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PIN Data Stolen In Target Breach; Antarctica Ship Still Waiting For Rescuers; Four Americans Released In Libya; Judge: NSA Data Collection Is Legal; 1.3 Million Lose Jobless Benefits Today; Federal Judges At Odds Over NSA Phone Data; Top Cases Of 2013: Zimmerman Trial; Al Qaeda Affiliates Pose New Dangers; Big Security Breaches At Two Airports; Big Chill For Northeast, Midwest; Pentagon Has Its First K-9 Combat Veteran

Aired December 28, 2013 - 12:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right, hello again, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Top of the hour, noon hour, let's go to a second hour in the NEWSROOM this morning or afternoon. A giant credit card breach at Target just got worse. After denying it at first, Target says, yes, hackers did get your PIN data. What experts recommend you do to protect yourself.

And 74 people stranded in Antarctica are anxiously awaiting help, their ship completely stuck in ice. Now the rescue ship is also struggling with the ice.

And a combat veteran might be most popular employee at the Pentagon. She also has a critical job there. We take you to Washington for Emmy's story.

All right, we start with a frightening new development in that Target credit card breach. Target now says hackers did steal customers' PIN data, but the retail giant says those PINs are heavily encrypted and impossible to decode. Alexandra Field is live for us in New York. So is that the case, impossible to decode and are customers comforted by that?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, we're going to find out. For now the answer depends on who you ask. Target is telling shoppers that that data is safe and secure, it's scrambled. It's encrypted at checkout and encrypted in the system and when it leaves the system. Target says there is no reason to believe that data has been decrypted. But security experts say that certainly there will be attempts to do that. There will be programs in place that will try to decode that data. That's why some people may be concerned.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID KENNEDY, CEO, TRUSTEDSEC: The encryption itself is actually an industry grade standard, and they use something called triple-dez, which definitely allows it to be protected. But the problem with PIN numbers, they're only four characters, which means that there are only about 10,000 different combinations that you can do to get it. Altogether, it won't hold up because hackers can do what's called brute forcing it to actually grab those PIN numbers themselves. (END VIDEO CLIP)

FIELD: This security breach has raised concerns for a large number of shoppers, 40 million according to Target. Initially Target stores said that credit and debit card numbers had been stolen along with customers' names. They are now, of course, saying that the encrypted PIN numbers were taken as well -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: What's the recommendation to customers?

FIELD: OK, well, the best advice is to act quickly, even as all of this is investigating, first thing that everyone needs to do is replace your credit card or your debit card, change the PIN number. The advice also is to take a careful look at your credit card statements and bank statements. We all notice those big charges oftentimes when it's too late. But the experts say you should look out for very small charges, a few cents, a few dollars. In some cases, fraudsters will start with small amounts to see if an account is still active.

WHITFIELD: All right, Alexandra Field, thanks so much. This new video this morning from that ship stuck in the frozen waters of Antarctica. Chris Turney, the expedition leader gave an update on the crew's condition earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS TURNEY, EXPEDITION LEADER: It's the 28th of December, 2013, as you can see, the weather's closed in. We've got some snow falling, but it's not too windy. Unfortunately, the weather forecast is for these conditions to continue for the next few days.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: He seems content with it all. It has been four days since it got stuck. Although a rescue vessel is within sight, it's not able to get close enough to that ship. Our Isa Soares is following the story from London for us. Isa, is it inching any closer now?

ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's still quite far away, unfortunately, Fred. The Chinese vessel really can't get any further. It was six nautical miles away. It didn't have the capabilities to push any further. The ice was just so thick, unfortunately. So what he had to do, he had to reverse the line he took on the way to the Russian vessel and it's now on the open water and just standing by in case the Russian vessel does need any sort of help.

It does have helicopter in there just in case there's some sort of emergency. In the meantime, we have an Australian vessel making its way there expected to get there by Sunday night Australia time. And we're hoping that that vessel will be able to push through. But I can tell you having spoken to the Maritime Authority of Australia this morning, they have their doubts. They told me that the ice at the moment is like two meters deep, Fred.

