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Expedition Team Stuck in Ice; Suicide Bomber Hits Russian Train Station; Over A Million Signed Up for Obamacare; "New York Times" Report on Benghazi Attack; Michael Schumacher in Coma

Aired December 29, 2013 - 16:00   ET

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

WHITFIELD: Hello, again, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

A look at the top stories this hour. An explosion rocks a train station in Russia. More than a dozen people are dead and officials believe it was the work of a female suicide bomber.

Help is on the way for a ship stuck in ice in Antarctica but the ship, the rest of the ships are running into the same kind of problem, too much ice. How the people onboard are doing next.

And a little dog has earned a new name after surviving a terrible ordeal. Official say she was tossed in a dumpster and left her dead, but she survived. Miracle's, incredible story next.

Russia is coping with the last thing at one before the Olympics, an apparent suicide bombing in one of its biggest cities, Volgograd. The blast killed at least 16 people. It may have been the work of a so called Black Widow, a woman working for Islamic separatists in the south. Most troubling, the attack to place less than a day's drive from where the winter games begin in about six weeks.

CNN's Diana Magnay joins me now from Moscow.

So Diana, how worried are authorities that this could be practice for another attack upcoming.

DIANA MAGNAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, authorities are very concerned and well aware of the very real terrorist threats that is very close to Sochi where the Olympics are taking place and that is (INAUDIBLE). That is a region which is battling in his Islamist insurgency and has been sort of a longer than a decade now. And a female suicide bomber is a sort of a hallmark of the fighting in that region that had been numerous so-called Black Widows, women who have lost a militant husband or father or son and that radicalize themselves and decided to take matters into their own hands. And not two months ago, in the same city of Volgograd, there was another female suicide bombing on board a bus where six people were killed and now, today, this horrible attack in the train station at a very busy time, Fred. You know, this was midday on a Sunday just ahead of New Year's which is Russia's biggest holiday.

So, it is really busy time for people to be going through that station there. About three and a half thousand people who go that train station every day. So targeted is in time for maximum impact. And it's lucky that not more people were killed. She was stopped just before or she detonated the device just before she went through a metal detector. And that authorities are saying if she got through it, if she got to the areas where people are waiting, it could have been even worse.

WHITFIELD: Diana, do we know how this, in many ways, alters changes security plans for the winter games?

MAGNAY: Well, it's very difficult. I mean, the security around the winter games is huge. And has been in place for a long time. And there are going to be huge areas quarantined off. But for example, Volgograd, it is 400 miles away from Sochi. And there are plenty of towns in southern Russia which could be targets and which terrorists are possibly targeting because they know that Sochi is so well- protected. They should go for other cities which will still spread fear. I mean, Volgograd is a key rail hub. It's somewhere where a lot of people traveling in central Russia would have to go through if they wanted to go to Sochi. This kind of attack makes people scared of doing that. And that is exactly what the terrorists are trying to do, so fear in people's mind.

WHITFIELD: All right, Diana Magnay, thanks so much.

Meantime, a new article sheds light on last year's attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi. And it refuse the idea that it was masterminded by al-Qaeda. "The New York Times" said the attack was likely carried out by independent Libyan militias and that those fighters were e infuriated by a movie called innocence of Muslims. The White House has played this for quite some time now. But the administration may be less thrilled with other conclusions. The article says that U.S. operatives completely misjudged the security situation in Benghazi. And finally, it points the finger at one militia leader and says Libya is unwilling or unable to bring him to justice.

Of course, the White House and the GOP are both spinning the Benghazi report and claiming that it backs up their version of how the attack unfolded.

CNN's Athena Jones is live for us now in Honolulu not far from where the president is vacationing.

So Athena, what is being said? What kind of response from this article?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredericka.

Well, the White House is not officially responding. But officials aren't pointing us away. They say they have no dispute with significant, any significant part of this story. And of course, many White House ally folks who served in the Obama administration are clearly very pleased with the conclusions in this report.

You'll remember David Axelrod, a big name from the Obama White House. He was a senior advisor. He tweeted for anyone interested in the truth and not the politics about Benghazi, this exhaustive piece is a must read.

Tommy Vitter was another former administration official tweeted that Republicans inflated the role of al-Qaeda in Benghazi to attack Obama's counterterrorism record. They were wrong and hand our enemy a propaganda win.

So, that's some of the kinds of reactions we've seen from the support of the president.

