>> no one wants to get out as fast as i do. >> blanchett's might situate a jury away from the space odyssey. becky anderson, cnn. >>man man, i want to see them all. thanks so much for watching today. "around the world" starts right "around the world" starts right now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com another bombing in russia just weeks ahead of the olympic games. straight ahead, we're going to look at security concerns for athletes as well as tourists. plus, he's one of the world's most famous race car drivers. well, now he is fighting for his life after a skiing accident. an update on michael shumacher's injury up ahead. also. >> on the horizon. >> the ice breaker coming to rescue us. >> brilliant. >> close yet so far away. dozens of people are stuck on a ship in the frozen antarctic. rescue teams are not able yet to

reach them. welcome to around the world". i'm suzanne malveaux. a second terrorist attack in russia in just two days coming just weeks before the olympic games. well, that is where we begin this hour. at least 14 people were killed in today's suicide attack on a packed trolley. another 17 were killed in yesterday's blast at a train station. now, both bombings happened in the city of volgograd. diana mag nay is in russia with the latest. >> two deadly terror attacks in the southern russian city of volgograd in less than 24 hours. this morning's attack on a crowded trolley bus in rush hour. more than a dozen killed. authorities say the blast the work of a suicide bomber, possibly detonating his device towards the back end of the bus where the damage seems worse. many on board were students. this is exam time in russia. among the injured a baby in serious condition. this follows another attack at noon on sunday in volgograd's main railway station, the moment

of the explaegs caught on surveillancence video. 17 people were killed in that blast. authorities saying that was also the work of a suicide bomber. these attacks come less than six weeks before of the start of the winter games in sochi, which is around 400 miles southwest of volgograd. russia's president vladimir putin has vowed the highest possible security around the games themselves and the town of sochi, but it is clearly hard to police the whole of southern russia to the same level. russia is face fighting an islamist insurgency not far everywhere sochi. russia's most wanted man in the north caucuses threatened to unleash maximum force to prevent the games from happening. the u.s. state department has a $5 million reward out for umaroff. former intelligence officials believe further attacks are entirely possible. >> if we don't see the one, an attempt on the olympics i'd be very surpriseded.

>> even if the high security around sochi means terrorists may not be able to strike there they're proving themselves more than capable of fredding maximum fear ahead of the games themselves, targeting other cities in the region with deadly results. >> diana joins us live from moscow. we know that first of all, these twin attacks come several months after a leader of a chechen separatist group pledged violence to disrupt the olympics. has anybody taken responsibility for the attacks? do we know if they're linked? >> there has been no claim of responsibility but authorities are saying they do believe they are linked because they've studied the explosives used, and they said in both devices, there was a shrapnel involved, which was identical in both cases. so it would appear as though these are linked. also in october two months ago in the same city, there was another female suicide bomber who detonated a device on a bus killing six people.

she came from dagestan in the troubled north caucuses region i was just talking about there. it's, of course, highly likely these two did also. we don't know whether they're affiliated with the group of dak duh omaruf or simply autonomous working in smaller militant factions. we were told yesterday by authorities they believe that that bombing was carried out by a female suicide bomber also. these are hallmarks of the fighting that goes on in that region. but they've later sort of saw the clarification on that and we're still trying to work out from authorities who they believe was involved in that attack. of course, they're looking at dna evidence to try and find out the identities of these people and do have databases, the intelligence services here of people they suspect may be capable or preparing for terrorist rt attacks from that region. so you can expect that these people will probably be i.d. quite soon. >> diana, we'll get back to you as soon as you have more

information. we want to examine the question of safety in the upcoming olympic games. national security analyst fran town accepted talks about this via skype ca in new york. let's talk first about volgograd, about 620 miles from sochi where the olympics will be held. that's a distance from say atlanta to miami basically. but it is a major rail hub and a lot of people will be traveling from all parts of russia to get to the olympics. they're going to have to go through that city. so how do they even manage? where do they begin to try to protect people in the olympics? >> well, what you do, you start with the event sites and the olympic village and you work your way out. you look at critical nodes and look, what we know about these groups is that they target transportation nodes. you saw the trolley this morning, the subway station the day before. the bus in october. and so you understand that transportation is a real vulnerability. not only certainly athletes are most vulnerable when moving

