hearings were held and eric shinseki was forced to resign, president obama brought in a new secretaryald who has vowed to clean up the va. 7.1 million more people had health insurance this year under the patient protection and affordable care act. as you probably know obamacare mandates that americans be covered by an insurance plan or pay a penalty. >> last year i had somewhat of an epiphany about weed. this plant can have some real medicinal benefits. marijuana is better than all those pills for you in terms of treating? >> yeah. >> we saw families pack up and move across the country to get access to the only medicine that seemed to work for their children in states where medical marijuana is legal. two states, colorado and washington, also legalized all forms of marijuana including recreational use. >> on september 24th a new jersey 4-year-old died in his sleep. it was the first death health officials could directly link to enterovirus d-68 which can cause severe respiratory symptoms. >>> without a doubt the biggest health headline of the year, ebola. >> ebola. >> ebola. >> ebola.

former secretary eric shinseki denies the claim. >> time for the good, the bad, and the ugly.seven puppies found abandoned in a dumpster in california all adopted in time for christmas. the pups were found in october and they were the size of hamsters. they have all been nursed back to health and they all have good homes. police never found out who the person was who dumped those dogs. next the bad. when christmas presents attack. oh! a brother drove his drone into his sister's hair. he had to cut pieces of hair but it left no major damage. finally the ugly. it looks like shaq isn't very good at that. >> here he is. [laughter] >> that's all seven feet of him crashing head first into a christmas tree during half time show. he is totally fine, so we can laugh. >> no slack. time to brew on thvment here are your responses. christmas action the big day come and gone. maybe you got the car, the jewelry you were hinting at or maybe an ugly sweater. you can admit it. that sweater wasn't exactly what you want. we asked what were your best and worst presents this year. >> nancy got a be

documents months later say okay, maybe eric shinseki didn't know everything but he knew more than he suggesting. there is no recourse now. >> that's right. stone walling works particularly if the president is on your side. the story comes out now. nobody cares, it's over the christmas vacation. i guarantee you it's not going to be on page one anywhere in america. probably not be on page 8. it will go away like the wind without anyone noticing. so, if you can stonewall long enough, what we are learning with the irs scandal, which is exactly the same thing, it can work. >> now, for the lightning round, one of the hot stories we have been talking about this movie the interview obviously now finally come out christmas day. i understand charles has seen it we will get to that. but, first, we have got some sound. some pretty amusing sound from people who have seen the movie. let's take a look. >> better than i thought it was going to be given the mixed reviews. >> there ♪ enough marijuana in the world to explain that screenplay. it's hilarious. i laughed the whole time. >> if they wanted t

secretary eric shinseki vowed to resign. as you probably know, on ire mandates americans be covered by ininsurance plan or pay a penalty. >> last year i had an epiphany about weed. this plant can have real medicinal benefits. >> marijuana is bet of all those terms for you? >> yeah. >> we saw families pack up and move across the country to get access to the only med sun that seeped to work for their children. two states, colorado, and washington, legalized all forms of marijuana, including recreational use. >>> on september 24, a new jersey four-year-old died in his sleep. it was the first death health officials could drink to enterovirus d-68 which can cause severe respiratory systmptoms, the time the scare settled down it has sickened 150 children in all 50 states. >>> without a doubt, the biggest health line of the year, ebola. >> ebola. >> ebola. >> ebola. >> you've been exposed to ebola lie liberia. >> two aid workers, two aid workers, kent brantly and nancy writebol were made kated back to the united states from liberia.