Of course, on the GOP side, a lot of people are saying, look, this report is yet another example showing that there was not enough security, there was lax security, not adequate security there at that mission in Benghazi on the night of this attack. That is something that the White House has acknowledged. They say clearly that this attack was carried out with these four American sides show that there was not adequate security.

So, there is a little bit of something in this report for both sides, for the critics of the administration and their handling of the Benghazi attack and also for the White House, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And now, what about, is there any reaction about the suicide bomber in Russia, just a few weeks away from the winter Olympic games. Is the White House commenting on that in any way?

JONES: They are -- national security council staff said that they condemned the attack, strongly condemned the attack and that their hearts go out to the victims of the attack. Nothing further than that. They refer other questions to the Russian government, but the administration is playing attention and they strongly condemned that attack in Volgograd -- Fredericka.

WHITFIELD: Athena Jones, thanks so much in Honolulu.

All right, now, to that alleged cop killer and bank robber who the FBI believes was killed by Phoenix police during a shootout Saturday.

Our Alexander Field is covering the details of that story for us.

So Alexandra, the FBI held a news conference earlier. What more are they saying about what happened? How it all unfolded?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Fredericka, the FBI says the search is over. A deadly shootout had put an end to intense manhunt that had authorities on the lookout across the country.

It started Monday. A gun fight in Tupelo, Mississippi left one police officer critically injured, another killed. Police say a man who tried to robbed a Tupelo bank opened fire on the officers before taking off. Police then linked that suspect to an attempted bank robbery in Atlanta, Georgia earlier that morning along with the robbery of a customer at an ATM. A nationwide manhunt followed on Saturday. Police clues in a man who they say was walking out of a bank carrying a gun and a bag of money. They say he fired at two officers who are not hurt. One of the officers fired back, killing him/ The FBI is linking suspect to the robberies in three states and the death of officer Gail Stauffer. His widow spoke this morning thanking police across the country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BETH STAUFFER, OFFICER GALE STAUFFER'S WIDOW: We can truly began a healing process and that cannot had happened without the hard work of (INAUDIBLE). Numerous people didn't get to celebrate Christmas with their families because they were trying to bring peace to our family. We have been so overwhelmed with the outpouring of love and support from the city of Tupelo and surrounding areas. We know that we have not been going through this alone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)\

FIELD: Police have not yet released the name of the suspects killed in Phoenix at this time. They say they are actively looking for any additional suspects -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: But Alexandra, they feel fairly confident that this is the person responsible for all of these offenses?

FIELD: They certainly do. And Fred, they are pointing to similarities between the bank robberies in the three different states. The FBI say they also got a court order for the suspect's cell phone records. And those records put the suspects in those three states in those three cities at the time of those in three robbers.

WHITFIELD: All right, Alexandra Field, thank you so much.

All right, after rocky start, the president's health care law ends the year with some rather encouraging new numbers. The White House says more than 1.1 million people enrolled in health care coverage through the federal market place between October 1st and Christmas Eve. A Medicare and Medicaid official called the members quote "a welcome surge," still the Obama administration has a long way to go to hit its seven million enrollment target for both the federal and state exchanges by the end of March.

And a New York man claims his lottery prize more than a year after he stumbled upon that winning ticket, get this, hidden in a pile of leaves. Marvin Rosales Martinez was cleaning up debris after super storm Sandy when he found the ticket. It is worth more than a half a million dollars. The 22-year-old landscaper says he plans to use the money to help his family. Since Martinez didn't purchase the ticket himself, however, lottery rules said that he had to wait a year to see if anyone else would come forward and, lucky for him, they didn't. Lucky for him twice.

Well, an ice breaker is inching its way to the ship stuck in those frozen waters of Antarctica. The mission is rescue 74 passengers who have been trapped on board for almost a week now. but will it get there soon? We'll find out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: New details from Antarctica, an Australian ice breaker is just 28 nautical miles from the ship stranded in frozen waters and the crew onboard is trying to figure out how to rescue the 74 people on that stranded ship. It's been stuck in ice for almost a week now. And although a Chinese ice breaker got within sight of that research ship earlier, it was still not close enough to rescue the people.

Our Rosie Tomkins has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROSIE TOMKINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): So close and yet so far. This was the happy scene on Saturday when the stranded passengers saw help on the horizon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fancy ice breaker coming to rescue us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Brilliant.

