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Train Derails in Bronx, 4 People Killed; Actor Paul Walker Dies in Fiery Car Crash; Obamacare Website Working "Smoothly"; NTSB Investigates Train Crash; Tiny Robots Take to the Air; Auburn's Miracle Comeback Stuns Alabama

Aired December 01, 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: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Rosa Flores, in for Don Lemon.

Investigators are trying to figure out why a train jumped the tracks in a New York City area this morning. Here is what we know, folks -- four people were killed. At least 67 others were injured. Rescue crews combed the scene for other victims, even sending divers into the water. But they believe everyone has been accounted for.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EARL WEENER, NTSB: The entire train, seven cars and locomotive were all derailed. Our mission is to understand not just what happened, but why it happened, with the intent of preventing it to happen again. We expect to be on scene from a week to 10 days.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: Our correspondents are covering every angle of this train derailment in the Bronx.

Rene Marsh has the latest on the NTSB investigation. And Alexander Field is covering all of the developments from the scene of the accident.

Now, Alexandra, let's start with you first. What is the latest out there?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rosa, at this point, the emergency crews have peeled away, they made room for investigators.

The investigators arrived this afternoon. They started taking pictures. There are a lot of questions to answer. They will work into the night. They have already set up flood lights.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FIELD (voice-over): What should have been a routine Sunday morning ride into New York City from Poughkeepsie turned deadly and in instant after the Metro North train lost control coming loose from the tracks around a sharp curve.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just heard like a screeching noise, you know? I happen to be by the window. I'm on top of the hill, but I still heard a screeching noise. And then within seconds, the ambulance and fire trucks started coming nearby window and I knew something happened.

FIELD: Several cars flipped on their side, sending many passengers flying out of their seats.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was just sitting on the train. I wasn't paying attention to any more in particular. And then all of a sudden, the train just kind of felt more side ways than it should be. But at the time I looked up, it was completely going off its track and there was rubble going off the tracks like flying.

FIELD: Emergency first responders including divers searched the crash scene as cadaver dogs comb the wreckage. Officials now believe all passengers have been accounted for.

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO, NEW YORK: We are trying to stabilize the situation right now. New York is blessed with the best first responders, I think, anywhere in the country.

FIELD: This is one of the busiest traveling days of the Thanksgiving holiday and Metro North is popular, carrying nearly 83 million passengers, nearly 16 million on the Hudson line where the crash happened.

The National Transportation Safety Board is now investigating what went wrong, sending a go-team to the scene.

DEBORAH HERSMAN, NTSB CHAIRWOMAN: Hit the ground running. They are experts in the work that they do. We have folks who are focusing on operation, tracks, human factors, crash worthiness and survivability.

FIELD: Officials tell CNN the operator says he applied the brakes but the train didn't slow down. At this point, there are more questions than answers, and a deadly and tragic end to a holiday weekend.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FIELD: And investigators expect to be out here for at left the next seven to 10 days. Right now, tomorrow morning's busy commute is also top of mind. This is a busy section of commuter rail. Metro North says it will be providing bus service for affected commuters. If you need to commute in the morning, though, of course, it's important right now to consider planning ahead -- Rosa.

FLORES: All right. Alexandra Field live for us. Thank you so much.

Now, we are also talking to survivors of the train accident. Dennis O'Neill joins us on the phone from Haverstraw, New York.

Can you hear me?

DENNIS O'NEILL, SURVIVOR (via telephone): I can hear you, yes.

FLORES: OK. Dennis, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate your time. Now, you were inside one of the two cars that flipped over side ways. And you took this picture with the windows covered in dirt on the bottom and seats on the side.

Now, Dennis, take us back to that moment and when you realized something was going very, very wrong.

O'NEILL: Yes, we were heading towards the Spuyten Duyvil station. The cars on the ride side of the car, you could feel it tilting a little bit. I looked up right before we hit the big curve that goes into the station.

And soon -- and we were going fast. We were going, you could tell, like something was up. And as we hit that big curve, it was bad. The train just fell right over. I happened to be on that side.

