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Mississippi Shootout Kills One Police Officer, Wounds Another, Manhunt Continues; Huge Blast in Volgograd Station; Michael Schumacher in Coma After Injury; Michael Schumacher in a Coma; Extended Benefits Expired Saturday; Food Banks Prepare for Possible Surge; This Week in Sports

Aired December 29, 2013 - 17:00   ET

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

ROSA FLORES, CNN ANCHOR: 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.

And just ahead, we're following several more big, developing stories as hundreds of thousands of athletes and tourists prepare to head to Russia, a train station there is hit by suicide bomber. Sixteen people are dead.

Plus, still trapped, and making the best of it. But when will a ship frozen in the Antarctic ocean finally go home?

And more than a million Americans lose unemployment benefits. What do they do next?

We'll take a look just ahead.

But, first, the FBI says the coast-to-coast crime spree of a violent bank robber ended today. We don't know what he looks like. But the entire town Tupelo, Mississippi knows what he allegedly did, gunning down one of their police officers, a military veteran, during the getaway in the middle of the day.

Officer Gale Stauffer has been laid to rest. Now, his widower says she can begin to heal because his reported killer can no longer hurt anyone else. Instead of lying low as nationwide manhunt intensify he allegedly robbed another bank in Arizona and ended up dead.

Phoenix police are holding a news conference right now. And CNN's Alexandra Field is tracking the story from our New York bureau.

And Alexandra, how did this suspect die?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rosa, the FBI says he was killed in a shootout with Phoenix Arizona police. His death putting to an end the nationwide manhunt.

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 after almost a week on the lookout for the suspect, police close in on him Saturday in Phoenix when they say he was walking out of the bank during 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 Tupelo officer Gail Stauffer. His widow spoke this morning thanking police.

(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: At this time, the FBI says it is not looking for any additional suspects related to those robberies or the death of officer Stauffer -- Rosa.

FLORES: And Alexandra, what else do we know about this suspect?

FIELD: Well, right now, Phoenix Arizona police are actually holding a press conference. We are expecting to learn the suspect's name. We'll bring you any details coming from that press conference just as soon as we have them.

FLORES: And we want to update you on something we just received this information into the CNN NEWSROOM. The name of that suspect, we are told, is Mario Garnet (ph). Again, that is Mario Garnet (ph), the name of that suspect that we're looking at.

You're looking at surveillance video. We have not been able to identify that suspect, but we have that name now. And I know that Alexander Field is going to be getting more information for us from that press conference. And we will bring it to you as soon as it becomes available.

Two competing theories on the cause behind last year's deadly attack in Benghazi are likely both wrong. That is according to the "New York Times." An in-depth report by the paper finds al-Qaeda probably was not involved in the assault that killed four Americans. Nor was the attack sparked solely by an anti-Muslim video as initially suggested by the Obama administration. Instead, the report suggests independent Libyan militias played a key role. The conclusion parallels CNN's previous reporting, but nonetheless, garnered reaction today on Washington's handling of the matter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. DARRELL ISSA (R), CHAIRMAN, HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE: The initial reports did not name this video as a prime cause. There was a small piece of information on a cable, they seized on it along with a lot of other information and chose to use that as a talking point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: And we should add that 15 months after the attack, there are still no arrests.

Just weeks before the start of the winter Olympic games, a strain station in Russia turns into a scene of (INAUDIBLE). Russian authorities believe a Black Widow or female suicide bomber, blew herself up killing 16 people and wounding at least 34 others. Today, suicide attack is the second in two months in Volgograd Russia which is located 600 miles from the Olympic city of Sochi.

CNN's Diana Magnay has new details on the possible isn't and the motive.

DIANA MAGNAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rosa, a huge blast in Volgograd (INAUDIBLE) station at noon on a Sunday, in peak holiday season. New Year is Russia's most important holiday so many, many people traveling through that station at this time. Time to course maximum damage.

Authorities are telling us that this was the work of a female suicide bomber. But they say that the damage and the casualty counts could have been far higher.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)\

VLADIMIR MARKIN, HEAD, RUSSIA'S INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE (through translator): According to available information, the explosion was carried out by the female suicide bomber who saw a police officer next to her on the way to the metal detector. She became nervous and activated the explosive device. Preliminary, the explosion was equivalent to 10 kilograms of TNT.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MAGNAY: Two months ago in the same city of Volgograd, another female suicide bomber blew herself up on a bus killing six people. Now, this phenomenon of the female suicide bomber, Black Widows as they're called, is a hallmark of the fighting, the Islam has been insurgency that's raging in Russia's north caucus region. And that is very close again to the area where the Sochi Olympics will start in just a few weeks time.

