it is common knowledge, though, dry season means that's when piranhas were most active. it seems most would know that. >> yeah, well, food supply gets a little lower in the dry season. and, like i said, it's a super rare occurrence. it's just -- there must have been some other external influences, as well, maybe some fishermen might have been throwing some carcasses over or something like that. generally, they do not go after human. we were doing work in the amazon. we had to hunt them down to even see them. and once they saw us, they just took off. they're really, really skittish animals. >> wow. what do they usually like to go for? just to kind of comfort people who might be swimming in waters that piranha are known to be. >> well, sure, mostly piranhas are fish eaters. they eat insects, as well, a lot of times.

and some eat fruit and nuts that fall in the rain forest. here are the top stories we're following right now. target, the store, has admitted, yes, hackers did get your pin data in a giant credit card breach but they say it's encrypted. will that be enough? we have the latest next. and people aboard a ship stuck in ice in antarctica are anxiously awaiting help. the rescue ship is within sight, but now it's struggling with ice, as well. and an about face on duck dynasty on the reality show's star is back in action after a very short suspension. we break down what this means for the future of this show.

just a short time ago, officials in libya explained why they held and released four u.s. military personnel last night. the four americans were sent to libya to work security at the u.s. embassy in tripoli. i want to bring in sunlan in washington. >> reporter: reiters is reporting that libyan police and military officials say this all started at a check point friday. the four u.s. military personnel were in a convoy according to these libyan officials. and at the check point, they were questioned about why they were carrying weapons. now, as they were being questioned, the american vehicles drove away. one vehicle even caused an accident. the third car, according to the libyans disappeared. the four military personnel were detained for hours held by the libyan government. hours later overnight, the u.s. defense department confirmed to cnn that they were released.

now, u.s. officials say the four were quote augmenting security at the u.s. embassy in tripoli. fred? >> and what about the white house? any word from it? >> now word yet. the white house hasn't publicly reacted to the situation yet, but a white house official does confirm to cnn that president obama was updated on the situation during his vacation in hawaii by his national security staff. we'll, of course, keep you updated as we hear more, fred. >> thanks so much. in washington. a senior u.s. state department official says u.s. secretary of state john kerry will travel to the middle east next week for peace talks. kerry has been working with palestinian and israeli officials on a peace accord. peace talks stalled in november with both sides digging in their heels. key points of contention are the continued israeli troop presence in the palestinian territories and the construction of settlements in the west bank. a confrontation between security forces and student protesters backing the muslim

brotherhood turns deadly in egy egypt. one student died in clashes on the campus of a cairo university. more than 60 others were arrested. unrest has escalated in egypt this week after the government declared the brother mhood a terrorist organization. back to the ship stuck in the frozen waters of antarctica. this is the new video of the expedition leader. it's been four days since the group has been stranded. and although a rescue vessel is within sight, it's not been able to get close enough to the ship. >> reporter: fred, help is so close yet so far. the chinese ice breaker came within sight. but, unfortunately, it couldn't push through. the stranded passengers happily point to a dot on the horizon. others cheer help is near. >> what's that on the horizon, cliff. >> that's the ice breaker coming to rescue us, alec.

>> brilliant. >> but their relief doesn't last long, thick ice has forced the chinese ice breaker, the snow dragon to come to a halt. >> he was about six nautical miles away when the decision was made that the ice was too thick, beyond the vessel's capacity. and he turned around and went back through the channel that he'd created to open the water. >> a french rescue vessel also failed to penetrate the ice and has been turned back. but reinforcements are on the way. the australian ship is en route and expected to arrive sunday evening. the australian vessel is stronger than the snow dragon, a higher ice rating. in other words, it can cut through ice as deep as 1.35 meters compared to the snow dragons 1 meter or so. but we're hearing reports that the ice in the area is as deep as 2 meters. and that can mean those onboard

will be winched to safety. now they're not in danger, there's enough fresh food to last two weeks and dried food for longer if needed. but chris turney says he's worried blizzards could hamper the rescue efforts. >> we've got snow falling, but it's not too windy. unfortunately, the weather forecast is continuing for the next few days. >> the people aboard consisting of scientists, tourists and crew are updating family with daily youtube messages. >> i hope you're enjoying as much as i am, we're in a bit of ice, but not to worry, things are going well. >> so well, they are continuing in their research, counting birds and drilling through the ice and photographing sea life. the antarctic region was mapped out but facing a harrowing

journey. no food, no icebreaker. he had to wait a year for the ice to melt. the australian maritime safety authority says they'll assess the situation once the australian vessel arrives sunday night. but they have the backup in the form of the chinese helicopter. so they won't need to wait for the ice to melt at after. fred? >> thanks so much. appreciate that. all right. a lot of americans won't be popping the champagne cork on new year's eve. they'll be spending the holiday to figure out how they're going to pay the bills. federal emergency unemployment benefits end today for 1.3 million people. last week congress to failed to pass the extension as part of the budget deal. lawmakers are expected to consider it again when they return from their holiday recess. one new jersey woman out of work for a year says she'll probably have to apply for food stamps and she might even lose her car. a&e network has lifted the

suspension of duck dynasty's phil robertson. he was suspended after making racist comments in a gq magazine interview. that suspension lasted nine days. petitions signed by hundreds of thousands of supporters. they have changed a&e's mind. coming up, we'll talk with bradley jacobs, the senior editor of "us weekly" about whether a&e is ducking this controversy. congress does not have a whole lot to be proud of in 2013. but does it deserve the title worst in our lifetime? what voters think coming up. and next, your debit card pin could be in the hands of hackers. that's the latest in that target store breach. what the company is saying to its customers. mine was earned orbiting the moon in 1971. afghanistan in 2009. on the u.s.s. saratoga in 1982.

