>> axelrod: end of a lifeline. long-term unemployment benefits expire for more than a million americans. jeff pegues in washington on the politics. >> jeff is in washington on the application that are playing out. >> this is my lifeline. >> target says hackers stole more than your debit card numbers. terrell brown onhreat to your data security. a&e's ducks, ending its suspension of a reality show star, despite his controversial comments. the latest on the "duck dynasty" flap. >> to be a man of valor. >> and full military honors. carter evans in los angeles, on the fuel of a fallen american hero, missing for more than 62 years. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news."

>> good evening, i'm jim axelrod and this is a western edition of the newscast. one million woke up without 1.3 million americans woke up this morning without this unemployment benefits and several million more could lose theirs over the course of the next year. the federal program designed to help the long-term unemployed has expired and anyone who has been collecting unemployment for more than 26 weeks will be affected. california now has the highest number of people in that category, 220,000. nevada, illinois, pennsylvania, connecticut, new york, new jersey, and massachusetts, also have much higher than average numbers of people out of work for that long. jeff pegues tells us what the outlook is for those adjusting to this new unemployment reality. >> reporter: two-year-old sophia lowe knows how to make her parents mary and terry smile. the family hasn't had a lot to celebrate this year. mary has been out of work for ten months, relying on a weekly

unemployment benefit of $362 dollars. it ended today. >> it's not correct, no. it keeps a roof over your head. the electric on, the water on. we didn't do anything for christmas. 50 bucks for my daughter. that's it. >> reporter: lowe is among the nation's long-term unemployed, out of work for 27 weeks or more. approved by congress in 2008 at the start of the recession, the emergency unemployment compensation program extended benefits, a combined total of almost 18 months, in several states. >> the motion is agreed to! >> reporter: but congress opted not to include the in the recent budget agreement, ending the program, guaranteeing heated debate in the senate next month. a majority of democrats are in favor of an extension at a cost of $25 billion a year, but most republicans are against it, unless the cost is matched dollar for dollar, with cuts elsewhere in the budget. house speaker john boehner. >> i said that we would clearly consider it, as long as it's

paid for and as long as there are other efforts that will help get our economy moving once again. >> reporter: in huntington, west virginia, lisa floyd lost her job eight months ago. she found another one just in time. >> nothing aggravates me more than to be pigeon holed and think the long-term unemployed don't want to work. that is just egregious to me. >> reporter: in her new job she is making several thousand dollars there than she used to make has a manager. meanwhile marry lowe is still looking for employment and a little boost from the government. >> i would have already lost my home had it not been for those benefits. this isn't a bargaining chip for me. it's my lifeline. >> reporter: long-term unemployment is at its highest level since world war ii. jim, senate democrats say they will make this issue a top priority in january. >> axelrod: jeff, thank you. we should add more than half americans either collect unemployment at some point in

their working lives or are married to someone that does. tonight the crew and passengers aboard the russian ship stuck in the thick ice near the south pole are still waiting for a rescue. as holly williams reports the stranded passengers are still in good spirits. >> hi, mom and dad. hope you're enjoying the summer as much as i am. as you have heard we are stuck in the ice but not to worry everything is going well. >> reporter: he has been stuck in 10 feet of ice since christmas eve. but the 74 scientists, crew members and tourists who make up this polar expedition are safe. and judging by the internet videos, apparently having a good time. >> we're still here, stuck, and any passing ships, do pay us a visit. >> brilliant! >> reporter: professor chris journeys regular posting on social media have kept people all over the world updated on the ice bound ship. when we spoke to him over the

internet today, he explained how the team has managed to stay so positive. >> we had knot lessons we wrote yesterday and we ok have choir practice. hopefully we will be out before then. >> reporter: yesterday they spotted a chinese icebreaker, the snow dragon, that was to set them free by cutting open a path to the open sea. >> if all things go well, in the next two to three hours. >> then the snow dragon was also stalled by heavy ice and forced to retreat. >> with plenty of food and water on board and no imminent danger even that has not dampened the expedition spirits. an australian ship al-mahdi akademik shokalsky is on the way but it could take several days to cut it free. holly williams, "cbs news," london. >> the ice storm that hammer of

the u.s. last weekend is still keeping more than 20,000 homes and businesses in the dark tonight, in two states. power companies in michigan hope to bring most electricity back this weekend. crews in maine are scrambling, the second snowstorm in a week is on the way and it could bring more blackouts. >> meteorologist mary kay kleist of our chicago station is tracking the weather. no shortage of severe weather to keep track of? >> that's right, jim. soaking rains continue in the southeast, because we have a disturbance in the central gulf of mexico. it will intensify tonight, targeting georgia. you can see the yellow returns, there are heavier rains moving in the florida panhandle, a flood watch out for north and central georgia tomorrow for two and a half inches of rain, so areas near creeks and rivers will expect flooding. to the north, a polar plunge moving, in the area shaded in purple, indicates a blizzard warning. the areas in pink indicate high winds and also wind chill warnings, all together as the storm moves in will create a