TOMKINS: Hopes were quickly dashed though. China's snow dragon soon became the second ice breaker the give up before reaching its target.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was about six nautical miles away when the decision was made that the ice was too thick. It was beyond the vessel's capacity. And he turned around and went back through the channel that he'd created to open the water.

TOMKINS: While the Chinese vessel remains on standby, a third ship, an Australian vessel has now arrived at the edge of the packed ice. It has been making its way there for some time and is now waiting for visibility to improve before it proceed.

The question is what happens when it gets there with no guarantee it will succeed where the others have failed. The Australian vessel is bigger and more powerful with an ice rating of 1.35 meters. But with the ice as thick as three meters in part, there is no guarantee it will be powerful enough to break through.

In which case, enter plan B. Those onboard will be lifted to safety by the helicopter on board to Chinese vessel. While they wait, the team are well equipped with enough fresh food to last two weeks and dry food to last longer if need.

But expedition leader, Chris Turney, expressed concerns that the blizzards may continue to work against them.

CHRIS TURNEY, EXPEDITION LEADER: We have some snow falling but it is not too windy. Unfortunately, the weather conditions to continue for the next few days.

TOMKINS: In the meantime, spirits onboard are remarkably high with the team sending frequent updates to family via You Tube.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is my birthday today. It couldn't be a better day than to have my birthday with my something new friends. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are going to have singing on the ice which should be fantastic as well. But it is absolutely spectacular here. It is like a magical winter wonderland.

TOMKINS: A very cheerful scene. The intrepid passengers enjoying the magic of their surroundings and continuing with their research. With the Chinese vessel in view and even some visitors in the form of penguins, stranded as they maybe, they certainly don't feel alone.

Rosie Tomkins, CNN London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And I talked to Lisa Martin, a spokeswoman for the Australian maritime safety authority and asked her about the possibility of using helicopters to get people off that rescue ship.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LISA MARTIN, SPOKESPERSON, AUSTRALIAN MARITIME SAFETY (via phone): We wouldn't be able to fly helicopters in these sort of conditions. It is just a way to see sort of operation. It is a very complex operation specially given the conditions in the Antarctic. They can change very quickly. So, we were just seeing how it goes with the forecast a little bit in that day. We will just be watching that very closely to see if there is an opening. Basically, we're just waiting on them to be out to tell us if it can make its way through the ice. If it can't, then we will be shifting our focus towards using that helicopter and obviously, that will be weather dependent.

WHITFIELD: So, can you describe for me this ice breaker? You know, what is it up against besides, you know, we are talking about this, the very deep ice, is it having a difficult time breaking through that ice? Or is it something else going on that's keeping that Australian ice breaker from making some headway?

MARTIN: At the moment, it hasn't made much headway into the packed ice just because it's not safe to do so because of that poor visibility. So, at the moment, it's not moving very fast. It was just in the area (INAUDIBLE). So, the Chinese vessel that came along was trying to enter from the north which is where it is sitting now. They're trying to enter from the east, but it was determined yesterday that some of the ice was breaking out to the east and it may be easier for the Aurora to enter the surge. It's just standing by at the moment. It is just waiting for those conditions to clear up a bit.

WHITFIELD: And so, Lisa, are these ice breakers that are just generally stationed there at all times for rescues or just, you know, to keep the thorough fairs open as best they can just all of the time?

MARTIN: My understanding is they're research vessels. So, they have been in the area conducting various research project. So, how it works would be the maritime takes the authority if there is a distress call, we'll issue a cast to shipping. And those ships, no matter what their capabilities or what they are doing would be tossed it to able and capable to do the job to respond. And these were the vessels that were in the area. So they are the ones that we've asked.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And that is Lisa Martin, spokeswoman for the Australian maritime safety authority.

All right, after that deadly blast at a Russian train station, how will Russia keep the winter Olympics safe?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Russian investigators subject a female suicide bomber and so-called Black Widow may be behind the attack on a train station. At least 16 people, including a police officer, were killed in the blast in Volgograd. Thirty-four other people were injured. The attack only adds to Russia's worries. This is the second attack the city has seen in two months. And Volgograd is less than a day's drive from Sochi where the winter Olympics are in February.

So how worrisome is this attack? Peter Bergen is a CNN national security analyst and author of "Manhunt, the 10-year search for Bin Laden." He's joining me now from Washington.