around but also those who want to go to the events and so i would expect they will increase security presence at major airports including in volgograd, especially now, and people who are traveling will want to be very aware of their surroundings if they're using public transportation. the key here is when you're in a place like an airport, we remember the bombing in moscow in moscow's airport was in an unsecured area. so you don't want to linger. hotel lobbies, baggage claim areas, areas in which someone can come in without being screened are particularly vulnerable. >> fran, what were some of the lessons we learned from the bombing of the olympics in atlanta? are there things where people said okay, we can protect people based on what we've seen, some of the weaknesses in the security system? >> you know, it goes back to the perimeter. where are you going to put the perimeter and what level of security and screening are you going to have when you manage.

if you're in a public park where people can gather without tickets, without screening, it's very vulnerable. over the years, i've been the responsible, the first overseas olympics was athens and working with greek officials to work through a post nevin world an environment where people will use this as a target of opportunity to get publicity because the media is all there. you really have to understand what are you trying to protect, how far can you push the perimeter out, and how extensive can you make the screening and still allow the event to have the sort of feeling that you want it to have. >> fran, we've been talking to a lot of folks. it is surprising some people say they would be surprised if there was not at attack on the olympics itself, the olympic games. what's your feeling about this? the fact that we've seen these two attacks within 24 hours. we are so close to the olympic games. do you think we're likely to see something? >> well, i think, look, we now

know for sure thesis lam mick extremist groups in the north caucuses have the capability. they've demonstrated, a thumb in the eye of russian security officials they could pull off a second one in 24 hours in volgograd where it was no doubt teeming with security officials. they've got the capability and the intent. the question is, how close to the actual olympic venues can they get which is where the security screening will be most intense. i think we have to expect you're going to continue to see attacks on this scale around the -- around sochi and the question really, the real problem here is, can russian officials keep them away in the actual olympic sites. >> fran, are you confident enough? would you go to the games this time around? >> i would be very reluctant frankly, myself. it you always see threats in the run-up to the games including in athens. we sent the first family there.

and i was very nervous about that. but so you are inclined to see these sorts of security threats and run-ups. this has a qualitative difference. this is the first time this close to an olympic event that we've seen these sorts of attacks with people being killed. >> yeah, it is very worrisome. fran townsend, thank you very much. appreciate it. the most successful race car driver in the history of formula i remains now in critical condition. this was after a skiing accident in the french alps. michael shumacher had to have brain surgery after falling and hitting his head on a rock on sunday. well, he is now being kept in a coma. so he can heal. doctors say if he hasn't been wearing that helmet, he wouldn't even have made it to the hospital. >> i think that given the violence of the shock, his helmet did partly protect him certainly. someone who had this kind of

accident would without a helmet, would not have reached this stage. >> thank god for the helmet. jim boulden is joining us from outside the hospital in grenoble, france. we've been following this story all day and heard the doctors. they've been very, very careful in terms of what to say, what kind of prognosis they would make. do we have any sense after i timetable and an update on how he's doing? >> yeah, what they've been saying really is that they are taking this hour by hour. that's how serious the situation is for michael shumacher. they're not making any prognosis as you said. they have tried to put him in this medically induced coma to try to bring the swelling down from his brain. he fell on the right side of his head. they've lowered his body temperature which is also supposed to lep with swelling. the doctors are saying they simply cannot know yet how badly damaged his brain is. but they are looking at things like you know, how can he

recover, what kind of things that might it be little things to look for that might tell them whether he is able to recover. but at the moment, of course, his family is here. they say they know the doctors are doing all they can. the doctors say they will make no more statements tonight. we may get an update tomorrow. >> tell us a little bit more about him. he really was considered one of the best when it came to the racing world. he retired back in 2006 but then he jumped back in and retired again. give us a little flavor sense of what he means to the athletic world. >> this guy is just a machine. he loved formula i. did he bikes, too. he did motor bikes. he loved sailing. he loved parachuting. we know he loved skiing, as well. did he horseback riding. when he retired, he reminds me of like american baseball players they step away and can't stay away. he had done it all in formula i and came back again for three more seasons with mer dade december. he didn't do very much at all.

when he retired at the end of 2012, he said that was it. he's going to have to find something else to do. it's his 45th birthday in a few days. he was here skiing with his family. he's still a young man but loves the adventure. he was one of the best formula one drivers. it's a very scary thing to do. you can see why he would be somebody off piece. he was skiing off the main courses because that's what he does. >> and jim, a lot of people love this guy. it was three years ago he gave an interview to cnn about taking the risks he does. he loves the stuff. listen to what he said. >> the word if" and the possibilities of things that could happen to you, they can happen anywhere. >> yeah, they can happen anywhere. jim, i guess he's a little bit of an adrenalin junkie i think. we certainly wish him the very best. if you've got any updates from the doctor, please let us know. and here's more of what we're working on for "around the world."

