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Snow & Ice Threaten Holiday Travel; Four U.S. Service Members Injured in South Sudan; Kerry Sending Envoy to South Sudan; ISS Emergency Spacewalk Under Way; 40 Million Credit and Debit Cards Breached; Dennis Rodman's Back in North Korea; FBI Seizing School's Videos Where Teen Died; Packer Fans Shovel Snow At Lambeau Field; Lindsey Vonn Aggravates Injured Knee; Inspire BBQ Teaches Life Lessons; Obamas On Vacation In Hawaii For 16 Days; E-Cigarettes: Lifesaver Or New Danger?; CNN Documentary Spawns SeaWorld Boycott
Aired December 21, 2013 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: We are indeed and thank you so much for giving us the prelude all morning long -- Pamela and Victor. Good to see you guys. Happy holidays by the way.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you. Same to you.
BROWN: Thank you. You (inaudible) on your red.
WHITFIELD: I know, you know I was feeling a little Santa-like this morning.
BROWN: I love it.
WHITFIELD: I had a black belt on, and I was like, I'm going way too far.
BLACKWELL: Yes, yes, that black belt might have been too much.
WHITFIELD: So now I'm back to Santa's helper.
BROWN: The red heels are a wonderful touch I might add.
WHITFIELD: Well thank you. You wear that red well.
BLACKWELL: Thanks Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much.
All right the NEWSROOM begins right now.
Roads now ice rinks -- a dangerous winter storm hits the U.S. at the rush of holiday travel, again. Ice, snow, even tornadoes threatening tens of millions of people; the severe weather threat and its impact on your travel plans coming up.
And right now, 220 miles from earth, NASA astronauts are taking a walk in space. They're trying to make a critical repair to the International Space Station. Hear is why their attempts are so important to the fate of the ISS. And U.S. troops come under fire while trying to evacuate Americans from the South Sudan. Several are wounded. We have details of the harrowing mission in a live report from the Pentagon.
We begin with a nightmare scenario that's playing out for more than 94 million Americans who are on the move for the holidays. A dangerous storm is barreling across the U.S. right now threatening multiple states with snow ice and yes even tornadoes.
In the south, the tornado risk became a reality last night. A twister touched down in Mississippi, leveling trees, but so far, no reports of injuries. And in the Midwest, snow and ice are creating treacherous conditions on the road, and forcing airlines to cancel and even delay some of the flights.
Our Nick Valencia is in the icy city of Kansas City right now, Missouri. Good to see you now wearing a hat, Nick, because I was really shivering for you. It's cold where you are.
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh it's gotten progressively colder, too, Fred. It feels like about 12 degrees right now. But the worst is yet to come -- freezing rain and snow set to hit much of the country's midsection.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VALENCIA: From cars skidding on frozen roads and some flipping over, to flight delays at the nation's airports and expected power outages, it's beginning to look a lot like a holiday travel nightmare.
NANCY WHITE, AAA: It could indeed actually be the perfect storm with an increase in travelers, an increase in the amount of distance travelers are going.
VALENCIA: Here's a wild forecast ice storm warnings in Oklahoma; severe thunderstorms and possible tornadoes across the south; heavy snow and flooding in the nation's midsection. Who's going to be impacted? More than 94 million Americans traveling this week. Already dangerous driving conditions this morning in Kansas and Iowa.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just try to stop, stop it -- I mean the safest, but my car just went out like this --
VALENCIA: And if you're flying, watch out for possible flight cancellations in the Midwest and up to two-hour delays in Kansas City, Chicago and Dallas, with more delays expected up the East Coast on Sunday. Travel experts say it's best to check ahead before leaving home.
WHITE: We really recommend that travelers be smart, they plan ahead, they take advantage of smartphone technology, like being up to date on travel conditions and road conditions.
VALENCIA: And while the weather can be a pain for millions around the nation for some football fans in Green Bay, Wisconsin, it's provided a $10-an-hour job to sweep Lambeau Field for Sunday's game. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well you get the chance to get out and meet people. And you get some good exercise and enjoy the cold.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VALENCIA: And we just check in with the airlines here. No cancellations or delays to report right now. But if you are traveling on the road or by air, smart of you to check those road conditions. And of course, check in with your airlines -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: Absolutely, great advice. Thank you very much Nick. We'll check back with you later in the afternoon. Hopefully, things look up and get a little bit better.
Now let's go to the CNN Weather Center and find out from Jennifer Gray just how things might be looking in the coming days. Why is this happening, one more time --
JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I know, here we go again.
WHITFIELD: You know right before a huge holiday travel season. Yes.
