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Astronauts Wrap Up A Five-And-A-Half Hour Space Walk; Southern Illinois Basketball Coach Becomes Famous; Duck Dynasty Star Suspended Indefinitely; For Million Credit and Debit Cards Breached; Wicked Weather Threatens Holiday Travel; "Laziest" Government Worker Going to Prison

Aired December 21, 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. Thank you for sticking with me.

We have a lot to cover and we start with this. Dangerous storms could be a real Grinch for people trying to start their holiday travel. A wintry mix is falling right now in Tulsa. Crews there are working to clear trees and power lines knocked down by ice. This storm, not a small one and could definitely affect the plans of more than 94 million people expected to hit the highways over the next few days. Where the ice and snow hasn't started, rain is coming down in buckets with flash flooding being reported in Indiana. It's all adding up to one big travel mess.

CNN's Nick Valencia has the latest from Kansas City.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All day in Kansas City, temperatures have been hovering in the 20s. So, it really feels more like it's in the teens. Snow flurries have been going on and off all day long. And that is really created problems for those on the road.

Interstate 44 here in Missouri has been a big concern for officials. The slick road conditions causing travelers to take their time on the roadways. And it's had an impact all throughout the mid-section of the United States. Places like Des Moines, Iowa, where we saw cars, accidents there, people taken to the hospital. Tulsa, Oklahoma, Oklahoma city waking up Saturday morning to freezing rain and colder conditions than they wanted.

And back here in Kansas city, the weather has had an impact on airport travel, a handful of flights canceled at Kansas city international airport. It's expected to worsen. A TSA official that CNN spoke to earlier said they do expect more cancellations by airlines later this evening.

Nick Valencia, CNN, Kansas City, Missouri.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: Nick Valencia, thank you so much. Now, this wild weather, really, is doing a number on air travel. According to flightaware.com, more than 570 flights have been canceled across the country. But the west side shows more than 9,000 flights delayed. The airports with the most cancellations, Chicago's O'Hare, Denver international, DFW in Dallas and Will Rogers World in Oklahoma City.

Four men have been arrested in connection with a fatal carjacking at a mall in New Jersey. Local authorities there worked alongside the FBI and U.S. marshals to track down those men. They are accused of shooting and killing a young attorney while his wife watched in horror. The incident occurred six days ago inside a mall parking deck.

At a news conference this morning, authorities applauded the public for helping in this case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL FISHMAN, U.S. ATTORNEY: You have the right to be safe and the expectation that you should be safe in this county in the state of New Jersey. And in particular, you shouldn't have to worry that wherever you go, whether it's downtown Newark or the sure hill in mall that someone else that someone would put a gun to your head and take your car.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: The men are charged with murder and could face life in prison if found guilty.

Astronauts wrapped up a 5 1/2 hour spacewalk to make emergency repairs at the international space station. It's the first of three scheduled spacewalks to fix the cooling system. And today's session went quicker than expected.

CNN's John Zarrella has details from Miami.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One of the concerns NASA had going into this space walk was what would happen inside the space suit. Back in July, European astronaut, Luca Parmitano, space walk lasted only 90 minutes, cut way short when all of the sudden he began to experience water building up in his helmet. They got him back inside quickly enough, got his helmet off, but he came pretty close to potentially drowning in that helmet.

So, NASA identifies things going into these series of spacewalks. They had a pad that was fabricated and that pad goes in the back of the helmet. And periodically, the astronauts, during the first space walk on Saturday, were able to put their heads back, check to see if it was dry. No water in the helmets and that was good news.

They also installed a snorkel, a tube that was installed inside the space suits themselves so that if, for any reason water did build up in the helmets, the astronauts could actually take breaths of air from the snorkel until they were able to get back into the space station and get their helmets off. But, didn't have any problem with either of the space suits. Everything went very, very well on the first of the space walks as far as the safety of the astronauts is concerned.