>> the weather's a bit -- it's minus 1 and blowing snow. >> stuck on a ship in the it the freezing cold. that is right. now rescuers have to airlift the people on board that ship. you see it there. plus, thousands of people they've had to leave their homes. this is after a volcano erupts in el salvador impacting a lot of folks in their travel. and he is the man of the year. but this one really unsuspected. we're talking about pope francis being named the best dressed man by 2013 by "esquire" magazine. welcome back. how is everything?

there's nothing like being your own boss! and my customers are really liking your flat rate shipping. fedex one rate. really makes my life easier. maybe a promotion is in order. good news. i got a new title. and a raise? management couldn't make that happen. [ male announcer ] introducing fedex one rate. simple, flat rate shipping with the reliability of fedex.

[ male announcer ] introducing fedex one rate.

z making news around the world right now. for the first time since the start of the irian conflict, lebanon's military fired on syrian warplanes. a security officials tells cnn that the shots were intended as a warning to the syrian air force for violating lebanese air space. meanwhile, syrian government helicopters continue to drop barrel bombs on aleppo, syria. hundreds have been killed in the city this month alone.

take a look at this, a volcano in el salvador shooting ash into the sky. this started to erupt on sunday. thousands of people who live near it, they've had to evacuate their homes as you can imagine. airlines have had to change their routes to avoid what is a huge ash cloud. this is the first time the volcano has erupted in 37 years. authorities say it might not yet be finished. and mexican authorities trying to figure out why a coastal highway south of tijuana collapsed. a cement truck driver got just out in the nick of time. he's okay, but this truck ended up in the pacific ocean. that's right. nobody was hurt. the highway is about 60 miles from the u.s. border. it's a popular drive for tourists as you can imagine. officials say it could take a year to fix the damage. we also want to talk about the ship stuck in the antarctic it can ice. has not moved in almost a week.

ice breaking ships haven't been able to reach this thing. an australian ship got close today and had to turn back because of bad weather. now the plan is to send a chinese helicopter to try to get the passengers out. earlier the lead scientist on that stuck ship told cnn how things are going on board. >> we've got about ten days worth of food. we did a stock take. we've got several weeks of delicious dehydrated food in packets afterwards. which i don't think will go down too well. we've got plenty of fuel. and yeah, we're keeping ourselves busy. i'd like to sae to any family and friends listening or watching that everyone's keeping well. the ship's in to immetropolitan danger. all the icebergs are way off at the moment and nothing's making any obvious sign of moving towards our way. >> he's pretty optimistic there. the airlift is really at the mercy of weather, however. it is not clear just how much longer the people on board have to wait.

our matthew chance has got more. >> reporter: the weather's a bit cold today. >> overnight another setback for the latest rescue mission. the australian ice breaker ship an error rare as you australis forced to turn backing to open water after worsening blizzard conditions made it too dangerous for the ship to continue. it came close within ten nautical miles of the stranded research ship before having to retreat back to 18 miles. research expedition leader chris c t.u.r.n.y expressed concerns about harsh weather working against them. >> unfortunately the weather forecast is for the conditions to continue for the next few days. >> all rescue efforts including airlifting passengers by helicopter on hold till visibility improves. the team set out to the study climate change in antarctica and retraced the steps of explorer

douglas moul son who studied life on the continent a century ago. on christmas eve, just 100 miles with from where they started their ship came to a halt, stuck in ten-foot high ice and they haven't budged since. >> what's that on the horizon. >> that its the ice breaker coming to rescue us. >> brilliant. >> the crew spotted the first rescue ship from china known as the snow dragon in the distance but their hopes were quickly dashed. the ice breaker only about six nautical miles away from the vessel couldn't get any closer due to the unusually thick ice. a french ice breaker also en route to assist but the mission was called off after it became clear the ship wouldn't get farther than the chinese boat. >> we're in the highs, but all are well. happy christmas from the aee. >> still spirits on the boat remain high. crew members and passengers channeling their energies in posts on social media creating video diaries for family members