GRAY: Yes, here we go again, again on the weekend.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
GRAY: You know we are going to see the ice start to taper off in Oklahoma City and that's going to continue to be the trend over the next little while. We actually have a picture from Oklahoma City. We have -- we've had reports of about a quarter inch of ice. We've got power outages over areas like Tulsa, in Northern Oklahoma and so conditions have been pretty bad throughout much of the morning.
But it is going to start to improve in the coming hours. But what is going to become more unsettled with the weather in the south and that's where we're seeing a tornado watch that has just been issued until 6:00 p.m. You can already see some lightning strikes starting to fire up in some of these thunderstorms. This includes Shreveport, Lake Charles, Houston, Beaumont, southeast Texas, and then this is going to spread to the east as we go into the overnight hours tonight into tomorrow.
We do have a moderate risk of severe weather for an area that is included in that tornado watch, including Shreveport, places like Jackson, just to the east of Little Rock, Memphis, Nashville, you're included in this, as well, and then, this orange, the wider picture is showing a slight risk of severe weather. So we could see isolated tornadoes, we could see damaging winds as we go through the overnight hours tonight into tomorrow.
So taking this storm hour by hour, this is 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time. You can see that line of showers and storms stretching from Memphis, all the way through northeast Louisiana. It does kind of get itself together just before it reaches Atlanta, say, and portions of Alabama and northwest Georgia. We think that during the overnight hours tonight into the early hours of tomorrow, we could see some pretty nasty storms in those areas and then it just kind of sets up shop as it gets on the East Coast.
So this is mainly a rain event. We do have some ice and snow, but for the majority of folks, the big story is going to be the rain and the possible severe weather and flooding.
WHITFIELD: All right. Bottom line, roads are slick. So people be careful.
GRAY: Exactly.
WHITFIELD: And you know, just take it easy out there. Thank you so much, Jennifer. Ok.
GRAY: Yes thank you Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right now to a developing story out of Africa. A U.S. aircraft in South Sudan came under heavy gunfire this morning during a mission to evacuate American civilians. Four service members are injured. The country has been in turmoil since the President accused the former vice president of attempting a coup last week. And a lot of people have been killed in those clashes since.
Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr is joining me now from the Pentagon -- from Washington, rather, with more on this. So what can you tell us about how these events unfolded?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, new information in just a few moments ago, it turns out military officials are telling us three U.S. military aircraft came under fire when they attempted to make this landing in South Sudan. They were all V-22 aircraft. They were going into a place called Bor to try and evacuate Americans working for the United Nations.
This is the very heart of the violence that is wracking South Sudan right now. Thousands of civilians are trying to escape, U.S. citizens trying to get out. The military was going in to get them out. When the aircraft approached the landing strip they came under small arms fire. All three U.S. military aircraft, all three of them, took damage from the gunfire, from those incoming rounds. Four personnel were hurt.
What we are also told is all three aircraft made it out of there. They got out of there very fast, obviously, made it to nearby Uganda, landed and the wounded were then taken on to Nairobi, Kenya, where at this hour, they are in stable condition and getting medical treatment.
But this raises a lot of questions about the continued safety of this mission, obviously.
WHITFIELD: All right. Barbara Starr, keep us posted on any new developments. Thanks so much.
Meantime, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is sending a special envoy to South Sudan. Let's bring our Nima Elbagir from Khartoum, Sudan. So Nima give us context here. What is exactly causing the violence, and is this related to this so-called attempted coup? NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's definitely a sense that some (inaudible) others have had access to wealth and resources in South Sudan and that's what's -- what's underpinning all of this. It's a nation that's very oil wealthy but very, very poor by any other measure.
And you know, it's interesting, speaking about Secretary of State John Kerry there sending a special envoy. The U.S. has always had a very, very close relationship with South Sudan. It was a big part of the south gaining independence from the north. And when we went to -- when we went to South Sudan, fully independent celebration, we found Susan Rice who is at that point the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., we also had Secretary of State and Defense, former Secretary of State and Defense, Colin Powell was there. It was a sense of the two nations very, very close.
And you can see that disappointment now playing out in U.S. citizens that are caught in such a difficult situation. There are some 30-odd U.S. citizens that are going to be waiting tonight to hear if this evac is still possible.
Just to give you a sense of what the Bor is like Fredricka, it's up in the north of South Sudan, it has very limited infrastructure, given how violent the situation there is. It was always going to be a very difficult decision to go in aerially, because it makes you very vulnerable from any kind of access on the ground, any of the rebels present around that you know incredible makeshift airfield.
But there were very few other options. One U.N. compound has already been overrun. There are a lot of humanitarian workers in South Sudan that tonight are under threat. And the U.S. has said that they're going to continue to reassess any and all options to get in and get those people out -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Nima, thanks so much. A risky mission, not just for those humanitarian aid workers but for those who are trying to make their way in, in which to extract them from that part of the country. Thanks so much Nima. We'll check back with you.