Security there obviously extremely tight around Sochi and itself. But this region is big. Volgograd is around 400 miles away from Sochi. And also a little more than 400 miles away from Dagestan, the most troubled part of the north caucuses.

In a video message in July, one of the biggest Chechen war lords who is Russia's most wanted man, (INAUDIBLE) issued a warning saying that he wanted to unleash maximum force to try and stop President Putin from holding these Olympics.

So, the fact that these attacks have taken place in a town which is quite far from Sochi itself is perhaps a sign that they recognize how tight security is around the Olympic sites themselves. But are looking for other tar gets to spread terror and fear ahead of the games -- Rosa.

FLORES: All right, Diana Magnay, thank you so much.

Torturous weather is hampering the rescue of dozens of people stranded off the coast of Antarctica. Seventy-four people are anxiously awaiting a rescue from an expedition vessel that's been stuck since before Christmas in miles and miles of frozen ocean. Hours ago, an Australian ice breaker which is within 28 nautical miles of that vessel, but was forced to a halt by blinding snow. The groups made up researchers, crews, and tourists are documenting every single moment of their stay.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Remember what we before we left? Alicia is tagging some amazing pictures which we put in here for you. And what you really have, we miss you very, very much but we're having a great time with lots of really good work and working on the seals and (INAUDIBLE) and recording sounds underwater. And if I heard that it went really well, fantastic. And Lily, that your concert was great. I love you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: A Chinese ice breaker is also in the area, but thick ice frozen froze its attempts to rescue.

And we are following again that breaking news right now. We're working to get more details on the condition of legendary formula 1 driver Michael Schumacher. Our latest information is that he is in a coma following a very bad skiing accident in the French Alps and his condition is critical.

Michael Schumacher needed emergency brain surgery due to what we're told is severe head trauma. Let's get Mark McKay in here. He is with CNN's sports. And you kind of give us a sense of who he is when it comes to sports.

MARK MCKAY, CNN SPORTS: Rosa, he is -- Yes, well, I can say that he is the best, the top Formula 1 driver in history of that sports around the world, one of the most recognizable athletes certainly around the world. He made his Formula 1 debut racing in 1991 claiming a record seven world titles by the time of his first retire in 2006. He won five of those titles with the Italian racing force known as Ferrari. He returned to Formula 1 in 2010 but he struggled with a German Mercedes racing team then he retired for a second time last year.

He is one of these athletes, Rosa, that transcends his sport. He is certainly one of the most recognizable and popular athletes in his native, Germany, certainly through Europe. And Formula One, with its end roads around the world. I would say he is one of the most popular and well-known athletes in the world.

FLORES: Now, compare this to U.S. NASCAR, for example.

MCKAY: Well, Formula 1 is a sport that has had trouble making end roads of the United States off and on. So these drivers, well, they may not walk around in the streets of New York or Los Angeles, if you recognized anywhere else. They go around the world. People know them. Formula 1, a huge sports.

Schumacher now stepping away from this sport and taking part in one of his love, skiing. He was skiing Sunday morning in the French resort of Mirabelle when this accidents occurred. He apparently was wearing a helmet, but still suffered the traumatic head injury which now season tonight's in France, in a hospital in France, Rosa, in a critical condition.

FLORES: Now, comparing to Richard Petty, Jimmy Johnson, perhaps.

MCKAY: Well, this guy is Formula One. He is the top driver. The most well known, certainly the winningest driver in the history. No one has won seven world titles in Formula 1. So, to call him a legend, Rosa, that would not be an understatement.

FLORES: All right, Mark McKay, thank you so much for giving us some perspective.

MCKAY: We'll continue to follow the story.

FLORES: We definitely will as we get more details about his condition, we'll definitely update them. And hopefully, you'll be back.

MCKAY: I will be happy to.

FLORES: All right, thank you so much.

Now, to politics. In just a moment, my next guest will have to pull out their political crystal ball. We're going to ask these experts what we can expect out of Washington in 2014. Neither of our guests have been told what we'll ask and we've got a couple of surprises for them, I should say.

And, also, just ahead, still trapped, but putting on a brave face as passengers of a ship frozen in the Antarctic ocean wait for rescue.

All of that and more coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FLORES: Welcome back.