and telling everyone they're having a great time. >> it's my birthday today. it couldn't be a better day to have a birthday with my 0 something new friends. >> we're going to have singing on the ice which should be fantastic, as well. but it's absolutely spectacular here. it's like this magical winter wonderland. >> the team spirit has been fantastic. it really has. we carefully chose the people we had together. we thought we'd get on well. we weren't expecting such a severe test of the community spirit, but everyone's kept really good morale. >> matthew chance is joining us live from london. i don't know about you, but it strikes me, everybody is so cheery and optimistic. i might start to get a little worried here. what do we know? what's behind all this? >> reporter: they're really putting a brave face on what must be quite an ordeal out there in the antarctic. it the frozen continent. but yes, what we know now is that the russian foreign

ministry of all people, it's a russian registered ship has announced in the course of the past few hours a decision has been taken and that is is to airlift as many of the passengers as they can and a number of crew members, as well from the russian research vessel on to a nearby chinese ice breaker, the snow dragon. the snow dragon was unable to reach them. that will only be done once the weather clears up. very gusty winds at the moment, too gusty for helicopters to fly in. they have to wait for the winds to drop before they can take anybody off at all. >> how long do them have to wait before the winds die down? >> it's anybody's guess. we spoke to the engineer on the chinese ice breaker earlier today. and he said it would be two or three days before the weather conditions are ripe forever a further rescue attempt. but that might mean the ice breaking up a little bit, might mean the wind dying down. they'll be look can at this very carefully and taking the first opportunity i imagine to get these people off. >> well, it's nice if they have

communication. i can imagine that makes them feel a little bit better. they're creating video journals. you've got a lot of folks now involved in this. how do they actually coordinate all this? >> well, it's been quite a feat of international cooperation. hasn't it? >> i mean, remember there have been three attempts using three separate ice breakers from the three different countries, china, france and australia to reach the ship over the course of the past six days. all of them have failed. but they're all in the region trying to work out with each other who can find the best route towards the ship. none of them have managed it yet. the chinese one it seems is the only one with the helicopters. that's why the russians have gone with that one as the ship to airlift the passengers off. but yes they're all coordinating very well in in moment. >> everybody coming together trying to figure out how to get these guys off the ship. they all seem very confident right now. i hope it all goes well.

matthew, keep us posted. appreciate it. you've got bitter cold until the bitter end. yes, we're talking about an intense blast of arctic air that is hitting part of the u.s. in the final days did of the year. high temperature in the some places is actually going to be below zero. i'm nathan and i quit smoking with chantix. when my son was born, i remember, you know, picking him up and holding him against me. it wasn't just about me anymore. i had to quit.

[ male announcer ] along with support, chantix (varenicline) is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. chantix didn't have nicotine in it, and that was important to me. [ male announcer ] some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these, stop chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you develop these, stop chantix and see your doctor right away, as some could be life threatening. tell your doctor if you have a history of heart or blood vessel problems, or if you develop new or worse symptoms. get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack or stroke. use caution when driving or operating machinery. common side effects include nausea, trouble sleeping and unusual dreams. i had to quit smoking to keep up with this guy. [ male announcer ] ask your doctor if chantix is right for you.

the united states is not the only country struggling with icy weather. we're talking about freezing rain and snow have been making travel a hazard on a major highway in southwest china. for the last couple of weeks actually. most of the road is now 7,000 feet above sea level or higher. so it can get icy pretty quickly up there. authorities have been closing down parts of it for several hours a day to try to clear the ice and salt that pavement. back here at home, the united states, high temperatures not even going to make above zero, above zero in some places. 2013 getting blown out with a blast of arctic air. i want to bring in alexandra steele following up for us.

