i'm fredricka whitfield. a storm system has lashed partz of the south and southeast. so far, texas has taken the brunt of it. cnn's ed lavandera is live for us right now in dallas. so, ed, it's still looks like you're in the deep freeze in the big "d." >> it's look the largest ice skating rink that's ever been dropped down on any one location. it feels like it. it's treacherous for a lot of people. in fact, this morning we heard reports and saw footage of a truck that was slid off the highway along interstate 35 north of dallas and into lake lewisville. firefighters dove into the lake trying to rescue the driver but they could not do so. that really tells you the story of how treacherous it is on some locations as you try to drive around north texas. it's a nightmare of ice, sleet, and wicked cold. this winter storm has inspired the most haunting descriptions. i icepocylyse. trees eni cased by freezing rain is buckling under the sheer weight of ice and leaving more than 250,000 homes without power across dall

i'd fredricka whitfield.a gps continues right now. >>> until june 30th, tom donilon had the president's ear quite literally. that day was his last as mr. obama's national security adviser. he's now a distinguished fellow at the council on federal relations. he joins me now to talk about iran to winding down the war in afghanistan to mitigating tensions between china and japan. >> thank you, fareed. >> you were deeply involved in the whole policy with iran. it seems we're at two positions that cannot be bridged. it appears that what we are saying is we need iran to essentially shut down parts of its program to ensure it cannot have a kind of breakout capacity that would allow it to the weaponize its program. the president says we are not going to dismantle a single thing. we're willing to freeze, have everything monitored, but no dismantling. how do you bridge those two positions? >> well, the reason we're here, of course, is because of the tremendous pressure that's been put on the iranian economy through the

i'm fredricka whitfield live in atlanta.rly nasty winter storm is creating extremely dangerous conditions on the roads. and snarling traffic as tens of millions of people head home for the holiday season. so far at least three deaths are blamed on the storm. the system produced tornadoes and torrential rain in the south and is fueling an ice storm that's moving through parts of new york and new england. a story out of south sudan which has seen a week of deadly violence. the u.s. government believes several americans evacuated today on united nations flights. pentagon official have is been working to get them out. they aborted a mission to airlift americans yesterday after four u.s. troops were injured when their aircraft came under fire. >>> and astronauts spent several hours yesterday trying to repair a broken cooling pump on the international space station. the next space walk was planned for tomorrow but is being delayed while they make adjustments to a space suit. and the bay area reporter stumble stumbles on an almost

>>> i'm fredricka whitfield.one, 74 people on an expedition ship stuck in ice off antarctica are still waiting to be rescued. it has been stuck there since monday. a chinese rescue vessel is within sight, but it, too, is stuck. the expedition leader says everyone on board, however, is doing just fine. and number two, in juba, south sudan, 72 new peacekeepers have arrived. and another 500 are on the way. the u.n. is ramping up security to prevent more deadly violence in that country. the porters of the president and vice president have been fighting for two weeks. east african leaders have told the government and rebels to stop fighting or face harsh consequences. >>> and number three, sometimes patience pays. watch this. ra robber walks into a florida drugstore, then demands money from the clerk, but instead of handing over the cash or calling the police or doing something else more drastic, the woman says, she needs to ask her manager if it's okay. so the robber agrees to wait while the clerk goes to get the man

i'm fredricka whitfield. cnn news room starts now.asa astronauts spent five hours on an emergency space walk to fix a critical cooling system pump. without the system, they had to turn off some of the electronics. nasa says they got more accomplished today than expected and the problem may be fixed after the next space walk on monday. both astronauts made it back

i'm fredricka whitfield. cnn news room starts now. two nasa astronauts spent five hours on an emergency space walk to fix a critical cooling system pump. without the system, they had to turn off some of the electronics. nasa says they got more accomplished today than expected and the problem may be fixed after the next space walk on monday. both astronauts made it back to the space station safely. as john explains, nasa did have extra safety precautions in place. >> one of the concerns nasa had going into the space walk was what would happen inside the space suit? back in july, european astronaut space walk lasted only 90 minutes, cut way short when he began to experience water building up inside his helmet. they got him inside quickly enough, got his helmet off. he came close to potentially drowning in the helmet. nasa devised a couple things going into this series of space walks. they had a pad that was fabricated. that goes in the back of the helmet. periodically, the astronauts during the first space walk on saturday were able to