All right in the meantime, four men have been arrested in connection with a deadly carjacking here in the States at a New Jersey mall. The prosecutor announced this morning the four are facing charges of murder. Investigators say it appears they were targeting a certain type of car, not necessarily a specific person. Officials say the victim, Doug Friedland had just opened the car door for his wife last Sunday when he was confronted. He was shot in the head and killed.
And right now, NASA astronauts are conducting the first of three emergency space walks to repair the International Space Station. They've been out there for a few hours already. Two astronauts were scheduled to spend about six and a half hours outside the station today, but that has been extended. They're working to fix a critical cooling system. NASA is also taking special precautions today after an Italian astronaut almost drowned on a spacewalk when his helmet filled with water a while back.
John Zarrella is following the space walk for us right now. So John what kind of progress is being made? This is painstaking, isn't it?
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right it's unbelievable progress, though. First of all, no issues with the flooding of the helmet like Luca Parmitano had back in July. So that's good news. They did a helmet check. But you can see spectacular pictures right now from the space station.
And the end of the shuttle's robotic arm there, right almost center of the picture, you can see astronaut Rick Mastracchio and he is literally holding and pulling out very slowly, that is the cooling pump. It weighs about -- if it were on earth, it's weightless up there -- 780 pounds. He's going to pull that out, and they are going to relocate it to a storage platform.
Now, what's so -- what's great about this is they are so far ahead of the timeline, getting the work done, that what you're seeing them do now -- and that's the helmet cam video right there from -- that is the other astronaut, Mike Hopkins' helmet cam -- but they're so far ahead, Fredricka, that they're doing Monday's work today. So it looks like now, if they can keep up this pace, NASA is saying there may not be the need for a Christmas day spacewalk at all. They might be able to wrap everything up with the Monday spacewalk, which obviously would probably be about seven, seven and a half hours, as well as this one.
But that's -- it's fascinating. It's great news, and some spectacular pictures from space and they may be able to get all this done in two, not three space walks -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: And so John, while this is fairly routine, meaning these astronauts do train for this, you know, to be able to do these space walks, whether it be repairs or just readjusting of the ISS, why is it that every time that it happens it is that much more fascinating, as if it's happening for the first time?
ZARRELLA: Yes, I know, and they've done this before. In fact, in 2010, they had to replace this very pump, so the pump that they're pulling out now is a replacement for one that failed back in 2010. So they've had a lot of practice with this. So they know how to do it, and that's why they have been so fortunate to hit it bang, bang, bang, getting it all gone, replacement pump will be in on Monday and again, they may wrap this thing all up by Monday.
WHITFIELD: So efficient. All right. John Zarrella.
ZARRELLA: Yes.
WHITFIELD: As are you, thank you so much for joining us. I appreciate it.
ZARRELLA: Sure.
WHITFIELD: All right. Coming up in the NEWSROOM, he is not with the State Department; he doesn't work for the White House, but former NBA star Dennis Rodman is back in North Korea. Can his basketball diplomacy free a detained American? Plus, Target is saying sorry to its customers this weekend. I'll tell you how the company is apologizing for a massive security breach involving credit and debit cards.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Target says it's offering customers a 10 percent discount on all of its stores all weekend long. The offer comes a day after the company confirmed 40 million customers had their credit and debit card information stolen. There are reports that some of the stolen cards are already for sale on black markets around the world. Target says that no personal information was impacted, and the security breach has been fixed. The breach is being called the second largest in U.S. history.
So if no personal information was stolen, then what information can be taken in this kind of breach? Here's Laurie Segall.
LAURIE SEGALL, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fredricka. Well, we've all heard about the Target hack at this point. 40 million customers affected -- pretty widespread. Now, we don't know exactly how it happened, but security researchers are speculating that hackers likely hacked the software behind those card readers at the register. Now, Target says the issue's been resolved, but we've actually got another alarming hack. It shows major retailers are still at risk.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIKE PARK, TRUSTWAVE: I'm connected to this phone wirelessly right now so, in real-time, I'm stealing credit card data. I just have to log in. I can make a selection here. And then I can do a credit card swipe. I now have all of your credit card data right in here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These stockings being grinched are the first things to go.
SEGALL (voice-over): When Grinch-like hackers literally steal Christmas. Now, these guys aren't Grinches, they're actually security researchers with a company called Trustwave. Their job is to find flaws in technology to protect users or, in this case, shoppers.
PARK: And then, click pay. Nothing seems untoward. You're paid. You get your receipt. You move on.
SEGALL: Bypass the cash register and swipe your card on the Smartphone.
(on camera): This is just an iPhone, right?