wow. get ready. >> it is so cold. we have had windchills all weekend long between 40 and 50 degrees below zero. in big flass -- fargo, minneapolis, minnesota, these iceboxes of the world are coldest air of the year. >> put on your jacket. layers. >> you can't even layer. there aren't enough layers. come over with me. let's dance this move. the frigid end of the year, highs below zero absolutely. we've seen it all weekend here. the dakotas, minnesota, iowa, kind of ensconced in the worst of it. here around the great lakes, highs below freezing. so here's a look at how cold it is and more importantly how cold it feels. it's really the winds. we had windchill warnings. we've had blizzard warnings all weekend. right here in the upper midwest, northern plains but not because the snow was coming down. snow was near negligible a couple of inches but the winds were so intense. current temperatures straight air temperature 10 below, 4 below in minneapolis.

again, it's really the winds. windchills right now almost 30 degrees below zero in duluth, 16 below in minneapolis. fargo, same deal. hour by hour, tomorrow morning, international falls 42 bloels zero is what it will feel like as you walk out. really, very dangerous. so all this cold air, the coldest confident year dropped south and dropped east. which wednesday, it modifies some. certainly portions and the essence of the cold air is there but certainly not to the degree without the winds there. boston, new york, washington, wednesday will be the coldest for you in the teens and 20s. new year's eve, here's the forecast, times square will be cold. temperatures in the 30s. midnight 29. windchills will feel like the 20s across the board all night. in atlanta, standing outside in the 40s. so certainly colder than average there, but that almost will feels pat latable compared to to all the other cold numbers. chicago we'll pick up a few

inches. windchills in the single digits. we head west in denver, temperatures in the 30s and los angeles, that's the place to be. we're going to see temperatures pretty mild there, suzanne. so certainly much nicer. >> i'm staying indoors. i'm staying inside. >> your fanciest pajamas. >> many layers. thank you, alexandra. appreciate it. bad news, two terror attacks within 24 hours in russia. dozens of people killed and injured. is that corrupt safe enough to host the winter olympic games less than six weeks from now? that straight ahead. if yand you're talking toevere rheuyour rheumatologistike me, about trying or adding a biologic. this is humira, adalimumab.

this is humira working to help relieve my pain. this is humira helping me through the twists and turns. this is humira helping to protect my joints from further damage. doctors have been prescribing humira for over ten years. humira works by targeting and helping to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to ra symptoms. for many adults, humira is proven to help relieve pain and stop further joint damage. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events, such as infections, lymphoma, or other types of cancer, have happened. blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure have occurred. before starting humira , your doctor should test you for tb. ask your doctor if you live in or have been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection.

ask your doctor if humira can work for you. this is humira at work. [ chainsaw whirring ] humans -- sometimes life trips us up. sometimes we trip ourselves up. and although the mistakes may seem to just keep coming at you, so do the solutions. like multi-policy discounts from liberty mutual insurance. save up to 10% just for combining your auto and home insurance. call liberty mutual insurance at... [ thump ] to speak with an insurance expert and ask about all the personalized savings available for when you get married, move into a new house, or add a car to your policy. personalized coverage and savings. all the things humans need to make our world a little less imperfect. call... and ask about all the ways you could save.

liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? world." our top story, a second terrorist attack in russia in less than 24 hours. with the olympic games in sochi less than six weeks away. want to focus on what is behind the violence as some of the world's top athletes are now preparing to travel to russia. doma till la is a war time studies professors at kings college london. the very latest, 14 people killed in today's attack. this is on a packed trolley.

have you another 17 killed yesterday at a train station. nobody's claiming responsibility. when you take a look at these twos twin attacks, are there hallmarks? do you suspect is behind this and what do you think they want? >> well, i mean it, usually the prime suspects are the fighters that are leading sort of an islamic inspired insurgency in the north caucasus. not necessarily chechens. there are other nationalities involved like dagestannys. so there is a high possibility they might be behind figures belonging to this resistance movement might want to bring attention to their fight, raise their profile at a time when a lot of the eyes of the world are on russia because of the olympics. so in a way it's a very, very strong sort of propaganda call for them. what they're really fighting for

is for sort of the separation of the region from russia, and the establishment of a system which is based primarily will i on islamic rules and law, and which completely changes the dynamics and the situation on the ground. >> professor take a look at there. because the attacks were in volgograd about 600 miles from sochi where the olympics will be held. when you look at the map of russia and see showchy, it's less than 100 miles from the north caucasus where russia is fighting the separatists there. many people believe an attack at the games is very likely, is possible because of the location. >> well, i mean it is close and it isn't. it's not really very, very close to the sochi area of the games but still you know, it's not far from the area. ier. ally wouldn't think there would be attacks straight in sochi but still they might be showing solidarity which an movament of

