casselton's mayor believes the string of accidents raises many questions. >> with that much traffic it'sot a matter of if but when. >> reporter: activists question the condition of the cars used to transport oil. >> we're using old and outdated and unsafe rail cars to move massive volumes of crude oil. >> reporter: that investigation could lead to changes in rail safety and changes in how north dakota crude oil is handled and transported. the good news, those evacuation orders have been lifted and the residents have been allowed to return home. >>> next this evening to the emergency mission in the antarctic, three rescue attempts failing. they're now choppering in to try to air lift passengers to safety. here's abc's gio benitez. >> reporter: tonight, a united front. the stranded passengers stomping on sea ice to the tune of that famous new year's song, auld lang syne. ♪ >> reporter: creating a makeshift helipad for rescue. >> by getting the team to stomp down on the snow and ice so the chinese helicopter from snow dragon can reach us when the weather improves. >> reporter: this after th

federal investigators looking into monday's derailment and fire in casselton, north dakota, said todayound a broken axel at the scene but it's the soon to tell whether that was a factor in the accident. also today, the u.s. department of transportation put out a safety alert concerning oil shipments by rail. here's transportation correspondent jeff pegues. >> reporter: the fire that followed the train derailment in casselton, north dakota, burned for more than a day. it was fueled by oil. the cargo on one of the trains. now federal officials have ordered the oil industry to "properly test, characterize, and classify hazardous materials when shipping oil." the department of transportation said it would conduct unannounced inspections of rail cars. the oil that burned in monday's derailment came testimony from the bakken region, encompassing parts of montana and north dakota, it's one of the most active oil fields in the u.s., producing almost a million barrels a day. but according to government officials, it's a type of oil that may be more flammable than traditional crude oil. much of

casselton's a town of about 2,400 people. nearly all of them were forced to temporarily evacuate their homes after that explosion sent who knows what into the air above them. the fire ranged on for more than 24 hours. the temperature of the fire was reportedly so hot that fire crews could not get even close enough to it to try to start to put it out. so they just had to let it burn and burn and burn for more than a full day, before they could get close enough to fight it. the mayor of casselton, north dakota, told people, this is too close for comfort. there have been numerous derailments in the area. it's almost gotten to the point that it looks like not if we're going to have an accident, it's when. last month, the same rail company involved in this accident had another train derailment that involved rail cars that transport crude oil. in october, a north dakota farmer turned out what to be one of the largest oil spills in state history. 20,000 barrels of what leaked from a pipeline in his north dakota wheat fields. and whi

investigators are trying to determine the cause of monday's fiery derailment of a mile-long freight train in casseltondakota. west of fargo. 18 oil tank cars explode and burned for 24 hours. there were no injuries. the town's 2,400 residents who evacua evacuateed have returned home. >>> 2013 was a very good year for stock owners. the dow jones was up 72 points closing at 16,576. that's the 52nd record high for the year. in 2013 the dow was up 26.5%, the biggest gain in 18 years. as don dahler reports, that brought on new year's eve celebrations on wall street. ♪ >> reporter: singing "wait till the sun shines, nelly," is a tradition at the new york stock exchange. it was a way to lift traders' spirits after the depression, but spirits were already heightened after a remarkable run-up that recovered losses from the recession and then some. jonathan corpina has worked the trading floor for 17 years. so if you were able to keep your money during the dark period, you're doing well now. >> absolutely. >> reporter: the 500 biggest companies in america saw their collective stock market rise 25%, the biggest i

health experts were concerned about the hazardous smoke that was blowing toward the small town of casselton. but they say that danger has now passed. the ntsb is investigating the accident. >>> they are in pretty good spirits considering this group of tourists and scientists is still trapped in antarctica. the sea ice froze around their ship. it's been eight days now but they do apparently have plenty of supplies. and they are still managing to celebrate new year's. >>> right now the group hopes that a helicopter from a chinese ship can make it to rescue them. apparently the only thing preventing that from happening is a blizzard. they are trying to march out the snow flat for a landing place for that helicopter. passengers and crew still planning to ring in the new year with dinner, drinks and more singing. >> glass half full. >>> reservoirs drying up and no rain in sight. california farmers are sounding the alarm. how the water shortage is already having impact on our food. >> ringing in 2014 with a big bang. highlights from new year's eve around the world and what you won't see at the ti

say they have found no track or signal problems at the scene of a derailment and fire outside of casselton. on monday a freight train came off the tracks and the hit another one hauling crude oil. 18 cars fought fire. some exploded but nothing was hurt. trains are expected to start rolling again tomorrow. a chinese helicopter was cleared today to begin airlifting passengers from a research vessel trapped in the ice surrounding antarctica. the ship's been frozen in place since christmas eve. about 1,700 miles south of new zealand. holly williams is in london following late developments for us tonight. holly. >> reporter: maurice, we've been on a conference call with the australian authorities who are coordinating the rescue. they're expecting it to begin very soon and say it could take anything from five hours to a full day. >> having a wonderful time. you can see we have this wonderful snowy wonderland. >> reporter: for more than a week now, expedition members have been reassuring worried families and friends via the internet that they're staying positive on board their ice- bound ship. >>