John Zarrella, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: And now astronaut Chris Hadfield is very familiar with emergency spacewalks. This past May, he took this photo from the space station as two of his crew members successfully fixed an ammonia leak. I asked him to share what it's like to float through space.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS HADFIELD, ASTRONAUT: And the big difference is, you are not on the world looking up at the universe, you are in the universe. It's under your feet. It's all around you. And that perspective of seeing the world sort of going around the sun with you, that's a really new one for humanity. And you have to take some time, when you are outside on a spacewalk to honor that and soak that up, too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: And we switch gears to this. The victims of Pan Am flight 103 were honored today on both sides of the Atlantic. December 21st marks the 25th anniversary of the 747 Jet explosion over Lockerbie Scotland. Family, friends and loved ones gathered in Lockerbie to remember those lost. All 259 people on board were killed, 11 more died on the ground.

Here in the United States, a service was held at Arlington national cemetery. Thirty-five of the victims were students at Syracuse university. Two Libyans were indicted for murder in the bombing, only one was convicted.

And still ahead, you may have heard the southern Illinois basketball coach who dressed down his losing team this week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My wife, my wife can score more than two buckets on 11 shots because I know my wife will at least shot fake one time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: Just ahead, coach Barry Hinson will join us live.

And also coming up, imagine clinging for your life in the open sea for 15 hours. Your life depending upon a beer cooler. We'll explain coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FLORES: There's tough love and then there's Barry Hinson, the southern Illinois basketball coach became famous for all the wrong reasons this week when he went off during a news conference after the team's latest loss.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARRY HINSON, COACH, SOUTHERN ILLINOIS BASKETBALL: I got a bunch of momma's boys right now. Our three starting guards have one assist and seven turnovers. They must think it's a tax credit. It's unbelievable. Let's talk about the big guys, two for 11. How can you go two for 11? My wife -- my wife can score more than two buckets on 11 shots because I know my wife will at least shot fake one time. It's like house training a puppy dog. You know what? When the dog does something wrong, bad dog.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: Ouch. He was on the receiving end of criticism who felt, well, that he crossed the line. Coach Hinson joins me now from Carbondale, Illinois.

And Coach, your team just finished a game, how did you do?

HINSON: Hi, Rosa. Well, we did good. Our kids played extremely well and we had a win tonight. And a lot of people are happy. I couldn't be happier for our players.

FLORES: I bet they are excited.

Now, do you think, your rant, going back to the rant sent and delivered a message to your team that wouldn't otherwise get delivered?

HINSON: Rosa, I think it's a fine line. I think, you know, sometimes you have to make a decision. Now, I wish I could tell you I was that intelligent the other night and I calculated it. But, it wasn't calculated. But I will say this. I thought our fans and specifically our players responded about as well as you could.

And, you know, we win tonight, is it because of that? I can't say that. You have to ask the players. But I do know this, it helped us focus on the things we talked about since Tuesday, the things that we felt like we had deficits in as far as our basketball was related and as far as our effort and hopefully it did. But I don't want to use this game to validate the rant. I just want our kids to understand what we are trying to do and we don't accept mediocrity.

And we don't accept mediocrity. We don't accept average. We don't accept lukewarm. And if it is -- if I have to do something different to shock them a little bit to get them in to that mode to where we understand that, then you know what, we'll try to do what we can.

You know, I didn't use profanity. I didn't grab anybody. It's just my way. And you know, I'm from the south and most the time, you know, I go to where you are from, New York, I have to have an interpreter. But around here, we use analogies. And sometimes they are wrong but to make it simple and I think it's easier to learn that way. FLORES: So Coach, I have to ask you because that rant was pretty harsh. Do you take some responsibility for your team's performance?

HINSON: I take all the responsibility, Rosa, every stinking bit out of it. I mean, we are, you know now, we just won our third ball game. But you know, the media didn't get to hear the shows prior to that, so they can get the air, the coaches shows prior to that where I'm saying, you know, if your head coach was any smarter, we would have won this ball game or the head coach shouldn't have scheduled this game or I did a poor in this way.

So, we don't get to play those clips, but that is OK. You know, I deserve the criticism that I received the other night for singling out an individual. I deserve that. And they can chastise me all they want and deservedly so. I have to be more mature as a 52-year-old. I got to be more mature and I have to know that you just can't single a young man publicly. And especially at this day and age, when everything we say or what we do when the camera is rolling, that we know it's going to be there the rest of our lives. And I took offense to that. I was very apologetic to not only to the young man but our team. And I felt bad for it.

FLORES: What about the fans? How are fans reacting?

