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Large Share Of Americans Currently Find Barack Obama Untrustworthy; A Helicopter Crashes Into Pub In Glasgow, Killing At Least Eight, Selfie Word Of The Year, According to Oxford Dictionary; Edward Snowden Making New Headlines

Aired November 30, 2013 - 18:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

ROSA FLORES, CNN ANCHOR: Here in the CNN NEWSROOM, I'm Rosa Flores, in for my good friend, Don Lemon. Thank you so much for joining me. It's 6:00 in the east.

And we begin tonight with North Korea. And a plea from the White House, to release detained Americans immediately. North Korea has released video of 85-year-old Merrill Newman (ph), an American veteran who served during the Korean War, confessing and apologizing for killing troops and civilians during the war.

According to his family, Newman was detained while on a ten-day organized private tour of North Korea in October. The White House response says in part quote "given Mr. Newman's advanced age and health conditions, we urge the DPRK to release Mr. Newman to he may return home and reunite with his family. The White House also urged North Korea authorities to release Kenneth Bae, another American held in the country for more than a year.

Let me bring in CNN's Karl Penhaul on the phone in Tokyo.

And Karl, do we know if Merrill Newman has had any contact with western officials?

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via phone): We do. In fact, we understand from the state department that on Saturday a Swedish diplomat did visit Merrill Newman. We haven't had word about the state of his health right now, but certainly that Swedish diplomats had access. Of course, U.S. diplomats can't meet him because North Korea and the U.S. don't have diplomatic ties. Also, when one looks at the video where he reads his reported confession, he also looks in reasonable health, Rosa.

FLORES: Now, do you think his apology is going to help him any in this case?

PENHAUL: Well, that really is the big question now. In the past, it may have been sufficient to make this kind of public apology to then be granted some kind of pardon and be sent on your way. Because of the issues right now, well, it's not quite clear. I have been talking to a number of political analysts here in Japan who followed very closely the North Korean situation and they say that they believed his confession may be enough for the North Korean in terms of propaganda purposes and may be ready to release him. But they say that quite probably the North Koreans will be looking at some kind of a diplomatic context with the U.S. in order to work out logistics and they may also insist on handing over Newman to some kind of high level delegation, a number of details to work out if, in fact, the North Koreans are prepared to release him, Rosa.

FLORES: And what about Kenneth Bae, the other detained American, could this help him? Could this hurt him?

PENHAUL: The distance with Kenneth Bae is obviously, he's been held a longer time. He's been in custody in North Korea for a year, this little movement in terms of releasing him. And he's been sentenced to 15 years hard labor. So, it is difficult to say what's going to happen in his case. And also, one must have another warning, there is no guarantee that after this confession Merrill Newman will be released. Because after all, the things they are accusing him of sound on the surface of it quite serious. They are focusing on his military record in the Korean War and accusing him of being a member of a culvert and (INAUDIBLE) unit that organized spying and sabotage activities behind enemy lines. And they say that on his return to North Korea, he tried to make contact with some of the former guerillas that he would train in the past. And so, we really do have to see over the coming days what is going to happen with Newman. But then, there is no word on the fate of Kenneth Bae.

FLORES: All right. Well, thank you so much. That was Karl Penhaul on the phone with us from Tokyo.

And tomorrow on NEWSROOM at 5:00 eastern, we'll talk with a man who commanded the white tigers. He can explain more about what Merrill Newman and the other men in that secret unit did during the Korean War.

And we move on, the race to fix the Obamacare Web site is going down to the wire. Obama administration officials say the site is getting better ahead of the midnight deadline, but they aren't done just yet. Tech experts are still upgrading hardware and tweaking the software hoping the rollout, number two, we should add, will be better than rollout number one.

If it's not, it could be an ugly week at the White House.

Our Tory Dunnan is keeping on top of all this.

And Tory, the Obama administration sounds confident. Do they think this site is going to work, it's going to be an all fix?