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target customers are even more on edge after a new update that hackers did, indeed, steal pin data in a massive credit card breach. the retailer initially said it didn't happen. alexandra field live from new york. what is the latest? >> reporter: so many concerns for consumers, not just the 40 million who were hacked but also for all of us, reminding us our information can be very vulnerable. at the same time, target stores are trying to reassure customers saying that the pin data that is stolen is secure and safe. they say the data was scrambled and can't be deciphered. here's the statement from their spokesperson reads, quote, the pin information was fully encrypted at the key pad remains encrypted in our system and remained encrypted removed from our system. so those layers, all of that sounds good. it might be comforting if you are one of the people shopping at target. we spoke to security experts and we said, all that may not be enough.

>> it's called data encryption data which allows it to be protected. but the problem with the pin numbers, there's only about four characters. which means there's only about 10,000 different combinations to do. altogether, it's not going to hold up because they can do brute forcing it to grab those pin numbers itself. >> initially target had said that card numbers and names were stolen. they are now saying the pin data was also stolen. the bottom line for anyone out there who was affected by this, they're being advised to get new pin numbers, it's the best thing to protect yourself moving forward, fred. >> thanks so much. let's bring in an expert on hacking. joining me now via skype. he's the founder of parameter securities. so david, target says pins are strongly encrypted. but can anything be decoded?

>> any sort of encryption can be broken. and, again, depending on what type of encryption they were using, is a lot harder to decrypt. but if your pin number's four digits, it's going to be easier to guess and figure out what that pin number can be. >> oh, my goodness. what should people do? what's your best recommendation? >> well, first, again, understand that target is -- is the one that we're hearing about today, but a lot of different merchants are having attacks they don't even know about. understand, this is the reality. make sure you're using credit cards and not debit cards. make sure you're not using your pin number. if possible, use something along the lines of a prepaid card or cash. something -- you're wanting to understand if your card is compromised that you can mitigate your damage. >> my goodness. well, a lot of folks are hearing

you say use your credit card or cash. and, wow, everyone feels that using their cash card is oh so convenient. wasn't the pin number, wasn't that designed to give you a layer of security? >> well, it's what we call two factor authentication. but the problem you have is when both of the authentication points are sitting on the computer, it really doesn't help if someone's able to grab that information. >> and you say there really needs to be a major overhaul. and we're talking really countrywide. there's some countries that have like special chips or certain assets of technology they apply to their cards to better secure them. what's missing on the u.s. market that you think is desperately needed? >> a smart card technology. and, again, this gets rid of the account numbers. and understand that america was one of the first countries to deal with credit cards. and so our infrastructure was built back in the '60s, '70s and

'80s. you go outside of the united states and most of north america, you go into europe, africa, you're going to deal with smart cards. and this gets rid totally of your account number. it's a one-time transaction. if someone's able to grab your quote credentials, they're not going to be able to use it again. unfortunately, the credit card industry says that the cost to upgrade costs more than the actual breaches now. i hope they go back and research that again. >> wow. thanks so much. appreciate it. and happy new year. >> you, too. the threat from al qaeda. well, it's growing. experts say intercepted messages from the terror group paint a disturbing picture that's coming up. also next, watching congress hit wall after wall in 2013 was incredibly frustrating for voters. what can lawmakers do to get back on track? that's next.

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congress is facing a huge uphill climb in 2014 if it wants to win back the public's trust. its approval rating is in the tank. and it seems like nothing has been getting done. and voters are furious. so furious that some say this is the worst congress in their lifetime. dana bash has more. >> reporter: angus king and joe donnelly wrapped up their first year in the senate.

their take on the institution is telling. >> it's still pretty bad we haven't been able to get more done. >> reporter: a new cnn/orc poll shows 67%, 2/3 of the country call this the worst congress of their lifetime. and nearly 74% have lived a long life, they're 50 and older. 73% say congress has done nothing to address the country's problems. >> the public approval of congress is still pretty low. does that surprise you? >> no, because what they see every day on television is deadlock and fights and screaming. what you don't see every day is large groups of both democrats and republicans coming together saying how can we work through this process? >> one thing that is bipartisan, the blame, the public doesn't trust either party. 52% say policies of democratic congressional leaders will move the country in the wrong

direction. republican leaders only slightly worse saying the gop will move the country in the right direction. susan collins spent the year organizing bipartisan discussion to solve big problems. she wants americans to have hope for 2014. >> i hope that the american people will realize that there's some of us who are trying to build bridges and bring people together and solve problems. >> congress did leave for the year on a higher note than when it started passing a bipartisan budget through the house and senate. several senators told me they had people coming up to them all over the states thanking them for being reasonable. then he realized, that's a pretty low bar. dana bash, cnn, washington. those are tough poll numbers hanging over congress in 2014. here to break it down, how bad is it really? republican strategist rich galen and charles.