HINSON: Well, I think you have to ask them. I'm not going to speak for people on how they react to my rant. I think you have to ask other people that. Certainly here, you know, it's been very positive. I cannot tell you how many e-mails that I received from all over the world about we'd love for you to coach our son. Love for you to coach our daughter on some level. They didn't know what sport I was coaching or what gender.

But you know, Rosa, I hope the message that I'm trying to convey not only during the rant, but every single day. You know, we have right now in our country, a sense of entitlement. We are enabling our children and it is just killing our society. I really believe that. And we have to get out of that mode. I have a -- you know, I have a good buddy of mine name Fred Walson (ph) that gave me a great quote years ago. And I think this is so true today.

Parents are no longer comfortable making their children uncomfortable. It's OK to tell somebody that made a mistake. It's OK to criticize, specifically if they know you really love them. And I know you are talking tough love today. Everybody can't win a trophy. I'm sorry, it doesn't work that way. But, everybody can do their best.

And I think if we take that approach more and more, we are creating what I consider a soft society that we can't -- a boss can't walk into your office and criticize you and walk out and you say, you know what? My boss is right. I need to do better. I need to do this instead of pointing the finger. And we try to do that.

Now, the other night, I pointed the finger and I stand by what we did. We have a group of young men that I felt like weren't meeting, not only their level or expectations, but certainly my expectations. And I never met a player yet, that my expectations aren't higher for him than what they are for himself. So, you know, I'm not going to apologize, ever, for trying to get the best out of anybody.

FLORES: So Coach, I have to ask you about your wife because you mentioned her during the press conference. Did she feel comfortable with you mentioning her?

HINSON: No. She's used to it. I mean, we have been married 33 years. She's very well used to it. Yes, she is used to it.

But I will say this, she was very upset that I singled out Marcus and she got on to me and she's my best critic. And you know what guys? Listen to what I'm saying. Let's do a President Bush, read my lips. I made a mistake, I'm sorry and I'll try not to do it again. And my wife also says that they need to insert a speed bump between my mind and my mouth. We're trying to find a way to get that done.

FLORES: All right coach Barry Hinson, thank you so much. We appreciate it.

HINSON: Rosa, thank you so much. Happy holidays to everybody.

FLORES: Happy holidays to you too.

Now, the coach said, as she said, got some heat for being so critical of his team. But, are we too touchy or really touchy as a society, too sensitive, perhaps? Has the world gone too soft? And does any of that have to do with what got the "Duck Dynasty" dad suspended? That's up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FLORES: At one point, it looked like nothing could stop "Duck Dynasty." That was before Phil Robertson, one of the show's star, gave his opinion on homosexuality to "GQ" magazine. Now, the show's future looks a lot less bright.

CNN's Tom Foreman explains what he said that put the show in jeopardy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With their A&E show pulling 14 million viewers a week with an empire of DVDs, duck calls and a Christmas album two, it's no surprise "GQ" magazine wanted to profile this "Duck Dynasty" crew at home in Louisiana.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Phil.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's happy.

FOREMAN: But the Bible quoting patriarch of the Robertson family is raising eyebrows with his comments on homosexuality. It seems like to me a vagina would be more desirable than a man's anus, Phil Robertson told the magazine, start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there, bestiality, sleeping around with woman and that woman and those men, it's not right.

WILSON CRUZ, GLAAD: A&E needs to come out very strongly and condemn Phil Robertson's statements.

FOREMAN: Wilson Cruz and other gay rights advocates are hitting back hard, citing growing acceptance of Same-sex marriage and relationships to suggest Robertson is ignorant, bigoted or both.

CRUZ: The world is changing, the country is changing and even the state in which Mr. Robertson lives is changing and he needs to get in line.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Makes you wonder how we got roped into this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know.

FOREMAN: But others say hold on. Robertson was quoting widely supported church positions on sin, not just homosexuality. But he told 'GQ," the adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunker, the slanderers, the swindlers, they won't inherit the kingdom of God.

Russell Moore with the Southern Baptist convention.

RUSSELL MOORE, ETHICS AND RELIGIOUS LIBERTY COMMISSION: I think that suggesting that people who hold to what every branch of the Christian faith has held to for 2000 years or somehow bigoted or hateful is not productive for speech.