TORY DUNNAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Rosa, from what we have heard so far, they really do sound optimistic saying they are on track and this Web site is performing well on deadline day.

Now, according to the White House, the site is going to behave differently for users. So, it will be different when they go on. One measurement that's been brought up in a recent administration briefing is that pages that once took an average of eight seconds to load should be less than a second, a fraction of a second really. And there are lots of fixes like this that are happening. But basically, bottom line, the president had made the promise that this site will be running for the vast majority of users. The goal is to have 50,000 users on at the same time. And we are told if the number exceeds that, people will get in what is called a virtual line, though eventually, getting an e-mail with a better time to log on. And I actually talked to one computer tech expert who has been following all this so closely. I asked if the site looks better. This is his answer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LUKE CHUNG, SOFTWARE DEVELOPER: Without having the internal metrics and static reports of what is going on the Web site, we, on the outside will not be able to tell. But the people who are in charge of the system will certainly know what the load is and will be trying to balance that properly across their different servers. As an outsider, we are not going to be privy to that information.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DUNNAN: So the big question, of course, is it working. There is one other thing to point out though, even if the site is determined to be functioning smoothly, some insurance company insiders are telling CNN that there still might be problems with the back end of the site saying that so far customer's personal data is getting messed up or it is getting lost. But the question really Rosa, is it working and how will we know it's working?

FLORES: You know, those answers are almost a little vague. Is there a way for us to really know if what they said was going to work is actually going to work?

DUNNAN: I think we have to get a look at the numbers because we know that the White House actually has ways to measure the success or failure of the site. We don't necessarily expect them to release those metrics right away, but we know there is a conference call that is happening with reporters first thing in the morning. They initially have one scheduled today and tomorrow. Eventually they canceled. So really, there's going to be a lot on the line tomorrow for the president and there are also going to be lots of questions asked during this conference call during tomorrow mornings meeting.

FLORES: And probably a lot of people online trying to figure out if that Web site works.

Tory Dunnan, thank you so much. We appreciate it.

DUNNAN: Sure.

FLORES: A helicopter crashes into a pub killing at least eight people in Glasgow, Scotland. A band was playing for a crowd hanging out in the pub when suddenly the police chopper smashed through the roof. Three of the dead were the helicopter's crew. Five others were killed inside that bar. Investigators searched into the night for others that might be buried in the rubble.

CNN's Richard Quest has the latest from Glasgow. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR (voice-over): Twenty-four hours after the helicopter crashed through the roof, and while the police have confirmed eight people died, they are unable to sigh if more bodies will be found because the crash site is still dangerous and needs to be secured.

SIR STEPHEN HOUSE, CHIEF CONSTABLE, SCOTLAND POLICE: Imagine the situation where the helicopter has come down and is almost literally sitting in the middle of the building.

QUEST (voice-over): As a result, searching the building is extremely dangerous. The authorities say this will be a long, sensitive and complex investigation. It will go on for many days yet. What is clear is on Friday night, most people had an extraordinary escape. Those inside were enjoying listening to a local band playing. When the helicopter crashed, at first, few realized what had happened.

ALLEENA COUPE, WITNESSED HELICOPTER CRASH: People were listening to the music. And we thought because of that the roof came down. And we said to the band, stop playing because it is quite serious. And then, within five seconds the whole place was engulfed in dust. People couldn't breathe, couldn't see (INAUDIBLE) and my noise. And they said to people, because they were panicking, I said hold on and follow me at the door.

QUEST (voice-over): Once the gravity of the situation became clear, Glaswegians rallied to help each other in a way that's been praised by civic leaders.

GORDON MATHESON, LEADER, GLASGOW CITY COUNCIL: When there is trouble and people need assistance, the people of Glasgow head toward those situations. The motto of the city of Glasgow, the people make Glasgow. And that was (INAUDIBLE) last night and the period since.

QUEST (voice-over): Air accident investigators are now on the scene to begin finding out what caused the helicopter to crash.