feels like temperature tonight of 40° below zero. these are the highs tomorrow, mid 40's for the northwestern states. you can see that bitter air just sliding south of the border into the upper midwest. 13 below in fargo. 3 below for a high in minneapolis, and 16 in kansas city. >> those "feels-like" can't feel good. mary kay thank you very much. >> the chain store target is facing a fallout from the massive security breach. the retail giant is trying to reassure customers, after hackers got hold of the debit and credit card numbers for more than 40 million accounts. this time it's about the pins for the cards. here is terrell brown. >> reporter: for target shoppers, the news just seems to be getting worse. the latest development, target says the hackers who stole up to 40 million customer names and debit card numbers also stole the encrypted pin numbers for each card. the company said they're

confident the numbers are safe and security but one expert says they can't be. >> people will be doing this as long as they can make money at it. >> in 2005, hackers stole numbers tjx, the parent company of t.j. maxx. it's the largest online fraud in u.s. history. this incident is another reminder why shoppers interested in maximum flood proximate are better off using debit cards than credit cards. credit cards provide better protection. federal law prohibits unauthorized credit card charges to $50 andmost credit cards have zero liability. with debit cards maximum liability is $50 if the bank is notified within 48 hours. after of the target breach some bank took the unprecedented step of limiting how much customers could spend or withdraw on their cards. but thieves are still managing to stay a step ahead using hacked numbers to make purchases just under the new limits. jessica was notifieded this week

of a $265 charge made her her debit card at a liquor store. >> as soon as i saw it, i was concerned because i shop at target all of the time. >> the bank saw the expharnlg issued her a completely new card. >> it was upsetting to me to know that your card can be dispain compromised and used anywhere with anyone. >> meanwhile forensic analysts are trying to figure out how the hackers got the numbers in the first place. target said the investigation is still in the early stages. >> terrell brown, correspondence news, new york. >> in entertainment, the saying goes there's no such thing as bad publicity. after the last 10 days. a&e television network may not be so sure. the controversy started when the star of the hit show "duck dynasty" god smacked with a tidal wave of criticism for making racially insensitive and antigay statements. a&e quickly suspended the show's star, phil robertson which sparked out range among his fans. yesterday the company announced it was reversing field and

reinstating him. now it seems like no one is happy. >> [gunfire] >> a&e says it made the decision after discussions with the robertson family as well as consulting with numerous advocacy groups. the network also said it was going to start a public service campaign to promote tolerance. "tv guide" editor bruce fretts. >> the fact it was during the christmas season, things were a little slower and people were taking passages to increase questions of faith and values and it all created a perfect storm and a&e was stuck in the center and had to find a way out. >> robertson told a writer for gq magazine how he defines sin. start with homosexual behavior and morph out from there. he went on to equate homosexuality with beastiality and questioning the appeal of same sex relationships in he went to equate homosexuality with bestiality and questioned the appeal of same-sex relationships in crude terms. but "sin, it's not logical," he said. talking about african-americans before the civil rights movement, quote, i never with my eyes saw the mistreatment of any black person, not once.

they were happy. no one was singing the blues. the network was in a tight spot. "duck dynasty" is not just their most watched show but cable tv's top reality show with nearly 12 million viewers. the show sold $80 million advertising the first nine months of the year and "duck dynasty" merchandise accounts for another $400 million. >> it's not a coincidence they release this on a friday of a holiday weekend. they're trying to minimize the damage to the brand and keep rolling and printing money with "duck dynasty." >> reporter: threats for a boycotts of the network came from both sides. those angry a&e would suspend him and those angry it would not. >> the memories live on. i say that's good inheritance i say that's good inheritance then there was the clear message from the lobert son family. >> we cannot imagine the show going forward without our patriarch at the helm.

>> but as treasure mounted, 250,000 people signed a petition calling for a boycott of a&e if he was not reinstate, the network reversed field. they decided to resume filming "duck dynasty" this spring with the entire robertson family. for its part a&e did say it made etle point about its views clear to robertson. >> tiger armstrong is on top. the 9-year-old californian just made mountain climbing history. and can the make a wish foundation top its bad kid success? the cbs evening news continues. >> wow. that was fast. this is the check i've been waiting for. mom had a guaranteed acceptance life insurance policy through the colonial penn program, and this will really help with the cost of her final expenses. is it affordable? it costs less than 35 cents a day-- that's pretty affordable, huh? that's less than the cost of a postage stamp. so, you said it was guaranteed acceptance? yes. it's for people ages 50 to 85.