And that means that the vessel right now can only cut through about 1.35 meters compared to the 1 meter of the Chinese vessel. So they're real concern that when it does get there and assesses the situation, it might try to force it, but if it doesn't, then they have a backup of the Chinese vessel.

WHITFIELD: My goodness, are they leaning toward having to use that backup given the way things look?

SOARES: It may be, that's exactly how it may happen, but that also depends on the weather on the day. They face some blizzards. You heard there from the leader of the expedition say that they've had some snow. But it all depends on how the situation is, how thick the ice is, how strong the blizzards are. In the meantime, though, they seem pretty upbeat, the morale is high, they've got plenty of food, they've got plenty of food and they have visitors, they have penguins. I think for now they're happy. Let's see whether the morale continues in the next couple of days.

WHITFIELD: That is going to be the true test because they certainly look like they're in their element, so to speak. Isa, thanks so much. Look at those smiling faces. They're happy.

U.S. State Department says it's still trying to piece together details in Libya after four Americans were detained and then released late last night. The four military personnel were working to strengthen security at the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli. The White House says the president was briefed but offered no further comments.

And your phone and internet records are still fair game for the National Security Agency. A federal judge said the NSA's spying program that includes those records is constitutional and a critical weapon in the fight against terrorism.

And "Duck Dynasty" fans might be happy, happy, happy, but not everyone is. Phil Robertson was suspended from the hit reality show for controversial comments he made about homosexuality and race. But now A&E Network has decided to reinstate him. GLAAD reacted to the decision saying, quote, "If dialogue with Phil isn't part of next steps, then A&E has chosen profits over African-American and gay people, especially its employees and viewers," end quote.

If you haven't had your flu shot yet, you might cringe when you hear this. This season promises to be a very dangerous one. Federal health officials say over the past week widespread activity has leaped from four states to ten. It's the most common strain, H1N1, which is blamed in the deaths of a few children over the last few months. It was known as swine flu during the 2009 pandemic that swept across the globe and killed nearly 300 people in the U.S.

The New Year will start out a lot tougher for many Americans who rely on jobless benefits to pay the bills. Federal emergency unemployment benefits run out today for 1.3 million people. And Congress left town earlier this month for recess without including the extension in the budget deal.

CNN national correspondent, Sunlen Serfaty, is with us now from Washington with the very latest. Are there any options for many of these Americans to need these benefits?

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The options right now are what Congress is going to do to help them. Fred, the president is trying to drum up support for the three-month extension of these benefits. Now, in a statement the White House said, quote, "The president as well as the Democratic congressional leadership has made clear the importance of extending the benefits immediately upon Congress' return."

Now Congress will get back to work on this in January, but this tees up a nasty fight for the New Year. Some Republicans say it's time to end the program altogether. They argue it's too expensive. A year's extension costs about $25 billion. People have gotten dependent and they say the economy is strong enough now without them. Now, here's a little preview of what the tough love argument will hear from some Republicans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS EDWARDS, CATO INSTITUTE: It's long been known that they're going to expire. People should have been making the tough decisions they needed to make to find a job. And the problem when the welfare state gets too expansive is that people tend to depend too much on government. The message for the future I think is that individuals need to save more, to put away money for possible recessions in the future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: And political arguments aside though, this is a very real problem for so many people. We spoke with one man in New York who is 52 and he's been out of work for six months. I asked him what would you say to Congress. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL HALLASY, LONG-TERM UNEMPLOYED:: I would say that this is an emergency and people need these benefits just to eat and pay their bill. It's not even enough to do that really. But at least it's something. And, you know, if they don't have that, then we really have no income whatsoever. And I don't know how we're even supposed to eat and pay our bills let alone try to find another job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: On average these benefits amount to about $300 each week. That's very real money to someone who doesn't have a job. And now, Fred, those checks will just stop coming.