(on camera): Throughout the night, the rescue and recovery work will continue. The police have admitted they won't know the final number of people who perished until they remove the helicopter which they say dominates the building.

And in Scotland on Sunday, special prayers will be said in churches across the country for those who died and those who were injured in the accident.

Richard Quest. CNN, Glasgow, Scotland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FLORES: And still ahead here on CNN, it was supposed to be a crowning achievement of his presidency. But Obamacare could end up being President Obama's biggest black eye. Poll numbers show he's already feeling the pain. And --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I saw my body, I will say that was the first time that I actually thought, well, I guess I am dead. I guess I really did die.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: On the brink of death, a woman talks ability her trip to heaven and back.

We're back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FLORES: President Obama has a lot riding on the reboot of the government's health care Web site. And that Web site rollout has taken a toll on how Americans view him. How he talked about the trust issue last night in an interview with ABC.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARBARA WALTERS, ABC NEWS ANCHOR: A lot of the criticism is personal. People just don't think you are trust worthy.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I don't think that's true, Barbara. You know, the truth of the matter is that, I got reelected, in part because people did think I was trust worthy and they knew I was working on their behalf.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: Now, let's talk about trust, politics and the Obama presidency with a Professor Julian Zelizer. He's a historian at Princeton University.

Very good to see -- oh, my God, this topic to talk about is incredible. I mean, we have seen these numbers definitely move, but a new CNN/ORC poll disputes that 53 percent of people tell us that the president is actually trustworthy or not trustworthy, I should say. And 46 percent say that he is trustworthy.

So, can the president continue to govern and get things done if the majority of Americans don't think he's trustworthy?

JULIAN ZELIZER, PROFESSOR, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY: Well, it certainly makes it more difficult. It makes it more difficult on Capitol Hill because legislatures are that much less willing to enter into difficult negotiations with him. The key is this can change. We have seen how polls fluctuate. But certainly, this has become a problem ad it has taken away one of his greatest asset that people like him and that they have trusted him until now to do the right thing governing.

FLORES: Now, can he continue to govern while, I guess, these polls showing that the people don't trust him? Can we continue?

ZELIZER: He can. I mean, President Obama made a career right now ignoring the polls. And his tendency is to move forward, continue with the strategy whether it is foreign policy or domestic policy, regardless of what you are seeing.

I think what he is waiting is the benefits to start rolling out. And he is assuming that once that happens, if the Web site works in the next few weeks, those trust numbers will change dramatically.

FLORES: And I think that's one of the keys. Can, I guess, a re- launch kind of reboot his trustworthiness, do you think?

ZELIZER: I think it can. His likability is still very high. People like him and he is on position. The Republican Party is still doing very poorly. So, it's not as if Americans have great options in Washington. So, I think if the program starts to work, if other issues start to take more attention away from this, that you can see those numbers rebound. And again, the issue of governing is separate in some ways. I think he can continue to move forward with his agenda.

FLORES: And finally, in Obama's defense, most Americans still like him as a person. Seventy-one percent say he's likable. Have other presidents been able to leverage from their popularity to get things done politically?

ZELIZER: For sure. President Clinton did it in the late 1990s. He was on the defense. Republicans controlled Congress. But the one thing he had going for him was Americans liked him. And they did have this good feeling for him. And he used that to attack Republicans. Other presidents have done the same. Dwight Eisenhower was loved and used this to attack Democrats in Congress during the 1950s. So, likability does matter.

FLORES: And we'll have to see what happens.

Professor Julian Zelizer, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it.

ZELIZER: Thank you.

FLORES: And still ahead, it was an unbelievably risky gamble, turning terrorists into double agents and sending them back home in hopes that they would yield valuable information. The secret CIA program to turn Guantanamo Bay prisoners into spies, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FLORES: Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden is making new headlines months after he leaked documents about the government's classified spy programs, rather. Canadian broadcasting this week quoted "new NSA documents linked to Snowden." They supposedly show how the U.S. spied on world leaders three years ago on Canadian soil during the G-20 summit in Ottawa. And in a separate report, the "Huffington Post" sites more Snowden documents, this time, the NSA tracking porn Web site visits in six alleged Muslim extremists in hopes of gathering evidence to damage their reputation.