. >> reporter: eric shinseki was sacked from his cabinet post and the repairs to the broken system stillto be a long way off. >>> number five, president obama's foreign policy under attack and off the cuff phrase uttered by the president "don't do stupid stuff" was criticized by none other than former secretary of state hillary clinton as an inadequate defining principle. the gaza war, civil war in syria, the russian invasion in ukraine, the prisoner swap for alan gross in cuba. number four, 2014 marked another year of confwregsconfwregsal fwn imfra immigration reform. thousands of unaccompanied chirp from central america flooding across the texas border. president obama opted after the mid terms to go it alone using executive action in an attempt to reform the system. critics call his actions unconstitutional. number three, any notion of america's first black president ushering in a post-racial era of healing got squashed. after white police officers in missouri and new york killed unarmed black men, protesters around the country took to the streets. following the grand jury's decision

briefed eric shinseki about the patient backlog and other problems, but was ignored. eved to have died awaiting treatment. >>> next up, childbirth. a special christmas delivery in philadelphia. police help a woman give birth to a healthy baby boy after she went into labor on the train. the two sets of officers heard the call on the radio on comma and rushed onto the train to help. they said there was very little time to act. the little guy got here successfully. >> we delivered a baby for her, so it's like her christmas present. but it's also like a blessing and present for myself. this is the first time i experienced something like this. >> and the best part? mom and baby are doing just fine. >>> the movie "christmas vacation," it is a classic. we're all familiar with this. the griswold family always seems to find plenty of trouble on the road. >> stop it! >> i don't want to spend the holidays dead. >> honey, please. i'll do the driving. >> now fans of the movie are pulling their own prank for the holiday. changing the highway sign in new jersey to the name of chevy c

bowers statement also said she briefed va secretary eric shinseki often about the patient backlog but the problems went unaddressed because she was told to there was no money to lease more space to handle the back locks. the times also reports that an administrative law judge found this week, it was quote, more likely than not at least some senior agency leaders were aware or should have been of nationwide problems getting veterans scheduled for timely appointments. in a partial vindication of hellman, the judge, his name is steven mish found that the va didn't provide enough evidence that hellman should have been fired over conditions at phoenix. the judge upheld her firing anyway on the ground she received favors from a health care industry consultant. leland, back to you. >> stunning as this continues to develop. doug mckelway live in washington. thanks, doug. >> another possible hack attack on christmas morning stopping kid from playing their brand new pray stations and xboxs. we have a report on this. >>> dangers journalists face in war zones. what one new report is revealing. le

congressional hearings were held and va secretary eric shinseki was forced to resign.resident obama brought in a new secretary bob mcdonald who has vowed to clean up the va. >>> 7.1 million more people had health insurance this year under the patient protection and affordable care act. as you probably know, obamacare mandates that americans be covered by an insurance plan or pay a penalty. >> last year i had somewhat of an epiphany about weed. this plant can have some real medicinal benefits. >> marijuana is better than all those pills for you in terms of treating. >> yeah. >> we saw families pack up and move across the country to get access to the only medicine that seemed to work for their children in states where medical marijuana is legal. two states, colorado and washington also legalized all forms of marijuana including recreational use. >> on september 24th, the new jersey 4-year-old died in his sleep. it was the first death health officials can lead to enterovirus. by the time the scare settled down evd-68 had sickened hundreds of children in nearly all 50 stat

secretary eric shinseki was forced to resign.brought in, who has vowed to clean up the v.a. >>> 7.1 million more people had health insurance this year under the affordable acare act. >> last year, i had somewhat of an epiphany about weed. this plant can have some real medicinal benefits. >> marijuana is better than all those pills. >> we saw families pack up and move across the country to get access to the only medicine that seemed to work for their children in states where medical marijuana is legal. two states, colorado and washington, also legalized all forms of marijuana, including recreational use. >>> on september 24th, the new jersey 4-year-old died in his sleep. it was the first death health officials could link to enterovirus 68. it sickened hundreds of children in nearly all 50 states. >>> without a doubt, the biggest health headline of the year, ebola. one began as a single case in guinea last december has grown into an epidemic of unprecedented proportions. in the first of its kind maneuver, two aid workers, dr. kent

