making news in america this morning -- breaking news overnight. concerns are growing about the safety of the winter olympics after another deadly bombing in russia. we'll have a live report. also this morning, a blast of arctic air. temperatures fall well below zero in parts of the country. who will feel mother nature's bite? and an abc news exclusive. the family of an american being he would hostage in pakistan shares their anguish and hope. and spreading the holiday spirit one cup of joe at a time. how thousands of people decided to pay it forward with some much-needed christmas caffeine. and good monday morning.

i'm diana perez. >> and i'm gio benitez, sitting in for john muller. a second terror attack in russia. >> that raises new questions about the security of the olympics. tahman bradley from washington with more. >> reporter: two deadly blasts in a city just 400 miles from where the winter olympic games will be held. security is being tightened. another deadly explosion in russia. raising fears about the winter olympics. this time, it was a trolley bus in the city of volgograd. at least 14 people killed. more than a dozen wounded. it was likely a bomb. the incident comes just one day after the train station in volgograd was hit by a suicide bombing. the blast was caught by a surveillance camera outside the station. at least 17 people were killed. dozens injured. the bomb went off just after noon on a peak travel day in

russia. there were bodies everywhere, this woman said. inside the train station, everything is destroyed. officials say it was an act of terrorism. russia is on edge. the country is set to host the winter olympic games in just six weeks. >> i think the russian government has something to fear. the potential loss of face, the embarrassment to them. >> reporter: sochi, where the games will be held is in the heart of the north caucuses. last summer, an islamist leader who claimed credit for past bombings called for attacks on what he called the say ttanic winter games. diana and gio? >> tahman bradley recording from washington this morning. thank you. arctic air is going to sweep across the northern u.s. to end 2013.

temperatures below zero in the upper midwest and will stay in places like minot, north dakota. two storms converging in week in new england and thousands are still without power in maine. crews there have been working around the clock. >> we'll be trimming the lines a little bit to make sure that whatever still has a lot of ice weight on it might not come down. >> many will not get their power back until the end of the week. and brutally cold air is heading their way. the new heavy wet snow is likely to add to the power outages. >> so cold. >> so cold. they had a miserable christmas and now the new year's coming. most of the south will be dry today. there will be snow showers along the tennessee-north carolina border. snow showers in the northern rockies. it will be foggy for the pacific forth west. >> 37 in new york and boston

today. 52 in atlanta. 8in sunny miami. mid 40s in seattle and portland. 71 in los angeles. another attempt to rescue dozens of passengers aboard a stranded ship in antarctica has been abandoned. the ship in the ice for nearly a week. an australian ice breaker got within ten miles. it moved back into open water after the ice became too thick to penetrate. passengers may have to be air-lefted by helicopter. the most successful formula one drive ever is in critical condition this morning. he fell and hit his head on a rock in the french alps. at first, he was just shaken up. but he had emergency brain surgery. michael schumacher retired just last year. new details about the man

authorities say robbed two banks and killed a mississippi police officer. mario garnett was arrested in 2010 for alengedly threatening to kill president obama and his predecessors. the fallen police officer's wife said her family was grateful for investigators' work and the support they've received. >> you have made it possible for us to move forward toward finding peace for the long road ahead. dale would be so proud. >> he was from the midwest and had served for four years in the u. army. the family of a brain dead california girl is hoping that a new york long-term care facility will agree the to admit the child. a hospital in california says it will take the 13-year-old off life support this after noon. her family believes she is still

alive. health experts again urging americans to get that flu vaccine. the flu is being blamed for the death of an 18-year-old in texas. this season, it's hitting the young and middle aged much harder than the elderly. older people appear to be resistant to most prevalent strains. they were last seen if the 1940s and '50s. almost half of the 1.1 million people that have chosen new private insurance plans did so just before christmas. 40,000 registrations per day in december. it is believed that another million will sign up for state programs. coming up, new science of a comeback for the housing market. and an abc news exclusive. the family of an american hostage speaks out. sharing their fear and frustrations. a charmed life meets a tragic end. an heiress is brutally murdered.

some say it is because of the good work she tried to do.

welcome back. there's good news about the housing market this morning. "the wall street journal" reports some home prices are back to peak levels in some cities. and close in others. oklahoma city and denver are seeing the biggest boom. price nationally are below the prerecession peak. and there's also good news from the auto industry. the u.s. is exporting more cars and trucks than ever before. more than half are from ford, chrysler, or gm. the others were built in u.s. plants owned by japanese,

korean and german automakers. the biggest increase are to companies outside north america. there are still more imports to the u.s. but the gap is shrinking. federal statistics show airline delays and cancellations are down in the last dozen years. a government watchdog says that's because the department of transportation is only looking at the 16 biggest airlines. they handle only three-quarters of all domestic flights. and major airlines have allotted more time for every major flight. it was a fantastic weekend for fantasy. "the hobbit: the desolation of smaug" was number one at the box office for the third weekend in a row. it was the top film on christmas day. for the weekend, it took in $30 million. disney's "frozen" right behind it with $29 million. and "anchorman 2," which we deny is anything but fantasy was third. with $20 million. >> tote pli fake. >> completely and totally fake. that kind of stuff never happens

in a real news room. >> just stay classy, america. >> have you seen any of those? >> not yet. >> but the one you will probably see? >> "frozen." "anchorman 2." >> we'll see them all. when we come back, football fans across the country are either celebrating or crying in their coffee this morning. the nfl's regular season comes to an end. which teams could be on the road to the super bowl? first, a dire warning. a volcano gives clear signs it is ready to blow.