WHITFIELD: All right, Sunlen, tough times indeed. Thanks so much. All right, 74 people are waiting to be rescued from that ship stuck in Antarctica that we mentioned a while back. Well, we're going to hear from some of the people on board.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: All right, now back to Antarctica where a Russian ship with 74 people on board is stuck in the ice. It's understandable how most ships would get stuck but icebreakers? How does that happen? CNN's Carl Azuz has the answer.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARL AZUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You'd think that because this is a glacial environment sea ice would move at a glacial pace. Not the case. Wraps of ice move quickly rushed over the sea by wind. They can expand and grow thicker, rise and fall with the waves beneath them and blizzard conditions common to Antarctica even in summer, don't help. You might remember this scene from Minnesota where wind blew ice ashore cracking into doors and windows. Think of this same principle in a massive frigid sea.

You can see how a Russian research vessel en route to the Antarctic got trapped how Ernest Shackleton were surrounded and how that ship was eventually crushed. Even animals used to these conditions like the trapped whales traumatized in last year's movie "Big Miracle" are vulnerable.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you see that?

AZUZ: So what does it take to get through the ice and rescue whales, cruise ships or anything else that gets stranded? Wait, sea ice as thick as ten feet can be broken and the sloping holes of some ice breakers designed to actually wedge up on top of ice so the heavy ship can crush down on it. The bows are also designed to then move the cracked ice to the side, plowing a path that other ships can follow, a crusty road to open water out of a frozen maze. Carl Azuz, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, that was fascinating stuff. So expedition leader and scientist, Chris Turney is on board that ship and you know why he's so excited about all this. He and other passengers were thrilled to see the Chinese rescue ship, even if it's from afar.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's that on the horizon, Chris?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's the icebreaker coming to rescue us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Brilliant.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Earlier my colleague, Bill Weir, spoke to three people on board that ship.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAURENCE TOPHAM, ABOARD STRANDED VESSEL: I was with expedition leader, Greg Mortimer, when he first sighted the Chinese icebreaker on the horizon, and he said to me that, psychologically, that was a really important moment because as soon as the Chinese captain visibly saw us, the incentive to get to us was that much greater then suddenly. We were suddenly then a real thing than just a blip on a radar.

ALOK JHA, ABOARD STRANDED VESSEL: It's crucial for all the people who are following us. We're in a bit of a bubble here. Chris and I have been using social media to share what we're doing but it's very hard to see the reaction outside. Yesterday, Laurence tweeted a tiny picture of the ship that was coming to rescue us. And within five minutes, it had been sent around the world 200 or 300 times. This is attention that we're not used to. Maybe Justin Bieber is, but we're not and they've gone viral, too. What do you think?

CHRIS TURNEY, EXPEDITION LEADER: They've been fantastic. Wonderful, satellite technology we can use today just allowing us to chat to you now. It's just superb. In the old days, we'd be stuck off the edge of a map and no one would know where we are. Today we can chat to you from one end of the planet to the other.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, a very enthusiastic trio. Expedition leader Chris Turney also says that everyone on board is doing well, just like them.

All right, now from the icy ocean to the heavens, it was the day after Christmas and people in Central Iowa were looking up at the skies. They were trying to figure out what this was. Security camera footage shows a fireball lighting up the sky over the town of North Liberty Thursday evening. Was it a meteor?

Well, of course people on social media went crazy talking about it. The National Weather Service says it won't be able to confirm if it is actually a meteor because of the location in the sky.

All right, a legal victory for the NSA. A federal judge ruled its spying program is lawful, but a week ago another judge said it's likely unconstitutional. So which is it? Our legal guys weigh in.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right now to a big ruling on your privacy. The NSA is getting a legal victory by a federal judge in New York on its surveillance program. The program collects the numbers culled from all of our phones. Tracks when those calls are made and for how long and to whom you're speaking. Judge William Paulie says he finds the program lawful.

But just a week ago another federal judge in Washington looking at the same facts had a different opinion. Judge Richard Leon said the program violates our privacy and is likely unconstitutional. The extent of the NSA's program is revealed in classified leaks by former contractor Edward Snowden.

So in the end, what does this all mean for you and who gets the ultimate say? My legal guys join me now to answer some of that, Avery Friedman joining us from Cleveland. Good to see you.

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Hi, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Hello, and Richard Herman in New York, criminal defense attorney and law professor, joining us from Hawaii. Aloha. Just rub it in, why don't you? All right, so Avery, you first, does one federal judge's ruling kind of supersede what the other one said?