So, I hid down on the window and people on the other aisle fell on top of us. We were grinding along the ground for, I don't know, 50 yards or something at a very fast-paced. And the car filled up with dirt and dust and things like that.

So, you knew right away, as we were approaching the station, that it just started to tilt a little bit and knew something was up right away.

FLORES: And how are you doing tonight?

O'NEILL: Actually, I'm one of the lucky ones, thank you. Some bumps and cuts, but I'm OK, thanks.

FLORES: Oh, my goodness. A woman fell on you. Do you know how she is doing?

O'NEILL: I don't, actually. I think she was -- she was pretty beat up. Because after, you know, we stopped, everybody just hung there for a second until we realized what just happened. And then we started to get up. Because we were on the side, the train was on its side. Got up and she was -- her head was bleeding.

And so, she was laying town and moaning. Another gentleman wasn't banged up either, like myself, we tried to get her to sit up and see if she could get up, and she couldn't get up. And another gentleman in front of the second car there that was also hurt.

So, I think she went to the hospital.

FLORES: Oh, gosh, yeah. A lot of people did go to the hospital, indeed. Now, how did you leave that area? How did you get back to your family?

O'NEILL: Well, we -- after the crash, we tried to -- I tried to get the front door open of the car. But that was the door that slides down. So it was almost like trying to pull up a garage door but it was all mangled pretty good. So, there was no getting that car open.

The car was all dark. There was no lights and it was early in the morning and a lot of dust. And then, eventually, we see out of the car and there was light there. So, we kind of -- we made sure everybody was OK and me and this other guy headed back towards the end, the back of the car. And that door was open down.

You know, we had to go back out that way. So, we were in the car, waiting for responders, I'm guessing, 15, 20 minutes. And then the firemen came in, they obviously wanted to get to the people barely hurt, they got them first.

We stood to the side, made sure the people barely hurt were attended to. We got out of the car. Climbed out of the back of the car and had to walk around the train.

FLORES: Dennis O'Neill, survivor of that train accident that happened in New York -- thank you so much for your time. We appreciate it.

And now, for more on the investigation and what the National Transportation Safety Board is doing, we go to CNN's Rene Marsh.

Now, Rene, at the latest news conference, and officials said that the train should have been going 30 miles per hour at that curve. We have been seeing that curve and the pictures of that curve all day long. Do they know how fast it was going before it derailed?

RENE MARSH, CNN GOVERNMENT REGULATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosa, at this point, NTSB has not released that information as yet. But we do know that they recovered the event recorders that records data, like speed and whether the brakes were applied. They will be analyzing all of the data on those recorders. We expect that the NTSB will update us with more briefings obviously in the coming days -- Rosa.

FLORES: Beside the recorders, what other data are investigators gathering at this hour?

MARSH: Well, we know from the briefing that the NTSB has not yet spoken to the conductor, but they anticipate speaking to the train staff in the next day or two. We also learned that the engine pushing the train was in the back of the train. Investigators say they will be looking at whether that played a role in the derailment.

Now, they'll want to look maintenance records of the rails, as well as of the cars. Investigators have had the chance, they say, to start documenting the condition of the cars and rails. But, of course, night fell. We saw there behind Alexandra. So, they will continue their work tomorrow. But we should know that typically the NTSB issues a preliminary report about 10 days following the event. And that just contains some basic factual information. But usually, it takes about a year for the board to rule what the probable cause of the incident is.

FLORES: Now, you mentioned maintenance records. But what about the safety record?

MARSH: Yes. Well, we do know there were incidents in this area as well as incidents in the past involving Metro North. We know a freight train derailed in July in the same vicinity as this incident that we are seeing today. So, investigators, they did say that they are looking to see if there are any similarities there.

Also, in May, there were two Metro North trains going in separate directions that collided in Bridgeport, Connecticut. That injured 70 people, that incident.

And in the same month, again, having to do with Metro North, a track foreman was struck and killed by Metro North passenger train in West Haven, Connecticut.