i'm fredricka whitfield. here are the top stories in the "cnn newsroom." video from that ship stuck in the frozen waters of antarctica. it's been four days since it got stranded, and although a rescue vessel is within sight, it's not able to get close enough to the ship. but chris turney, the expedition leader, and others on board say everything is actually going well. >> i don't think anyone's fearful. chris is the expedition leader. no one's fearful, right? >> no, people have been remarkably good, actually. le

i'm fredricka whitfield. a storm system has lashed partz of the south and southeast.exas has taken the brunt of it. cnn's ed lavandera is live for us right now in dallas. so, ed, it's still looks like you're in the deep freeze in the big "d." >> it's look the largest ice skating rink that's ever been dropped down on any one location. it feels like it. it's treacherous for a lot of people. in fact, this morning we heard reports and saw footage of a truck that was slid off the highway along interstate 35 north of dallas and into lake

i'm fredricka whitfield. here are the top stories in the "cnn newsroom." we have new video from that ship stuck in the frozen waters of antarctica. it's been four days since it got stranded, and although a rescue vessel is within sight, it's not able to get close enough to the ship. but chris turney, the expedition leader, and others on board say everything is actually going well. >> i don't think anyone's fearful. chris is the expedition leader. no one's fearful, right? >> no, people have been remarkably good, actually. morale's high, actually, at the moment. >> we have wonderful food, three meals a day. >> it doesn't seem to run out. >> they actually seem pretty excited about this adventure. so, we hope to hear more from chris turney live from that stranded ship in the next few minutes. >>> and here in the u.s., a lot of jobless americans might be considering congress the grinch that stole christmas and new year's. they won't be getting federal emergency unemployment benefits after today. the program passed during the recession ends today for 1.3 million

i'm fredricka whitfield.ope francis delivered his first christmas message to thousands of faithful. he asked for an end to the violence of suffering and focused much of his attention to the refugees. >> translator: help and protect all the victims of natural disasters, especially the beloved people of the philippines gravely affected by the recent typhoon. >> pope francis also focused a large part of his message on peace asking jesus to inspire peace in warring factions around the world. >> translator: god is peace. let us ask him to help us to be peacemakers each day in our life, in our families, in our cities and nations, in the whole world. let us allow ourselves to be moved by god's goodness. >> while the ceremonies involved a lot of pomp and circumstance as erin mclaughlin shows us, the pope kept his christmas message simple and to the point. >> reporter: as you can see, they're streaming into st. peter's square. people from all over the world, pilgrims and atheists, men, women, and children of a multitu

i'm fredricka whitfield. here are the stories we are following. three u.s. military aircraft come under attack trying to evacuate americans in south sudan. what happened to the service members and the deteriorating security situation inside that country. back in the u.s., a powerful winter storm is creating dangerous conditions on the road as tens of millions of people head home for the holidays. if you are flying, get ready to wait. the severe weather threat, straight ahead. >>> plus, 220 miles from earth. a difficult mission with huge consequences. hear the outcome of a critical walk today outside the international space station. >>> now to the developing story out of africa. the u.s. state department warning of a deteriorating security situation after u.s. aircraft in south sudan came under heavy gunfire during a mission to evacuate american civilians. the country has been in turmoil since the president accused the former vice president of attempting a coup last week. a lot of people have been killed in the clashes since then. barbara starr is joining me

i'm fredricka whitfield. a cold snap is gripping the central parts of the country knocking out power for hundreds of thousands of people. grounding flights and plunging many states into bone-chilling cold. how long will it last? we'll tell you next. >>> after six weeks locked up in north korea, an elderly u.s. war veteran is suddenly freed. we're going to take you to california live for the latest on his whereabouts. >>> and nelson mandela. you know him as an antiapartheid revolutionary, a prisoner, and as south africa's first black president. but what about an athlete? we'll take a look at his love of sports coming up. >>> a major storm is moving across the central part of this country. the dallas ft. worth area is one of the hardest hit places. an ice storm knocked out power for thousands and canceled hundreds s of flights. much of the state is plunged into bone-chilling cold. the city cancelled the marathon ask scheduled for tomorrow. in tennessee the state of emergency has been declare bid the governor be

. >>> i'm fredricka whitfield.karia "gps" continues right now. >>> imagine trying to identify every single person in a nation of more than 1.2 billion people. if you cataloged one person every second, the effort would take 38 years. sounds crazy? well, in 2010, india's government began just such an effort, hoping to create the largest personal database in human history. in the waning hours of a hot afternoon in northeast india, noshad waits patiently in a dimly lit room full of laptop computers. he's here with his three sons to get their fingerprints recorded, their eyes scanned, and their photos taken. his hope is that all of this high-tech gadgetry will give his boys something they've never had before -- an official identity. today, millions of indians like akhtar have trouble proving who they are. that means they're shut out of the basics of modern life, like bank loans and government services. so the government is aiming to give every one of its 1.2 billion residents a 12-digit number, similar to the american s