Now, let's bring in Bob Baer. Now, he is a CNN National Security analyst and former CIA operative.

Bob, first of all, thank you so much for being with us. Good to see you.

Now, before we talk Snowden, I have to ask you about today's news from North Korea. What do you make of the detention of American Merrill Newman and his so-called apology?

BOB BAER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, there are two things. First of all, technically the war is not over. They are going look at him as an enemy combatant, which is bad news. They may release, I don't know. But secondly, an implication in his so-called confession was that he was re-contacting his networks in North Korea, which is preposterous, really. I mean, they are not using this man to set up networks in North Korea. So, the North Koreans are reaching on this. And you know, they -- it's an irrational government, who knows what they are going to do next.

FLORES: Now, let's turn back to Snowden and the Snowden documents. What is the bigger deal that the NSA tracked the websites, web habits of suspected militants or that the U.S. was spying on world leaders during the g-20?

BAER: This was the spying on anybody connected with terrorism, you can do anything you want, frankly, you know, in this country or anywhere else. The problem is when you go after the G-20 in Canada, that is crossing a red line. We are afraid that that can it have any years -- there's an agreement within Australia, Canada, Britain, New Zealand, not to spy on each other. And that was held to over the years. So, the Canadians have not reacted well over this. And I think there's going to be serious repercussions.

FLORES: Now, you mention this is crossing a serious red line. What would be the consequences of this?

BAER: Well, I think the Canadian services actually helped on this and there's going to be, you know, political blowback for them because they shouldn't have done this. I spent a lot of time on Canada with their attorney general. And they really don't like getting involved many American spy operations. When they become public, there's going to be political fallout, I guarantee you.

FLORES: Now, let's turn to another topic and let's talk about Penny Lane. It is a program run by the CIA after 9/11 and you know it very well. It was designed to train terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay to become double agents.

Now, talk to us about this. Did this program actually work? BAER: It worked fabulous. I used to do it when I was in the CIA, go to a foreign country. They let us in their prison. We would sit one of its detainees down and in convince them to come to work for us. You know, it works about 10 percent of the time. But when you get good sources, it works great. And I can't tell you what the success rate at the CIA was in Guantanamo at Penny Lane, but if they get one or two out of it, it was worth it.

FLORES: You know, I have to be honest, it sounds like that something that is extremely risky when you talk double agents or turning terror suspects into double agents. Talk about the risks and possibly some of the failures.

BAER: Well, Rosa, you know, exactly. In Afghanistan four years ago now, the CIA officer and her subordinates were killed in Costa Afghanistan because they had taken one of these prisoners, they thought he came over to the CIA. And in fact, when he was let loose in the pool, he was recruited by Al-Qaeda and murdered these people. So, the risk is enormous.

You know, these people, most of them are true believers. And once they get back in (INAUDIBLE) where they came from, they will often turn on you. And there's no way to predict when they will and when they won't.

FLORES: Oh my God, fascinating stuff.

Bob Baer, CNN national security analyst and former security agent.

Thank you so much.

BAER: Thank you.

FLORES: And still ahead here on CNN, stories of life after death. The kayaking accident leaves a woman under water and without oxygen for about 30 minutes, but she didn't just pass out. She says she went to heaven and talked with Jesus. What she says made her come back after the break.

And remember this, the image of the Pope comforting a disfigured man? Well, CNN caught up with the man to find out how life has been for him since this moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FLORES: Welcome back.

Their stories begin tragically. Orthopedic surgeon Marry Neil was trapped under water for more than 15 minutes. Anita (INAUDIBLE) was living her final moments with stage 4 lymphoma. (INAUDIBLE) heart stops beating for long minutes at a time.