FRIEDMAN: No1, it does not. The amazing thing about these decisions, this is a constitutional lollapalooza and so exciting. One federal judge in Washington says it violates the constitution.

WHITFIELD: Right.

FRIEDMAN: A federal judge in New York says it doesn't. So where this is going is not straight to the Supreme Court.

WHITFIELD: No?

FRIEDMAN: Because there are very important issues about security versus privacy. What we're going to see here is an appeal to federal appeals court where there will be a multitude of judges deciding it. And if there's not an agreement, it may never get to the Supreme Court.

WHITFIELD: You're kidding.

FRIEDMAN: But again, we need to define privacy versus security. Right now, it's a free for all in the federal courts.

WHITFIELD: So does this mean, Richard, that the NSA can continue going about its business because of this latest judge's ruling, that it is lawful, until, like Avery said, it finds its way to an appellate body?

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes, Fred, at this time the NSA will continue their activities and you know the D.C. decision only referred to a small, select group of individuals who took that appeal. The decision in New York by the federal court judge -- just think, Fred, this courtroom is a stone's throw away from where the World Trade Center stood. So if there's an argument, as was made beforehand, that this technology might have prevented a 9/11 episode, you know this judge or any judge sitting in that courtroom is going to rule in favor of this technology. That's the issue.

Could this have prevented it? That's where the arguments are coming in. Some say it had nothing to do with it whether we collected all this data. Others, NSA says, yes, we could have prevented how we collected the data. This is the crux. This is the issue, Avery's right. It will take another level of appeal, but I do believe this will be before the United States Supreme Court to ultimately rule.

WHITFIELD: And why do you feel like it would make its way to the Supreme Court, contrary to what Avery has to say?

HERMAN: Well, because I think it's going to be a split in the circuits on this, Fred. Any time there's a split in the circuits, the case is ripe for Supreme Court review. Here there was a presidential commission also established by President Obama who, in the end, said you know, probably it violates the fourth amendment, but we're not real sure. We don't want to go there quite yet.

There's a split in the country and the Supreme Court is going to ultimately have to decide this. Avery, does this case have all the criteria that would, you know, satisfy the Supreme Court to even want to tackle a case like this?

FRIEDMAN: Well, I think there are great public policies involved. Again, the balance between fourth amendment, personal privacy, and the power of Congress to deal with terrorism, while, yes, I would agree with that, Fredricka, we've got a long way to go. We don't know what the federal appeals courts are going to do in this case, but I think one way or the other it's going to be one of the top ten cases for 2014. There is no doubt about it because everybody's affected.

WHITFIELD: All right, well, very perfect segue because we're going to have you back in a moment to talk about some of the top cases in you all's view for 2013. Here's a hint. Ariel Castro, the house of horrors, among them. We'll find out what else you think is one of the top two cases of 2013.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: You'll recall it was one of the most highly anticipated verdicts of the year. In July, a Florida jury acquitted George Zimmerman of all charges in the shooting death of teen Trayvon Martin. Well, Shannon Travis has a look at the verdict and the background in this controversial case.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHANNON TRAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After two days and more than 16 hours of deliberations, the jury has reached a verdict.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We the jury find George Zimmerman not guilty.

TRAVIS: George Zimmerman is now a free man.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You have no further business with the court.

TRAVIS: It was the story that captured the nation's attention. On February 26, 2012, George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old neighborhood watch volunteer calls police to report a suspicious person in a Sanford, Florida, gated community. Minutes later the unarmed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin is shot and killed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My heart hurts for my son.

TRAVIS: Zimmerman claimed Martin attacked him and he was acting in self-defense. The Martin family believed race was a driving factor. Police arrested Zimmerman in April 2012 and charged him with second degree murder. He has pleaded not guilty to that charge.

GEORGE ZIMMERMAN: I felt sorry that they lost their child, yes.

TRAVIS: The 14-day trial began in late June of this year. Dozens have testified for both the prosecution and the defense. The prosecution argued Zimmerman did not have to kill Martin.