So, earlier today, we heard Chairman Hersman with the NTSB saying that she was concerned about the number of incidents happening involving Metro North. So they're going to be looking at all of these past incidents. But she asked about the track record, safety record.

We were able to pull up that information on the government Web site and we found over the last two years, in 2011, there were five derailments. Last year, there were three. And for this year, they listed three derailments, unclear if today's incident is included in that number -- Rosa.

FLORES: All right. Rene Marsh live for us in Washington -- thank you so much.

Still ahead here on CNN, he became a star in a series of films about street racing. What we're learning about the car crash that killed one of the main faces of "The Fast and the Furious" franchise. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FLORES: Actor Paul Walker, star of "The Fast and the Furious" film series, has died in a fiery car crash in southern California.

CNN has obtained footage of the inferno taken by witnesses just moments after the crash.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

FLORES: When deputies arrived at the scene they found a vehicle fully engulfed in flames and Walker and the driver, dead inside.

Now, CNN's Paul Vercammen joins me live from Los Angeles.

And, Paul, how are friends and fans reacting to his death?

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I will show you in just a second in there. Just a heart-breaking scene at the crash site today. Tyrese Gibson, one of Paul Walker's co-stars, went to the crash site and paid his respects.

On social media, Tyrese said, "God, I pray that you send clarity over this cause because I just don't understand. My heart hurts. It's broken. No one can convince me that this is real. Prayer warriors, please prayer real hard, for his only child, his daughter, and his family." Now, the car involved in this crash, Porsche Carrera 2005 GT. It's believed it was owned by Walker's close associate, his name Roger Rodas. This was from Always Evolving High Performance, a car shop nearby. The company's Web site today thanking everyone for condolences and for the loss of loved ones.

Walker absolutely loved cars. He owned about 20 to 30 of them at a time. He used to fix them up. He said this was cathartic for him.

And back when in 2001, I was able to ask Walker what it was like to be a car guy being put into the movie "The Fast and The Furious", which is all about cars.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, JUNE 2001)

PAUL WALKER, ACTOR: I really don't see how I could have more fun or making a movie could be more of a thrill that it was making this one. I mean, even out of the gate, from the very beginning, before we even started principal photography, they sent us to a race car driving school.

And it was -- it was a joke. I remember getting the phone call. It was like, hey, Paul, we realize we're not filming yet, but would you be comfortable with going to Las Vegas for a couple of days to go race car driving school? I was going like, what, are you kidding, you know? This is a joke right? It was just -- it was just unreal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERCAMMEN: Paul Walker, right before the release of "The Fast and the Furious", his other passion, marine biology, avid surfer, just loved the ocean, and said if he could have been a marine biologist, he probably would have preferred that over acting, Rosa.

FLORES: Paul, thank you so much. His other passion, giving back. We know that he was at a charity that night as well. Thank you so much.

The White House says the new and improved Healthcare.gov Web site is OK after a major overhaul. So, does that bring peace and harmony to Washington? Doubt it? Well, we are discussing this, after the break.

But first, as we enter the season of giving, we here at CNN are preparing for our very own holiday tradition, "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute", a celebration of top 10 heroes of the year and their extraordinary work helping others. It airs tonight at 8:00 Eastern.

Entertainment correspondent Nischelle Turner gives us a little sneak preview of the star-studded gala.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's that time of year again when giving back to others is in the air. Hosted by CNN's Anderson Cooper, this year's annual heroes event is packed with emotion.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you so much.

TURNER: And unforgettable moments.

A night when Hollywood's brightest stars come together.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It shines a light on people that don't do it for the light.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the people to get excited about. It kind of makes your jaw drop.

TURNER: To shine the spotlight on 10 remarkable people changing the world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is like the Academy Awards for good people.

TURNER: Like the great grandmother who used her life savings to turn a bus into a classroom.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get on the bus, everybody. CNN hero, Estella Pyfrom.

TURNER: And the woman who started a drill team to keep kids off the streets.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Fasten up for the pride of Camden, New Jersey.

TURNER: Turning the tables on a traditional awards show.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not the only hero in this room. And none of us is heroes stand alone.