So Peter, two similar attacks with the same Russian city, what or who is likely behind this?

PETER BERGEN, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: Well, it's almost certainly Chechen or Dagestani rebels who have been, you know, involved in a fight with the Russian state that began in the mid '90s but arguably stretch back, you know, two centuries. I mean, Tolstoy was writing about, you know, Chechen rebels when he was an officer in the mid 19th century. So, this has been going on for a long time. It is all something that is going to stall back in time soon.

WHITFIELD: Do you feel like this is a practice run for something else, something bigger?

BERGEN: It is hard to tell. I mean, clearly, there is concern about the Sochi Olympics. The British has a similar concern about their Olympics. They went pretty furiously. The Russians seems to have a pretty serious security plan for the Olympics according to the Associated Press. You're going to have to apply online for tickets, you are going to have to --there will be Russian special forces patrolling the area, they're going to close a lot of the area down for a month before the event. They're going to have drones surveying the event. So, obviously, they are going to take all the kind of precautions, one normally would.

WHITFIELD: And let's shift gears now to that "New York Times" report zeroing in on Benghazi and what took place on that deadly attack on 9/11 maybe a year and a half now ago. And in that report, it seems to support that al-Qaeda may not have been involved. Instead, there were some local militants that may have been involved in this. And it may have been a little more spontaneous.

What was most enlightening to you about this report? BERGEN: Well, David Kirkpatrick, who wrote the report is I think one of the finest reporters in "The New York Times" who is covering the Arab world. And this is a very authoritative account of what actually happened. And the three things that jumped out at me, Fred, one, no al-Qaeda involvement of any kind. It was really local militants, two, the innocence of Muslims film that was deemed to be part of kind of a background for this was indeed part of the background for this attack. So, as people were kind of angered about this film and got out in the streets and started attacking the consulate as a result. The other thing, which I think is important, you know, "The New York Times" reporter points out that the administration really missed the role of these militias who are not al-Qaeda but are certainly inspired by itself idea and kind of didn't understand the threat that they really post. So, it is a lot of wishful thinking about these groups that they were going to ally of the Americans and it turns out they weren't.

WHITFIELD: And in your view, how can, you know, the state department or perhaps even the White House use information from this article to perhaps provoke them to create better security for the U.S. interest overseas?

BERGEN: Well, I mean, I think that there's been a lot of soul searching in the state department about this issue. And you know, Fred, there's a paradox here which is if you want to be an effective diplomat in a very dangerous place like Benghazi, you do have to go out. So, you can never have perfect security. If you have perfect security, you are going to have no diplomacy. And so, there is a balance between two things that you need to be thinking about. Clearly, the balance wasn't struck right in Benghazi.

WHITFIELD: Peter Bergen, thank you so much.

BERGEN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Coming up, Republican Senator Ted Cruz is an American. Did you also know he's also a citizen of Canada? How did that happen and what he's doing to perhaps change that?

Also, ahead, someone threw this dog in a dumpster, but it beat the odds and lived. Find out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, some nasty weather is still hitting much of the country on this last Sunday of 2013.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYING)

WHITFIELD: Boy, that does look cold. Folks in parts of North Dakota and Minnesota have been dealing with blinding snow and brutally cold temperatures this weekend. And the wind is making it feel even worse.

Boy, I'm cold just looking at it. Drivers in those states are facing blizzard conditions that are making road conditions quite terrible. Retired formula one legend Michael Schumacher has suffered a serious head injury after his skiing accident in the French Alps. The director of the resort where the 44-year-old was skiing says Schumacher was on a trail, fell and hit his head on a rock. French television says he is suffering from severe head trauma. His spokesman for the first aid workers who airlifted him to the hospital says the injury was none life-threatening, however.

And an Obamacare boost, new numbers show a spike in enrollments. But the White House has a long way to go before it hits its target of signing up seven million people by the end of March.

Here is Sunlen Serfaty.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A White house toast in 2010 when its health care bill passed in the House. But at the stroke of midnight this New Year's Eve, with that legislation becomes reality will the president again, pop the champagne?

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We might have people couple of million people, maybe more who are going to have health care on January 1st and that is a big deal.

SERFATY: Come Wednesday, the program gets its first full test. Those who could sign up on the new insurance marketplaces will now be able to use their coverage although they now have until January 10th to make their first payment.