In a CNN special, "to heaven and back," our Randi Kaye talks with people who are on the brink of death when they say they left this world for another. Their stories, their words, their answers to all the questions we'd all like to ask. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I could see the scene on the river bank. I could see them pull my body to the shore. I could see them start CPR. I had no pulse and I wasn't breathing. One fellow was yelling at me to come back.

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You were unconscious. So, how do you know this was happening?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I felt my body break free and I felt my spirit break free and I was greeted by these people or these spirits. I could be with them and be going down this incredible pathway and simultaneously look back at the river. When I saw my body, I will say it was the first time I actually thought, well, I guess I am dead. I guess I really did die.

KAYE: In the book, you write about dancing with them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

KAYE: Were you celebrating something?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

KAYE: Why? What were you celebrating? You just died.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was a great homecoming. And I was really surprised by the fact that I had no intention of going back.

KAYE: You didn't want to return?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. And I had all the reasons to return. I had a great life. I had a great job. I had a great husband. My children are wonderful and I love them more than I could ever imagine loving something on earth. But the love I felt for them in comparison to God's love that was absolutely flowing through everything was pale in comparison.

And then, at a certain point, one of the people or spirits told me that it wasn't my time and that I had more work to do on earth and I had to go back to my body.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FLORES: You can hear more of these extraordinary stories when you watch "to heaven and back" an Anderson Cooper Special Report tomorrow night, 7:00 p.m. eastern here on CNN.

Pope Francis changed many hearts and minds. And one of his latest acts caught on camera is changing a man's life. Francis, known as the people's Pope took a moment to embrace a man with a genetic disease that has left him covered with growths, swelling, and itchy sores. Now, this image have gone viral.

Our Ben Wedeman is in northern Italy and that's where he caught up with the disfigured man who has become famous around the world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After four hours of work, he is done. Five days a week, Vinico Riva does odd jobs at a home for the elderly in (INAUDIBLE) in northern Italy. By the way, did you notice something? Yes, this 53-year-old Vinico suffers from a hereditary genetic condition called neurofibromatosis type 1. His body is almost completely covered from head-to-toe with growths, swellings and sores. His mother had the same condition as does his sister. He's had it since the age of 15.

His appearance often terrifies strangers. Vinico recalls trying to take a seat on the bus, but being told by the passenger next to him to sit somewhere else.

VINICO RIVA, DISFIGURED MAN KISSED BY POPE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

WEDEMAN (voice-over): I wanted to answer back, but I controlled myself, he says. I felt my blood pressure rise. I wanted to leave the bus, but I had a doctor's appointment. There were lots of people on the bus but no one said a word.

Not all strangers, however, react like that. Earlier this month, he went with his aunt Caterina to St. Peter's Square where Pope Francis approached him and without a moment's hesitation kissed and hugged him.

RIVA: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

WEDEMAN (voice-over): When he embraced me, he recalls, I quivered. I felt a great warmth. Aunt Caterina was struck by the Pope's very down-to-earth manner.

CATERINA LOTTO, VINICO RIVA'S AUNT: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

WEDEMAN (voice-over): I looked down at his shoes, they were like this, she says. I thought, yes, this is someone who really walks and he was someone who, if he weren't wearing that clothing, wouldn't know he was the Pope. Since then, Vinico has returned to his daily routines. He continues to work and root for his favorite soccer team, (INAUDIBLE). But something has changed.

The Pope's simple embrace was a signal to millions that under Vinico's tortured surface is a fellow human being.

RIVA: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

WEDEMAN (voice-over): I feel stronger and happier, he tells me. I feel like I can move ahead because the Lord is protecting me. However, he still has some unfinished business with Pope Francis.

RIVA: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

WEDEMAN (voice-over): I hope he calls me so we can have a face-to- face meeting, says Vinico. I have many things to tell him.

What do you want to tell him, I ask?

RIVA: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

WEDEMAN (voice-over): It's a bit private, he replies. It is between him and I. Vinico returns home from work on his bike, his dignity far more apparent than his illness.