sir cashians which is the people who have inhabited the area before the russians arrived in the 19th century and these people have been deported and still claim that this is their land and their territory and you know, there had shouldn't be any sort of presence of russia in that area. so i mean, there might be some connection but on the other hand i think what is most symbolic in this case is that it happens in an area which is really in the heart of russia. it is not far from sochi but it's not that close either. so you know, certainly they're trying to send a message. it's very hard to know whether there's going to be another attack. the russians are going to increase security even more around the area of sochi which they have done already. so more likely is that softer targets might become you know, might be targeted. so you know, areas where there is less protection actually than the area of sochi. >> professor, is there anything aside from security, is there anything that the russian president vladimir putin can

doing to appease these groups even if it's a temporary gesture before the olympics? >> well, i think president beauty tin has always been very, very determined no the to negotiate with these groups. they have conducted terrorist attacks, and therefore, they have been classified as terrorists. and despite the calls from fighters in the region to negotiate with russia, this has never really happened. so i don't think this is going to be a moment where putin is going to sit downen an talk to them. it is interesting last year, there was a sort of moratorium on attacks beyond the north caucasus as a result of the demonstrations against putin. it's interesting almost like the russian people have more of an influence when they show their displeasure towards the regime than the regime of putin itself. i think that putin will probably try to heighten security to increase checks, to make sure that no one of suspicion is

undetected rather than sitting down and getting engaged in some kind of negotiation with these insurgency groups now. >> professor, thank you so much. we appreciate your time and analysis. we certainly hope that it's a safe olympic games. a deadly attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi. there is now a new report that says al qaeda was not responsible but there are some members of congress who is disagree. a live report next. to help secure retirements and protect financial futures. to help communities recover and rebuild. for companies going from garage to global. on the ground, in the air, even into space. we repaid every dollar america lent us. and gave america back a profit. we're here to keep our promises. to help you realize a better tomorrow. from the families of aig, happy holidays. ...are the hands that do good things for the whole community:

the environment, seniors, kids, and animals. that's why we created the share the love event. by the end of this year, the total donated by subaru could reach 35 million dollars. you get a great deal on a new subaru. we'll donate 250 dollars to a choice of charities that benefit your community. it feels good to be a helping hand.

here are some of the stories making news around the world right now. if santa got you a laptop for christmas, you might find this a little bit unsettling. the nsa is reportedly intercepting laptops purchased onlineton install spyware. that is according to germany's "der spiegel." the operation is allegedly carried out by the nsa's elite hacking unit that has backdoor access to several hardware and software systems from prominent tech companies like cisco and dell. there has been a big turn around for the government's new health care program. 975,000 people have enrolled in the federal program in december alone. so that brings the number to more than 1.1 million who are now taking advantage of obamacare through the federal online application process.

separate programs run by 14 states and washington, d.c. are also seeing a surge in applications. the government wants to sign up 7 million people. people not signed up by april will face a penalty. more than a million americans who depend on unemployment checks have now lost their life line. congress refused to extend the federal help as part of a budget agreement. so benefits ended for 1.3 million people. this happened over the weekend. democrats say ta restoring the benefits is going to be the first thing they're going to push for when congress reconvenes in january. top lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are taking issue now with this new report that says al qaeda was not involved in last year's attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi. four americans were killed, you'll recall. now a "new york times" report says that the attack was likely carried out by independent libyan militias. our jill dougherty has details

on the investigative report and also, what is is the government saying? >> the "new york times" investigation calls into question claims made by both republicans and the white house about what happened. libya on september 11th a year ago. the newspaper finds fault with the republican case saying there's no evidence that al qaeda had any role. that local militias and looters were to blame, that ta anti-muslim video did play a role motivating the attackers at least in part. and that the attack was not meticulously planned but neither was it spontaneous nor without warning signs. a top republican insists the intelligence shows al qaeda was involved. >> there was aspiration to conduct an attack by al qaeda and fair affiliates in libya. we know that. the individuals on the ground talked about a planned tactical movement on the compound. >> reporter: the top democrat on