OBAMA: We screwed it up.

SERFATY: A Web site plagued by glitches is now improved but shifting deadline and cancelled policies have created more confusion.

DEBBIE GACZEWSKI, ENROLLING IN HEALTHCARE.GOV: If you try to do it by yourself and you sit down at the Web site and works through it, it can be a little bit difficult.

SERFATY: This past week the Web site has seen a surge in traffic nearly 900,000 visitors Christmas Eve alone. On Sunday, the administration announced more than a million people have now signed up, almost all in December. Still unclear though, whether insurance companies are getting reliable information.

After the botched Web site roll out on October 1st, the president took heat for not paying close enough attention. Now, long on vacation, the president was briefed by this health care team. The White House letting it be known, he is not dropping the ball this time.

One of the president's chief critics told us the new enrollment numbers are not nothing you should write home about.

REP. DARRELL ISSA (R), CHAIRMAN, HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE: I don't think there is anything to celebrate.

SERFATY: And hinted at the Republican's New Year's resolution.

ISSA: This has been a failed launch, a flawed law and need real change.

Sunlen Serfaty, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Republican Texas Senator Ted Cruz says he is now taking legal steps to officially renounce his Canadian citizenship. He was born in Canada to an American mother which automatically made him a citizen in both countries. Cruz says he first learned of his Canadian citizenship last summer when the Dallas morning news explored the issue.

All right, the market have two more days of training before closing out 2013. And with 2014 comes a big change that could impact the economy.

Here's Zain Asher.

ZAIN ASHER, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka. We're coming up to a big date for Obamacare starting January 1st. Coverage kicks in to people who have signed up a coverage through the federal and state exchanges. If you will health care on the deferral exchange, you're supposed to make your first payment by Tuesday for coverage to kick in on Wednesday. But ensure it is not indicated, they will give until January 10th to actually pay.

Meanwhile, the traditional forty and 60 watt light bulbs you currently find on store shelves are the last of the dying greed. Manufacturers will no longer make them after Wednesday because of new government- mandated efficiency standards.

As Wall Street, it will be a shorten week. All U.S. financial markets are closed Wednesday for New Year's Day. But before investors take off, data on home sale and consumer confidence could shape trading on Tuesday. And reports on the jobs market construction spending and manufacturing could affect trading when they return on Thursday.

Meantime, on Friday, we'll find out where the auto sales are still in high gear where we get numbers for December. November, the auto- industry posted its best month since early 2007.

That is what is coming this week on wall Street -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, Zain. Appreciate that.

All right, diplomats across east Africa and around the world are urgently trying to find a way to end violence in South Sudan. Humanitarian groups there are overwhelmed. Thousands of civilians are seeking refuge at a make-shift U.N. peace-keeping base, but it hasn't been entirely safe there. Some, including a 6-year-old girl, reportedly have been hit by gunfire.

U.N. secretary general Ban Ki-moon is now backing east African leaders calls for peace.

And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calls rocket attacks from Lebanon into Northern Israel a double war crime. He is blaming the Lebanese government for allowing Hezbollah to positioned rockets in neighborhood while attacking civilians. The Israeli military and Lebanese media say at least 20 Israeli rockets landed in southern Lebanon. No initial reports of casualties on either side.

All right, coming up, Grammy-winning star, megastar, Christine Aguilera is lending her voice to children, especially those battling hunger. How she is impacting our world?

And next, for space geeks of the red planet has red hot. It was rather red hot this year. Find out where Mars falls on this year's top ten science stories.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. It has a banner year in science exploring our curiosity on space, on earth, and with sub-atomic particles.

Elizabeth Landau has a rundown of the year's big breakthroughs.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH LANDAU, CNN.COM WRITER, PRODUCER: It's been a thrilling year in scientific exploration. Let's look at some of this year's top stories.

Is there life on Mars? We haven't seen any Martian, but thanks to the curiosity rovers, we now know that life could have once existed on the red planet. Meanwhile, interest is soaring to send humans there. More than 200,000 people signed up to be prospective astronauts to a private organizations club mars One. If all goes according to planned, four people will land on Mars in 2025, but they can never come back.

The Voyager I probe became the first human object to leave the solar system. The Probe launched its twin, Voyager II, in 1977.

The Kepler's space telescope gives us a promising new candidates for other world that might who has life, far beyond our owned solar system. Sadly, the spacecraft suffered technical malfunction, but NASA hopes to continue the use of this planet hunting device in some capacity.