PARK: This is just an iPod or an iPhone. It also will work with an iPad. Basically, you've gone into a big box retailer of some sort. You've made a purchase. The employee is here to help you now. And you hand them your card. They run the card through.
SEGALL(voice-over): And that's where shoppers are at risk. PARK: Once the credit card transactions are run through, we're able to steal them off -- steal the credit card transactions before they're encrypted if they're not encrypting in the hardware.
SEGALL: The problem isn't in the card swiper attached to the phone, it's in the software retailers use to process your payments. In some cases, that software doesn't hide or encrypt your personal information which makes it easy bait for hackers. They can manipulate the device in a way that allows them to track activity, like credit card numbers swiped or typed in.
CHARLES HENDERSON, TRUSTWAVE: As technology advances -- as it advances at a rapid pace, security is often slow to catch up.
SEGALL: Trustwave recommends retailers to stress test their security. And encourages what they call ethical hacking, essentially breaking a system before it's deployed to find the weak points. And while it's up to retailers and banks to ensure you're protected, consumers should always be on the lookout.
HENDERSON: If the cash register attendant, mobile point in sale attendant, is entering your credit card number with their fingers rather than a swipe, there's no way that the credit card is encrypted.
SEGALL: They also recommend customers always keep tabs on their transactions, especially during one of the busiest shopping periods of the year.
(on camera): Using this hack, I mean, how long would it take someone like you to get, you know, hundreds of thousands of people's credit card information?
HENDERSON: Legitimately, you can get credit card information as quickly as the clerk or clerks, if you were to compromise multiple point of sales, can swipe credit cards.
SEGALL: Exactly what it would have looked like if the Grinch went high-tech.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SEGALL: Pretty eye-opening, Fredricka. Security researchers say beware of manually entering your PIN number into the mobile checkouts, and, of course, especially now, can't emphasize this enough, during the holiday season, be vigilant in checking your bank statements for any irregular activity -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All great advice. Thanks so much, Laurie Segall.
He made winning moves on the court as a star NBA player. Now, Dennis Rodman is hanging out with Kim Jong Un, the leader of the world's most repressive regime. What's Rodman's end game in North Korea? That's next in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: Tensions are rising between North and South Korea with a new threat as late as Thursday between the two nations. But that has not stopped former NBA star Dennis Rodman from making a third trip to the north. He calls North Korean leader Kim Jong Un his friend, and says he's on a mission to help develop a basketball program there. But some want Rodman to help free a detained American.
Here's CNN's Anna Coren.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: After years of sitting on the sideline, former NBA star Dennis Rodman was back in the game, seen here in new photos on the court playing and later posing with members of the North Korean national basketball team in Pyongyang. At times the often outrageous 52-year-old smoked a cigar watching the team practice their moves.
DENNIS RODMAN, FORMER NBA PLAYER: Hello. Nice to see you.
COREN: Rodman's tour through the Hermit Kingdom is part of an effort to help repair the North Korean team for an exhibition game, to be played there next month against a dozen former NBA stars from the United States.
The former Chicago Bull arrived in North Korea with a documentary crew in tow. The same day, North Korea sent a threatening message by fax machine to its southern neighbor, telling South Korea it would strike mercilessly without notice if recent protests held in Seoul against the brutal dictatorship continue.
Rodman is the only American ever granted access to North Korea's supreme leader, Kim Jong Un, who he calls, quote, "a close friend". But this trip, he's third, to the isolated regime, couldn't come as a more awkward time. North Korea appears to be going through its most serious political upheaval in decades after Kim executed his uncle and mentor last week. In a statement, the state news agency called his uncle a despicable human scum who was worse than a dog. Analysts believe the very public purge was the result of a power struggle.
JASPER KIM, ASIA PACIFIC GLOBAL RESEARCH GROUP: He has power, and he's willing to use it, and there's no limit upon it. No one should question basically him at the top of the helm. He is to be respected, even if he has to kill for that respect.
COREN: Rodman says he's not concerned about his safety. He's just there to teach basketball. And that he's not planning to discuss the imprisonment of American missionary Kenneth Bae, who was sentenced to 15 years hard labor for allegedly attempting to overthrow the regime.
RODMAN: If it happens he wants to talk about it, great. If it doesn't happen, I just can't bring it up. Because I don't want him to think, you know, I'm over here, you know, trying to be an ambassador and trying to use him as that -- I've been his friend, and all of a sudden I'm going to start talking politics, and it's not going to be that way. COREN: The U.S. government insists Dennis Rodman is not carrying a message for Kim Jong Un on its behalf. The two countries haven't spoken for almost two years as a result of North Korea's desire to develop its nuclear weapons program. But analysts believe both Washington and Seoul will be closely watching Rodman's trip to learn whatever details they can about North Korea's young dictator.