We are talking politics now. Our political segments today are a little different. We're playing a political game called fill in the blank. We deliberately did not tell our political panel about this game beforehand so that their answers could be off the cuff.

So here's how it works. The basic question is what happens in 2014? We name the person or the issue and our political panel answers.

So here they are, CNN political commentator L.Z. Granderson joins us from Chicago and CNN political commentator and Republican strategist Kevin Madden joins us from Washington.

First of all, thank you so much.

And, of course, you watching, feel free to chime in on twitter. You can tweet me @RosaFlores.

OK. So, let's begin. We begin with 2014, of course.

What happen to President Obama?

Kevin, you first and then L.Z..

KEVIN MADDEN, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, you make it sound some ominous that we have to answer these without knowing what the questions were. Look. I think that the president will continue to struggle with some very low approval ratings. He's got approval ratings right now that are just bumping around 40 percent. So I think that's a really big problem for him. I think it's going to continue in 2014. And it's really going to hurt him in the midterm elections.

FLORES: L.Z.?

L.Z. GRANDERSON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: The president rebounds. Because there are a lot of things still on the plate yet that he can be a champion for. In addition to the fact that even though publicly Democrats are seeming to be shunning him as well as the affordable care act, the fact of the matter is he is still one of their best fundraisers. So, I assume he's going to continue to do that and some of the policies he has in place, he's going to be able to push those through in 2014.

MADDEN: They're going to need all that money, L.Z.. They are going to need a lot of it.

FLORES: And L.Z., I'm going to stay with you. What happens to House Speaker John Boehner?

GRANDERSON: I think he loses his job.

FLORES: Really?

GRANDERSON: Either he steps down -- is this my turn?

MADDEN: I'm sorry.

GRANDERSON: Either he steps down or he feels pressure to step down. But you know, there was something in the tone in the way that he talked about outside groups that struck me as really genuine. It struck me as totally frustrated, And, almost, I'm done sort of tone to it. So I would not be surprised at all if he steps down.

FLORES: I think I know what he would say. Are you kidding me? Kevin, out to you. What happens to the tea party?

MADDEN: Well, I think the tea party, again, is a force in the 2014 elections. I think what they still care about more than anything, what motivate the tea party is not so much that this idea that they are against Republicans who don't tow the party line. But what really motivates them is the idea that government is too big, and we're spending too much money and that President Obama and big government agenda have to be stopped. And because of that, I think that they can show up some record numbers in 2014 and help Republicans even expand their majority in the 2014 midterms.

FLORES: What about the split in the GOP with the tea party?

MADDEN: Nothing helps amend the split inside the party like winning the midterms.

FLORES: Winning?

L.Z.? Let's talk about this. Senator Ted Cruz.

GRANDERSON: OK. Well, he's not going away. That's for sure. He is part of the reason why I talked about Boehner maybe interested in stepping down because they are not going away. He is extremely popular. And, listen, Ted Cruz is a mess. He is very popular in Texas. A lot of people out snort don't like him because a lot of people out north have a lot more sense in terms of how to run a government than Ted Cruz does. With that being said, it's extremely popular. He's not going anywhere. We're just going to have to deal with him.

FLORES: Green eggs and ham, Sam I am, right?

So what happens to the Obamacare web site.

Kevin, you first?

MADDEN: Well, I think the web site, you know, they'll start to get a little bit better on the front end. That means when people log only, will the page be up? Yes. The big problem for Obama and for the Democrats is that there's going to continue to be problems on the back end. How they're being able to pay insurers and the data securities. So many Americans right now, they are force to go on healthcare.gov because the government is mandating that they go on it.

There are finding out that -- I think they are going to continue to find out that the security is not there that is for their data and for their financial information. And that's going to continue to be a problem. I hope that they're fixing it because so many people are trying to trust in the government right now.

FLORES: L.Z.,. the news today, 1.1 million Americans signed up. What's your take?

GRANDERSON: Well. it's good news. It is a month late. Because you want those people to have some sort of coverage and some sort of sense of stability. You know, in all the politics that we talked about surrounding affordable care act, I think that we can't forget is that there's more than 40 million Americans who do not have health coverage. Who may feel a lump somewhere or feel a bruise somewhere or feel as if they should go in to get something done but choose not to because they don't have the courage in put they can't afford to.