This was a big year for space rock. As we waited to watch a large asteroid called 2012-DA14, half by our planet, a totally unrelated and unexpected meteor exploded over central Russia on February 15th injuring more than 1500 people.

The study of human evolution got a jolt with the discovery in the country of Georgia. Scientists found the most complete skull ever of the early member of the homo genus to which we belong. Researchers proposed the co controversial idea that it represents homo erective and that other species from this time like homoergastur (ph) and (INAUDIBLE) are also homo erective (ph). Other anthropologists disagree.

We learned about both ancient and current animal species that are pretty adorable. Researchers found the oldest primate skeleton to date, a creature that lived about 55 million years ago.

And who could forget the (INAUDIBLE) which Smithsonian scientist they lived today in South America and looks like a cross between a house cat and teddy bear.

The consensus among scientists is even clearer that humans are to blame for our warming climate.

The effects of climate change are becoming more apparent. Ice sheets are losing mass, glaciers are shrinking, and (INAUDIBLE) is fine in a northern hemisphere. A NOAH observatory at Mauna Loa, Hawaii saw the average concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide hit record levels, a big warning sign of what is to come.

Remember the heat goes on with its much heated nicknames, the God particle, scientists at the large hedge on collider have more evidence than ever that this particle actually exists. The 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to the theory who came up with the concept of this particle which explain why matter has mass.

To do science, you need money. And the federal sequester and shutdown hit pretty hard. The national science foundation said it would be awarding a thousand fewer grants in 2013. The national institutes of health said 20,000 researchers and technicians would lose jobs as $1.6 billion were eliminated from its budget. And during the October shutdown, 97 percent of NASA workforce was furloughed.

But we're still making progress. Here is the fun one to end on. For anyone hoping to get their hands on a real lifesaver, like in star wars, there's some good news. On a very small scale, they've gotten particles of light like photons to stick together. But as of now, scientists can only make these (INAUDIBLE) in the lab under extreme condition.

Follow us on Twitter at CNNlightyears for more science updates.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Elizabeth. May the force be with you.

And be sure to watch tonight's 6:30 p.m. eastern time, Don Lemon breaks down his list of the top 10 stories of 2013 from outrageous crime to entertainment headlines to the biggest scandals.

All right, millions of people around the world will go hungry this holiday season. But singer Christine Aguilera has become a voice for them.

Chris Cuomo looks at how she is making an impact.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Cristina Aguilera is lending a hand and her voice in the fight against world hunger.

The Grammy-winner says becoming mother played a key role in her decision to get involved.

CRISTINA AGUILERA, SINGER: When I look at my son, I realized all the opportunities he has around him. Every child deserves the chance to dream and to hope.

CUOMO: Aguilera recently traveled to Rwanda as an ambassador against hunger for the U.N. world food program.

AGUILERA: It's just lovely to see them smile and their eyes light up and for them to be eager to get an education and, in the long term, try to provide for their family and break the cycle of going hungry.

CUOMO: This is Aguilera's third trip with the world food program. She previously visited Guatemala and Haiti.

AGUILERA: Why not do all I can to give these children a voice of their own to be heard and to have the same opportunities everyone else should have.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: U.S. Supreme Court justice Sonya Sotomayor will trade in her gavel for a noise maker, New Year's Eve, as she pushes the button to drop the big ball in Times Square. We will give you a whole preview.

And for those of you may end up partying a little too hard, well, we'll have a look at the world's top hangover cures next in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, a very different New Year's Eve celebration in Time Square. This year, U.S. Supreme Court justice Sonya Sotomayor plays a role by trading in the robe for heavy coat. She will press the button to start the year-end decent of the New Year's Eve ball.

And, also, the glitz and glamour will be partially powered by manual labor. This is how, tourists and native New Yorkers have been peddling on the big apple's city bike bicycles to generate electricity that will all set the power used for that event, very clever.

All right, a frigid blast of air is headed to the east coast.

CNN's meteorologist Alexandra Steele says wear a big ole coat, hat and gloves.