. >> reporter: officials evacuated nearly the entire town of casselton as they tested the air.ors have arrived on the ground. >> i think our biggest challenge right now is that the fire is still burning. and we're not able to get up close and personal to the wreckage. >> reporter: crashes like this are calling attention to overall rail safety. 79 people died this sum where a passenger train slammed into a concrete wall in spain. and in early december, new york's metro north train derailed. in north dakota some of the rail cars may be the type the ntsb has sounded the alarm over. saying they are more vulnerable to being breached in a crash. >> there are different type of d.o.t. 111 cars so we will want to be confirming that. >> reporter: critics say oil company have been slow to upgrade the cars. the kind that derailed in quebec this summer killing 47 people. tank cars can withstand impacts at 18 miles an hour. but some say even prooxtd wouldn't protect them going 60, 70, 80. >> you can't physically build a tank that can withstand that kind of impact speed. >> reporter: gary wol

the mayor of casselton, north dakota, told people, this is too close for comfort. there have been numerous derailments in the area. it's almost gotten to the point that it looks like not if we're going to have an accident, it's when. last month, the same rail company involved in this accident had another train derailment that involved rail cars that transport crude oil. in october, a north dakota farmer turned out what to be one of the largest oil spills in state history. 20,000 barrels of what leaked from a pipeline in his north dakota wheat fields. and while north dakota isn't the sight of the oil-related disaster, it is, in some ways, the source of it. when that massive explosion in quebec in july killed 40,000 people, that explosion was caused by the derailment of a train, carrying a load of sweet, light crude from north dakota, from the bakken shale. north dakota over the last decade or so has become a state that's increasingly dependent on one industry. there's essentially an oil gold rush happening in north dakota right now. before the boom in 2008, the stat

the train went off the tracks on the outskirts of casselton. it triggered a thunderous explosion that sent a huge fireball and thick black smoke into the sky. no one was hurt, and officials said today the air has cleared. >> we have not detected any of the products of combustion like carbon monoxide or sulfur dioxide or nitrogen dioxide that could come from burning crude oil in the community, so we're really encouraged by that. we haven't detected any other volatile, organic compounds. >> sreenivasan: a spokeswoman for the rail company said a separate train transporting grain derailed first. that, in turn, knocked several of the oil train's cars off their adjoining tracks. still to come on the newshour: the stock market's blockbuster year; the challenge of eliminating syria's chemical weapons; the battle in maine over importing prescription drugs; the man who moved "ole miss" away from its segregated past; restoring sight to people blinded by cataracts in rural india; plus, translating 14th century persian poetry for the modern masses. >> sreen

jon: keeping the cause of this derailment in casselton saying they found a broken axle but still don't if that was to blame. a train carrying grain went off the tracks first. part of it then fell into an adjacent track. 18 cars of an oil train oncoming on that train, on that track i should say, derailing. several of them caught fire. despite huge flames and smoke, no one we're happy to say was hurt. jenna: texas family's fight is raising questions about whether their wishes for a loved one outweigh a state law on unborn children. it is an interesting case. doctors declared the mother in this case brain-dead in november. her family wants to take her off of life support but they can't because she's pregnant. molly henneberg has the latest for us on this story. molly, what does the texas law say? >> jenna, it is very clear according to texas state law, despite what the family may want, the doctors and hospital, quote, may not withdraw or withold life sustaining treatment under this sub chapter of the law from a pregnant patient. but marlese munoz's husband, eric says she did not want to b

casselton, north dakota, that is where it happened, the town was evacuated as oil inside those tankersyor wants federal officials to do more to guaranty the safety of the transportation routes across the country. leland: new terror attacks are sparking security concerns in russia. a bombing hitting the train station in the city of volgograd, on sunday, a day later a man blew up a trolley bus in the same city. a combined 34 people died in the attacks. now police are identifying the suspect in the train station bombing as middle-aged man reportedly converted to islam and joined a militant group. security is being ramped up across russia as athletes around the world travel to sochi for the winter olympic that is are weeks away. joining us now, ambassador john bolton, form u.s. ambassador to the united nations and fox news contributor. ambassador, good to see you. just now president putin said he will annihilate the terrorists. dot russians have the ability to do that? >> i don't think they do because of the nature of the threat but at least he understands that the objective is victory ove