is public opinion too harsh? or do they have it right? >> people can be as disappointed as they want to be. i think judging congress on how many bills they pass is like judging a cop on how many parking tickets he wrote. the one with the most parking tickets wins. >> but is it just that or are there a lot of contention? >> fred -- and it is, i think one of the issues that we have is that the nature of the relationships between members on both -- each side of the aisle has changed dramatically since i came to washington in the late '70s. and i think charles will agree that the notion of being able -- when members lived here, their families were here, they would see each other's kids at, you know, doing plays and concerts. those days are gone. everybody goes home almost every weekend, they have nothing to do with each other. and it's a lot harder to, i

think, just turn your back on somebody if you know them personally than it is if they're just somebody -- another name that's on the other side of the aisle. >> charles, what's happened with the culture of doing business on capitol hill? >> well, i think rich is right in one sense that the relationship piece is a big piece. i think it's more philosophical. they don't agree on the priorities. you don't agree on the priorities, it's hard to get something accomplished out of that. a lot of priorities used to be bipartisan priorities. we build bridges and infrastructure and things like that everybody could say this is in the nation's interest and we can at least to agree to do these things even if we disagree on other kind of social issues or what have you. many newer members of congress, republican members of congress, who basically this is what they were elected to do, which is

they were elected to go to washington to stop washington. there is a sentiment in the country, particularly on the right that says that if washington tries to do it, they will kind of foul it up. and the health care debacle has kind of fed that fire. and you may see even more of this coming out -- happening next year and after the midterms depending on how that turns out. if you don't even agree this is a problem, some people look at this and say, this is not a problem. this is exactly what we wanted you to do. go make those guys stop doing things and that is precisely what many of the newer republicans are doing. >> and rich? >> i think, charles, once we get through the majority of the filing deadlines, this is pretty far down. but once we get through the filing deadlines where members don't have to worry about being primaried on their left or right, it may be they find some

more things they can do. obviously, immigration comes immediately to mind. once we get past that era, which will be about march, april, may, i think we may see more bills coming to the floor and getting across the rotunda and getting picked up. >> i think the big bills don't stand a good chance of moving. the things the american people wanted to see happen. these are big things, not like the small things you can pick through the less than 60 bills that were passed this year a-- most americans, this is something we think should be addressed, immigration. should be addressed. something should be done on the gun issue. whatever it is, no matter how big or small you think it should be, we think that something should be done. we don't want to see, you know, room full of elementary school kids dead. we don't want to see that.

but we can't get these big things done. and when you have just today, you can't figure out how to do something about the millions of people who are losing unemployment benefits. and it's the idea that, you know, they're lazy people. no, that's a horrible thing to say because we all know these people. these are our neighbors, people that go out, try to look for places, jobs, have a stack full of resumes on their desks and they can't find it because there are so few jobs to be had. you can't tackle that, that's hard on people. people see that and -- >> will this be reflected in the midterm election results? and if so, how? >> i still believe the midterms are very far off. we didn't even know that health care would be the deal that it is now. we didn't know that the government shutdown would fade so quickly from the public's perception. i think nine months out is still a long time out. i'm not sure how it'll play out

in the midterms. it is conceivable that you could have republicans take control of the senate. it is also even a longer shot that you could have democrats much, much longer shot, actually, democrats take control of the house of representatives. but even if you do have republicans take control of the senate, you still won't have them take control by a veto proof majority. >> so i wonder, rich, then, if not for those big -- those kind of incentives, those big issues or not even midterms. are there any other incentives to have a new year and a new attitude for members of congress? rich? >> i don't know. unfortunately, i think not. as charles accurately pointed out, when these members go, especially members of the house go home to their finely determined districts. by the way, when you make a republican district more republican, something has to

happen to the democrats. what happens is they go home and hear from the people that put them there and they want them to essentially continue doing what they want to do and with republicans in the house in control. what they want to do is, as charles put it, stop government growth. and i think that's probably not a bad idea. i don't think there is any incentive the way you put it. unfortunately, i wish there were. >> okay. >> but the tragedy is that, you know, we could be looking at a long stretch of time where this becomes the norm. and we do have large kind of national priorities that we should be tackling that probably will not be tackled. >> the last thing i need is an era of good feeling. this is good. >> all right. charles, rich, thank you. and happy new year. let's be optimistic about it. thanks, gentlemen. coming up, 2013, well, in addition to a few problems on capitol hill, there have been a few scandals.