ALEXANDRA STEELE, AMS METEOROLOGIST: How about a New Year's Eve forecast? Well, cold air will certainly be the story. If you can bring in the New Year, and New York City Time Square, we're going to see dry skies for the most part, but cold temperatures. By midnight, we'll be down to 31 degrees. In Chicago, temperatures colder still, only down in the teens. That's it. That's all you'll see. By 15 degrees by midnight. And in Atlanta, Georgia, temperatures only in the 30s, a chilly in the southeast as well. And if you're ringing in the New Year in Los Angeles, we'll see temperatures in the 60s dropping to the 50s by midnight -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much.

All right, comedian Kathy Griffin and our Anderson Cooper are gearing up for the seventh New Year's Eve special. Anderson says Kathy is still make some sweat. They chatted with CNN reliable sources host Brian Stelter.

BRIAN STELTER, HOST, RELIABLE SOURCE: Hey, Fredricka.

Anderson and Kathy has stopped by in Reliable Source earlier to promote their upcoming New Year's Eve special. I knew not to expected your run-of-the-mill interview, but I didn't expect to get ambushed.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR, AC360: I love being with Kathy. I mean, she is a good friend of mine. And she's somebody I enjoy her company. She makes me incredibly nervous. There's no doubt about it. I never sweat more than I do in that time where, even though it is freezing cold out. I'm usually by the end of the evening, I'm drenched and sweat because I am nervous. But you know, she makes me laugh and, you know, giggle in a way that I am embarrassed that I gave that laugh.

STELTER: Kathy, is it true that you all and Ryan Seacrest and Carson Daly all go out afterwards?

KATHY GRIFFIN, ACTRESS: You know, it's interesting you would ask that question. Because this year, we had a plan to all have dinner together in harmony as a family. And then Anderson Cooper sent an e- mail to all of us blowing us off saying he had to something about meeting with his coat check girl or he had to make sure she had the right ticket. It was not a significant reason, but we just cried a little bit and accepted it.

COOPER: No. I have to work the night before. But, yes, in two years ago, I think it was, we all went out to dinner. Ryan paid, of course.

GRIFFIN: I picked up the tab.

COOPER; It was a very lovely dinner. Last year, I think Ryan blew us off. He sent me long underwear. I think -- did he send that to you with your name on it, as well, Kathy?

GRIFFIN: Yes. He sent me long underwear with my name. I thought it was special until I told you and then you said I have some that says Anderson. And then we found out Carson Daly has some too.

COOPER: Right. So, and then this year -- Go ahead. GRIFFIN: I'm just glad to announce that this year, we have Bon Jovi performing at 9:05. We have Miley Cyrus at 9:30. We have Maroon Five at 10:00 p.m. sharp and then we have the eagles and Taylor Swift is going to do a show with all the Victoria Secret models.

COOPER: None of those people are going to be on.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STELTER: So as you can see, you'll never know what to expect with Anderson and Kathy doing forces.

As usual, we took them in for an interesting ride this New year's Eve -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: And that's what makes it so fun. Thanks so much, Brian Stelter.

He's right. You never know. Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin get together bring in 2014 with them starting at 9:00 p.m. eastern on New Year's Eve.

All right, if you're planning to party hard for New Year's Eve, then you might want to be prepared just in case you get a hangover the next morning.

Our Nadia Bilchik has a look at some of the most unique hangover cures from around the world -- Nadia.

NADIA BILCHIK, CNN EDITORIAL PRODUCER: Fred, Google hangover cures and you'll come up with as many variations as there are cocktails concoction.

One that seems popular in England is a big sifting bacon sandwich. Apparently, the bacon and bread combinations provides amino acid which alcohol depletes. The polish swear by a swig or two of pickle juice. The Germans, pickled herring and the Mongolians, pickled sheep eyeballs in tomato juice. It had a high sodium content that said to replenish lost electrolytes.

In Turkey, it's tripe soup. Tripe is the stomach ling of a cow sheep in a extremely fatty that combined with salty soup is said to do the trick.

In Vietnam, some believe that very expensive ground rhino horn is a hangover cure. All pretty disturbing considering that it's both illegal and rhino are an endangered species.

And I'm sure you've heard of this one, the hair of the dog, beating a hangover by simply drinking more alcohol. This cure originated from the belief that if a rapid dog bit you, then the best cure for the bite was to place the hair of the canine that bit you on the wound.

Experts say this may moment (INAUDIBLE) in fact, you are prolonging the pain. And then if you're really feeling daring or desperate, you may want to try the prairie oyster. This angel cure consist of a raw egg with a dash of Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, salt and pepper. Aficionados say it has a texture of an oyster.