JOHN GUY, PROSECUTOR: The defendant didn't shoot Trayvon Martin because he had to. He shot him because he wanted to.

TRAVIS: The defense meanwhile said the case against Zimmerman was weak.

MARK O'MARA, ZIMMERMAN'S DEFENSE ATTORNEY: How many what ifs have you heard from the state in this case?

TRAVIS: From start to finish, this case has kept Americans waiting for this verdict. In Sanford, Florida, I'm Shannon Travis.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: No doubt about it, it was indeed one of the most highly anticipated cases of the year. Let's bring in our legal guys, Avery Friedman, a civil rights attorney and law professor in Cleveland and Richard Herman, a New York criminal defense attorney and law professor, joining us from, I hate to say it, Maui.

All right, so Avery, let's talk about this. I mean, unanimously, you know, this was the consensus, the big legal story of the year if not perhaps one of the most influential. What was it about this case that most enamored you, Avery?

FRIEDMAN: Well, as far as I'm concerned, I don't think we learned anything other than the racial divide and a lost life. The Zimmerman case, yes, has to be one of the top three. But to me, Fredricka, the number one case of the year has to involve three young women who were freed in the sun splash in May and catching Ariel Castro, making this case go forward may be one of the fastest criminal cases in American history, ultimately a thousand year sentence and he takes his own life.

But the resiliency of these three young women, Fredricka, that's what this case is about and the generosity of a community that backed all three of them up with a future that hopefully will be as bright as the sun that came out the day they escaped.

WHITFIELD: That really did, that case underscored that whole adage, if you see something, say something. And a man did see something odd and did something about it and said something. And it led to really the rescue, the release of those young ladies. So you know, Richard, in your view, these top two cases, they really both left indelible marks on everybody. And they really did tug at the heartstrings in so many different ways. What did you see about the real legal challenges as it pertains to these cases or what perhaps were the lasting lessons from either of those two cases?

HERMAN: Well, you said it, Fred. If you see something, speak up. If something doesn't look right, you got speak up. But in the Ariel Castro case, it's inconceivable that this man could have abducted these three women and lived in the community among all the people. Like the Mark Lundsford story in Florida where the daughter was right next door. It's inconceivable.

But for me, Fred, the Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin case was the most important case that we saw because in that particular case, it's a tragedy. It's a tragedy all around. It's a tragedy because a young man lost his life. It's a tragedy for Zimmerman who will carry his baggage around for him the rest of his life.

But for me the most tragic situation here aside from a young man losing his life are his parents because they were led astray by people with dreams of grandeur and self-promotion, dragged this couple all over the country, did not let them grieve for their own child, made them promises. This verdict had to be the verdict that came down, Fred.

It couldn't come any other way with the evidence that was presented in this case. It just could not. And the media coverage went crazy with it because nobody really sat and watched all of the evidence and analyzed all of the testimony. Had you done that, you would have realized it had to be a not guilty verdict based on the evidence that they had.

Maybe the prosecution shouldn't have been brought Angela was brought in to rush this prosecution. The police were not ready to indict this case yet. And yet here you had it. It is just an overall tragedy, Fred, the case that stands out in my mind for 2013.

WHITFIELD: Avery also, too, to that point that Richard makes, the parents were really remarkable. Even the mother even said, you know, as tragic as this was, she said she and the father were vehicles to help teach America some very painful lessons here. And that perhaps they thought maybe they could help save other young men, too, because they had made themselves so public and in such a painful way through this entire process.

FRIEDMAN: Well, I agree on one level. Their advocacy certainly raises a consciousness, but as I said earlier, Fredricka, I don't know what lesson America learned other than a very serious racial divide in how different Americans look at the criminal justice system. This was an awful case. And stand your ground, it was not. If there's anything that was wrong, it was for the police to wait over 46 days to effectuate an arrest.

Other than that, I'm actually in accord. I think the evidence supported the verdict. I don't like it. But to make it number one, we understand the tragedy. It is hopeful that we won't see something like this in the future. Unfortunately, I think we will.