FOREMAN: Whether this battle on the buy you will harm, the "Duck Dynasty" dynasty is not clear. But for many fans, the appeal has long then that the Robertson's speak openly about their conservative values.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Phil, be nicer when you toss them back.

FOREMAN: And there is this. Poll shows about 44 percent of all Americans, like Phil Robertson, still think homosexuality is morally wrong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FLORES: And it wasn't only evangelicals defending Robertson. Free speech advocates also joined in the fight saying like it or not, Robertson had a right to say what he said and shouldn't be punished for it. Do they have a point? Are they too sensitive? Can't we agree to disagree and just leave it at that?

Here to talk about this and a lot more, Michael Skolnik, editor and chief of globalgrind.com and CNN's political commentator, Ben Ferguson, host of the Ben Ferguson show.

Guys, thank you so much for joining me.

Michael, let me start with you. Was this the right move? How long should Phil Robertson stay out of the show?

MICHAEL SKOLNIK, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF GLOBALGRIND.COM: I think it is certainly the right move, Rosa. I think the question about the First Amendment, certainly he has a right to say whatever he wants. And this man didn't just say that homosexuality was a sin, he compared it to bestiality. He later went on, the videos that have came out yesterday, talked about that homosexuals were evil. They are murders. So, he has the right to say what he wants, but you know what, we have the right as consumers to say whatever we want, too. And if we don't appreciate it, if we don't respect, if we don't agree with it, then we can get him off the show and that's what we did.

FLORES: Ben, what is your take?

BEN FERGUSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: First of all, if you actually read the article, he did not compare homosexuality to bestiality. He actually listed 11 different sins that he said were in the same all over category of a sinful nature in this world. And I think it's funny to me the only people that came out of the 11 sins that were listed, including greed, including men sleeping with multiple different women, having sex before marriage, examples like that, the only group that has come out and even claimed that their lifestyle was being compared to bestiality, which he did not do is the gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual community, which is now.

They are trying to get a notch on their belt by destroying a show, a reality show, which by the way, actually teaches morals and values compared to all the other reality TV shows out there. And I think this is one of those hit jobs on someone who spoke his mind. He's not eloquent in the way he said it. I wouldn't have said it that way. I think he was a little bit too blunt. But the bible is not a PC book that is going to make everyone feel good. There are rights and wrongs. And that why he was talking about including 11 other sins.

FLORES: Now, I got to ask both of you about this. I just spoke with Barry Hinson a few minutes ago and he is the basketball coach who slammed his players, went on a rant calling them, among other things momma's boys. Is that going too far or, again, are we just too touchy?

Ben, you first.

FERGUSON: We are way, way too touchy. And I will tell you. Nowadays, you see the number one thing that Fortune 500 companies complain about when they are hiring ivy league kids, they are the brilliant kids who graduate from Ivy League schools, they say the first time they reprimand them at work or tell them they did something wrong, they crumble. And that is what this problem now with so many kids. We are coddling them too much.

I mean, I remember now looking back over, I played tennis in college. I was I think 13-years-old. And I had a coach looked at me, he was feeding ball and finally, he lost it, slammed his racket down. He said I don't know what to do with you. I said what do you mean? He goes Ben, you are fat. He said that if I hit the ball anyway away from you, you are terrible. You are the worst tennis player I have ever seen. You have to commit, lose weight and I will get on the treadmill with you, but you are fat. Now, I lost almost 90 pounds because of that reality check. If a coach said that today, he would be fired. Luckily, when he said it, he was a hero. Because thank goodness, I got a college scholarship out of the deal because someone did not coddle me, told me the truth and helped me get better and lose weight. At the same time to me, that was probably one of the greatest moments of my childhood. Growing up was having someone that was rooting for me in a blunt way and you can't do it today and it's sad.

FLORES: And Michael, what is your response?

SKOLNIK: Well Ben, in all due respect, your comments about only the gay community is in an uproar over what Phil Robertson said, I'm not gay and I am in uproar of what he says. I stand with the LGBT community. I'm an advocate for those being that are being hated against and think it hurt against.

And let me say one last thing, in terms of being soft, right, this country went from being tolerant on bigotry and hatred to slavery and Jim Crow in the civil rights to being -- having no tolerance during the '80s and '90s and 2000s. And now, my generation has said no more tolerance on bigotry and hatred, no more where we allow people to say whatever they want, get away whatever they want.