Anna Coren, CNN, Seoul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: So what do you think of his visit to North Korea? Share your thoughts with me on Facebook, FredrickaWhitfieldCNN or tweet me @FWhitfield.
Everybody's getting ready to celebrate the holidays, including President Obama. He's now vacationing in Hawaii. But he's still got plenty of stuff to work on. We'll go live to Honolulu.
But next, reports that a 17-year-old suffocated accidentally at school, raised big suspicions. So CNN pushed for answers, what the school surveillance camera showed and why the FBI is now involved. Next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: New developments in the mysterious death of a teenager whose body was found inside a rolled-up gym mat at a Georgia High School. Kendrick Johnson was found dead in January. Well, this week, the FBI was expected to seize the original hard drives from the school's surveillance system, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation.
Victor Blackwell is joining me now. So Victor, you've been following the story from the very beginning. The school did provide surveillance video to CNN, but were most questions answered?
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Very few questions answered. Actually, it was the video from the sheriff's office, and that gets to the point of why the FBI is getting involved. You know, this was supposed to give the family answers. You know, the Johnsons, the parents of the 17-year-old, they were hoping this would show something. But in the hours, hundreds of hours of video, it did not show Kendrick Johnson going into this mat, reaching for a shoe, and an accident, as the state says, which is supported by state autopsy.
Nor did it show Kendrick Johnson being beaten by someone in and rolled in the mat, which is supported by independent autopsy, paid for by the family, and that's the family's theory. So they wondered if it had been altered. There is -- after we took it to our expert, forensic video analyst, he says there is a mysterious hour that he would expect to see some activity, nothing there. So the FBI came in to take the original hard drives, something that our experts said that the sheriff's office should have done.
WHITFIELD: At the very beginning. BLACKWELL: At very beginning. Instead of asking the school to give us the video, they should have taken the video.
WHITFIELD: Seized it.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
WHITFIELD: Now when we look at the video, some of those clips, we're seeing one angle in the gym, and we're seeing another angle in the hallway. In the gym, is there more than one camera? Are there other angles that might be revealed on this hard drive if it ends up being a complete picture, or is it still just one angle, and the hope is any suspicious activity taking place in the view of that one camera?
BLACKWELL: We've got four angles that we know inside the gym. We have video from them. But the question is, and then you get to the point of it, is there more that was not supplied by the sheriff's office? And that's what the FBI is going to do. They're going to look at what the sheriff's office has, what the school district has.
Quite possibly, maybe not an additional angle, but more video from those cameras recorded through the cameras and that could possibly fill the whole of an hour, where we'd know there was activity in the gym, but no video recorded through the motion-activated cameras, possibly that will lead to some information. But the FBI, according to the source we have, now has that video, and they'll start to look through it, as well.
WHITFIELD: All right, thank you so much, Victor Blackwell, for bringing us all the developments. Appreciate it.
BLACKWELL: Sure.
WHITFIELD: All right, the U.S. Winter Olympic team could be missing one of its stars, skier, Lindsey Vonn was seen crying after a recent competition. What could happen to put her gold medal hopes in jeopardy?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Those Green Bay Packer fan will do anything to help their team including some manual labor. Joe Carter in the house with some "Bleacher Report." That's nice.
JOE CARTER, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: It is. You know, considering there's probably a good handful of these people that have ownership stake in the team as well because, you know, it's public and you can buy --
WHITFIELD: Well, they now it makes sense.
CARTER: I like that, too. We do this story every year, where the public comes out to help clean up Lambeau Field, you know, it snows so much in Green Bay and they're actually paying people 10 bucks an hour, so they can be involved in this. They shovel snow, get it out of the aisle ways, and get it off the stairs. WHITFIELD: And they're having fun.
CARTER: It's like a bonding experience maybe between father and son, maybe brother and brother. The Packers play against the Steelers, and they want it to be clear. The seats, the --
WHITFIELD: Look at that whole system. Yes, the little runners.
CARTER: Green Bay got a few inches of snow earlier, and an estimated 600 fans showed up to clear this. If you want to go, in the Lambeau area today, and you want to earn cash, 10 bucks an hour, you need to be at least 15 years old, and you have to be in good health.
WHITFIELD: Yes. Shoveling snow is hard work.
CARTER: I grew up in Colorado, it's hard.
WHITFIELD: Yes, I didn't grow up in Colorado, but the northeast, so I get it. Yes, go ahead.
CARTER: Lindsey Vonn, her injured knee, well, it let her down once again today. Yes, the Olympic gold medallist lost her balance and she said her knee gave out on her, and after the race, she was clutching her knee. She said that basically she had wished she could have performed better, but she'll be ready for the Olympics, she says, which are in six weeks. Can you believe that?