WHITFIELD: All right, Avery, Richard, thanks so much for your input. And of course, thank you for all the incredible work that you do every weekend, all year long, with your insight, with your expertise, with your intelligence and opening our eyes to fascinating cases and opening our eyes to looking at cases different ways. Thanks so much for all that you bring. HERMAN: Thank you.

FRIEDMAN: Better things coming up for 2014, Fredricka.

HERMAN: See you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: We look forward to that. Thank you so much and mahalo, as well, to our Hawaiian friends. Thank you, gentlemen, appreciate it.

It has been two years. Count them, two years since Osama Bin Laden was killed. Some call his death a defeat for al Qaeda. But the terror may be growing and some lawmakers say we're less safe now than we were a year ago. I'll explain why next in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The U.S. State Department said this week it's giving weapons and drones to Iraq to help the country fight a growing threat from al Qaeda. The terror group may have taken a hit in 2011 when Osama Bin Laden was killed but now experts say it's getting even stronger. Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): CNN has learned recent intercepts of messages from senior al Qaeda operatives in Yemen are renewing concern the group is planning new attacks. The intercepts don't indicate specific targets, but are described by one source as, quote, "active plotting."

SETH JONES, RAND CORPORATION: There are multiple indications that al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is plotting attacks both within Yemen against the U.S. and other western structures as well as overseas.

STARR: The group in Yemen already well known for the failed underwear bomber attempt to bring down an airplane Christmas day 2009. Four years later the U.S. intelligence community believes it poses the greatest threat of an attack on the U.S.

JONES: They're still capable of conducting attacks outside of Yemen including plotting attacks against the United States in multiple locations including trying to conduct attacks against the U.S. homeland especially by taking down aircraft.

STARR: Analysts say the group rebounded in 2013 from battlefield losses. U.S. drone strikes have had mixed results. A drone attack this month failed to kill an al Qaeda planner believed to be behind a plot to attack the U.S. Embassy. Yemen says more than a dozen members of a wedding party were killed in that attack. Yemen's al Qaeda leader also advising al Qaeda fighters across the region and those al Qaeda affiliates from Yemen to Syria, Iraq and Libya are growing stronger. The threat they pose worries key members of Congress.

CANDY CROWLEY, HOST, CNN'S "STATE OF THE UNION": Are we safer now than we were a year ago, two years ago?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think so.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I absolutely agree that we're not safer today.

STARR: In Iraq, police are trying to crack down, but al Qaeda openly operates training camps near the Syrian border. And from there, al Qaeda has moved into Syria with weapons and tactics learned during the U.S. war in Iraq. Inside Syria, a key al Qaeda affiliate also stronger than a year ago. About 100 Americans along with potentially hundreds from Europe are fighting alongside thousands of militants.

JONES: If they were able to return to Europe and to get access to the United States or return directly to the United States, they were not put on any watch list, they would pose a very serious threat. They're well trained, radicalized and they have the ability and the intent to strike the U.S. homeland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STARR: Analysts say the rise of the new al Qaeda affiliate is part of the price paid for years of attacks against the old core al Qaeda. Many of those leaders are long gone including Osama Bin Laden. And now the new affiliates have much more autonomy, much more freedom to operate as they see fit. Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

WHITFIELD: And then there's this, two airport breaches on Christmas Day, now raising a whole lot of questions. The breaches happened at two airports on opposite ends of the country. A Newark Airport in New Jersey and in women's clothing scaled a fence and walked on to two runways. At Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix, workers say they saw a man climb over barbed wire then run right on to the tarmac. Alexandra Field takes a look at security at both airports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FIELD (voice-over): A $100 million have been spent on securing the perimeters of all New York area airports, but it wasn't enough to stop one intruder from getting on to the runway at Newark Liberty International. Two officials say the suspect was coming from the New Jersey turnpike and jumped the airport's security fence. He made his way across two runways before reaching Gate 70 at Terminal C where an airline employee stopped him.

(on camera): Police arrested him and charged him with trespassing. They say the 24-year-old Jersey City man was wearing women's clothes and that he told them he had been in someone's car when he got spoofed and ran off. Official say planes were never in danger, but the whole episode raises questions about the airport's expensive security system.