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that i enjoyed so much, i didn't want to give up, and now i can continue to have them. evacuations have been ordered after a volcano in el salvador shot gas and ash three miles into the air. huge plumes of smoke could be seen billowing from the volcano. the volcano is located near the city of san miguel in the

eastern part of the country. the last major eruption was in 1976. all right, taking a look at the morning road conditions now here if the u.s. northern new england will see slippery highways. more lake-effect snow will blanket roads near the great lakes. no problems on the roads in the south. watch for fog in the pacific northwest. if you're flying, airport delays are possible in minneapolis. the family of an american captive is speaking out for the first time in an abc news exclusive. >> they're reacting to a video released just days ago showing the kidnapped contractor making a direct appeal to president obama. here's abc's david muir. >> my name is warren weinstein. >> reporter: this video is all his family has to go on. the newly released images, the first proof in more than a year that this maryland husband, father, and grandfather is still alive. the 72-year-old was working as a

consultant in pakistan. helping to build the economy. more than two years ago, gunmen stormed into his apartment and took him captive. it's now believed he's being held by aman al zawahiri. just days ago, this new tape. on it, weinstein looks right into the camera with a message, and an appeal to president obama. >> mr. obama. you're family man. so you understand the deep mental anxiety and anguish that i have been experiencing for these past more than two years. >> reporter: his wife, his two daughters, sitting down with us. they say their father suffers from a heart condition and his health is deteriorating. it's been 2 1/2 years without her husband. when he looked straight into that camera and said, it seems that i have been totally abandoned. >> i have been totally abandoned and forgotten. >> i wanted to die right there on the spot. because he has no idea how hard we have tried to get him back.

but there's nothing to do to get him back. because they don't really tell you what they want. i would like to think that somebody can rescue him. >> reporter: david muir, abc news, new york. >> all right, david. what a story. our exclusive interview does not end here. we'll hear how his grandchildren are reacting. later on "good morning america." the body of an american heiress has been returned to the u.s. for autopsy after her apparent murder in honduras. people say nedenia post dye was found stabbed to death last week at the exclusive resort she owns. some say the suspect was her boyfriend and others say the couple was married. she was trying to help him quit drugs. >> the reality is, you're quite vulnerable in places like honduras. when you're treating troubled individuals. >> post dye was the great granddaughter of general foods founder marchry meriweather post.

a car jumped a curb and crashed in to the victim's bedroom while he was sleeping. the two people in the car were not seriously injured. but the driver was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving. >> really kind of surreal, right? one of those things in the middle of the night. et was a little -- not what you were expecting. i thought, oh, my god, is there somebody in there? we didn't know at that point. >> police say the driver already has a prior dui conviction and was driving with a suspended license. interesting new laws in effect when the calendar flips to 2014 this week. this california, students must be able to use school bathrooms in keeping with their gender identity. regardless of their gender at birth. in oregon, new moms can take their placentas home from the hospital. some experts say ingesting those have positive health benefits. that's pretty interesting. and in colorado, it will be legal for adults to buy up to an ounce of marijuana for recreational use.

and this year's ball drop in times square will be absolutely legal. supreme court associate justice sonia sotomayor, a bronx native, will be the first supreme court jus sis to participate in the times square celebration. but three other justices hail from the big apple. >> wow, not bad. nothing left to chance in new york city's times square. not even the confetti. organizers did a test run on the colorful paper yesterday with the help of spider-man. each shred was deemed to have amazing floatability. i like that. the test confetti included bad memories of 2013. so negative. for tomorrow night, the real confetti includes slips of paper where people wrote their wishes for the new year. i like that. >> good confetti and bad confetti. there you go. black monday in the nfl.

the regular season is over. today is the day many of the league's coaches will find out whether they're out of a job. already this morning, we're getting word that at least two of them are out. reports say mike shanahan has coached his last game with the washington redskins. and nfl.com says rob chudzinski is out as the coach of the cleveland browns. >> and it's all about football today in the world of sports. here's our friends at espn news. good morning, america. welcome inside "sportscenter." i'm john buccigross. plenty of late drama in the nfl. playoff appearances on the line. the final game of the regular season. nfc east up for grabs. it's the eagles who win. boykin intercepts kyle orton. the eagles are going to the playoffs. they'll play the saints in the first round. while the packers and bears had a division title on the line. the winner goes to the playoffs. the loser goes home. and aaron rodgers, his team down by a point with 41 seconds to go, delivers gorgeous sauce to randall cobb.