not just in the u.s. but in all of north america. so from crack-smoking mayor to a sexting mayoral candidate, the top stories of the year. and it's been two years since osama bin laden has been killed but al qaeda may pose a bigger threat. i'll explain why next.

the u.s. state department said this week it's giving weapo weapons and drones to iraq to help a growing threat from al qaeda. the terror group may have taken a hit in 2011 when osama bin laden was killed, but now experts say it's getting stronger. barbara starr has more. >> 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. >> the group in 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're capable of plotting attacks against the united states in multiple locations including against the u.s. homeland especially by taking down aircraft. >> analysts say the group rebounded in 2013 from battlefield 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 to syria iraq and libya are growing stronger. the threat they pose worries key members of congress. >> are we safer now than we were a year ago, two years ago? >> i don't think so. >> i absolutely agree we're not safer today in iraq. >> reporter: and from there, al qaeda has moved into syria with weapons and tactics learned during the u.s. war in iraq. 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 to get access to the united states or return directly to the united states

and they were not put on any 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. >> analysts say the rise of the new al qaeda affiliate 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 and now the new affiliates have much more autonomy, much more freedom to operate as they see fit. barbara starr, cnn, the pentagon. in egypt, students who back the muslim brotherhood are protesting on the streets of cairo. and 60 others arrested by authorities. ian lee has details. >> reporter: it's been a deadly week in cairo and around egypt as security forces crack down heavily on protesters out supporting the ousted president mohammed morsi.

the main focus has been the university in cairo, the main school of sunni islamic thoughts in the world. and it's not surprising that the organization would find support there despite the fact the administration supports the government. this comes as the muslim brotherhood is declared a terrorist organization by the egyptian government. meaning the hundreds of protesters who have been arrested face possible tough sentencing with the organizers of the protests facing possible life sentences. and on top of that, the egyptian government has frozen the assets of the leadership, the muslim brotherhood and their ngos. >> thanks so much, ian lee. the libyan government released four personnel who had been taken into custody. president obama is on vacation with his family in hawaii. and athena jones is live from honolulu. any reaction from the president on what took place in libya? >> good afternoon, fredericka.

well, the white house isn't saying much about the situation in libya. an official says the president was briefed in libya by the security council staff. and this is what would be expected. the president is president wherever he goes, even here in hawaii. he may spend the day at the beach, but he still gets his presidential daily briefing and any other briefings necessary. he has been updated but that's all we have from the white house. >> and what about on egypt? >> that's another situation where the state department is in the lead. no direct response on that area, as well. we do know that john kerry has expressed concern about the decision to declare the muslim brotherhood a terrorist organization. as you know and as mentioned, it's the biggest political party in egypt. and this goes far beyond

politics. we're talking about ngos, charities a big social movement in that country. the u.s. government is expressing concern by that move by egypt's government. but the real question here is how much influence the u.s. has over what egypt does. you can bet that the white house and the national security staff are closely following the situation, monitoring the situation and keeping the president updated. but no direct response from the white house so far. fred? >> thanks so much from honolulu, appreciate that. coming up, the real life scandals that kept us glued to the television sets. which one made it to the top of the list for 2013? plus, "duck dynasty" fans are happy, happy, happy. the decision is not without controversy. we'll tell you why. once upon a time, an insurance clerk stumbled upon a cottage. [knock] no one was at home, but on the kitchen table sat three insurance policies. the first had lots of coverage.

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jim changed his routine. ask your doctor about xarelto®. once a day xarelto® means no regular blood monitoring -- no known dietary restrictions. for more information and savings options, call 1-888-xarelto or visit goxarelto.com. we think he had the right to say it and we believe in the same moral and christian beliefs that phil believes in. so we're behind him 100%. >> well, the comments were pretty harsh. there's a way of saying things. you know, if you don't agree with something, there's ways to word it to where you're not trying to dehumanize someone. >> all right. that's the reaction from some people in louisiana. to the a&e network reinstating "duck dynasty" star phil robertson. they were commenting about what he said. nonetheless, there's been a lot

of reaction over a&e. so he was originally suspended indefinitely from the show ten days ago for his controversial comments about african-americans and gays in a gq interview. a&e says the show will begin filming in the spring with the entire robertson family. well, not everyone's happy about that. glad released a statement saying this, quote, if dialogue with phil isn't part of next steps then a&e have chosen profits over african-american and gay people, especially its employees and viewers. so bradley jacobs joins us now from new york. okay. so, brad, what was the suspension about in your view in the first place? >> well, phil did an interview with "gq" and made anti-gay statements and said african-americans were happier before civil rights. that created a fire storm. and a&e immediately suspended him. the problem is, it wasn't that

simple. people who supported phil were saying his anti-gay statements were related to his passion for the bible. and then suddenly a&e was being seen as anti-christian. and that was a very difficult place for a&e to be. and that is what likely motivated their decision to lift the suspension yesterday. >> and then i wonder, was a&e a straight shooter in all of this? because a&e had this indefinite suspension. and then as i understand on christmas day, they had a "duck dynasty" marathon and phil robertson was in just about every episode. was a&e really setting up to do anything by having this indefinite suspension if he was still going to be on the air? >> you've got to remember, fredericka, this is a&e's biggest show by far. we put it on the cover of "us weekly" and it sells extremely well. there's merchandise in walmart.