the house intelligence committee committee agrees but says it's a complex picture. >> the intelligence indicates that al qaeda was involved but there were also plenty of people and militias that were unaffiliated with al qaeda that were involved. >> reporter: the "times" also says, however, it was not a copycat of street protests in see egypt against the american-made anti-muslim video as then u.n. ambassador susan rice suggested on sunday talk shows. >> our current assessment is what happened in benghazi was in fact initially a spontaneous reaction to what just transpired hours before in cairo. >> the obama white house isn't commenting or disputing the "times" report which notably does not mention then secretary of state hillary clinton. >> what difference at this point does it make? >> but former white house national security spokesman tommy veeter blasted republican demands for a benghazi hearings. and for their claims that the obama administration was lying.

tweeting they were wrong. and we could have avoided months of disgusting demagoguery. >> jill dougherty is joining us to explain all of this. still, it looks like there are more questions than answers regarding benghazi. how does this investigative report, does it change at all the direction of this official investigation that's still taking place? >> i don't think it really does. other than that point about al qaeda, but it's a subtle point. it's a complex, maybe that's the better word, point about al qaeda. which al qaeda? al qaeda an organized force, you know, the central command of al qaeda or was it these kind of disparate groups who are related to, affiliated with, like al qaeda, et cetera. i think you're getting the picture that what this report is doing is saying it's a lot more murky than either side is putting out. and that's where you get really

criticism from both sides. i don't think essentially it changes really the narrative that much. >> all right. jill, thank you. appreciate it. remember when the french actor gerard depardieu due caused such a stink over a millionaire tax proposed in france? well, now, a different version of that very proposal has become law. i'm going to tell you who's going to pay and how much.

and it feels like your lifeate revolves around your symptoms, ask your gastroenterologist about humira adalimumab. humira has been proven to work for adults who have tried other medications but still experience the symptoms of moderate to severe crohn's disease. in clinical studies, the majority of patients on humira saw significant symptom relief, and many achieved remission. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events, such as infections, lymphoma, or other types of cancer, have happened. blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure have occurred. before starting humira, your doctor should test you for tb. ask your doctor if you live in or have been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. ask your gastroenterologist about humira today. remission is possible.

>> the israel plans to release 26 palestinian prisoners either today or tomorrow. now, israel promises during peace talks that actually started last summer. this is going to be the third release since then. and some prisoners getting their freedom this week have served almost 30 years. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu says that the idea is to resume the diplomatic process. secretary of state john kerry is headed back to the region later this week to help keep the peace talks moving. now, somebody asked you what memories see as the nation's most unpopular war, you're likely going to answer vietnam. with but only 17% of operates of this new poll said that they support the war in afghanistan. 82% oppose it. back in the vietnam war era, opposition was never above 60% in gallup polls.

the new poll also shows more than half of americans want u.s. troops to come home from afghanistan before the deadline. the obama administration's plan is to have most of them out by december 62014. and french government wants the rich to help pay more to help the sagging economy. so it is now passed a millionaire tax. while the france president france's president introduced this idea plans to sign it into law. zain asher is joining us to talk about the latest version of this because this came about first became popular when you had the actor, the french actor gerard day poor due says i don't want to pay this. i'm becoming a russian citizen instead. initially, it was very different, right? 75% tax on income that was over 1 million euros or $1.4 million a year. that's not what we're talking about. >> yeah, so that was the original plan. the original plan was like 75%

tax on millionaires. that was ruled illegal. so basically francoise hollande has a way to circumvent that. he's now going to betachs businesses that pay workers are 1 million euros or $1.4 million 75%. here's a couple things you have to understand. first of all, the tax is only temporary for wages earned in the year 2013 and 2014. i've been speaking to european economists one of which tells me he anticipates that french companies are going to start striking deals with their high income workers to defer some of their wages about i a couple of years as a way to get around the tax. you have to understand there is some protections for small businesses. even though it is a 75% tax, a huge amount, it cannot exceed 5% of the company's revenues. that's important to remember, as well. there is this whole controversy if you're rich and you live in france, you are in a sense under siege. but france's president hollande is basically saying he's just trying to get the rich to pay their fair share.