WHITFIELD: How in the world -- how could that repair, you know, take place, or could there even be taping sufficient enough for that kind of velocity and speed?
CARTER: The original knee injury is not bad enough to require surgery now. She says if anything, she'll have the surgery after the Olympic Games. So she feels like this is a setback, and she'll be ready in six weeks.
WHITFIELD: Bold and courageous, go, girl.
CARTER: Speaking of the Olympics, two Olympic teams. The United States and Canada ice hockey teams, and two of the world's best are female hockey teams, if you believe that.
WHITFIELD: Yes!
CARTER: Yes. And get this, they do not like each other, as you can tell from the video.
WHITFIELD: Isn't that usually the case on hockey rink?
CARTER: They have a history. The first thing, when I told the story to friends, fighting in women's hockey? Yes, it happens, too. Last night, 10 fighting penalties in all were handed out. There's a history. The U.S. women won last night for an exhibition match, and we'll see these two teams obviously again.
WHITFIELD: Wow. CARTER: By the way, former American hockey player, Katelin Caehop will represent the United States in the closing games, and Brian Boitano, as well as Billie Jean King. You know, obviously all three of the people are openly gay athletes, which people say is sending a message to anti-gay laws in Russia because this is the first time in over a decade, we're not sending a political figure -- a president, first lady, a delegation to --
WHITFIELD: Yes, a lot of reasons for that not to happen.
CARTER: Yes, not sending a political figure head sends a political message to them.
WHITFIELD: Yes, it doesn't help involving the whole Ed Snowden affair.
CARTER: Yes.
WHITFIELD: Seeking, you know, asylum, or getting assistance in Russia. So we'll talk to Greg Louganis, an Olympian, and some thought he would have been the short list of members to be on the delegation. He's a little disappointed, but he has a whole lot to say about the Sochi games and what it all symbolizes. And he's going to comment on some of the most latest words from Billie Jean King, so he'll be joining us next hour, as well, so don't miss that.
CARTER: Like those other three, openly gay athletes and very strong opinions about the anti-gay laws there. Obviously, the rest of the world is becoming more tolerant, more accepting to that, whereas Russia seems to be taking more steps backwards.
WHITFIELD: We'll see more of you later, too. Great. Thanks, Joe. That's the 3:00 hour we'll see you.
CARTER: OK. I'll be back then.
WHITFIELD: Set your clock.
We'll talk about the latest on racing driver, Dario Franchitti and what he's saying about his decision to retire. You remember there was a pretty nasty crash that took place. He had a head injury, so it comes together now. We'll talk more about that and fill you in on the details.
Also, in today's "American Journey," we're taking to you a barbecue joint in Washington, D.C., with a sauce that goes well beyond your taste buds. It's called Inspire, and that's exactly what it does for some young people in the state. Here's Tom Foreman.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Where there is smoke in D.C., there is "Inspire Barbeque," a small restaurant that is making a big impact by teaching struggling young people the basics of working life, how to show up on time, balance a checkbook, take and give fair criticism. Chef Furard Tate who grew up here cooked upped the idea. CHEF FURARD TATE, OWNER, INSPIRE BARBEQUE: How do you get out of poverty? You get out of poverty doing a good day's work every day and looking at the goodness of what you produced rather than what you don't have.
FOREMAN: Over the past three years, Inspire has taken in hundreds of young folks ages 16 to 23 to work and learn for a period of time. Some have trouble with the law, some with drug abuse. Some like Daniel Gaskins with education. He graduated high school, but quickly failed out of college, and by the time he found Inspire.
DANIEL GASKINS, EMPLOYEE, INSPIRE BBQ: All out of money I've earned. It was kind of a waste. It was just like where do I go from now? Where do I go next? Do I find a job? Do I go back in school?
FOREMAN (on camera): This place had to be like a God send.
GASKINS: It was.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Today he talks confidently about his future and ideas.
TATE: We learn how to do everything so that you can transition into a permanent one.
FOREMAN: These are life skills.
TATE: These are life skills.
FOREMAN (voice-over): So in the end this food is not just fantastic, it truly is inspirational. Tom Foreman, CNN -- I'm going to try another taste, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: President Obama and his family are vacationing in warm and sunny Hawaii. They're spending the next 16 days there. Time for a little R&R after what's been a rather tough year for the president. Everything from the Obamacare web site problems to the government shutdown to getting a new budget passed.
Athena Jones is traveling with the president and is joining us from a beautiful Hawaii. Good to see you. This is a working vacation for him and for you.
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Fred. That's right. It will be a working vacation for the president. The White House would say every vacation is a working vacation. The president is expected to spend some time looking closely at these 46 recommendations for changing the NSA surveillance programs. Those are recommendations that came in a final review of that program that came out this week, so he'll be looking at that.