they did a christmas album, "duck the halls." this is big business. so why wouldn't a&e run a marathon on christmas day? everyone was just sitting around at home. it is one of their biggest shows. they do have these shows on the shelf, ready to show. so i don't think that was so hypocritical really. >> so then making that point, then, why wouldn't a&e go ahead and lift the suspension knowing that it is such a cash cow or cash duck in this case that of course they're going to resume shooting the series come spring. >> well, that's what they've decided to do. it'll be interesting to see what happens from here. as you said, groups like glaad have said we're not satisfied with this. even christian groups are saying, well, we're still not satisfied either because now is a&e going to be representing us? are they going to be standing behind phil robertson and his passion for the bible? but one thing is for sure, this

comedy, this fun, light reality show is now going to be controversial for years. and any time -- >> it's a lightning rod. >> and any time he does an interview with a magazine or anyone else, you're going to be looking for those incendiary remarks. he's going to be grilled on his opinions on gay marriage, for instance. he's going to be asked about obama and, you know, everything he says is going to be looked at and make headlines so it will attract more viewers for the show. it'll be even bigger in the next system, i'm sure. >> wow. incredible. bradley jacobs, thank you so much. we can see it just might be a banner year for "duck dynasty" or a&e come the new year's beginnings. thank you so much. happy new year. all right. so we did see lots of scandals in 2013. including the personal dramas, some of it that went very public and some of the gaffes that went very viral. which scandals made our top ten

list? the answer next. this is george. the day building a play set begins with a surprise twinge of back pain... and a choice. take up to 4 advil in a day or 2 aleve for all day relief. [ male announcer ] that's handy. ♪

all right. it's been a big year for scandals. and joe johns names the top ten scandals of 2013. >> number ten, beam me up, baby. it's seldom you get the crack question of the year and crack answer of the year in the same place, but it happened to the no. >> toronto mayor, rob ford, when he was put on the spot in an open forum with the whole world watching. >> have you purchased illegal drugs in the last two years? >> yes, i have. >> ford was a trend-setter in 2013, leader of the pack in the category of mayors gone wild. with honorable mention to number nine. san diego's mr. smooth himself. bob filner who resigned as mayor facing a tidal wave of sexual harassment allegations. charges of unwanted advances including former female employee who filed suit.

irene mccorps mick jackson, alleging filner told her, wouldn't it be great if you took off your panties and worked without them on. he was sentenced to 90 days home confinement and three years probation for assaulting women. number eight, the former hip-hop mayer of detroit. could be vikted of racketeering and extortion so pervasive, the prosecutor said it pushed the city in the biggest bankruptcy in american history. he finally got the term he wasn't elected to serve. 28 years in federal prison. and speaking of elections, number seven on our list isn't a mayor, but he could have been. new york's former congressman, anthony weiner, hit performer on the list for past years sexting controversy that made him leave capitol hill. when more explicit pictures sent to a 2 2-year-old woman sent to carlos danger, weaner who's

married, lost the primary with less than 5% of the vote. weiner gave the media the universal, we're number one hand signal, as a parting shot. snooze while we're on the subject of popularity, number six on our list is that agency everybody loves to hate. the internal revenue service. and in keeping with the season what might be described adds one of the most notorious naughty lists in recent u.s. history. seems somebody at irs had the bright idea will singling out party groups. the practice attracted outrage from coast to coast. and an investigation by the other federal agency that brings up fear and anxiety everywhere, the justice department. and speaking of spilling gotties, there are nongovernment players that must be mentioned for outstanding performances in 2013. number five on our list is former man of steel. lance armstrong. here is a guy who was master of the cycling world and the big lie. winning the tour de france seven times. claiming repeatedly that he

wasn't doping to enhance his athletic performance. but after being banned from the sport, he dwaf a tell-all sort of interview with oprah. where else. he confessed an offer wlaed may be the biggest understatement in the history of sport. >> i'm not the most believable guy in the world right now. >> number four on our list with another credibility problem that phony sign language interpreter who crashed the nelson mandela memorial service. it would be funnier if it weren't so creepy. this guy was within arm's length of the president of the united states making meaningless gestures. it later came it light that he had once been accused of rape and murder but was found not guilty. number three is paula deen. what would possess a host of a popular cooking show to get herself involved in a lawsuit where someone would ask her under oath whether she ever used the "n" word when she said she did. can you say, settle the case already. speaking of legal problems, number two on our list is the

not so secretive any more, nsa, national security agency. who would have thought that one government outfit that was supposed to be stealth city could manage to embarrass or anger just about everybody in the u.s. by letting a rogue former contractor named edward snowden download a bus load of secrets, so-called signal intelligence from the computer system. splash some of it to the media then run off to rush yaf all places. while the goodies continued to be spilled item by item for maximum effect. and finally on our list, coming in dead even, tied for first place, for the broken government, a ward of the year, congress for the absolutely inexplicable government shut down crisis of 2013. that features a dramatic reading after dr. seuss classic in the midst after 21-hour senate talk-a-thon. >> i don like green eggs and ham. i don like them, sam i am. and not to be overlooked, obama administration for the utterly disastrous roll-out of the