At the $400 million enterprise, "Duck Dynasty," a young people like me are saying we don't want to hear that language. We don't want those people on television.

FERGUSON: Can I ask you a question?

SKOLNIK: Sure.

FERGUSON: Can I ask you a question? Have you ever come out and ever attacked a TV show that mocks people that are, for example, virgins until marriage, are mock people like Lee does, they believe in the bible and that are Christians? Have you come out against them with that bigotry and hatred towards conservatives or Christians? Because I bet you probably didn't because you agree with that bigotry. But all of the sudden on this one, you are throwing up some red flag. I mean, all these other shows attack people all the time and no one seems to get offended.

SKOLNIK: Let me answer your question, Ben. This gentleman was let go and suspended by A&E. I'm supporting that decision. This is not a first amendment issue. This is a free market economy issue, supply and demand.

FERGUSON: I agree with that.

SKOLNIK: If we do not want this kind of television, we can tell A&E to take it off.

FLORES: No. Let me ask both of you about crisis communication. Do you think that this is A&E simply coming out and doing something, perhaps, just a slap on the hand, just to say that they have done something, Ben? FERGUSON: Sure. Absolutely. I mean, this is PR 101. You see some sort of outrage and you immediately say oh, well, we got involved. And we have suspended him. At the end of the day, I think the family is going to say, you want to play hardball, we'll walk away and someone else will put the show on the air. They have other offers from other networks to go on and continue the show. And they are not going to be bullied by this.

He came out and he said look, I listed a lot of sins. I am a Christian. The scripture is offensive to some people because they don't like what it says about right and wrong. He is not bashful about that. And they are going to end up being just fine in the situation. But A&E, they are going to have some backlash from people that support the show until they put them back on.

FLORES: And Michael, a high school student in Atlanta was suspended for hugging a teacher. You probably remember this. Are we moving toward a world where we can't hug each other, something as simple as a hug, Michael?

SKOLNIK: No, I think we have moved into a more compassionate, more generous and more tolerant world. My generation, certainly, has pushing down those values forward. If I look on the eve of Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ, we talk about values and what Jesus stood for, let us talk with being tolerant for all people. Not calling homosexual is evil or murders or comparing them to bestiality, but loving and caring --

FERGUSON: He didn't do that.

SKOLNIK: As Desmond Tutu says, Ben, I do not want to believe in a God who is homophobic. Our God does not hate homosexuals.

FLORES: Ben, your response.

FERGUSON: Our God does not hate homosexual. Our God hates sin. The bible is very clear. Love the sinner, hate the sin. And you are acting as if the only thing in the bible that the bible focused on is a gay verse or some anti-gay stance. He's also anti-drinking heavily. The drunker is mentioned in there. He is also against infidelity. HE is also against sex before marriage.

SKOLNIK: He also said that black people were -- he said black people were happy during the era. This man has hatred in his heart. Give that up.

FERGUSON: Sir, you mentioned the bible. I was responding to what scripture says.

(CROSSTALK)

FERGUSON: It is going to offend people who do not believe in it. That's OK. That is what scripture does. It is the right and wrong.

(CROSSTALK)

FERGUSON: You have never read the bible, then.

FLORES: Let's move on. Let's move on to this other question because earlier in this newscast, we talked about a top PR executive who was fired for an insensitive tweet about AIDS in Africa. In a few hours, she lost her job.

Is this a form of zero tolerance in our society? What happened to forgiveness in this day and age? Ben?

FERGUSON: Well, I think from what I understood, she worked in a P.R. firm. So, yes, I would want someone to fire someone who worked at a P.R. firm that said something as stupid as what she said, because, obviously, if you can't P.C. yourself in your own tweets when you work in P.R., then why would I want to hire you to help with my business plan?

So, I think this is one of those where, you know what? In the professional world, you do something like this, you tweet something like this and YOU get fired, you should expect it when it's this ridiculous, especially talking about AIDS. I think it was just a rude, crass, awful tweet to send out. You know what? Deserve what you get.

FLORES: Michael, in 10 seconds, your thoughts.

SKOLNIK: Interesting you say that. Phil Robertson deserves what he got.

