

one. this might be an unpopular opinion, but i wonder if the press overall in retrospect overreacted to the attacks in boston. it was a very scary week. i was scared along with the rest of the country. in retrospect i wonder if there was an over reaction in the press considering the relatively low number of deaths and injuries. whether it was taken out of proportion, given all the other violence we see all the time. because the word terrorism was applied, i think there may have been an overreaction. >> i wish i could continue this conversation but i have to button it up. steve and eric and brian stelcher, thank you so much for a fascinating conversation. >> thank you, carol. >> you're welcome. brian, by the way, will have more on the biggest media headlines of the year this sunday on reliable sources. it all begins at 11:00 a.m. eastern right here on cnn. i'll be right back. [ sniffles, coughs ] shhhh! i have a cold with this annoying runny nose.

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murders, drug use and bullying also made the headlines for the sports section. here to talk about the winners and losers of the year our bleacher report national league writer dan levy, "sports illustrated".com editor matt

bean and joe carter from cnn sports. welcome to all of you. >> hello. >> welcome. >> i love sports so i love this conversation, too. let's talk about the good guys, first. dan, you go first. who are the big winners? >> i think the biggest winner of the year has to be lebron james. he won his second consecutive nba championship. he won his fourth mvp. the heat have won 78 of the 98 games lebron played in in 2013. he is -- basically he's the best player in his sport maybe ever and he's having an incredible year this year. he's shooting nearly 60% from the field which is unheard of in his position. >> and he's from akron, ohio. he's one of my people. >> oh, yes. >> dan, who are your winners? i'm sorry, matt. we're on to matt. sorry about that. >> sure thing. i go by dan sometimes, too. our winner this year for the "sports illustrated" 2013 sportsman of the year was peyton manning. i've got to say nobody's turned in a dominant performance like this at the age of 37 in a sport

as bruising as football. that's why we went with peyton manning. he has 51 touchdowns already. he's broken tom brady's record. he's facing the oakland raiders. it's not just what peyton manning did on the field, it's how he did it and the legacy that he's going to leave for the quarterback position. >> matt, is he the greatest quarterback in history? >> i'd like to think he's definitely in that conversation. of course, there are a lot of guys who will be right there with him, but he's making an inargue babble case for him. >> joe, who's your winner? >> the boston red sox. not only for winning the world championship after having a terrible season the year before, but it's for what they did for the entire city of boston. obviously they became a rallying point for that city following the marathon bombings. i love the point right here at the parade when the -- the world championship parade when they stopped and put the trophy on the finish line. i loved when david ortiz said

this is our bleeping city. jonny gomes said they took on the boston strong mantra as a lifestyle, not a slogan. i loved this moment here, putting the jersey that they had in their dugout, the 617, boston strong jersey, at the most point yant mome poignant moment of the parade. >> i almost didn't mind that they beat my tigers. it was an awesome story. boston strong, right. let's go onto the losers. dan, your number one loser? >> it's sort of 1 and 1a. i think you have to say it's aaron hernandez and oscar pistorius. to lose one's career in your sport is banning someone from society. the story if they're convicted, the weird thing is 2014 for both of these guys probably going to be worse. >> matt, how about you. >> well, for me it's all about a-rod. the biogenesis scandal has laid

bare a pattern of denials and coverups that baseball has punished alex rodriguez for. we're still waiting to see how this is going to play out. you had a-rod in his own city turned out as a pariah in terms of how he handled himself. on the field when he came back to play he was pretty darn good, almost willed the yankees into the playoffs himself. like major league baseball said in their verdict, this is a pattern for him and really a guy who had zone many given gifts has handled this 234 a way that's not becoming of a guy of his stature. >> joe? >> i'm going with another team. the florida gators. i'm a huge college football fan. the florida gators were very disappointing. they won a title in '06 and '08. a heisman trophy with tim tebow.

they lost seven games in a row to finish the season, they lost to georgia southern. congratulations to georgia southern, but florida at home should never lose to a team like georgia southern. georgia southern in that game did not complete a single pass. they beat florida the old faced way, by running it right down their throat. for the first time since 1990 florida will not be participating in a bowl game. college football for all of its pageantry and drama has a lot of unpredictability. i like that, just like auburn, turned things around. watch for them next year. obviously their disappointment this year is why i picked them as a 2013 loser. >> great conversation. dan levy, matt bean and joe carter. thank you very much. "newsroom" back in a moment. >> thank you.

al qaeda's mission against the united states. pentagon correspondent barbara starr shows up 2013 has been a year of rebuilding. >> reporter: cnn's chris lawrence has messages from senior al qaeda operatives are renewing concerns the group is planning to attack. the intercept don't indicate specific targets but are described by one source as, quote, active plotting. >> there are multiple indications that al qaeda in the a rain beian peninsula is

plotting attacks both within yemen and u.s. and other western structures as well as overseas. >> the group in yemen already well known for the failed underwear bomber attempt to bring down an airplane christmas day 2009. four years later the intelligence community believes it poses the greatest threat of an attack on the u.s. >> they're still capable of posing attacks against yemen and 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 battle field losses. u.s. drone strikes have had mixed results. a drone attack this month failed to kill an al qaeda planner believed to be behind a plot to attack the u.s. embassy. yemen says more than a dozen members of a wedding party were