website. which debacle was worse is entirely in the eye of the beholder. the futile attempts about by a congressional minority to dismantle the law of the land with a stated aim of getting rid of the president's signature achievement or video replays of the leader of the free world promising that his signature achievement would allow anyone to keep the status quo. only to find out that, well, it just wasn't true. >> if you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan. >> joe john, cnn, washington. >> thanks so much, joe. and you've been picking your top ten store wrists year on cnn.com. we will reveal what viewers voted for. top ten choices monday 9:00 a.m. eastern time. >> with the holiday shopping surge behind you, the thought of more shopping, just might make you cringe but this is the best time to get some great deals. we'll tell you how after this.

>> as the ye. this weekend, many of you are still headed to stores. in some cases it make returns but guess what, this is a good time to take advantage of more big sales. christine roman shows us what bargains are out there and where to find them. it is the most selfish time of the year. expect sales from french connection, banana republic. there were extra discounts of 30

to 50% off on top of sales up to 75% off. new year's day is the best time to buy furniture. that's what brent beamer says. it has become tradition for people to shop for furniture on that day. new furniture lines come out in february. so there's old product to move. also, the second or third product of the year. for mattress sales. mattress sales caught on to the furniture trend and they piggybacked with the major furniture sales. think super bowl weekend. the perfect storm. consumer electronics store in january. super bowl is in early february. retailers are moving out the old stuff and how about a new car? did you know that december 31st is the best day. dealers and auto makers want to meet their year-end goal. hunt for 0% financing for people who qualify and hefty cash

rebait rebates. christine roman, cnn, new york. >> good deal on big shopping there. thanks so much. that does it for me. up next, rosa floeres here in the house. >> happy new year. >> happy new year to you. i'll see you tomorrow. >> oh that's true. >> the next hour of "newsroom" begins right now. good afternoon, you're in cnn newsroom. i'm rosa flores. in the antarctic, 75 people are on a ship trapped in the grips of a frozen ocean stretching for miles and miles. ice surrounding the ship is

nearly ten feet thick. one rescue ship has stalled in the ice. and another rescue boat is to turn back. well, we'll talk about one of the crew members live from the stranded ship just ahead. but first, the impact of targets massive debit card security breech is growing by the day. millions of shop rs are told to get new cards after target admitted that customers pin numbers were stolen. but target is insisting the pin data is still safe and secure. cnn's alexander field reports from new york. >> just the day after saying there was no evidence that personal identification numbers or pins were accessed in its massive security breach, a tush around from target, the retail giant saying debit card pin numbers were stolen along with names and card numbers as part of the recent hacking. target insist the pin code information is safe and secure in a statement saying quote,

fully incrypted at the key pad. the company insists it would be unlikely that hackers would be able to unscramble data but some experts remain concerned. >> the inkrims itself is great standard. data inscription standard. which definitely allows it to be protected. but unfortunately the problem with pin numbers is there are four characters. only about 10,000 different combinations can you do in order to get it. all together, it is not going to hold up because hackers can do what is called brute forcing it to grab pin numbers itself. >> security breech affecting 40 million customers who shopped at target between black friday and december 15th, if you're concerned about your account, experts say be vigilant. >> they should be taking to their bank. unusual transactions. any type of anomalous behavior. contact authorities, contact their bank officials

immediately. >> i know it's a pain but change your pin number. get a new card. that the easiest way to do it. they say there is monitoring protection. but as piece of mind, change it so you don't have to deal with it. >> alexander joins us live and alexander, at first, target says the data was not stolen. but caused the about face. >> right. rosa, at first target said it was card numbers and names but that the incrypted card numbers were taken and they made the announcement after they got that evidence. >> where does the investigation stabbed? do we know who did this at this point? >> this is a massive investigation, rosa. we are talking about 40 million shoppers affected between the time of black friday and december 15th. target is characterizing this as ongoing and continuing investigation. they are in just the first stages of criminal and forensic work here. this could certainly go on. we could hear more about it,

rosa. >> lots of work ahead. alexandra live for us in new york. thank you so much. >> emergency unemployment benefits running out for a million long-term out of work americans. there are federal benefit checks expiring today because congress did not extend them last week when it passed the budget deal. the program kicked in for unemployed workers once their state benefits ran out. they've bb extended for, and expanded for, 11 times. obama program expect to extend the program by three months, that bill will be voted on as soon as lawmakers return for recess. despite calls to extend those emergency benefits, the nation's unemployment rate is declining and there are signs that the economy is improving. but as allison reports, a new cnn poll shows many americans say they are not feeling the

gains. >> a majority of those polls don't think the economic conditions will get much better a year from now. 56% said they saw conditions in a year as poor. here is something very telling. the poll asked whether the economy made them put off making magic over purchases like furniture or appliances and 56% said yes. that's higher than when the recession began in 2008. what that does is show concern about the future. so why this disconnect? look at data on the economy. it is getting better. there are numbers on gdp, housing and auto sales. you find long-term unemployed, underemployed, and those dropped out of or never even entered the work force. they aren't in the surging stock market and many are about to lose benefits. those people aren't buying dig ticket items. and some are cutting back on food and medicine.