. >> i'm fredricka whitfield in for suzanne malre. 1/2 years is making ai direct plea to the president of the u.s. >> warren weinstein, and in a video released by h

. >>> i am martin savidge in for fredricka whitfield.p stories we're following now in the cnn newsroom. the colorado teenager opens fire at a school, then kills himself. and nobody knows why. we will tell you what police are doing to try to find the answers. >>> snow and lots of it. that's what tens of millions of people are getting hit with today. a thousand mile area from kansas to maine is in the storm zone. and no winner in mega millions, means the jackpot gets meggier. we will tell you when you may have the next chance to win it. i am martin savidge. >> we start in colorado, the town is trying to find sense after a terrifying school shooting here. less than 24 hours ago. a 15-year-old is in critical condition, shot here at arapahoe high school by a classmate. the 18-year-old gunman is dead after shooting himself. he has been identified as carl pierson. police say he walked into school with a shotgun yesterday afternoon. investigators are searching the school. also expected to search his home. and another home to figure out what poss

welcome back, i'm fredricka whitfield. here are the stop stories crossing the newsdesk right now.r americans held by the libyan government for several hours have been released. the four military personnel were attached to a security detail with the u.s. embassy in tripoli. it's not known why the four were initially taken in to custody. >>> and bad news for 1.3 million americans out of work for more than 26 weeks. they're losing their jobless benefits starting today. this is the emergency federal program that picks up when state benefits run out. supporters say the move will motivate some people into accepting job offers. critics say there aren't enough jobs and argue cutting benefits will only hurt the economy. >>> and score one for the embattled national security agency. the nsa finally getting a little win for its surveillance program, collecting americans' telephone and internet records. a federal judge says the nsa's collection of your communications is legal, and a critical weapon in the fight against terrorism. >>> and "duck dynasty" fans might be happy, happy, happy, but no

i'm fredricka whitfield. >> i'm michael holmes. thanks for your company today.it about the train crash in new york. there have been developments. >> that's right. a deadly train crash taking place just days ago. and now we understand that the train engineer is talking and saying that he may have been in a days, quote unquote, just prior to that train derailing. let's go to washington and rene marsh for more on that. rene? >> freed and michael, we are

cnn's fredricka whitfield has more on this "impact your world" segment. >> reporter: actress alfre woodarded by nelson mandela. a leading voice against apartheid, she co-founded what is now artist for a new south africa in 1989. and she introduced mandela on his first trip to the united states after his release from prison. >> nelson mandela, whenny a see you walking about in this country, my joy overflows and my faith is made real enough to touch. >> i said to him, i said, madiba? have you eaten? have you slept? really, nobody has asked me that, alfre, in my entire trip. >> reporter: later, mandela saw to it woodard was added to a guest list at a dinner at the white house. >> he sees me three people away, leans over, goes, alfre, alfre, remember me? it's nelson, and i said, madiba, i don't think anybody will ever forget you, and certainly not me. >> reporter: over the years, woodard joins mandela in the fight to end the aids pandemic in africa as an activist and friend. >> alfre, how are you? >> i'm so happy, madiba, to be walking around in your land. i am so happy. >> reporter: i think w

. >>> hello, martin savidge in for fredricka whitfield. here are the top stories we're following in the cnn newsroom. a colorado community in shock. >> it was terrifying because we heard gunshots and dana, she came running down the stairs and saying she saw them shot. >> answers in the latest school shooting, students that were there when it happened are haunted by the memory of what they saw. >>> a powerful winter storm is barreling across the northeast, dumping snow on an area that spans 1,000 miles. see just how bad it is inside that storm zone. >>> and if you were disappointed you did not pick the mega millions winning numbers, cheer up. nobody did. the jackpot is even larger. we'll tell you just how big it will grow this hour. >>> we start in colorado, a day after a school shooting miles from columbine. ana, what's the latest on the investigation? >> reporter: martin, we know there are a lot of unanswered questions this morning. police have identified the gunman as 18-year-old karl pierson. we're learning more about where they're look