TURNER: CNN heroes puts these everyday people center stage.

It's a star-studded event with a few surprises.

And the heroic ending that you don't want to miss.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: 2013 CNN hero of the year --

TURNER: A night to gather together to celebrate the human spirit.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FLORES: The event also includes a CNN Heroes first. Don't miss the incredible act of generosity from a CNN hero of the year, that brought the audience to its feet. "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute", airs at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FLORES: Welcome back.

The government says Healthcare.gov is working smoothly for what it calls the vast majority of users. But it came at a political price.

Let's get some insight from Ben Ferguson. He's a CNN political commentator. And L.Z. Granderson, also a CNN commentator as well.

OK. So, the Obamacare reboot was a huge topic on the Sunday morning shows. So I want you to take a listen to comments from a former Obama adviser and a current Republican congressman.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

L.Z. GRANDERSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: We live in a very social world right now. People will tell their siblings, or they'll talk to their brothers or sisters and friends and say, I went on, who's pretty easy, I got health care, I'm happy with the plan.

So, this is going to be something that person to person is going to get fixed or not. And I think what you're beginning to see, the interest is spiking because the interest is out there.

REP. TOM COLE (R), OKLAHOMA: There's going to be some winners. There's no question about that. But there's going to be millions of losers, too. People are going to find out their rates are going up. People that have insurance they like are going to be losing it. That's one of the reasons for the postponement of the business mandate.

You know, the individual market is pretty tiny compared to what she had to come. And I think as that unfolds, this thing is going to be an unmitigated political disaster for the president.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

FLORES: So, L.Z., let's start with you. Let's say the reboot works. Has all the damage already been done or can the improved technology make up for that disastrous roll out that we all watched?

LZ GRANDERSON, CNN COMMENTATOR: Well, it would help Americans forgive but we will never forget. Republicans certainly won't allow Americans to forget as we head into 2014 midterm elections.

But let's get one thing clear. It's not -- this is going to help some Americans. We're talking tens of millions of Americans that needed health care, not just for themselves or for their family members, but for the American economy.

This rise in health care cost drastically hurt the American economy. We haven't spent enough time talking about that impact of the American Care Act to help address that need, as well as the individual insurance.

BEN FERGUSON, CNN COMMENTATOR: I agree with you on one thing.

FLORES: Yes.

FERGUSON: The rising costs are killing people, and for some of them, literally. The problem is, Obamacare, and the Affordable Care Act has done just that. We have seen people that their premiums skyrocketed under Obamacare. So, yes, they can get the Web site working. Yet this morning on new day, we saw the Web site was not working. There was an error page yet again when even with CNN here tried to get to work this morning on "NEW DAY" and they couldn't get it to finish all the way up. So, that's your biggest issues that.

But then you go back to the second part and that is, the Affordable Care Act is showing people crisis that they don't like, that they thought were going to be cheaper. And, in fact, they are not cheaper and that's where the president I think is going to have a really big problem in the midterms as he promised Affordable Care and it's not affordable for a lot of Americans who are seeing sticker shock when they go online.

FLORES: So, let's talk about the trust issue, because the Latest CNN/ORC poll revealed that a majority of Americans now say President Obama is not trustworthy, 46 percent say that he can be trusted.

So, obviously, it is a problem when a majority of the Americans believe their president can't be trusted. And most people say it's a direct result of his broken pledge -- the pledge we all heard that people who like their doctor or their insurance plan can keep them.

Now, here is how conservative columnist Peggy Noonan put it this morning on ABC. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PEGGY NOONAN, WALL STREET JOURNAL COLUMNIST: The American people look at the president and they think, he's no dummy, he is a really smart guy. And because he is a smart guy, they think -- well, that means he deliberately misled us to get his program through.

People don't like that. That is another reputation changer, and I think that's problematic for the president going forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: So, L.Z., is Peggy Noonan right?

GRANDERSON: You know, Peggy Noonan has made a living scrubbing clean President Reagan's administration and all the atrocities that it's committed. So, with that being said, I don't think that history --

FERGUSON: What does that have to do with this?