FLORES: Well, thank you so much for this great conversation. Michael Skolnik and Ben Ferguson, thank you so much.

And still ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM, Target says no personal information was affected by the security breach that hit as many as 40 million shoppers. It seems like at least one major bank isn't taking any chances. That may affect how you use your debit card over the next few days. That's next.

And look at this -- trapped for 15 hours, clinging to a beer cooler. What happened? We'll explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FLORES: Amazing pictures coming into us from Australia. Two fishermen lucky to be alive after their boat sank. They spent the night holding on to a cooler off New South Wales a total of 15 hours in the ocean. Then, this dramatic helicopter rescue.

Both men spent the night in the hospital but both are now safe at home. Rescuers say they are lucky to be alive.

Target is offering customer as 10 percent discount at all their stores this weekend. 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. But, if no personal information was stolen, then what information can be taken in this kind of breach?

Our Laurie Segall explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAURIE SEGALL, CNN MONEY: Hey, Rosa.

Well, we've all heard about the Target hack at this point. Forty million customers affected, very widespread, and we don't know how it happened. But security researchers are saying hackers likely hacked the software behind those card readers at the register. If that's where you're going, you actually swipe your card.

Target says that the issues have been resolved. But we've got another alarming hack and it shows that major retailers are still at risk.

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 your credit card data right in here.

GRINCH: These stockings 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 the 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 a smart phone.

(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'd made a purchase. The employer is here to help you. And you hand them your card. They run the card through.

SEGALL: And that's where shoppers are at risk.

PARK: Once the credit card transactions run through, we're able to steal them, steal the credit transactions before they are encrypted, if they're not encrypting in a 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 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.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As technology advances at a very rapid pace, security is often slow to catch up.

SEGALL: Trustwave recommends retailers stress test security and encourages what they call ethical hacking -- essentially break in the system before it's deployed to find the weak points, and while it's up to retailers and banks to ensure you are protected, consumers should always be on the lookout.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If the cash register attendant, mobile point 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. How long does it take to get hundreds of thousands of people's credit card information?

(on camera): In this attack, I mean, how long would it takes like you to get, you know, hundreds of thousands of people's credit card information?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Legitimately, you can get credit 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.

(on camera): Pretty eye-opening, Rosa. And security researchers say beware of manually entering your pin number into these mobile checkout devices. And, of course, especially now, can't emphasize this enough during the holiday season. Be vigilant, check your bank statements for any irregular activity -- Rosa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FLORES: Laurie Segall for us in New York.

In the wake of the Target security breach, Chase Bank is putting limits on about 2 million of its customers. Chase sent letters to customers who were identified by Target as at risk for debit and credit fraud. The bank is temporarily limiting daily ATM withdrawals to $100 and debit card purchases to $300. Chase says it will send all as-risk customers new debit cards over the coming weeks.

And we've already seen crazy winter weather. Today, it's officially -- well, just the first day of winter. What's behind these wild temperature swings and monster ice storms so early? We'll take a look, just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FLORES: You wouldn't have known it was winter on the East Coast if you didn't look at the calendar. The temperature -- hear this -- hit 61 degrees in New York City today. And you didn't have to go very far to see temperatures in the 70s.

But, in parts of the mid-South, those warm temperatures sparked severe thunderstorms in parts of Arkansas and Tennessee. Don't get used to the warmth, though. A big winter storm is marching across the country.

And as CNN meteorologist Jennifer Gray shows us, it could bring travel troubles.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: We've had a rough day weather-wise today. We have severe storms, ice, snow. We've even had thunderstorm warnings. We've tornado warnings all across the South.

And the moderate risk still lies in this swath from eastern Louisiana, through Northern Mississippi to Tennessee, Nashville, Memphis, you are included in that. Slight risk of severe weather from Houston, all the way to New Orleans, and up into Kentucky.

So, we've talked about the severe weather. We have ice that we are dealing with as well. Anywhere from right around Oklahoma City, up to an inch of possible ice, up to half inch right outside Springfield and Kansas City. We are going to see that stretch up to the North, right around the Great Lakes, right around quarter inch to half inch of ice accumulation. And then, in upstate New York, and then in northern portions of Vermont, New Hampshire, we are seeing those ice accumulations as well, anywhere from a quarter inch up to an inch.