And around the word, there is one thing that all couches promote that you never get a hangover again, and that is abstinence, one I'm definitely not going to try this yet -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: That would not be any fun. Hey, what about a big old glass of water? That help dilute a little bit too.

All right, thanks so much, Nadia Bilchik.

All right, teens who want to hit the tanning bed in Illinois, well, they better hurry up. I'm going to explain why.

And a dog that's right here has been named miracle after which she lived through the day before Christmas. Her story next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: We're about to ring in a new year and a whole bunch of new laws are about to kick in starting January 1st.

In Colorado, get ready for all the rocky mountain high jokes. Anyone who is 21 or older can buy up to one ounce of marijuana for recreational use. A new law in Illinois will prohibit the use of unmanned aircraft known as drones to interfere with hunters or fishermen. The measure was passed last summer after animal rights activists claimed they might use drones to monitor them.

And a couple of other laws in Illinois. If you're under 18, get out of the tanning beds. Illinois becomes the sixth state to ban indoor tanning for teenagers.

Also, in the land of Lincoln, if you end up with a lemon pet, you can take it back. Owners can return pets to their sellers if the animals have illnesses that weren't disclosed.

And one more animal law. Delaware has a new law banning the sale of shark fins.

All right, here is the story that is going to make you a little upset at first, but then it has a happy ending.

A dog is very lucky to be alive after being tossed in a dumpster in a plastic bag. She managed to chew her way out and now, investigators say they have the man who put her there.

Antoinette Biordi, with our affiliate News 12 Long Island has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTOINETTE BIORDI, REPORTER, NEW 12: She had big, blue eyes and all she wants is her belly rubbed. This is the dog that was tossed in to a dirty dumpster in the back of a gas station in west Iceland. Police say they arrested 30-year-old Michael Papini. He's also seen in this surveillance video dumping the dog the day before Christmas eve. Today, Papini was arraigned on felony animal cruelty charges.

MARY ELIZABETH ABATE, ATTORNEY: He has no priors. He's never been arrested before he was 30-years-old. Never been in any kind of trouble whatsoever. It seems to be totally out of character from, well, what little I know.

BIORDI: Town officials say Papini actually worked as a kennel cleaner at the Islip town animal shelter. He has since been suspended without pay. Police say a friend of Papini asked him to take this dog and a her poodle to the shelter because she can no longer care for them. Investigators say the woman paid Papini $500 for both dogs never thinking he wouldn't keep his end of the deal.

PAUL LLOBELL, SPCA: She paid him a fair amount of money to take the two dogs into the shelter because that's what he told her the shelter charges. She's very upset. She is very disturbed.

BIORDI: Police say the dog was found wearing a pink collar and was placed in a box with holes and then wrapped in a plastic bag. Cops say she was able to chew her way out. Her fur was madden and she was taken to an animal hospital to be checked out.

After what she's been through, the shelter has renamed her Miracle. Now, she is not up for adoption right now, but hundreds of people have been calling the shelter asking to adopt her.

Now, SPCA investigators say they want to know where the other dog is. It's a tan, five-year-old poodle named Baley (ph) that was taken by Papini at the same time.

Antoinette Biordi, News 12, Long Island.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Hopefully, the happy ending for that little poodle as well.

All that is going to do it for me. Coming up next, Rosa Flores with much more on the NEWSROOM.

I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Have a great week. Happy new year, all of the success.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you. And hopefully, I'll see you next week.

WHITFIELD: We will.

FLORES: All right, thank you very much.

The next hour of NEWSROOM begins right now.

Here in the CNN NEWSROOM, I'm Rosa Flores.

We got some breaking news this afternoon from the world of international sports. A legendary figure in formula one racing is in critical condition in France. Michael Schumacher, the winningest driver in Formula One history had a bad skiing accident today in the French Alps. The latest news from our sources there is that Schumacher suffered severe head trauma. He needed immediate brain surgery and he is in a coma right now.

Staying with CNN, we are finding out more information right now. And we will update you in a few minutes. Again, German Racing legend, Michael Schumacher is in a coma and in critical condition in France after a bad skiing accident. \

And just to give you some perspective for folks in America, when it comes to success and popularity, he is the equivalent of Richard Petty in NASCAR, Dale Earnhardt Senior or Jimmy Johnson.

Again, we will bring you more details as they become available.