i'm fredricka whitfield. i'll see you tomorrow earlier in the day. newsroom with dana bash is next. >>> in the "cnn newsroom," taliban rockets shake a u.s. embassy christmas peace. also -- >> a child born today will grow up with no conception of privacy at all. >> a most unusual christmas greeting from the leaker who touched off the nsa spying scandal. >>> plus, today's new surprise from the pope. a christmas olive branch to atheists. >> translator: also those who >> translator: also those who not believe to desire peace. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> thank you for joining us. i'm dana bash in washington. explosions shattered the pre-dawn quiet at the u.s. embassy in kabul on this christmas day. the embassy reports there were no casualties. the taliban issued a claim of responsibility. let's get more from cnn foreign affairs reporter elise labin. this is the same taliban that the united states went to war with afghanistan towards, because of what happened on 9/11, because of the attacks here. we've been at war with them for 12 years now.

i'm fredricka whitfield. an explosion went off in downtown beirut, lebanon today. it was a car bomb that killed an outspoken former government official. six people died in this explosion including the likely target of the attack, muhammad shah ta. he is a one-time type finance minister in lebanon and former ambassador to the united states. he was also no friend of the militant group hezbollah which he often criticized in public. more than 70 people were hurt in today's car bombing. let's go to beirut right now and talking to mitchell prothero. who set off this bomb? who is believed to be responsible and why would muhammad shah ta be the target? >> well, as a target, he's somewhat questionable. elves a high profile figure in the future movement party and a close ally of former prime ministers rafik. he was an outspokenen critic of hezbollah. he was hardly the most partisan orbiter member of that party. there's been speculation that perhaps he was chosen as a widely popular person to target in order to send a message that maybe no politician in lebanon is saying. as

. >> i'm fredricka whitfield in for suzanne malre. an american man held hostage for 2 1/2 years is making ai direct plea to the president of the u.s. >> warren weinstein, and in a video released by his kidnappers, he feels abandoned and forgotten, his words, by his country, and his health is failing. >> 72 years old. he was grabbed from his home in pakistan in summer 2011. this is the first image we've seen of him in more than a year. he speaks not only to the president, president obama, but the american media and to his family. >> elise labott, it's not the first time that we've seen him. what do we make of this video and what happens being done about it in washington? >> reporter: you can see the years have taken its toll on him him. the kidnappers are asking for release of al qaeda prisoners and halt why pakistan. u.s. will not negotiate. it doesn't want more kidnappings of terrorists feel the u.s. is willing to bargain for their release. but still, mr. weinstein is making a desperate plea for help from president obama. let's have

"newsroom" continues right now with fredricka whitfield. >>> thanks so much.mas to you, brianna, and everyone else as well. i'm in for brooke baldwin today. if you're celebrating, thanks for letting us be a part of your celebration. from the believers not nonbelievers and those who are hedging their bets somewhere in between, christmas day is always a warm time of year despite the temperature that it might be outside. we're hearing christmas day messages from leaders around the world today, and on this holy day, each expressed their faith in mankind. that we can be kinder, gentler, and better people. each delivered their message in their own style, of course, online. text savar

i'm fredricka whitfield. an explosion went off in downtown beirut, lebanon today.

let's turn it over to fredricka whitfield. >> yes.d to see you, because the oil is aromatic, fragrance, so it was smelling like the fried turkey, or whatever else, and so, good bait. >> tried. >> thankfully, no one wgot hurt >> true. >> the bear's okay? >> a little indigestion. >> yeah, the oil will get you every time. you all, good to see you. thank you so much. >> all right, see ya. >>> news for folks who may be headed to the malls, stores, a giant credit card breach at target just got worse, after denying it at first. now target says yes, hackers did get your p.i.n. data. what experts recommend that you do to protect yourself. and 74 people stranded in antarctica are anxiously awaiting help. their ship completely stuck in ice. now the rescue ship is also struggling in that ice. >>> and an aboutface on duck dynasty. the reality star show is back in action after a very short suspension, too long say some, and the lgbt community is now reacting.