GRANDERSON: Well, what I'm saying is that she is pretending as if once an era has happened, it's forever going to trail a president. And that just isn't true. She is living proof of that with scrubbing clean President Reagan's reputation.

Now with President Obama, it is true. He should have been more forthright with how the Affordable Care was going to impact the country. But with that being said, all Americans know politicians lie. The question is, which lies can you live with? And, time and time again, Americans have said we can deal with the lies that President Obama tells us because we believe in his heart, he has the best interest for the American people. Every president is going it lie to you. Every politician is going to lie to you. The question is, which lies can you live with?

FERGUSON: L.Z., I think that's really sad that we're sitting here having this debate. And you're -- at least you are willing to admit that the president lied to the American people. The problem is he lied to the American people --

GRANDERSON: Every president does.

FERGUSON: Let me finish, let me finish.

He lied to the American people to sell them his signature plan and he lied to them about saying it was personal. This is not about "read my lips, no new taxes." This is "You can keep your doctor if you like your doctor. You can keep your plan if you like your plan." When it comes to health care, you're the ones that sold the American people on this issue of it is important, it is a trust issue, this is something that's incredibly important to seniors and we're not going to mess with the system if you like it.

GRANDERSON: Forty million people.

FERGUSON: And the president lied to people. And he is smart enough and the people know he's smart enough and they know he lied to them and I think this is one of those unforgivable lies when you tell someone they can keep their doctor and you knew you were lying to them and now they can't keep their doctor.

FLORES: Ben and L.Z., I think one thing --

GRANDERSON: I don't know how much --

FLORES: -- is definitely certain, that is the debate will continue. Thank you so much for spending time with us today. And I am sure you both will be back.

Dozens of train passengers were still hospitalized after seven cars skidded off the track this morning in New York City. A live report from one of the hospitals where the injured were taken. That's next after the short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FLORES: Now to the latest on that deadly trail derailment today in the Bronx.

Now here's what we know. Four people killed. Dozens injured. Three of the dead were thrown from the train cars. Investigators are trying to figure out why the train skidded off the tracks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) EARL WEENER, NTSB: There will be a track team which will look at the condition of the tracks, leading to the point of derailment, trying to identify any anomalies. There will be a signals -- there'll be a signals team looking at the condition of the signalling system and hopefully looking for any possible data that might have been recorded by the signalling system. A human performance team will be looking at the performance of the train crew.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: The train was headed to Grand Central station, about 150 passengers were on board. Many returning from a holiday weekend. At least 67 people were rushed to the hospital.

Nic Robertson is live in a hospital in the Bronx.

And, Nic, we're hearing that a 14-year-old was released a short time ago. But the teen's father is still being treated.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Rosa. There were 12 casualties brought here. Two of them in critical condition. The young boy was treated for cuts, abrasions and bruises. He got off relatively lightly but he was able to -- the hospital was able to discharge him. But his father has more serious injuries. He is one of 10 people being kept in overnight and what we're being told by the doctors is that some of these injuries are very serious.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. DAVID LISTMAN, ST. BARNABAS HOSPITAL: Among the more serious injuries, there's one gentleman with a spinal cord injury that could be quite, quite serious. The other more senior injuries are severe fractures and we call open fractures. Fractures where the skin -- either the bone comes through the skin or the skin above the fracture, outside the fracture is also broken through also.

Those are much more serious. The rates of infection and serious complications are higher with those sorts of injuries. So there are two patients. One with an elbow -- area open fracture and one with an open fracture of the leg right around the knee area. Those patients both will likely require surgery.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: Well, doctors have also been describing some lighter moments, some moments of real warmth for them. They saw one man come in with his partner. She was quite badly injured. He stood by her bedside, the doctors say, and he refused to be treated until she had been treated, until she was getting the care that she needed.