killed in that attack. yemen's al qaeda leader also advising al qaeda fighters across the region. and those al qaeda affiliates from yemen, syria, iraq and libya are growing stronger. the threat they posed were reaching key members of congress. >> are we safer now than we were a year ago, two years ago? >> i don't think so. >> i absolutely don't think we are safe today. >> in iraq police are trying to crack down but al qaeda openly operates training camps near the syrian border and from there about the u.s. >> al qaeda is 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 to get access to the united states or return directly to the united states, they were not put on any watch list, they would pose a very serious threat. they're well trained, radicalized and have the ability and intent to strike the u.s. only. >> analysts say the rise of the new al qaeda affiliates is part of the price paid for years of attacks against the old core al qaeda. many of those leaders are long gone, including osama bin laden. they have much more freedom to operate as they see fit. barbara starr, cnn, the pentagon. checking other top stories at 50 minutes past, the mission to free a trapped ship just off the coast of antarctica has stalled now. one of the ice breakers ran into icy conditions of its own. it is in sight of that stuck vessel. it is 6 nautical miles away. luckily there are no injuries

and the expedition leader says everyone appears to be in good spirits. in argentina a christmas day swim turned out badly. near the city of rosario, a school of flesh eating piranha. an isolated bite isn't all that uncommon, but to have so many people attacked at once is virtually unheard of. still to come in "the newsroom" a royal birth, u.s. intelligence secrets out in the open and the appointment of a new pope, a look back on the top stories coming up next.

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this year we had the announcement of a new pope and the inner workings of a spy working in the united states. what story came out on top? >> reporter: number ten. >> getting word of a deadly shooting involving international sports icon oscar pistorius and his model girlfriend. >> he admitted to shooting reeva steenl camp on valentine's day but he said it was all an accident. >> oscar pistorius appearing before the magistrate. he was clearly upset, at times, sobbing. >> pistorius nicknamed blade

runners was charged with premeditated murder. he's fighting that charge saying he mistook steenkamp for an intruder. number nine, the royal announcement heard around the world. >> the duchess of cambridge was safely delivered of a son at 4:24 p.m. local time. >> reporter: the fountains of the square illuminated in blue light. >> the new royal heir in the united kingdom. >> reporter: baby george was born in july to prince william and his wife kate. number eight. >> tens of thousands of people have poured out onto the streets in what is another dem monstratn against the arab spring. >> reporter: after mohammed morsi is ousted? a military coup, many egyptians are frustrated by the slow change and the rise of islamic

fundament fundamentalism. after decades of distrust and economic gridlock, there's a fall with iran. >> the phone call that's making history. president obama called iran's new president, rouhani -- >> reporter: and in november, a break through in geneva. >> a deal has been reached. a deal involving iran and six world powers. >> reporter: the preliminary deal limits iran's ability to work towards a nuclear weapon and loosens some international sanctions. critics say it doesn't go far enough. number six. >> all around us you hear the sounds of windows breaking. >> reporter: typhoon haian wiped out entire towns in the philippines. one of the strongest storms to hit any country ever. >> it smells in tacloban are overwhelming. >> reporter: more than 5,000 people killed. number five, terror at a mall in kenya.

gunman opened fire killing dozens and taking many hostages. >> everyone here in nairobi is on a razor's edge. i'm standing a short distance away from the west gate mall that is under siege in its third day. >> reporter: surveillance cameras captured this chilling video of gunman shooting their way through a super mavgtd in a mall and al shabaab in somalia claims responsibility. number four, grief and gratitude as the world says good-bye to nelson mandela. >> he's now at peace. >> reporter: the former south african president and nobel peace prize laureate died at the age of 95. >> behind me you can see a crowd. they've been dancing and sipping almost nonstop since the news came. >> reporter: his life celebrated for ending apartheid and creating a democratic and inclusive south africa. for ten days south africans and

dignitaries from around the world honored the man who taught the world about compassion, patience, reconciliation and freedom. >> now we see nelson mandela making that final journey. number three. >> the person who says he leaked top secret information about a u.s. government surveillance program has emerged from the shadows and identified himself. >> my name is ed snowden. >> reporter: the u.s. man hunt for edward snowden turns into an international game of cat and mouse. >> the man who's been spilling u.s. intelligence secrets is on the move, but where is his final destination? >> reporter: first, hong kong lets him go, then russia refuses to extra diet him. snowden's leaks were a major embarrassment to the n.s.a. revealing the extent the agency was spying on americans as well as international leaders and citizens. number two. >> the pope resigns. the leader of the catholic church stepping down at the end of the month.

>> reporter: pope benedict becomes the first head of the catholic church to resign in 600 years. the 86-year-old said it was because of poor health. >> the bell is ringing here in rome. the big ring. that means one thing, john allen. what does it mean? it means, would he have a pope. >> reporter: the first pope elected from south america. the curtains are open. the cross bearer is coming out. there he is. >> dubbed the people's pope, francis has laid out a vision of a more inclusive catholic church focusing on cam passion for the poor and afflicted. number one, the civil war in syria. more than two years of fighting, some 100,000 have been killed, more than 2 million are refugees. in august the chemical weapons attack kills hundreds. >> it's absolutely horrifying. we've seen a video showing the bodies of lifeless children. >> reporter: syria denied responsibility. >> the u.s. is making a case for

military intervention in syria. >> reporter: the u.s. on the brink of military action. a last-minute deal brokered by russia averted an international crisis. the agreement dismantles syria's chemical arsenal but left bashar al assad in power. a civil war raging and a civilian population still sufferi suffering. >> michael holmes reporting. thank you so much for joining me today. i'm carol costello. i hope you have a fantastic new year. year. "legal view" starts now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com the snow dragon to the rescue. a chinese ice breaker draws closer to the ship with 74 people trapped aboard the thick ant arctic ice since christmas eve. a