. >> reporter: secretary of veterans affairs eric shinseki was sacked after the scandal broke and thes to the broken system still seem to be a long way off. number five, president obama's foreign policy under attack. an off-the-cuff phrase uttered by the president, don't do stupid stuff, was criticized by former secretary of state hillary clinton as don't do something critical. and the russian invasion of ukraine, the prisoner swap for alan gross in cuba. the president's foreign policy was criticized by many democrats. number four, 2014 marked another year of congressional gridlock on immigration reform. there was no greater example of the broken system than the thousands of unaccompanied children from central america flooding across the texas border. president obama opted after the midterms to go it alone using executive action in an attempt to reform the system. critics call his actions unconstitutional. number three, any notion of america's first black president ushering in a post racial era of healing got squashed. after white police officers in missouri and new york killed unarme

take a look at this congressional testimony from the va secretary, eric shinseki at the time this was all happening. >> in your judgment, based on what you know are people "cooking the books"? >> i'm not aware other than a number of isolated cases where there is evidence of that. >> he knew more than that but that's probably technically a true statement that he didn't think it was throughout his entire department because he didn't have his full finger on the pulse. it wasn't just him. it was so many corrupt bureaucrats across the va who are more interested in preserving their jobs and preserving their bonuses than they are at getting things right. it is hard to change a bureaucracy. secretary shinseki found that out the hard way. >> jim, what did you think of secretary shinseki's testimony there? >> we have to give him credit at this time that it was truthful. however, they won't make a case a prosecutor, if it is a he said/she said. to prove these higher-ups knew they'll need e-mails, text messages, other witnesses to move forward. that's what they'll try and do is build a case based

congressional hearings were held and va secretary eric shinseki was forced to resign. >>> 7.1 million more people had health insurance. as you probably know, obama care mandates americans be covered by an insurance plan or pay a penalty. >> last year i had somewhat of an epiphany about weed. this plant can have real medicinal benefits. >> it's better than all those pills for you. >> yes. >> we saw families pack up and move across the country to get access to medicine that seemed to work for their children. two states, colorado and washington legalized all forms of marijuana, including recreational use. >>> on september 24th, a new jersey 4-year-old died in his sleep, it was the first death health investigators could lead to enterovirus. >> without a doubt, the biggest health headline of the year, ebola. >> ebola. >> ebola. >> ebola. >> he had been exposed while in liberia. >> what began as single case in guinea last december, has grown into an epidemic of unprecedented portions. in a first of its kind, two aid workers were medevacked back to united states from liberia.

secretary eric shinseki denied knowledge of falsified waiting. >> people quote, unquote, cooking theks. >> i'm not aware, other than a number of isolated cases where there is evidence of that. >> reporter: that stands in contrast to another sworn statement in the appeal. that of susan bowers. she says he was pressured to report the hospital was in compliance after she reported it was not. she claimed to have frequently briefed secretary shinseki about the patient backlog years before the scandal broke. despite the exoneration they upheld her firing. she accepted airline tickets and eight-day family stay to disney world from a consultant trying to do business at the v.a. they praised the ruling saying their failed to make it. in so doing she said, the v.a. knowingly made her bear the brunt of the political outrage. the v.a. did tell "the new york times" it was pleased with the ruling as it helps put the leadership failures in phoenix behind us. in washington, fox news. >>> and the countdown to the countdown is officially on as we await the start of 2015. it turns out more americans ar

secretary eric shinseki was forced to step down.was forced out after a series of agency blunders including a white house fence jumper who made it deep in the executive mansion with a knife. the secret service will have a new president to protect in a little american two years, speculation about 2016 field is already the talk of the town, with jeb bush chris christie rand paul and marco rubio among a long list of republicans considering a run while democrats are awaiting an announcement from hillary clinton. craig boswell for cbs-3 "eyewitness news". >>> president obama lost two other cabinet official this is year, attorney general eric holder and defense secretary chuck hagel announced they will resign as soon as the senate confirms their replacements. >>> a reminder to catch face the nation this morning at 10:30 right here on cbs-3. major garrett is in for bob today. he will join news an hour with a look ahead at today's show. >>> 7:41. are you ready to ring in the new year? it is inching closer and closer. preparations underway in