Now, we get the step in. Instead of stepping in the emergency room where it's more expensive. Perhaps with the existence of the affordable care act, the usage of the Web site, they'll feel a little bit more encouraged to go in and get checked up on. So, they don't have to worry about spending either more money in the emergency room. We can do it on the front end with preventive care.

FLORES: All right, so L.Z. and Kevin, don't go anywhere. Stay right there. We've got more questions for both of you in just a moment. And maybe even a surprise or two. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FLORES: Welcome back to our political game. What happens in 2014. We deliberately did not tell our political panel about this game ahead of time so that their answers would be more spontaneous.

So, here's how it works. The basic question is what happens in 2014? And we named the person or the issue in our political panel answers those questions.

So, Kevin, I'm going to start with you this time. In 2014, what happens to Senator Corey Booker?

MADDEN: Well, he'll probably gain about another million twitter followers because he seems to really enjoy making sure that everybody using digital media to really communicate with his constituents and with the media.

But I think he'll be seen as somebody that more and more Democrats look to sort of articulate a lot of the national arguments that they're making against Republicans. That's always a difficult thing to do because, you know, you don't want to lose -- you don't want to have too much distance between you and the people in New Jersey. So, it will be interesting to see how he handles. that

FLORES: Well, I hope he is tweeting right now because he is a very active twitter.

MADDEN: He would probably tweeting us right, you are right.

FLORES: That would be fantastic.

Now, let's talk immigration reform.

L.Z., let's start with you.

GRANDERSON: What do you want to know?

MADDEN: L.Z., has the answer to immigration reform. FLORES: Use your crystal ball, L.Z..

GRANDERSON: You know what, unfortunately, I don't think we're going to see any real headway until past 2014 election. I just think that it's still too divisive. And the people who are supposed to be the face of this big push sort of fade into the background behind other kind of debates. So, I don't see anything happening in 2014 besides more rhetoric in terms of immigration, unfortunately.

FLORES: Kevin?

MADDEN: I think that's right. Look, I think that there are two big camps right now that can't reconcile their difference. One camp that wants a very big bill and then there is another camp that wants to do it in pieces. And I don't think there is ever enough votes to move it all the way though both Houses in Congress in order to get anything done right now. If they do, it will be a very, very big challenge.

FLORES: And now this. L.Z., Chris Christie, New Jersey governor, what do you think?

GRANDERSON: He's going to have a great year. He's coming in with a lot of sting. He's got work to do in terms of the working class Republicans, the Republicans in the south, the tea partiers if you will, trusting him. but I think he has a lot of steam, perhaps as much steam if not more so, than Hillary Clinton in terms of positive by and a lot of positive threat. And I expect 2014, at least in terms of coverage, to be really, really big for him.

FLORES: And he's making a lot of calls to Washington. That's another for sure.

MADDEN: And he has probably call a lot of fund raising looking at 2016.

FLORES: That's right.

GRANDERSON: Yes.

FLORES: It has been a lot of money.

Now, in 2014, what happens to same-sex marriage. Kevin, you first?

MADDEN: Well, you know, I think it's interesting. Inside a Republican party, there's a pretty, you know, vivid debate about this issue. And I think more and more conservatives are actually finding that there's a conservative argument for same-sex marriage and for giving people the freedom to choose. So, I think that it will continue to be something that a lot of Republicans will evolve on. But, again, I think it still is very, very sometimes divisive issue inside our party. So, it will be interesting to see whether or not that spills into any electoral battles.

FLORES: L.Z.?

GRANDERSON: I agree a lot with what Kevin had to say. Look, 2014, my man liked it. He put a ring on it. So, I'm looking to get married myself in 2014. So, I think it's going to be a very, very good year. At least for me, anyway. In terms of that conversation.

But politically speaking, we shouldn't assume it's an easy conversation for Democrats either, especially Democrats in battle ground space. I live in Chicago. Same-sex marriage wasn't easy to pass here with a full Democratic governor as well as both Houses here in the state. So a set of divisive issues and issue that's (INAUDIBLE) and tied to "Duck Dynasty," apparently. So, it's going to continue to be controversial in 2014 as well.

FLORES: In ten seconds, Kevin, Toronto mayor Rob Ford?

MADDEN: Disaster. One word. I don't even need ten seconds, you know. I hope the voters in Toronto take care of that on their won.

FLORES: L.Z., what do you think?

GRANDERSON: In the words of the great, late philosopher Whitney Houston, crack is whack.

(LAUGHTER)

FLORES: Quote, end quote.

Now, it's kind of related, the subject, marijuana sales in the U.S. -- Kevin?