jay cutler stunned. and the packers move on. here's your nfc playoff picture. seahawks and panthers get the week end off. wild card games. saturday night in prime time. saints at eagles. sunday, the late game, 49ers at packers. a couple of good ones. afc, chargers, if they win they're in. if they lose, the steelers are in. and the chargers hang on. mike mccoy and the chargers snag the six seed as they beat the chiefs. broncos and patriots, manning and brady get the weekend off. chiefs at colts on saturday. chargers at bengals on sunday. for more wild card weekend, check out "sportscenter" live on espn, 9:00 a.m. >> all right. 'tis the season to be generous to total strangers, exempli fied in our "play of the day." >> customers at starbucks across the country have been in the spirit of giving, paying it forward to the next person in line. a connecticut starbucks is the

latest to join the trend. one person picked up the tab for the driver behind them. it kept going and going and going. the grand total, 1,468 free cups of coffee. >> isn't that nice. >> and going, and going. i think it is still going. up next, "the pulse." football fans may have been pumped up watching their favorite teams. but the action clearly wasn't enough to keep one commentator awake. why critics say beyonce is opening up old wounds on one of her new songs. would look like john stamos wow! wow! and in a perfect world, what's delicious would be healthy too. wish granted. dannon oikos greek nonfat yogurt sounds too good to be true... it's thick, creamy but 0% fat and twice the protein this is really is too good to be true!

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stories you'll be talking about today. beyonce not feeling the love after the release of her new song. >> her new cd is a huge success. she's now under fire for sampling audio for her song, xo, from the space shuttle "challenger" disaster. the challenger, by the way, exploded shortly after liftoff in 1986, killing all seven crew members on board. >> family members and employees say using the audio in the song mocks the sacrifice from the crew. they're calling for her to remove the clip and apologize. and some people do find football boring. we find it hard to believe that mike ditka is one of them. but there, the legendary player and coach was caught napping on national television. >> oh, my. >> it happened during "espn sunday nfl countdown" after a segment from a field reporter, the camera came on in the studio and fellow analyst keyshawn johnson had to nudge him.

ditka is 74. this morning, video of one street vendor part ice cream salesman, part magician. he begins by scooping out the ice cream with a metal pole, transitioning into tricks with a few cones. >> then he scoops more ice cream before bringing a napkin into the whole mix. he is, by the way -- his giant tease, with a big old, oh, there you have it. looks like it will fall out of the cone. but it doesn't. he ends it all with a big old kiss. give me my ice cream already. wouldn't you be saying that, by the way? >> here's another giant tease. for some of you, your local news is next. >> for everyone else, we'll be back with light snow that has surprised the entire nation. and it truly is a lot of snow that is falling in a lot of places. we'll be right back with that.

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pushing the limits. however, i didn't know the impact a brain injury can have. the risk got real for me after sustaining a traumatic brain injury while i was training for the 2010 winter olympics. you really need to educate yourself about brain injuries and how dangerous they can be. after my injury the doctors were saying that the helmet saved my life. wearing a helmet to prevent severe traumatic brain injury is a must... and so is learning what you can do to prevent concussion.

live from the kgo-tv broadcast center this is abc7 news. good monday morning. thanks for joining us. i am kristen sze. >> i am matt keller. we do not have a "spare the air" day, which is good news with so many lately. mike nicco? >> we can talk about poor air quality and the lack of it. the winds came in yesterday and are cleaning things out. live doppler 7 hd shows sue here for leyla gulen, nice for the cameo appearance. temperatures are fought so warm as yesterday but, still, well above average with per high clouds. low-to-mid 60's inland. the bay is mostly low 60's and possibly 63 around santa cruz. sue? >> couldn't wait to get back on

camera. it is light as you could imagine this holiday week. we have road work in berkeley westbound 80 highway 4 in to richmond area where 580 meets 880 and emeryville area. a look outside is going to be light this morning with no delays. we have road is work in the westbound direction until 5:00 a.m. one lane there. kristen and matt? >> always good to see you, sue. daly city police are looking for thieve whose stole an ambulance while responding to a call. cornell? >> good morning, kristen. imagine being the paramedics and having your ambulance ripped off while you are responding to a medical call. it happened a few hours ago. police say the ambulance belonging to a medical response

was recovered a few blocks away in daly city a short time later. a gurney is still on the sidewalk. when paramedics responded to the medical call at the house which was legitimate, someone not related to the call but entered the ambulance and took off. it was recovered in five minutes with small items missing from the ambulance. police will not say what was taken. the ambulance jacker is still at large. we do not know what happened to the person who was in need of medical help. the family of 13-year-old oakland girl, jahi mcmath, facing another deadline today. a court order allowing the brain dead teen to remain on a ventilator expired. she could be