And he described to the doctors that it got on the train, that he was on his way to see the Jets play, and then the next thing he remembers was just flying through the air. Everything coming crashing down. So for the doctors, that was one of the -- one of the sort of more heart- warming moments on what's been a very, very tough day for them here -- Rosa. FLORES: All right. Nic Robertson, live for us. Thank you so much.

In Seattle a stolen ferry didn't get far before harbor police were able to catch it. The man who allegedly took it was arrested. Ferry employees said they were checking on the boat early this morning when they saw it was pulling away from the dock. No one else was on board during the incident.

Their stories begin tragically. Orthopedic surgeon Mary Neal was trapped under water for more than 15 minutes. Anita Moorjani was living her final moments with stage 4 lymphoma. Ben Breedlove's heart stopped beating for a long minute at a time.

And "TO HEAVEN AND BACK" coming up at the top of the hour, CNN's Randi Kaye talks with people who were on the brink of death when they say they left this world for another. Their stories, their words, their answers to the questions we'd all like to ask.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARY NEAL, SAID SHE EXPERIENCED HEAVEN: I could see the sand 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 that all this was happening?

NEAL: 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 those incredible pathway. And simultaneously look back at the river.

When I saw my body, I would say that was the first time that 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.

NEAL: Yes.

KAYE: Were you celebrating?

NEAL: Yes.

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

NEAL: 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?

NEAL: 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 that I felt for them in comparison to God's love that was absolutely flowing through everything was just 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 that I had to go back to my body.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FLORES: And that was Randi Kaye reporting. See and hear more stories about the moments between life and death at the top of the hour when CNN presents "TO HEAVEN AND BACK", an Anderson Cooper special report. Again, that's coming up at the top of the hour, 7:00 Eastern.

You might call them remarkable robots. Flying robots that will make your head spin. Now these aren't anything like what your kids have. We'll fill you in, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FLORES: Retailers who opened for Thanksgiving have plenty to be thankful for. Preliminary numbers for holiday shopping are ever up. More than 2 percent from a year ago. The research firm, Shopper Track, reports sales on those Thanksgiving and Black Friday, totaled some $12.3 billion. Only the northeast did not see strong shopping numbers likely due to the wintery weather.

Holiday sales should pick up even more tomorrow for cyber Monday. That's when retailers offered discounts, free shipping and other savings to entice shoppers to buy holiday gifts online. And according to IBM, holiday online sales are already up almost 20 percent from last year.

While most online purchases are done by computer, up to 25 percent are now made using smart phones and tablets.

Now to the box office, those box office figures are in for the Thanksgiving holiday. Hear this, "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" held on to the number one top spot. Over the past 10 days, it's raked in nearly $300 million, making it the third highest grossing film of the year.

The Disney film "Frozen" did a respectable $93 million for its Thanksgiving debut in the number two spot. Followed by "Thor: The Dark World," "The Best Man Holiday, and "Home Front" rounding out the top number five.

Now if you thought tiny unmanned vehicles buzzing through the sky will only for sci-fi movies? Well, think again.

Mike Galanos has the week's "Technovations" and don't be surprised if this piece leaves your head spinning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE GALANOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They navigate through windows, fly in formation and take off and land with ease. And these tiny unmanned aerial vehicles called Quad Rotors are doing it on their own. MATTHEW TURPIN, PHD STUDENT, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: This is a robot that's completely autonomous. And by that, I mean there's no remote control in the background.

GALANOS: Most of the test flights are done here at the University of Pennsylvania's grass lab, decked out with state-of-the-art motion capture system. And students give the Quad Rotor simple commands via computer. But the vehicles decide how they will go from point A to point B on their own.

TURPIN: We have the beacon system or the red lights, which allow us to figure out where the robot is. Then we're able to send the commands about what we'd like it to do and group behaviors that you'll see.

GALANOS: Other Quad Rotors at the grass lab were put together to carry cargo, build structures and have been equipped with cameras and lasers to create 3-D images inside buildings.

With better batteries and a bigger payload capacity, they could one day be used in the real world for surveillance and search and rescue.

TURPIN: We can send these in ahead of the people. And detect for dangerous situations. And this is potentially life-saving for first responders.