you look at france's economy. it's fallen down a five-year flight of steps. it is healing but unemployment is still 11%. it has a lot of catching up to do with germany. this is his way of trying to get the rich to pay their fair share. >> i can imagine the backlash that's going to follow. when you look at this, does it is actually help the french government shrink this massive budget deficit it has? does it make a dent at all? >> it's interesting because as a country, there are two ways to basically shrink your budget deficit. first way is obviously to cut spending. the other way is to raise taxes. in terms of raising taxes, this tax is only going to raise 200 million euros total. it's only temporary. that's the first thing you have to understand and only affects 450 companies. this is more about francois who laepd making a statement within his party party increasing his standing within the party and making a statement on fairness.

in terms of whether or not you'll see french businesses flee to the uk. it is unlikely given the tax is only temporary. >> thank you, appreciate it. here's a switch here. the ceo of apple tim cook getting paid based on the stock's performance. if the stock takes a hit in the market, cook's pay gets docked. the worse the performance, the bigger the pay cut. cook says he wants to set a leadership example for corporate the ceos. apple products enormously popular even though he took a pay cut with the performance plan, he still cleared about $40 million in salary, bonuses and stock. not so bad. he has washed the feet of prisoners, he's embraced the poor and sick. now pope francis being recognized for something unexpected. his sense of style.

we still run into problems. that's why liberty mutual insurance offers accident forgiveness if you qualify, and new car replacement, standard with our auto policies. so call liberty mutual at... today. and if you switch, you could save up to $423. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy?

president bashar al assad sent a private message to pope fran this this weekend. syrian state run news agency says the message indicated assad was willing to take part in peace talks in geneva next month but that countries supporting the rebel groups would have to stop supporting them. the message reportedly stressed

that a solution to the syrian conflict would only be achieved without foreign intervention. now, the pope has repeatedly pleaded for peaces in syria, calling for an end to a conflict that has killed more than 100,000 people. pope francis, he has achieved, of course, rock star status this year, named "time" magazine's and the advocates person of the year. now esquire magazine has actually named him best dressed man of 2013. pope actually beat out actors like bradley cooper and joseph gordon levitt. erin mclaughlin tells us why. >> reporter: move over brad pitt, step aside george clooney. it looks like you have very serious is competition in the style department. "esquire" magazine last named pope tran sis the 2013 best dressed man of the year. the magazine admits this is an unconventional decision but point to his very simple style

decisions as signaling new hope for the catholic church. take a look at pope benedict, the elaborate robes, golden cross. "esquire" magazine says this is look oh, so last season. now it's all about pope francis with his simple garments and iron cross. he's been trying to focus the church on helping the margin naturalized, the poor. esquire magazine writes the holy roman emperor does have new clothes and they reflect the people's pope. eric macculloch lynn, cnn, rome. >> rocking the robe. this really takes the cake. this is folks in azerbaijan celebrates the president's birth day. >> what you're watching here, you're looking at a 170-foot long cake. that's right. if the local government commissions the birthday giant birthday cakes every year for a president who turns 52 this year. the cake was 5 meters long.

funny thing, it didn't get presented till five days after the president's birthday because it took so long to make. several stories caught our attention today. photos, as well. take a look at this. in southern california, a family may have been photo bombed by a shark. that's right. you got to take a look at this picture closely. a mom was looking through pictures on the way home from the beach when she noticed what appeared to be a shark near her son and his friend earlier in the day. literally captured in that photo there. several have been spotted along the southern california coast actually in recent months. the woman said she told the kids it was a dolphin so they wouldn't be sca ird to go back to the beach. in brazil, thousands of biodegradable balloons were released to float over the city of sao paulo. the tradition started back in 1992 to celebrate the new year. and in india, this photo is of an indian fisherman walking

through a beach literaturetered with trash in mumbai, india, now becoming more polluted as people flock to the cities to search for work and a better quality of life. thanks for watching "around the world." "cnn newsroom" starts right now. "cnn newsroom" starts right now. have a good afternoon. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com right now the nsa may be targeting laptop computers before the owners receive them. we'll have reports on reports the agency has been diverting laptops order online and installing spy aware. big name coached are getting bad news. it's judgment day in the nfl. right now the countdown is on and the last minute preparations are under way. >> we're going to have cookies and coffee set out. >> those cookies going to be laced with anything? >> absolutely not. no, no. >> less than 36 hours till colorado marijuana shops open their doors.