Snowfall totals can strike anywhere from four to seven inches to five to seven inches, right around Green Bay and Des Moines. So, be on the lookout for that. We are going to have travel trouble today as we head into today, tonight, even into tomorrow. We have showers and storms that we'll be tracking even through Atlanta when you are waking up tomorrow.

So, we've had so much to deal with. We have had at least five to six winter storms already and winter officially started today.

So, what's behind all of this? Well, we've brought in an expert to see if there's a science behind winter.

(voice-over): There's no doubt about it winter is not only officially here, it's been here for weeks.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) the curb a little bit. So, you can drive like maybe 10 miles an hour at the most.

LARS NELSON, POTTSTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA RESIDENT: Got plenty of salt. The back roads are starting to stick a little bit. It looks like it's coming down pretty good now, though.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm going to stay in for this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And get out of the way.

GRAY: At least six winter storms have hit the U.S. coast to coast, impacting tens of millions of people. So, what's the science behind all the extreme weather?

MARSHALL SHEPHERD, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY: In terms of the storms that we've seen in October, November, and December as I often tell people, you know, the atmosphere doesn't have an on/off switch that knows when winter actually begins.

GRAY: Dr. Marshall Shepherd is the president of the American Meteorological Society. He says there's a big reason for the wild weather, the jet stream.

SHEPHERD: When we have these El Nino neutral conditions, the jet stream pattern, you'll get the strong dips in the jet-stream patterns and in those dips they get cold air and in those hills, we're going to have warm air. And so, generally, the jet stream pattern is the governing forcing function of our weather in the wintertime.

GRAY: Case in point, Denver, Colorado. In a matter of 10 days, the Mile High City went from negative temperatures to a near balmy 70 degrees, a time of year when it should be hovering around 40. We're talking about 30 degrees above normal.

And in the Big D, an ice storm earlier this month took Dallas from a high of 79 degrees to freezing in three days.

And in Philadelphia, December 8th winter storm dropped more snow in one day than the city received all year last year.

SHEPHERD: It just illustrates that there's going to be quite a bit of variability this season because we don't have a strong sort of leaning towards one side or the other in terms of the scale. So, we will see an occasional storm. I think we have seen above-normal snowstorm activity for this time of the season. It's still interesting that we see the chance for tornadoes this weekend here in the United States, but indeed this has been a year of extremes.

GRAY: Jennifer Gray, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FLORES: All right. Jennifer, thank you.

And still ahead, a 10-year-old girl has a plan she wants to be a chef. She loves cooking and she's getting very good at it. But, hear this -- she's got a major hurdle to fulfilling her goal, eating. Her story is up next.

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FLORES: We want to introduce you to a 10-year-old with a passion and a plan. Chelsea Wheeler is captivated by cooking and wants to be a chef and open her own restaurant. But there's a major hurdle, she can't eat or taste what she prepares. Fred Pleitgen has her story.

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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ten-year-old Chelsea Wheeler loves preparing dinner with her parents. Her dream is to become a chef and open her own diner when she grows up. But Chelsea essentially can't eat food.

CHELSEA WHEELER, PATIENT: I know my stomach doesn't work. Well, I can't eat real food. So, I've got to have I.V. fluids.

PLEITGEN: Those fluids which Chelsea needs to survive come from a especially equipped backpack she has to wear 16 hours a day.

(on camera): Do you feel it's unfair you can't eat and other kids can?

CHELSEA WHEELER: Not usually, but sometimes yes, I get fed up with it.

PLEITGEN (voic-eover): Chelsea has been sick since birth, suffering from a mitochondrial disease (INAUDIBLE). She was also diagnosed with pseudo-obstruction and suffered irreversible intestinal failure a year ago. Chelsea's had 30 surgeries and went into septic shock.

Her Chris and Linda recalled she barely survived.

LINDA WHEELER, CHELSEA'S MOM: Last year was the worst where she went into -- what?

CHRIS WHEELER, CHELSEA'S DAD: Last October.

LINDA WHEELER: Yes, on Halloween, she went into shock and woke up in the morning and couldn't use half her body.

PLEITGEN: Chelsea tries to fit in with her peers. When we came by, it was elves day in her fifth grade class. She refuses to wear her backup with the nutrients in school. The next big challenge, Chelsea's doctors say she needs a small bowel transplant to replace part of her intestine that has failed.