Ben Wedeman, CNN. Vicenza, Italy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FLORES: And we have more on the Pope.

Who didn't love this picture when we saw it recently? It's the Pope taking a selfie. In fact last week, selfie was actually named word of the year by the oxford dictionary. But does the rise of the selfie point to our society's narcissism? My next guest says absolutely.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FLORES: Welcome back. It is 40 minutes past the hour.

The black Friday deals at a Philadelphia mall weren't all that shocking, but what happened outside one of the stores definitely was.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYING)

FLORES: That buzzing you heard there? Yes, that was a stun gun. The man who shot the video told CNN affiliate WCBI that two guys started yelling at each other. Then the ladies starting brawling, one of the women zapped the other with a stun gun. No one was arrested, but they were kicked out of the mall.

And now to Texas, shoppers ran from deals at a Wal-Mart after police used pepper spray. Cops say they had to use it Thursday night after people stormed in and they were full of tablets and headphones. Imagine that. Except for a little bit of coughing, no one was hurt.

Those fights in stores on black Friday, does that point us to something called a self-absorbed generation, more selfish. Generally, commentator Dean Obeidallah joins me now. He has a brand-new article on CNN.com. In it he asks, are we a self-absorbed generation? I think we are.

DEAN OBEIDALLAH, POLITICAL COMEDIAN: We are -- what happened though at the holiday shopping? That is the "Hunger Games?"

FLORES: I don't understand it.

OBEIDALLAH: People fighting all the time. But my article, it is not about being selfish in daily life. It is about social media to be selfish. The idea of selfie which is the word of the year by Oxford dictionary which is holding -- people don't know it is holding their camera in front of yourself and taking a picture and then of course, then sharing it on Twitter or Facebook. We could take our own selfie right now. The Pope did a selfie. The idea of -- now the new thing is funeral selfies. Like the ones we did is normal. You know, people go to funerals, stand in front of the dead body, I'm not kidding, take a picture.

FLORES: OK. That's just disrespectful.

OBEIDALLAH: You know, some argues is part of the grieving, others that's beyond. It's about being the center of attention at all times. We are the most self-absorbed generation. I'm guilty. I'm in that generation. I'm not judging people. The reality shows minds that has affect us. We all think we are Kanye West or Kim Kardashian. So, delusional there that every thought we have is so cleaver or funny, we have to share it.

FLORES: Is it about getting attention? It is about getting notoriety in this, you know, cyber space world that we are now part of?

OBEIDALLAH: I think that is a big part of it. Now, you see rise of photo bombing. And for people who don't know what that is, it is someone else is being the center of attention in the picture and someone else jumps in the back of the picture to upstage them because again, it this need, so many people in my generation, to be the center of attention at all times and then to share that on Twitter or Facebook. In fact, this week, Zach Braff, the actor, walked through a wedding photo and it went viral. He tweeted that.

FLORES: Unbelievable.

OBEIDALLAH: Part of it, it's troubling, but I hope there's a silver lining, ultimately, with this.

FLORES: Now hopefully, if you are watching, send us a selfie. Why not? I just tweeted one because we did one while we were speaking. I don't know if you caught that. But I know that one of the other things that caught my attention is how teenagers are using it versus adults. There's a time and age when, OK, so Facebook, everybody was on Facebook. All right, of the kids are on Facebook, then grandma started getting on Facebook. And they said, OK, no, no, no. We need to find other ways.

Are you kind of seeing that as well? That there's a migration of, I guess, uses of different social media based on age?

OBEIDALLAH: That's part of it. When I call it is selfie generation, to me, it is not chronological. I'm not pointing at millenials, (INAUDIBLE) or baby boomers. It's anyone who in senselessly uses social media to talk about their favorite subject, which is us, me, all of us. I tweet in a topic all the time. Everyone does it. Like any thought you have, this is really good or facebook status updates like I have to eat potato chips now or I'm going to the bathroom.

FLORES: And it is like, who cares?