susan bower is a former executive said in the beginning of 2009 she briefed then-eric shinseki and topls a year about backlog. shinseki resigned in may. >>> "the washington post" says the group calling itself islamic state is failing at governing. the self-controlled caliphate says life is grim under their rule, services are collapsing and prices are soaring. there's no currency. schools barely function. doctors are few. disease is on the rise. >>> "usa today" looks at two medications that appear to have anti-aging benefits. researchers at pharmaceutical giant novaris looked at a drug shown, and ibuprofen expanded life span of yeast, worms and flies. >>> vladimir putin is cancelling new year's holiday for his cabinet. he told officials they cannot take time off in the economic crisis. the russian economy is under siege and expected to tip into recession because of western sanctions and plunge in oil prices. >>> she's an american caught up in a judicial nightmare in a southeast asian country for a crime she did not commit. but this morning dr. stacy addison is no longer in custody. >> h

scandal, eric shinseki having to resign. you think that was the biggest one to hit the obama administration? >> well nobody likes to think about veterans who serve our country not getting the health care that they need. >> and many dying as a result. >> many dying as a result. exactly. exactly. exactly. there's really no excuse. the biggest one was the phoenix hospital. they were having a much worse problem than other v.a. hospitals, not to excuse anything that happened shinseki took the hit and stepped down. it looks like the obama administration has stepped up to fix the problem. as you say, that does not fix the problem for those who died. >> what about the targeted groups? >> there was news that perhaps the irs made mistakes. it doesn't look like the white house was involved. the republicans tried to allege that there's a politically alleged investigation right out of the top political attendants. that was not. that was released under the cloak of night last week. most of these scandals that the republicans are trying to

eric shinseki resigned outright here.ed the same kind of way if we would have learned more about his behavior during his time of overseeing all the waiting lists and those kind of things. a lot clearly that we still don't know about this v.a. scandal. >> that's usually why people do resign in those situations. they know what's been going on. >> fall on the sword. >> i would rather step down now rather than go through all of that what you are talking about. >> can we make sure we don't forget this is what government run healthcare looks like. obamacare here we come. >> exactly, the v.a. is government run healthcare. >> coming up on "fox & friends," a hero in blue will be laid to rest today and set to speak at his funeral, mayor bill gloz, some of new york's finest don't want him there. should he show. governor mike huckabee joins us live to weigh in. >> then watch your words, or fists will fly. it's a brawl. in a parliament. got everyone, including us, talking. i'm angela, and i quit smoking with chantix. people who know m

"the times" also reports that bowers said she briefed va secretary eric shinseki many times about the patient backlog but her pleas were largely ignored because she was told there was no money to lease more space to handle all the backlogs. >> doug, what is the latest with sharon hellman's effort to get her job back? >> reporter: "the new york time" reports just this week an administrative law judge found it was quote, more likely than not, some senior agency leaders were aware or should have been of nationwide problems getting veterans scheduled for timely appointments. the judge, steven mish, also found the va didn't provide enough evidence that hellman should have been fired over conditions in phoenix but upheld her firing anyway on the ground she took favors from a health care industry consultant. leah? leah: doug mckelway in washington. thank you, doug. eric: seems america's struggling labor unions are getting set to take advantage of president obama's executive action on immigration. labor leaders are launching a new recruiting push, possibly offering work permits to some four m

secretary eric shinseki was forced to resign. up the v.a. 7.1 million more people had health nshts this year under the patient protection and affordable care act. as you probably know, obama care mandates that americans be covered by an insurance plan or pay a penalty. >> last year i had somewhat of an epiphany about weed. this plant can have some real medicinal benefits. >> marijuana is better than all those pills for you? >> yeah. >> we saw families pack up and move across the country to get access to the only medicine that seemed to work for their children in states where medical marijuana is legal. two states also legalized all forms including recreational use. >> on september 24th, the new jersey 4-year-old died in his sleep. tass the first death health officials could link to enterovirus which can cause severe respiratory symptoms. by the time the scare settled down it had sickened hundreds of children in nearly all 50 states. >>> without a doubt, the biggest health headline of the year -- ebola. >> ebola. >> ebola. >> ebol