there are record highs almost everyday and those people who aren't buying medicine. some may call it one america, two economies. >> four u.s. military members taken into custody in libya have now been released. all the details are not yet clear but the u.s. state department says the four american troops were in libya to help beef up security at the u.s. embassy. they were reportedly in custody for just a few hours. u.s. officials tell cnn they are still trying to put together all of the facts. it is going to be a little bit longer before help comes to trapped scientists way down at the bottom of the earth. i'm talking about antarctica. that's where a ship with 74 people on board has been stuck since before christmas. they are stuck in the ice. that's only one part of this frozen story. a ship sent to rescue them can't get close because, well, you guessed it, because of the ice.

cnn's issa suarez is watching from london. >> help is so close yet so far. chinese ice breaker came within sight of the stranded vessel. others cheer help is near. >> ice breaker coming to rescue us. >> brilliant. >> but their relief doesn't last long. thick ice forced the chinese ice breaker, snow dragon, to come to a halt. >> he was about six nautical miles away. when that decision was made that the ice was too thick. it was beyond the vessel's capacity and he turned around and went back through the channel that he had created to open water. >> a french rescue vessel also failed to penetrate the ice and has been turned back.

but reinforcements are on the way. the australian ship is on route and is expected to arrive sunday evening. the australian vessel is stronger than the snow dragon. higher ice racing. in other words, it can cut through ice as deep as 1.35 meters, compared to the snow dragon's one meter or so. but we hear reports that ice in the area as deep as two meters, and that can mean those on board have to be winched to safety by the helicopter on board the chinese vessel. there is enough fresh food to last two weeks. but chris tourney, leading the expedition, is worried the blizzard can hamper rescue efforts. >> the weather conditions will continue the next few days. >> in the meantime, 74 people on board which consists of scientist, tourists and crew are updating family with daily

youtube messages. >> hey, mom and dad. i hope you're enjoying summer as much as i have. we have currently hit a bit of ice but not to worry. everything is going well. >> >> reporter: so well, they are continuing research. drilling through the ice to photograph sea ice. he mapped out the antarctic region but faced a harrowing journey, stranded with no companions, no food, and into ice breaker. you have to wait a year for the ice to melt. >> authority say they will assess the situation. but they do have back up in the form after chinese helicopter, so they won't need to wait for the ice to held after all. rosa? >> isa soares in london, thanks very much. after a quick break, we are praning

pr planning to go live to the antarctic to the competition lead are. the ship that was supposed to get them out of there got stuck and today turn back. what is next for the 74 people trapped in the ice? we will let you know. also ahead, massive underground drill hit something. something and we don't know what that is. and it can't get through. so far, no one knows what's down there.

we've been following the plight of a research ship that got itself in hot water in the coldest part of the earth. scientists, crew and painters are all on board this ship in the antarctica. the ice is just too thick. we've been trying really hard, we should say, to check with the expedition leader for a live update but we're not having any luck at this hour.

a short time ago, we spoke to rebecca whitfield and this is what he said. >> reporter: at this point, you and other crew members, are you thinking about all of your options? the what-ifs? >> oh, absolutely. we've been talking options with the rest of the team. and if the snow dragon can get to us. and we have other options with authoriti authorities. and in the next couple of days. so that's good for us. we will just take it from there, really. at the moment we are just creeping morale up and trying to keep morale up and working hard to get everyone home safe and sound. >> right now, the mission is to

be rescued. the mission is to try and get to your mission. but you've got to remind us of, what are you setting out to do in the first place before this happened? >> can you just repeat that? the phone signal is not so hot. >> sure. i'm just wondering what primary mission has been for you. what are you setting out to do as part of this expedition? what's the research? >> oh, research, absolutely. we are following in the foot steps of the great australian explorer. and a hundred years ago, he basically took the antarctic expedition off the map. it was close to space travel. and in the process of two years and -- [ inaudible ] they made a rather fantastic observation, in which filled bookshelves. and a baseline of data.