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>> could there be a better candidate for feel good story of the year than batkid? the 5-year-old cancer battling story gave the make-a-wish foundation publicity you can't buy. as done daily reports the complexity of the requests coming into the charity now are

creating a whole new challenge. >> 16-year-old raymond remick's dream was to meet his football heros, the new york giants. yesterday the make-a-wish foundation made his wish come true. >> you know they really make it happen. i think it's awesome. >> raymond was born with a dangerous heart condition, a fact not far from his father jim's mind. >> from a personal permit there's a little better sweet to it and a little emotion going on. >> reporter: once upon a time, the giant welcome the remick's received would be seen as a giant success for make a wish, that is, until batkid happened. last month, 5-year-old myles scott was granted a superhero sized wish. the young cancer victim wanted to be batman for a day. he done add cape and mask and thanks to thousands of volunteers, fought a series of staged crimes around san francisco. the video of his exploits and how the entire city enabled him became an internet phenomenon. the publicity helped increase

donations to make-a-wish foundation 26 percent during the holiday season. paul myles is vice president of development for the organization. >> so we thought it was going to be a great day. we feel confident about that. but we didn't anticipate on the scale that it became. >> myles says make a wish is careful not to exploit its participants, and most of them, including the remicks, don't want to be part of something so public. >> i thought, maybe it will be huge and that would be awesome, but then i thought, like, you know, i do want to keep it, you know, personal, i mean, i want to be able to do what i want without hundreds of thousands of people following me. >> the charity will have granted 14,000 wishes by year's end, ranging from meeting celebrities to trips to amusement parks. the average cost per wish is $8,000. after the batkid event, the number of wishes has increased and the number of more complex requests. i have to say without a doubt

its positive experience for our organization and i might suggest that just because something becomes harder doesn't make it negative. so if this means that we have to kind of pivot and make some other considerations then we will certainly do that. >> even before batkid, requests for more complicated wishes were on the increase. make a wish is now exploring ways to use social media to publicize other such events hoping they too go viral. jim, by the way, as part of the wish, raymond and his whole family get to attend the giants game tomorrow. >> hope he has a good time. thank you. >> tyler arm strong is king of the mountain. he became youngest climb tore scale the highest summit in the western and southern hemisphere. tyler, along with his dad and sherpa conquered argentina's mount aconcagua on clims -- christmas eve. he said it was really cold at the top. >> up next, a flash of light caught a trooper's eye and he caught a meteor on his dashcam

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>> another change is coming as a result of the affordable care act. 5 million vending machines will be required to display calorie counts for the snacks they offer. the fda estimates the program will cost the industry more than

$25 million to launc compared to synchronize dizzy swimming. the competition continues through january 2. >> a quick thinking state trooper in mississippi caught something amazing on his dashcam and it was not a car chase. it is rare for meteors to fly over densely populated areas. the trooper hit the video as the ball of light streaked across the night sky. one witness described it as neon green two a big trail of sparks behind it. >> for 62 years she waited. the wife of an american p.o.w. said their final goodbye.

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in los angeles, here's carter evans. >> a procession of veterans lead the way as army sergeant joseph gantt made his final trip home. his casket carried by a military honor guard.old widow, clara, has waited for since 1950. does this bring closure for you today? >> well, i tell, you 63 years, this could have been earlier. >> sergeant gantt was captured in the korean war and died as a p.o.w. in 1951. but his remains were only identified last month, by a dna analysis, closure thousands of families are still hoping for. gary boyle's father also went missing in korea. he spoke at today's funeral. >> this is the greatest gift i can have, to see a wife receive him back, something i've wanted for my mother for sixty some years. >> sargeant gantt's journey home

began last week with a pre-dawn flight to los angeles. and his widow was right there waiting, after all these years. an unforgettable image. >> and that moment you're standing over the coffin, and you're thinking. >> the lord brought him home. so i'm happy that i'm still alive to bury him myself. >> that burial came with full military honors. [playing taps] ♪ >> my husband was a battleship man. he was a good husband. >> clara gantt never remarried, and never stopped hoping the love of her life, finally home. carter evans, cbs news, los angeles. >> a wonderful man and a wonderful woman. >> and that's the "cbs evening news" for tonight. later on cbs: 48 hours. for now, i'm jim axelrod in new york. for all of us here at cbs news. thanks for joining us and good

night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

the bay area is closing out driest year ever recorded. e numbers are startling. police may have busted burglars behind a string of christmas break-ins. >> and the bay area closing out the driest year ever recorded. the numbers are startling. >> this is the only idea i have. >> a bay area man wakes up with no idea who he is. his mission, to find his memory. kpix 5 news is next. ,,,,,,,,

a gang of grinches thought could steal christmas from several bay area families. i didn't see anything under the christmas tree. >> always presents were gone. >> a gang of grinches thought they could