MADDEN: Boy, I don't know. I just say no to drugs, I guess. I'm the father of three boys. So, I have to be very careful of what I say on this one.

FLORES: L.Z.?

GRANDERSON: Listen, you know, I'd be happy for us to have an adult conversation about marijuana, you know. The reason why it was put in the category that it was in terms of drugs because of Richard Nixon really hated, one, what's happening to our veterans coming back from Vietnam. And then, two, he hated hippies. And we've been holding onto that same sort of mentality with marijuana in spite of the science, And so, I would like to see us having an adult conversation about it and not just a knee jerk reaction based on what happened in the '60s with drugs in general and then Richard Nixon's attitude towards it.

FLORES: And Kevin, Miley Cyrus.

MADDEN: Miley Cyrus, boy, I hope she looks back on 2013 and hopes for a different 2014. You can tell I'm an old faddy daddy on some of those pop culture stuff here because Miley Cyrus, I wouldn't know a song if she played if I heard it.

FLORES: No political twerking. L.Z., what do you think?

GRANDERSON: You know what, she had a brilliant 2013 because we are still talking about her. She had her first number one album in her career. She has the first number one song of her career. She had a very successful in terms of pop culture, you know, year. And so, as much as we may begrudge some of the things that she did, I'm sure she did an understanding that this could elevate her career. And for better or for worse, it ages that.

FLORES: Thank you so much for being a great sport.

Our thanks to CNN political commentator L.Z. Granderson in Chicago and CNN political commentator Kevin Madden in Washington.

And still ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM, we are seeing some incredible cold temperatures across the country right now and in the coming days. But at least one man came up with a creative way to handle the winter weather. How he makes these giant pieces of art next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FLORES: And we are back to this hour's breaking news.

A major figure in international sports is in a coma and in critical condition. Michael Schumacher is the single most successful and well- known Formula 1 drivers in the history of motor sports. Today he was rushed into an emergency room for brain surgery after a skiing accident in the French alps.

On the phone with me now from Miami is Dr. Malcolm Bullock. He's a neurosurgeon and professor of neurosurgery at the University of Miami.

And Doc, when you hear severe head trauma and emergency brain surgery after a skiing accident, what comes to mind?

DR. MALCOLM BULLOCK, NEUROSURGEON: Well, you know, obviously I don't know the patient's personal history and it's not policy to reveal those type of things. But what comes to mind first is something like what might have happened to Natasha Richardson some years ago. And there is a epidural hematoma, in other words a blood clot inside the skull which might be perhaps outside the brain and compressing on the bleeding.

That type of blood clot can develop very quickly and can compress the brain and can transform what might seem to be a mild head injury in the beginning to a (INAUDIBLE) and suddenly it looks as though he was treated very badly with surgery so that's might have been what happened to him.

FLORES: Now you mentioned Natasha Richardson. There are other prominent recent accidents. Does this sport need to be looked at in other ways because of safety, you think?

BULLOCK: No, I don't think so. I think that skiing is, you know, (INAUDIBLE). The safety of the various sports and I don't recall that skiing is up higher than -- you know, than things like football and rugby. In fact I heard that somewhere I read that woman's soccer was the sport with the highest incidents of intracranial hematomas but, you know, such injuries happen to about 50,000, 60,000 people a year in the U.S. so, you know, they're not that uncommon. And those are the ones that are not fatal. There are some injuries, of course, sometimes when this is immediately fatal.

FLORES: Talk to us about the timing. He was rushed to the emergency room. Is time of the essence in this situation?

BULLOCK: Yes, absolutely. You know, there is this saying, you know, that time is brain or time is neurons. And when the brain is under compression inside that skull, there is no way for the blood to perfuse the brain. So the removal of that intracranial hemorrhage, the blood clot can sometimes be really something that's very much time dependent.

And the data, the outcome data show that if the blood clot is removed within an hour, then the person can make a dramatic recovery. And, you know, sometimes, there are these kind of classic cases where the patient regains consciousness after the surgery again. But such instances are quite rare. Certainly time is really important.

FLORES: Now we've learned that he was talking right after this accident. Is that usual?

BULLOCK: Well, so that suggests that the dose of the impact, the dose of impact trauma with the head was quite low. But it might have been enough just to fracture the skull in such a way that it tore a blood vessel. It might have been enough just to damage blood vessels and yet not the brain. So this is really the type of situation again like what happened to Natasha Richardson where rampant neurosurgery is really, really important.