GALANOS: For now, most research on these remarkable robots is still done in the lab. But you could say their potential is sky high.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FLORES: Are you ready for some football? Let's talk sports with Terence Moore. Now he's a sports contributor to CNN.com and a columnist for MLB.com.

Now, Terence, we have got to start with a college football game, probably of the year, so far. Auburn's unbelievable upset of number one Alabama Crimson Tide. The Auburn radio team went bonkers when this happened. So here is what happened. Take a look at your screen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fifty-six-yarder. It's got -- no, does not have delay. And Chris Davis takes it in the back of the end zone. He'll run it after the 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55 -- there goes Davis.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my god.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Davis is going to run it all the way back. Auburn is going to win the football game. Auburn is going to win the football game. He ran the field goal back. He ran it back 109 yards. They're not going to keep them off the field tonight. Holy cow. Oh, my god. Oh, my god, Auburn wins. Auburn has won the Iron Bowl. (END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: Wow. Did you see those people's jaws? They were literally holding their jaws, Terence.

TERENCE MOORE, CNN.COM SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR: Unbelievable.

FLORES: Have you ever seen anything like this?

MOORE: Well, you know, I tell you what, Rosa. When you think you've seen it all in sports, you haven't. Because that happens.

(LAUGHTER)

And, you know, here's the other thing. The game right before that, they played Georgia. And at the end of the game, it was a 73-yard touchdown that won it for Auburn when it was tipped into the hands of an Auburn receiver. So you thought that would have been a once-in-a- lifetime play. And then that happened yesterday.

And I tell you what, I've been thinking about this. Auburn's nickname. Tigers. Tigers are nothing but big cats. They say cats have nine lives. So they've had two near-death experiences. So they've got seven left. I would not want to play Auburn in the next seven games.

FLORES: Oh, my gosh. I can think of other Tigers that are probably happy that Bama lost. Not saying LSU, right?

(LAUGHTER)

MOORE: That's exactly right.

FLORES: No. So should Alabama even have tried this field goal gone so wrong? Because Nick Sabian is the highest paid coach in college football, as you know.

MOORE: Yes.

FLORES: Now he won four national titles. Three at 'Bama, we should add. Will he be criticized for making this decision?

MOORE: No, he should -- he should be crucified. And at some corners, he is being crucified by some reporters.

I'll tell you what, there was one second left on the clock. The game is tied. You take the game into overtime. You take your chances there. Alabama is this powerful team. So what his reasoning was, he said that his field goal kicker has kicked 60 yarders in practice, and had the wind to his back yesterday.

But I'll tell you what, when you play the team of destiny and you've already missed or botched four field goals earlier in the game, you don't take that chance, I'm sorry.

FLORES: Let's talk national title. Does this change the landscape at all?

MOORE: It's huge. And listen, the loss for Alabama yesterday that was an early Christmas present for anybody who hates the SEC. And there's a lot of people that hate the SEC.

(LAUGHTER)

Because they won a national championship, Rosa, seven straight years. They're not going to do it this year. Now Auburn's got one loss. But if Auburn has two teams ahead of them that are undefeated. Florida State from the ACC, or the has been for the big 10. So unless those two teams choke, they likely will be in the national championship game which means no SEC title, no SEC national championship this year.

FLORES: Yes. Well --

MOORE: And by the way, Rosa, you know, you're doing a great job. But where is Don Lemon?

(LAUGHTER)

FLORES: That's the big question of the night.

MOORE: I just want to know.

FLORES: I know.

(LAUGHTER)

You know, my good friend, take a look at your screen. He has a new show, Terence. He's moving up in the world. It's called "THE 11TH HOUR." It starts tomorrow night 11: 00 Eastern. It's going to be Monday through Thursday. You don't want to miss it. But he's -- because he's going to be talking about the topics that people are talking about online. You know, everywhere.

MOORE: Yes.

FLORES: I'm sure he'll be tweeting. And hopefully he's watching tonight. But hopefully he'll be able to come back to the show and talk to us so he can give us a little insight about the show. Don't you think that would be a good idea?