JEFF PRICE AVIATION MANAGEMENT PROFESSOR, MSU: When the system is working and working effectively, it becomes a good layer of security, an additional layer and a layer that goes above the regulatory standards.

FIELD (voice-over): The multimillion-dollar question, how did the suspect get through a gate without getting stopped? The system includes radar, motion detecting cameras and other technology. It is meant to signal police when the perimeter is breached. The same system came under fire in 2012 at New York's JFK Airport when a jet skier who ran out of fuel was able to climb out of the water and on to the tarmac again undetected.

The New York-New Jersey Port Authority put out a statement saying, quote, "The preliminary investigation indicates the airport's perimeter intrusion detection system worked properly during the incident." The statement goes on to say, investigators are questioning employees, quote, "to determine why it took an unacceptably long time to locate the suspect."

GLENN WINN, FORMER SECURITY DIRECTOR, UNITED AIRLINES: It is very disturbing because you have this system that has been installed and tested over the last several years and there continue to be different breaches at the different airports in the port authority jurisdiction.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, and then there's some pretty extreme weather out there, ice, tornadoes, even typhoons, we've seen a lot of wicked weather this year. Which one's made it to our top test list next?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A thousand year flood and nearly 300-mile-per-hour tornado and a typhoon that destroyed millions of homes, mind boggling numbers to go with some of the extreme weather stories that we've covered this year. Chad Myer's counts down the top ten. CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: The 2013 was quite a year weather wise. Let's go to the top ten weather stories right now. We'll start at number ten in Mexico. Twin hurricanes hitting that country, one from the Gulf of Mexico, the other from the Pacific, $5 billion in damage, more than 100 people killed in that flooding.

Now, to South Dakota, 12 days into autumn, we're looking at this, four feet of snow, 70-mile-per-hour winds, 20,000 cattle were killed in this storm as ranchers were caught off guard. Now to the northeast, the nor'easter, a big storm back in February, 83-mile-per-hour winds at one point. But the pressure was equal to a Category 2 hurricane.

Now to Arizona, where the wildfires struck, lightning strike north of Phoenix created this wildfire. It grew to 6,000 acres. The Granite Mountain Hot Shots were sent in, the wind shifted directions on them and blew the fire right back at those firefighters, 19 died that day. That's the largest loss of life in firefighters since 9/11.

To East Asia, very populated area here, Shanghai into Shemanto, Japan. Shemanto, Japan has 106 degrees. Shemanto, Japan has never been hot. In fact, no city in Japan has been that hot on any day any summer as long as they were keeping records.

Now to Oklahoma City, an 210-mile-per-hour tornado, an EF-5 headed to Moore, Oklahoma. Moore, Oklahoma, right here and it was coming right in from the west and we knew it was moving into a populated area. We watched it live on CNN from our local affiliates and broadcast it live to the world. And that school is Plaza Towers. It took a direct hit. Seven children were killed in that school, but look at the damage that that school had.

Now on to El Reno, I was there 11 days later. This is a 2.6-mile-wide tornado that moved to the southeast for a while, but when it got very strong almost 300 miles per hour with some mobile Doppler radar units it turned to the left and caught a lot of storm chasers out of where they thought they should be, in a very bad position. That's where the storm should have gone in that white line. It didn't do that.

It turned to the left and the storm chasers were right there. Even the weather channel was right there. Their storm chase vehicle was hit by this tornado. But sadly, Tim Semaris and two other chasers were killed in that vehicle right there as the tornado overtook them.

Colorado flash floods, this is once in a 1,000-year flood, 17 inches of rain in eight days, 9 inches in 24 hours. When you get that kind of rain in the mountains, it is going to run off. It won't all soak in. The rain came down and washed away towns, washed away bridges and roads and there was significant damage all the way into Boulder. Also had very effective video, look at this, we watched this just for hours as they rescued people out of some of these creeks and streams.

Now we go to India, 15 inches of rain in 24 hours and look at what happened here. These towns were eaten alive by the water, washed away into the rivers here, one building after another. There were religious pilgrims in the area as well and more than 5,000 of them died.