There are so many times when unfortunately the die is cast when the injuries happened. But clearly with a case like this it's a secondary mechanism that's responsible for damage.

FLORES: And Doc, really quickly, what happens next after the surgery?

BULLOCK: Well, God willing, he'll continue to make a good recovery and regain consciousness soon and gone to recover. I see that he was skiing with a helmet, you know. Most patients, 90 percent of people that have an extramural hematoma will go ahead to make an excellent recovery and go back to their previous life's activities. But it really depends whether the brain itself took any kind of damage in addition to the hemorrhage. Those are really the determinant of outcome.

FLORES: Dr. Malcolm Bullock, thank you so much for joining us and for giving us that perspective.

Much more on Michael Schumacher's injury and career just ahead.

As of this weekend, more than a million Americans lost their unemployment benefits. So what do they do next? We'll take a look just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) FLORES: Reality is setting in for over a million unemployed Americans. Their Emergency Federal Unemployment benefits ran out yesterday.

With absolutely no source of income coming in, what do these Americans do?

CNN's Sunlen Serfaty reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is what the last six months have been like for Paul Hallasy.

PAUL HALLASY, UNEMPLOYED: I've answered over 500 want ads just on one Web site alone.

SERFATY: At 52 he's been out of work in educational publishing and now another blow. He's one of 1.3 million Americans losing unemployment benefits.

On average they've been getting $300 each week. Hallasy's check wasn't nearly enough to cover the $1100 rent on his New York apartment, and now it will stop coming.

HALLASY: I won't be able to buy food. I won't be able to pay my bills.

SERFATY: Extended unemployment benefits beyond the usual 26 weeks were started during the Bush administration to help Americans hit by the recession. Since 2008 they've been renewed 11 times, but not this time. Congress failed to pass an extension in the budget deal, teeing up a nasty fight for the New Year.

RYAN LIZZA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: It's going to be classic messy Washington politics over an issue with the two parties just don't have a united view. This is one of those issues that the right flank wants to fight on.

SERFATY: Some Republicans say it's time to end the program altogether. They argue it's too expensive. A year's extension costs $25 billion. People have gotten dependent. And they say the economy is strong enough now without them.

CHRIS EDWARDS, CATO INSTITUTE: When you extend benefits to, you know, 73 weeks or 99 weeks, it encourages some people to stay unemployed too long, and that makes it increasingly hard for them to get back into the workforce.

SERFATY: Democrats say benefit checks get spent right away, spending that's necessary to boost the economic recovery.

CHRISTINE OWENS, NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT LAW PROJECT: This is what these people need in order just to get by, and it's what the economy needs in order to keep its momentum. Removing this bare minimum safety net, beyond just being cruel, is not going to be productive in terms of getting them back in the labor force or getting them a job.

SERFATY: But the political blame game doesn't help Paul Hallasy's new reality.

HALLASY: It's extremely stressful. I mean, I've gotten physically sick. I haven't been able to sleep.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FLORES: Now Sunlen joins us live from Washington.

And Sunlen, how big of a fight can we expect over this extending benefits when lawmakers return from recess?

SERFATY: Rosa, I would say brace yourself. Right now it does seem that Democrats and Republicans are ready to battle on this one. But there are a few signs of willingness to negotiate. Speaker of the House John Boehner said he would consider extending the benefits if there's also a proposal to offset the cuts.

Now there also seems to be some coalescing in the Senate around a plan for a three-month extension. Now that plan is co-sponsored by a Democrat and a Republican, Senator Jean Heller of Nevada. Now the president backs this plan and he's even making personal calls from his vacation in Hawaii to rally up that support.

And, Rosa, Senate majority leader Harry Reid, he's promised that this will be the first order of business when the Senate returns in early January.

Back to you.

FLORES: And someone in Congress comes up short and a deal isn't worked out, this problem is going to keep getting worse, isn't it?

SERFATY: It is. Over the course of the year, without a resolution, the number of Americans losing their benefits will just keep growing. Now that's because an additional amount of people will hit those -- that 26-week mark. That's when the normal benefits ran out. And they too will join the others that will not receive these benefits.

Now the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, they say that this could raise the almost 4.9 million people by the end of the year if there's no resolution. So if those numbers keep growing, as you can imagine, Rosa, that's just going to keep putting pressure on Congress.

Back to you.

FLORES: All right. Sunlen Serfaty for us in Washington. Thank you.