But also fit in time for some sun and some surf, going to beaches, some of his favorite restaurants here. He may also fit in a trip to a basketball game. Michelle Obama's brother, Craig Robertson, his team, Oregon State University team is playing in a basketball tournament starting here on Sunday. So they'll definitely fit in some fun -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: That's fun and convenient. All right, so, you know, the president was in his last, final White House news conference yesterday, and he admitted that not everything, you know, was done as he'd planned. What about the extension of the unemployment benefits and the next big deadline, the debt ceiling in February? What were his thoughts about that, or what are his worries potentially?
JONES: Well, on unemployment insurance, he made the case that this needs to be done very, very quickly. He said it should be the first order of business for Congress because more than 1 million people are going to be without these benefits, and so, he expects to see Congress get that passed early in January.
As for the debt ceiling, our own Brianna Keilar asked him if he's willing to have a fight with the Republicans, and he said what he's said often, the debt ceiling is not something to negotiate over. This is the nation's full faith and credit. They raise the debt ceiling to pay for bills already incurred. He also talked about the agreement reached over the budget, the bipartisanship reached over the budget. Let's listen to what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We've seen this possible daylight breaking when it comes to cooperation in Congress that folks are thinking actually about plunging us back into the kinds of brinksmanship and governance by crisis that has done so much harm over the last couple of years. I've got to assume folks aren't crazy enough to start that thing all over again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: So he's saying he hopes that the bipartisanship seen on the budget battle, and the battle fight, agreeing on a budget there, can translate into agreeing to raise the debt ceiling -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right, Athena Jones, thanks so much. We'll check back with you later on.
All right, New York City passes a controversial ban on smoking e- cigarettes indoors. Mayor Bloomberg is expected to sign the bill, which would place the same non-smoking rules on e-cigarettes as regular cigarettes. But e-cigarette users say the dangers are not the same. Here's Poppy Harlow.
POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there, Fredricka. The e- cigarette market is booming, projected to reach $1.8 billion this year with users getting a nicotine fix without smoking. But what exactly is an e-cigarette, and do we really know if they're safe?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) HARLOW (voice-over): Remember these long-banned cigarette commercials?
ANNOUNCER: What cigarette do you smoke, Doctor?
HARLOW: They're back on the airwaves, kind of.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know what the most amazing thing about this cigarette is?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can whip out my blue, not worry about scaring that special someone away.
HARLOW: They're electronic cigarettes, and they've become nearly as controversial as the real thing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is how I ended up quitting smoking.
HARLOW (on camera): No question about it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely, yes.
HARLOW (voice-over): Aaron David Ross smoked for 10 years. We met him at Henley, a New York City vapor lounge.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I haven't had a drag of a cigarette since then. It was about two and a half years ago.
HARLOW: Here's how they work. Liquid nicotine is heated up by a battery-charged coiled. There's no tobacco burned. Users inhale and instead of smoke, there is a seem-like vapor. So are e-cigarettes safe and perhaps the greatest invasion yet to quit smoking or an addictive health hazard?
DR. TOM FRIEDEN, CDC DIRECTOR: With a product like e-cigarettes, you're guilty until proven innocent. We need to know these things are safe and OK to use.
HARLOW: They've been in the U.S. less than a decade and increasingly big tobacco companies are manufacturing them. Limited research has been done on the health impact and there are conflicting studies on whether or not nicotine alone is harmful.
INDRANI NICODEMUS, E-CIGARETTE USER: I would like the science to catch up with what we're doing here.
HARLOW (on camera): But you're still willing to do it.
NICODEMUS: I am willing to do it because I think the alternative to just smoking all day, I think this is a better alternative.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What we gain is far greater than what we had the potential to lose.
HARLOW (voice-over): Amy Fairchild of Columbia University School of Public Health co-authored this op-ed in the "New York Times" making the case for e-cigarettes.
(on camera): A lot say there's not enough science.
PROFESSOR AMY FAIRCHILD, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, MALLMAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: There is never going to be enough science. There is always going to be room for another study and what I would say to them is the need is so great now. You have so many tobacco deaths now. The dire urgent public health need. This is one of the most important public health problems we face.
HARLOW (voice-over): But she argues they must be federally regulated and not marketed to kids.
(on camera): I wish you could smell it in here, it doesn't smell like smoke, it smells a lot like candy. No surprise given all the flavors that they sell, but critics argue when you sell flavors like cotton candy or gummy bear, that could attract children.
(voice-over): Some states have age requirements on sales but not all. CDC data show nearly 2 million middle and high school students tried e-cigarettes last year. More than double the number in 2011.
FRIEDEN: E-cigarettes can potentially help some people, but they have serious potential harms that we know about. If they get kids to start smoking, that is really bad. If they get smokers that would have quit to keep smoking, that's really bad. Former smokers to go back to smoking, that's really bad. If they re-glamourize the act of smoking, that's bad, as well.