i'm fredricka whitfield. >> i'm michael holmes. thanks for your company today. now, we're going to talk a little bit about the train crash in new york. there have been developments. >> that's right. a deadly train crash taking place just days ago. and now we understand that the train engineer is talking and saying that he may have been in a days, quote unquote, just prior to that train derailing. let's go to washington and rene marsh for more on that. rene? >> freed and michael, we are learning more information about what happened in the moments before that speeding train jumped the tracks in the bronx. two senior law enforcement sources tell cnn producer that the train's engineer, william rockefeller, told investigators on the scene he was dazed in the moments leading up to the crash and he didn't know what happened. when asked by investigators was he -- what he essentially was thinking about, the engineer said he couldn't say. now, we should note other media outlets have reported that rockefeller admitted to falling asleep. however, the official stressed that

i am fredricka whitfield. ice, sleet, snow, a cold snap hits much of the u.s., knocking out power for hundreds of thousands of people. and plunging central parts of the country into bone chilling cold. we're going live to the heart of the storm next. >>> and home at last after six weeks locked up in north korea, an elderly u.s. war veteran suddenly free. he is now back home. and we just heard from him last hour. >>> plus, after ineffective chemotherapy and failed bone marrow transplant, this 15-year-old leukemia patient thought he would die. then an experimental treatment changed everything. details coming up. >>> merrill newman back on u.s. soil, accused of alleged crimes in his time fighting the korean war. the 85-year-old tourist was captured in october in north korea and detained by authorities there. now after six weeks, newman is a free man. he arrived at the san francisco airport just moments ago on a united airlines flight from beijing. why the sudden release that north korean officials are calling a d

astronaut mike will join fredricka whitfield live at noon to talk more about the emergency space walky've been robbed by hackers. >> i had gone to target the saturday before the money started coming out. >> and millions of target shoppers could be affected. now the retail giant is saying, sorry. but will that be enough? we'll look at how you can protect your financial information. that's next. ♪ [ male announcer ] every time you say no to a cigarette, you celebrate a little win. nicorette mini delivers fast craving relief in just 3 minutes. double your chances of quitting with nicorette mini. in just 3 minutes. hall we do is go out to dinner.? that's it? i mean, he picks up the tab every time, which is great...what? he's using you. he probably has a citi thankyou card and gets 2x the points at restaurants. so he's just racking up points with me. some people... ugh! no, i've got it. the citi thankyou preferred card. now earn 2x the points on dining out and entertainment, with no annual fee.to apply, go to citi.com/thankyoucards stick with innovation. stick with power. stick with techno

the national retail fredricka whitfield federation said retailers have seen the first decline in numbersspending is relatively subdued, the stock market has been soaring in recent months. actually, it's been going crazy. there seems to be a disconnect. what's going on? >> there is a huge disconnect. people in the market have been making tons of money. not necessarily turning around and spending it. economists had hoped a number of improvements we're seeing in the economy, including rebounding home sales and car sales, the hope is that would build momentum to a stronger holiday shopping season. here's what's happening. some of the spending that consumers did on the big-ticket items, that may have cut into holiday budgets so it winds up being a double-edged sword. also a lot of the upper-income american whose are invested in the money, they have the money, and the lower-income ones, the benefits aren't making the awards from the stock prices going up and up. >> good explanation. thanks very much. how about getting the cyber monday purchases delivered by drones? it's an idea that is apparen

i'm fredricka whitfield.top stories we're following in the "cnn newsroom" 94 million americans are on the move this weekend and so is a brutal winter storm. coating parts of the midwest and across the south, tornados are the big threat. what you need to know before heading home for christmas. >>> and u.s. troops come underfire while trying to evacuate americans from south sudan. we're learning more about the attack and the condition of the injured service members. >>> and making a critical repair 220 miles from earth. nasa astronauts are doing that right now p. we'll show you live pictures of the spacewalk and tell you why their work is vital to the future of the iss. >>> first up, that dangerous system that is barreling across the u.s. right now. it's threatening multiple states with snow, ice even tornadoes and it's hitting on the same weekend that tens of millions of americans are heading home for the holidays. in the south, tornadoes are rare in december. but right now, it's the biggest threat. and that r

hello again, i'm fredricka whitfield. here are the top stories we're following in the cnn newsroom.orm bringing ice, sleet and snow, grounding flights, cutting power to thousands. we're going live to the heart of the storm next. >>> and dragged off a plane and locked up in north korea for six weeks. now an elderly u.s. war veteran is free, but why was he released? we're going live to california for his arrival. >>> labeled a terrorist by the u.s. on the watch list until 2008, nelson mandela's life in prison changed him and how the world saw him. coming up, a look back on the darker side of mandela's life with someone who knew him. >>> a major snowstorm hitting the country, dallas fort worth is among the hardest-hit. weather knocked out power for hundreds of thousands of people. much of the state plunged into bone chilling cold. nasty weather forced cancellation of almost 700 flights at the dallas, fort worth airport. as it slammed into arkansas, power lines came down. the governor declared a statewide emergency and police spent the night helping drivers stuck on ice and snow covered