SERFATY: Thanks.

FLORES: The loss of those emergency benefits means some have no way to pay rent or to buy food. The situation has forced some food banks to prepare for a possible surge of people looking for help.

Here with me now is Margaret Purvis, president and CEO of the Food Bank for New York City.

First of all, thank you so much for being here with me.

MARGARET PURVIS, PRESIDENT/CEO, FOOD BANK FOR NEW YORK CITY: Thank you.

FLORES: How is this going to impact your organization?

PURVIS: I tell you, you know, A, it confirms for us that there is, in fact, a war against the poor. You know, in New York City, where -- we keep talking, we keep hearing this number being bounced around. $1600 is what people are getting from unemployment. That's the max that you would be able to get in a month. Median rent in New York City is $1100.

People are not just choosing to not work. This benefit is for people who are out looking. And what we know to be true is that it now, on average, takes between six and 10 months to find a new job. That's not you doing anything wrong. That's what you sending out resumes, going to interviews and hoping to be able to get a job.

FLORES: Just the cycle. I know --

PURVIS: Just the cycle.

FLORES: I know you and I have been talking about this is a second whammy.

PURVIS: Absolutely.

FLORES: November 1st, we saw the reduction in benefits for food stamp recipients.

PURVIS: Absolutely.

FLORES: And now this is the second wave of clients that you will be seeing. Who are you seeing as clients?

PURVIS: More and more, we're seeing the working poor. So many of the people, I mean, we really are talking about some of the same folks. People who have lost benefits on November 1st were leaning even heavier on their unemployment benefits. We're now talking about a reduction. We're talking about a complete punishment to people simply because they do not have a job and are looking for one.

It is very important that everyone who is watching this today understands that while the 1.3 million number is being bantered about, the real number, if we don't come to a resolution and allow this thing to continue out, by this time next year, will be five million Americans. With no help. No safety net when all they're doing is looking for a job.

FLORES: People who are watching, what can they do to help? Can they help organizations like your organization, food bank around the country? PURVIS: They can. But you know what, I want to make real clear. We never want to say that charity can ever take the place for the leadership that we must expect and receive in Washington. First we must race our voices. You know, a lot of folks have to go back to work on Monday so will Congress. It's important that they hear from their -- everyone who they represent to say this is not OK.

Don't play chicken with policies. And then, of course, certainly, support your local food bank. Bank. We're going to need it.

FLORES: Margaret Purvis, from New York City, thank you so much.

PURVIS: Thank you, Rosa.

FLORES: We appreciate the perspective.

The Dallas Cowboys lose their star quarterback right before the biggest game of the year. Can they overcome the loss? And will Tony Romo ever be the same? I'll talk about it with Terence Moore coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FLORES: Are you ready for some football? We are turning to the NFL, the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles square off tonight in a do- or-die match-up for the NFL playoffs. And 41-year-old quarterback, Jon Kitna, has come out of retirement to join the Cowboys as a backup.

He's been teaching algebra and coaching the football team at Tacoma, Washington's Lincoln High School. And the "Dallas Morning News" reports he plans to donate, hear this, his $53,000 salary for this week, to the school.

Kitna has been retired for two years but Dallas signed him on when starting quarterback Tony Romo was injured.

Let's talk more sports with Terence Moore. He's the contributor for CNN.com and a columnist for MLB.com.

Good to see you again.

TERENCE MOORE, CNN.COM SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR: Same here.

FLORES: Great to have you on the couch.

MOORE: I've only been here twice before so.

FLORES: I feel special, Terence.

MOORE: So do I.

(LAUGHTER)

FLORES: We have to talk Tony Romo. There is so much smack about Tony Romo.

MOORE: Yes.

FLORES: On Twitter, everything from, OK, the injury, the timing of the surgery. Have we seen the best of Tony Romo?

MOORE: You know what, let's go to another sport. Larry Bird played with a back injury for most of his career. It wasn't until he had back surgery that he was done. In other words, Tony Romo, as we know him today, there's no way it could be the same. And remember now, Larry Bird didn't have 300-pound lineman chasing after him, either. Huge difference.

FLORES: It's a tough sport.

MOORE: It is.

FLORES: Now let's talk job security. And including Jason Garrett with the Dallas Cowboys. And NFL coaches. Are we going to see mass layoffs after tomorrow?