and many parts of antarctica relying solely on satellite data. which is late 1970s. and comparing, just the amount of environmental change. >> and they are incredibly strong group. working really well as a team. and people like to learn more and [ inaudible ] >> i've been following him on twitter. his last tweet is very short. he says, still waiting. people in minnesota will feel like they are in antarctica tomorrow. an arctic blast headed straight to them with wind chills in 40 to 70 below range. much of the northern u.s. is crippled by ice-related outages. meteorologists alexander steele shows us what to expect this

weeke weekend. >> today's highs, almost 50 in minneapolis. 40s in chicago. look what happens as we head toward tomorrow. we drop 26 degrees to a high of 4 below. cold arctic airdropping from midwest. pushing east ward. then monday, eastern seaboard gets to 30s as well. rainy saturday. rainy sunday. monday morning along the eastern seaboard. here it is tomorrow morning. washington, baltimore, very wet day. and then by sunday night, it is still rain, though, for boston and new york city. only place that has cold air and moisture coming in which equals snow is the northern tier right here. northern new england. so the ski resorts and vermont, will get snow. rosa? >> thank you, so much. hurricane sandy left behind so much devastation last year. houses demolished. neighborhoods levelled. but when you hear what a landscaper found while cleaning

up leaves on long island p, you're going it smile. hear this. a $1 million scratch off lottery ticket hidden in the leaves. natalie martinez found the tick the last year, contacted the lottery. but todhad to wait to see if ane claimed it for a year. they contacted him. he was awarded with four other winners winners. congratulationses to all of them. still ahead, the through season is gearing up. promises to be a dangerous one. widespread activity jumped from four states to ten states. what that means to your health next. >> this is john and charlene from air base japan. want it give a shout out to our family in south haven,

mississippi. hello dad, martha. merry christmas and happy new year. >> we love you. [ male announcer ] legalzoom has helped start over 1 million businesses. if you have a business idea, we have a personalized legal solution that's right for you. with easy step-by-step guidance, we're here to help you turn your dream into a reality. start your business today with legalzoom.

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this could be a very bad year for the flu. ten states now report widespread flu activity. i spoke earlier with dr. jennifer cot el about flu myths, like the idea that vaccine can give you the flu. it's one of the biggest minls out there. the flu vaccine does not give you the flu. the flu vaccine will not give you the influenza virus. that is not just the flu shot but also the flu vaccine nasal spray as well. a lot of people use it as a reason not to get the flu shot. remember there is a couple of reasons why you may not get sick around the time you get the vaccine. the vaccine is not giving you the illness. >> we were talking earlier about who need the flu shot. if i'm healthy, if i still made

flut shot and with rare exception, everyone over the age of six months old should be getting the flu vaccine. especially people who are under the age of five years old. over the age of 65 and pregnant women even and those with chronic medical conditions. these are all of the people that should be getting it and really everyone over age six months old with rare exceptions should be getting the flu vaccine. and one of the reasons why is cdc came out recently with numbers from last year's flu, flu season. reported that the flu vaccine prevent aid proximately 79,000 flu related hospitally zalgss and over 6 million flu-related illnesses. so the flu vaccine makes a big difference. it is time to go out there and get it. it's not too late. >> that's my next question. because the flu season is here. is there something as too late it take the vaccine? >> honestly, flu season starts as early as october. goes as late as may. but the height of the flu season tend to be in january and february. so we're in december now.

if you haven't gotten the flu vaccine yet, it is definitely time, and it will do you some good. >> now i see signs for the flu vaccine everywhere. i see them at drugstores, my doctor's office. does it matter where you take the flu shot? >> it doesn't. i'm a family physician and i give the flu shot in my office. but if patient don't get it from me, it's fine by me. you can get it from the public health department, a local pharmacy. sometimes schools or public libraries will give out the vaccine. and that's perfectly okay. the most important thing is to get vaccinated. and to understand, no, it zpt give you the flu. >> i have another question. >> sure. >> once you do get the flu whab do you do? >> that's a great question. it does happen. remember the flu vaccine is very, very effective. it is not a hundred percent. remember, let's say that you don't get influenza but let's say you pick up another virus that makes you feel like you have the flu. some other virus. can you go to your doctor. often times, a number of things we can give you, we call

supportive care to help you get through it. let's say you catch influenza virus. you can sometimes take anti-viral medications if you take them within 48 hours, et cetera. there may be medications you can take to help symptoms. call your doctor as soon as you think you might be ill and talk about options for that. >> there is a lot of brave souls out there that want it go to work anyway, or want to go to school. what's your advice? >> stay away. if you are sick, the gift you don't want to give people, the gift you should not be giving, is the gift of illness. if you are sick, flu, cold, stay home. get yourself well. make sure you don't spread it to other people.

up in the sky, is it a. very deep, deep in the ground. in seattle, a massive underground drill hit something, that it could not get through. so what's down there? we promised you the story in the newscast. but we ran out of time. we will have it for you though in our 5:00 p.m. eastern hour. meantime, just about any family member can tell you, taking care of someone with dementia, dr. sanjay group that traveling outside amsterdam to see what

dementia could look like. he says it is one of the most humane things he has ever seen. i'll be back with the day's top stories in about 30 minutes. for now, here is dr. sanjay gupta, md. i'm here in the netherlands. for the last four years, there's been this grand experiment happening here. you see, in this village, all of the residents have severe dementia. went to talk about dementia very much, but if you consider the world, developed world, 65 million people are expected to have dementia by the year 2030. close to a hundred million 20 years after that and what to do with all these people with dementia. in many parts of the world, they are ignored. they live in these nondiscrypt