DR. DONNA ZEITER, CONNECTICUT CHILDREN'S MEDICAL CENTER: Because of the seriousness of it and the impact on her quality of life, we have referred her for a possible intestinal transplant patient.

PLEITGEN: Chelsea is waiting for a donor. The Wheeler say they will never give up fighting for their daughter's life. And their community in Oxford, Connecticut, is pitching in. They've set up a giving tree at town hall and the Children's Organ Transplant Association started a Web site for donations to help with medical bills.

CHRIS WHEELER: Kind of (INAUDIBLE).

LINDA WHEELER: She has a tube in her stomach. She has a tube in her intestine. She's had a tube in your nose. I mean, she's -- it would be nice to have a day where she's eating food pain-free and not through a tube, and be happy.

PLEITGEN: At the dinner table, Chelsea can only have one popsicle. That's all her stomach can take. But she's already thinking about the menu for her future diner.

(on camera): What kind of food do you need to serve?

CHELSEA WHEELER: You don't need to be a millionaire to eat there every night. But it's you feel like a millionaire when you eat there.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Oxford, Connecticut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FLORES: The children's organ transplant association is helping Chelsea's family raise funds for medical cost for more information. Log on to cotaforchelseaw.com.

And you know how hard you workday in and day out, you probably remember how hard you worked if you had to buy a bunch of presents recently. So, what if you could make $100,000 a year and do virtually nothing? Well, one man went to jail for doing just that. That story, up next.

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FLORES: A former federal employee is going to prison for an astounding scheme to get out of work and rip off taxpayers.

Chris Lawrence has the story.

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CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): John Beale walked out of court Wednesday, a man who took being lazy to legendary heights. Now, he's heading to jail after swindling the government out of nearly $1 million.

SCOTT AMEY, PROJECT ON GOVERNMENT OVERSIGHT: How does this occur in modern-day society with managers that are trying to make ends meet and budget are tight?

LAWRENCE: Beale was a climate change specialist at the Environmental Protection Agency, making $164,000 a year. But he rarely came to work, and filed thousands of dollars in fake travel claims.

His bosses didn't question his frequent absence because Beale said he was actually working for the CIA. For 10 years, EPA officials believed Beale was at CIA headquarters or on some secret mission overseas. He once claimed he had to go to Pakistan to help a fellow agent in trouble. Beale was actually here hanging out at his home in the D.C. suburbs, or hiding in plain sight at his vacation home in scenic Cape Cod.

In 2008, he didn't show up at work for six months. And apparently nobody at the EPA batted an eye. AMEY: What do you do for the CIA? Where are you going? Who's authorized it? At some point, the managers at the EPA should have been asking for some kind of proof.

LAWRENCE: No one checked Beale's story, even he took five trips to California and billed the government $57,000, claiming those flights were for, quote, "personal reasons."

(on camera): And now, Beale will serve nearly three years in prison. He's also agreed to pay $900,000 in restitution and forfeit about half a million dollars in pay. The EPA says it's upgraded its safeguards to do more thorough checks on its employees travel and attendance.

Chris Lawrence, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FLORES: A powerful winter storm is creating dangerous conditions on the road as tens of millions of people head home for the holidays. Tulsa, Oklahoma is experiencing major icing issues. Crews cleaning up downed trees and power lines.

If you are flying, get ready to wait. More than 6,000 flights delayed across the country and it could get worse with ice and heavy rains marching east.

Five hours and 28 minutes, that's how long two American astronauts spent working outside the International Space Station today. They've successfully completed the first in a series of space walks to replace a malfunctioning ammonia pump module. The pump keeps equipment cool. They plan to go outside again on Monday to replace that pump and might have to return on Christmas day to wrap up the job.

Chase Bank is putting new limits on about 2 million of its customers in the wake of a massive security breach at Target. Chase sent letters to customers who were identified as at-risk for debit and credit fraud. The bank is temporary limiting ATM withdrawals to $100 and debit card purchases to $300. Meanwhile, the international manhunt continues for those hackers who stole credit and debit card information for 40 million Target customers.

I'm Rosa Flores here in Atlanta. Thank you so much for sticking around with me.

The CNN Hero special, "WINE TO WATER" begins right now.