MOORE: Well, you know, Monday after the regular season is always called Black Monday. And this is going to be a particularly gruesome one, OK. You've got 32 NFL coaches and pretty close to a third of them could get whacked. As a matter of fact, right about now, Mike Shanahan probably is getting the axe with the Washington Redskins. They had a particularly dreadful season.

So it ranges from him to a guy like Tom Coughlin. Tom Coughlin led two Super Bowl rings. But since they've had a bad year. It can also happen to him. It probably depends on what side of the bed the various owner wakes up on.

FLORES: Which begs the question, you know, there was a time when coaches were actually given the time to develop the winning team.

MOORE: Sure.

FLORES: What changed? Is it the hefty salaries that they are getting now? They're getting superstar salaries. Is that it? Or what do you think happened?

MOORE: Well, you know, that's part of it. But the other part is parenting. I said right here on this set at the beginning of the season, this would be the most competitive season in the history of the National Football League. Now that's good for everybody else but that's bad for coaches. Because you look at -- you've had five different Super Bowl winners in the last five years including the New Orleans Saints who are historically dreadful. So if you're --

FLORES: Thank you for mentioning that because I've got several tweets and Facebook posts saying, from the Who Dat nation, you've got to give a shout-out from the Who Dat nation. So there we go.

MOORE: Yes. We did just there.

FLORES: That's right. MOORE: So I mean -- so if you're an owner out there, and you see this, you expect your coach to win now. So it -- that makes perfect sense.

FLORES: Predictions for 2014?

MOORE: I'm going to start with this. OK. The first prediction is, that during Super Bowl weekend, on this very station, on this network, you got to be seeing breaking news at the bottom of the screen the entire time because the mother of all snowstorms will take place in New York City the first week and weekend and --

FLORES: During the Super Bowl.

MOORE: In February. Right. That's guaranteed. Second of all, Major League Baseball this year has expanded instant replay to cover virtually everything. That means you're going to have fans coming to games in their pajamas, night games, because these games will never ever end.

(LAUGHTER)

Final prediction, LeBron James. OK. He's up to become a free agent this summer. A lot of people think he could go back to the Cleveland Cavaliers where he started because he is from northern Ohio. OK. Let me see here. Winter in Cleveland. Winter in Miami. That's a tough choice. He's going to stay with the Heat. And the other thing is, he's got a better chance of winning a championship again with the Heat. He'll never win one with the Cavaliers.

FLORES: And I've got to ask you, before I let you go, Crimson Tide. We're talking Alabama. We never talk newborns in sports.

MOORE: Yes.

FLORES: But we've got to talk newborns today. The name of the newborn Crimson Tide Steel. Why?

MOORE: Well, I mean, first of all, I think these parents have too much time on their hands. And the other thing is this child should be glad that her parents aren't die-hard Purdue fans. Otherwise her first time would be boiler and her middle name would me maker.

Dr. Crimson Tide.

FLORES: All right. Terence Moore, thank you so much. Always a joy and a pleasure to have you here with us.

And I mentioned this earlier. Across the country, people are dealing with subzero temperatures, at least one man loves weather like that. He is a snow artist. We'll show you what we're talking about next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FLORES: Angels have been the hallmark design for making art in the snow but a British artist is taking it to a brand new level. Simon Beck doesn't use a paintbrush or pencil to create his work. Instead he grabs -- hear this -- a compass and trudges around in a pair of snow shoes in the French alps until he creates a beautiful massive snow design. That first work of art was a five-pointed star with circles between the point. It takes him about 10 hours to complete a snow drawing.

Now to the box office. Familiar films beat out the newcomers in a big way. "The Hobbit and Desolation Smaug" comes in first. It's expected to make just under $30 million. Disney's animation "Frozen" is a close second with a forecast of $28.8 million dollars. Then "Anchorman 2" and "American Hustle."

In fact the only new movie to break into the top five is "The Wolf of Wall Street" which is supposed to bring in $18.5 million over the weekend.

Here in the CNN NEWSROOM, I'm Rosa Flores. Thank you so much for spending part of your Sunday with us. We are watching for developments this afternoon from the world of international sports. That's where the biggest name in Formula 1 racing was badly hurt in an accident today in France.

It wasn't a car crash. Michael Schumacher fell on a ski slope today and suffered severe head trauma that needed emergency brain surgery. Right now Schumacher is in a coma. The 44-year-old racing legend holds more titles in Formula 1 racing than any other driver in that sports' history. He officially retired in 2012.

Now you want to stay with CNN. We'll update you on his condition as soon as we know more.