Now on to Europe, this isn't a flash flood like we've just seen the past two. This is a long-term rain event and it rains in the mountains and the plains and it all gets down into the rivers. The rivers there in Europe went up. The Danube, the Rhine, the Elbe, all at historic record levels. It even broke those records, Vienna, Prague, Budapest, all those ancient cities hit by this flood.

Now number 1, Supertyphoon Haiyan, the strongest storm to ever make landfall in recent history, a 200-mile-per-hour monster supertyphoon. We had 20-foot storm surge. Anderson Cooper was there, 6,000 people died as a 200-mile-per-hour wind rolled through Tacloban all with that 20-foot storm surge. There's still 2,000 people missing, there are millions that don't have homes right now still in the Philippines.

All of this happened in a year that the IPCC put out their climate report. Those are the climate gurus for the United Nations and they say we're going to have more heat waves in the future. We're going to have more floods and we're also going to have more drought because of climate change so maybe what we thing of right now as extreme weather might just be the new normal.

WHITFIELD: No, we don't want that. Thanks so much, Chad, though. CNN's top ten of 2013, we're counting them all down with Don Lemon tomorrow at 6:30 Eastern Time.

All right, for today's weather, let's check in with Alexandra Steel for the forecast. ALEXANDRA STEELE, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Fred. Two big stories, the cold air moving from the Midwest to the east and the rain train coming up and down the eastern seaboard. Here's a look. These are high temperatures today in Minneapolis, 38 degrees, Chicago 41, up and down the eastern seaboard, 40s and 50s, the rain moving in certainly won't be snow.

But then what happens on Sunday, the cold air drops. Minneapolis dropping 26 for a high of 4 below zero, Chicago drops as well. East coast stays in the 30s, but then by the time we get to Monday, those temperatures continue to drop as do these right along the eastern seaboard so out of the 40s.

That's why with this big moisture system moving in this weekend tomorrow morning it's here in Washington and Baltimore, just a rainmaker, though, certainly too warm for snow. Then by Sunday night it moves into the northeast. The only place we'll see snow, Fred, here, in Northern New England, they'll pick up a few inches in Western New York.

WHITFIELD: Fair enough. Thanks so much, Alexandra.

There's a new face in the Pentagon police force, a face with floppy ears, a long snout and a nose for security, a little pep in the step there. And he's got some special training for this new job.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A canine combat vet who used to sniff out roadside bombs in Afghanistan is now helping protect the Pentagon. CNN's Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STARR (voice-over): When Emmy comes to work at the Department of Defense alongside Pentagon Police Officer Eric Harris, her nose is already on alert checking, pausing, sniffing. Emmy is trained to detect explosives, but this 6-year-old lab is also a combat veteran, the first on the Pentagon's canine force.

(on camera): What did you know about Emmy before she came to you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She came to work for us, did tours in Afghanistan with a Marine Corps unit over there. She was an IED dog. Her sole purpose was to find IEDs along the roadside in Afghanistan.

STARR (voice-over): Officer Harris, an Army vet says when Emmy arrived, she brought her war zone work habits with her.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's nonstop working. I will say that. She's pretty much like any other Marine or soldier, 24/7.

STARR: Emmy brought one habit she developed herself, to cope with the blistering heat in Afghanistan.

ERIC HARRIS, PENTAGON FORCE PROTECTION AGENCY: If it's really hot, she'll dunk her face in a bowl of water and dip her front pads in water I'm assuming to cool them off.

STARR: Harris says Emmy's partner in Afghanistan Marine Corporal Andrew Lindhstrom contacted the military when he came home.

HARRIS: He was very concerned how she'd be treated once she retired as a Marine Corps dog. For him to go through all that trouble just to find out how Emmy was doing, shows me what kind of bond those guys had over there.

STARR: But even now, as she protects the Pentagon, Emmy likes to stop and visit. Her special attention devoted to other Marines. She makes sure there's time for Officer Harris to tell about her old unit.

HARRIS: Reserve unit out of Hawaii, now we're going to keep her here and keep her working. She's not ready to quit yet.

STARR: But then right back to work, sniffing, searching, patrolling to make sure everyone stays safe. Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Now that's a great co-worker.