OBEIDALLAH: We feel this desire to share. And my point of my article is look, we are not going to change. Technology will make it easier to do it in the future. But use the technology to raise issues. Tweet out a selfie in front of a soup kitchen (INAUDIBLE), or about children, poverty.

FLORES: I got to ask you. Is there a silver ling here?

OBEIDALLAH: That's what I hope. I'm hoping. You know, there are people, and I'm not saying everyone who uses social media is selfish. Some do use to raise issues that are cause, that are important. I think we should use it even more. And it's so easy to do that to use it, to push that.

FLORES: It's beautiful.

OBEIDALLAH: It is. Put an update status on Twitter or Facebook about an issue that is important. It could be about military veterans, 22 kill themselves every day raising awareness about that or Syria or whatever the issue might be that you personally think about because again, we are selfish. It's a selfish generation that you selfishly care about and share it, raise awareness. It's the first step in the change.

FLORES: Thank you so much. I wish we could continue talking about this all day long.

Thank you. We appreciate it.

OBEIDALLAH: Thank you.

FLORES: And coming up next on CNN, the trick play that gives a teen that extra edge in a game. That's fun to watch, but when does getting the edge go over the edge? Cheating in sports is nothing new, but does it seem like we are seeing a lot of it? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FLORES: We all love the unexpected surprise in sports. The trick play, like this one from a few years ago, a middle school quarterback fakes like the ball is dead, goes for a walk, then runs for a touchdown. You have to love that. But what about tricks that cross the line?

Our Ed Lavandera has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If you aren't cheating, you aren't trying. That old saying is alive and thriving in sports. That's Jason Kidd the head coach of the Brooklyn Nets basketball team. His team is down by two points with eight seconds left and no time - outs. As one of his player walks bench, you can see him say hit me, then spills his drink on the court. Guess what? The game is stopped to clean up the mess giving the Nets time to draw up one last time.

Then there is the head coach of the Pittsburg Steelers accidentally or intentionally, you decide, getting in the way of a Ravens player streaking toward a touchdown at a crucial point in the game. Tomlin says he lost track of where he was in the field. The Ravens say it was deliberate.

JACOBY JONES, BALTIMORE RAVENS RETURNER: I'm like, does he know? I'm running. Is he going to move?

JOE FLACCO, BALTIMORE RAVENS QUARTERBACK: He knew where he was and he knew where Jacoby was. He did. He pulled it.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Cheating in sports is as timeless as the games. Some cheat for money like the infamous 1990 Chicago black sox, eight players including shoeless Joe Jackson were accused of fixing World Series games for chaos from Chady Gambles (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Say it isn't so, Joe.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): A made for the big screen saga in the movie "eight men out." Eight players were banned from baseball for life.

(on camera): Then there are the ageing athletes who cheat to keep up with the younger and faster and the stronger athletes like baseball pitcher's Whitey Ford, (INAUDIBLE), Joe Negro, who used Vaseline, baby oil, sandpaper, turpentine, resin, whatever they could get their hands on to make that baseball move around.

Joe Negro's sandpaper crime was so legendary, it provided comedy gold for David Letterman.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have your tool belt on, Joe?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I just thought to bring some stuff here. You have an electric sander, you have a manicure kit, you have a wire brush. You are ready for business, aren't you?

LAVANDERA (voice-over): There are the performance-enhancing drugs using cheaters, Lance Armstrong, May Ann Jones (ph), Mark McGuire, Be Johnson and Alex Rodriguez to name a few. And those widely thought to have used drugs but deny it including Sammy Sosa, homerun king Bary Bonds.

BARY BONDS, FORMER PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL PLAYER: This record is not tainted at all, at all, period. You can say whatever you want.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): But if cheating is trying, it doesn't always work. Jason Kidd was fined $50,000 for spilling the drink and his team still lost the game. And Mike Tomlin and the Steelers, well, they also lost.