FAIRCHILD: The other side of that equation, a gateway to not smoking.
HARLOW: E-cigarettes are not regulated by any federal body and not an FDA-approved method to quit smoking. Critics point out they could keep users hooked on nicotine. Ross is still addicted to nicotine and uses e-cigarettes at his desk.
(on camera): I wouldn't want to be sitting next to this. It smells good, but it's a little disconcerting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's disconcerting because there is a public stigma against it.
HARLOW (voice-over): He and others worry now that many in America are so opposed to smoking they're stigmatizing some say could save lives.
(on camera): You get angry when people try to fight this.
TALIA EISENBERG, CO-OWNER, THE HENLEY VAPORIUM: Because it worked for us. We saved our lives with this product.
PETER DENHOLTZ, CO-OWNER, THE HENLEY VAPORIUM: I wouldn't be so angry if people took the time, our elected official took the time to get educated. They're not, they're reacting.
HARLOW (voice-over): So after decades of fighting big tobacco, what does the American Cancer Society think? THOMAS GLYNN, DIRECTOR, SCIENCE AND TRENDS, AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY: Cautious optimism with a number of caveats. Anyone right now using an e-cigarette does not know what they're inhaling.
HARLOW: But there's this --
GLYNN: What we don't want to do is take something out of the hands of people which could, in fact, help people stop using the traditional burn cigarette, which is the enemy.
HARLOW: The FDA is expected to announce a proposed rule to regulate e-cigarettes as early as this month. But until then --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's time we take our freedom back. Come on, guys. Rise from the ashes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARLOW: We'll have to wait and see what the FDA decides to rule. As far as the question of whether nicotine alone is safe, many experts believe that nicotine, although highly addictive, is only dangerous to one's health in very large quantities. But there is a new study in its very early stages from Brown University and it suggests that nicotine can cause direct harm to cells in your body's blood vessels including the heart. So, bottom line, more research is being done to determine that conclusively -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: Thank you so much, Poppy Harlow.
All right, a boycott of SeaWorld. Well, it's spreading after the CNN documentary "Black Fish" exposed the treatment of animals there. Several big stars are canceling concerts and schools are canceling trips. SeaWorld is firing back. We'll explain how, next, in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: In business, reputation and image count. Just ask SeaWorld. After the CNN documentary "Black Fish" aired some big stars canceled their concerts there and their call for a boycott seems to be spreading. Here's CNN's Martin Savidge.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A parade of performers, including Heart, Bare Naked Ladies and Trisha Yearwood said they're troubled by what they saw in "Black Fish."
WILLIE NELSON, MUSICIAN (via telephone): I don't agree on how they treat their animals. So it wasn't that hard a deal for me to cancel.
SAVIDGE: But as far as impact, this voice may be much more powerful.
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I felt sad how they treat them.
SAVIDGE: After seeing the film "Black Fish" she told her dad she never wanted to go to SeaWorld, again, which was a problem since her fifth grade field trip in a few weeks was to SeaWorld.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She said, I'm not going, I don't want our money going to SeaWorld and that was pretty loud.
SAVIDGE: As this picture posted on the web shows, the Marine Science Elementary School annual trip to SeaWorld is a long standing tradition, but dad and daughter backed by other parents and students lobbied to go somewhere else. It worked. Announcing the decision, the school's principal credited their protest for the change.
"I am pleased to model for our students the importance of speaking up to express your views and voice." SeaWorld downplays the decision saying, quote, "This is the only instance of a camp cancellation that we have experienced." It may not be the last.
SAVIDGE: Students at Point Lola High School put together this video that starts off by thanking SeaWorld for the memories.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But after watching the documentary "Black Fish" on CNN --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All those special memories have totally been cheapened.
SAVIDGE: Next comes a series of critical questions about how SeaWorld cares for its animals then, the real punch --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There will be no more admission tickets.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No more rides.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No more teddy bears.
SAVIDGE (on camera): What is the impact of something like that?
DAVID JOHNSON, STRATEGIC VISION PR CRISIS MANAGEMENT: It's really damaging especially it's a cross section of the population, if you notice, very clean cut, well-spoken children. I mean, talking in a very moderate language. Talking about how much they enjoyed SeaWorld, but now they just can't continue supporting SeaWorld until they change their policies.
SAVIDGE (voice-over): PR crisis expert, David Johnson says SeaWorld can get by without music performers, but it's got a real problem when kids feel this way about not going to SeaWorld.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like I did something that was actually something that was really amazing.
SAVIDGE: Martin Savidge, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Much more straight ahead in CNN NEWSROOM and it all starts right now.