MOORE: Very good. I'm sending him a high-five on television here.

(LAUGHTER)

FLORES: That's right.

MOORE: I want to make him feel it.

(LAUGHTER)

FLORES: Oh, I know it. I bet he watched the Alabama game, don't you think?

MOORE: Well, I mean, there's no question about it. But you know, he is an LSU guy. So he was pulling for Alabama.

FLORES: That's right.

MOORE: He probably was pulling for Alabama and for Auburn to lose. You know, because he loves LSU. Not that LSU is in the national championship picture but just because.

FLORES: I know. I know that some LSU fans have told me that LSU Tigers go for two teams.

MOORE: Right.

FLORES: LSU Tigers and anyone who's playing against 'Bama. There you go.

MOORE: But they don't seem to have the same nine lives that Auburn has.

(LAUGHTER)

FLORES: I know. Different story.

Terence Moore, thank you so much. We appreciate it.

And coming up next, we have a lot more stories for you. We'll be back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FLORES: Investigators are trying to figure out why a train skidded off the tracks this morning killing four people in New York City. The train operator reportedly slammed on the brakes but the train just did not slow down.

The train was headed to Grand Central Station filled with about 150 people. One train car landed just feet from the Harlem River in the Bronx.

Alexandra field joins us live now.

And, Alexandra, you've been out there all day long. It's dark out now. I know investigators were gathering evidence. What's the latest?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What we know right now that this is going to be a lengthy process, Rosa. All day people -- have been asking why and how could something like this happen. How could seven passenger rail cars end up derailed on this trip from Poughkeepsie into Grand Central.

The federal investigators have arrived and they are working into the night to try to begin to answer those questions. They have assembled teams that will look into different factors that could have been factors in the crash. They will look at the rails, they'll look at the signals, they'll look at human performance. Separate teams will work now to compile their evidence and their data. We know that the train's data recorders have also been collected and that data will be analyzed. Now while this train is still derailed on the track here, obviously, we're looking at rerouting other trains and making other plans for passengers. Amtrak has restored its service between New York City and Albany but the commute is going to be a problem in the morning.

Sixteen million people ride this Metro North line here along the Hudson every year. So if you ride on this line, you need to make another plan for tomorrow morning. Metro North says it will be providing office -- Rosa.

FLORES: Alexandra Field, live in the Bronx for us. Thank you so much.

The memorial is growing as friends and fans of actor Paul Walker pay their respects. The star of the "Fast & Furious" film series died in a fiery car crash in Southern California Friday. A very emotional Tyrese Gibson, his co-star in the film, visited the crash site a short time ago.

When deputies arrived at the scene yesterday they found the vehicle fully engulfed in flames and Walker and the driver dead inside. Police say speed was a factor. CNN has obtained footage of the inferno taken by witnesses just moments after the crash.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The car (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did the guy in there --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He died. Whoa.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: The 40-year-old Hollywood star had been filming the latest installment of the movie series that made him a star. "Fast & Furious 7." Walker is survived by his 15-year-old daughter, Meadow.

I'm Rosa Flores in New York. "CNN HEROES: AN ALL-STAR TRIBUTE" begins one -- begins one hour from now. But first, CNN presents "TO HEAVEN AND BACK" and that is now.

ANDERSON COOPER, HOST: Their stories begin tragically. Orthopedic surgeon Mary Neal was trapped under water for more than 15 minutes. Anita Moorjani was living her final moments with stage 3 lymphoma. And Ben Breedlove's heart stopped beating for long minutes at a time.

On the brink of death, Mary, Anita and Ben say they went to heaven and then came back. Their stories raised questions about faith and fear. Is heaven real? What does it feel like to die?

Tonight CNN's Randi Kaye talks with three people who say they have left this world for another. We leave it to them to tell their stories, their words, their descriptions, their answers to questions we'd all like to ask.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARY NEAL, SAID SHE WENT TO HEAVEN: My name is Mary Neal. And on January 14th, 1999 I died while kayaking on a South American river.