Ed Lavandera. CNN, Dallas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FLORES: Now we take a look at headlines after this short commercial break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) FLORES: White House officials say the Obamacare Web site is getting better ahead of a midnight deadline. The administration says error rates and response times are low despite traffic that's heavier than usual. Now they are not done yet upgrading the hardware while tweaking the software overnight. The president's poll numbers plummeted since the site debuted with huge issues.

And just into CNN, the U.S. state department says Swedish diplomats acting on behalf of the U.S. government have been given access to Merrill Newman, an American war veteran who was being held in North Korea. Video has been released by North Korea of the 85-year-old Newman confessing and apologizing for killing troops and civilians during the Korean War. His family says he was detained while on a 10- day tour there in October. The White House is calling for his immediate release.

Thousands of people will wear red ribbons tomorrow to mark the 25th annual world aids day. People will show support for those living with HIV and AIDS and commemorate those who have died. About 35 million people worldwide have HIV or AIDS. Health officials say more than 250,000 children were newly infected with the virus last year. Activists are planning to rally in New York's time square and at landmarks around the world.

Comet Ison. And that comet is called the comet of the century. Ison is its name. The comet had a close encounter with the sun on Thanksgiving Day. Scientists thought it disintegrated when it passed by. But after further review, it may not be the case.

Here is Jenny Harrison.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNY HARRISON, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, they say comets are like cats, they have tails and they do exactly what they want. And this, of course, is pretty much what comet Ison has been doing. All the scientists have been wondering the last 24 hours in particular, has it survived Perihelion and that of course is when it actually encounters the heat from the sun and it looks as if it might have done just that.

Now, when it was first spotted it was September 2012 and two Russians amateur astronomers actually found its way up there, 585 million miles away from the earth. So, the last few days the whole world of astronomy has been watching this comet as it gets ever closer to the sun. Did it survive Perihelion, that's what it's called when the comet actually literally encounters the intense heat of the sun and it looks as if it might have done just that.

This cross you can see here, this is where they were looking to see it come out the other side from actually its activity around the sun, and it does look as if it might have done just that. You can see again here on the before and after, the comet Ison coming up towards the sun, disappearing behind. At that point traveling 730,000 miles, and then coming the other side. And what you can see there, that streak of light, is what they're saying is possibly the nucleus that has survived. And, of course, what a comet actually is, it's a frozen mass of rock and gases and dust. And as it actually encounters the heat from the sun, it begins to warm up, and it spews all of these gases, and that is what we can see. And, of course, they can often be hundreds of miles in size these things.

And, again, another image to show, the comet coming towards the sun and, again, in the time lapse photography you can see the blobs and that, again, is possibly the nucleus of the comet. And I can show you again, another movie, the comet coming in towards the sun and, remember, the closer it comes, it begins to warm up.

And it's all the gases being released that creates the incredible trail that goes on behind the comet and as I say the scientists are fairly convinced it has indeed come out the other side and now we can look forward to see what sort of spectacle we actually have from there comet because not visible in every part of the world toward the southern hemisphere, never going to see it, December before the hours of dawn in the mid-latitudes and then to the north across the U.S. and Europe. December throughout the early hours before dawn and, again, after sunset. And if you're in the mid really high latitudes, it will be late December, and it will be all night long so we can just wait and see exactly what we are going to be able to spot in the days ahead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: Finally, the world's ugliest dog has gone to the grave kennel in the sky. 8-year-old Elwood died on thanksgiving morning in his owner's hands. He was a Chihuahua and Chinese crested mix. The pouch is dependently ugly. His breeder nearly put him down. Now, Elwood became a star after winning the ugliest dog contest at the 2007 (INAUDIBLE) county fair. Instead of resting on his laurels, Elwood worked tirelessly to raise money for non-profit animal organizations. Its owner said, he was known internationally and touched a lot of lives in short time. And of course, he will be greatly missed.

(INAUDIBLE), thank you so much.

Stay with CNN. Our documentary "PRESUMED GUILTY: MURDER IN WEST MEMPHIS" begins right now.