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One of the Coldest Games in NFL History; Groups Help Homeless Survive Bitter Cold; Will Congress Be Productive in 2014? New York Could Make Medical Pot Legal; Charlie Crist Running as Democrat; Plane Crashes at Aspen Airport; NSA Developing Super Computer?; NSA super computer Super Bowl of Electronics Happening in Vegas. College football races to Championships; Staying safe and battle in deep freeze

Aired January 05, 2014 - 16:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And right now we begin another hour of the CNN NEWSROOM.

Deep freeze and arctic blast is pushing temperatures to record lows from the Midwest to the deep south, dangerous temperatures, snow and ice. We'll take you to the storm zone straight ahead.

And the holiday fund is over and the hard work begins for U.S. Congress. Lawmakers head back to the Capitol tomorrow and a critical vote tops their agenda.

Plus a microbiologist tries to poison her friend for having an affair with her husband? It's a toxic love triangle that's landed before the U.S. Supreme Court. The bizarre legal case this hour.

And we're following some breaking news out of Aspen, Colorado. A plane has crashed at the Aspen Pitkin County airport. Officials say the aircraft appears to be a Bombardier Challenger 600, arriving from Tucson, Arizona, but they don't know how many people were on board that plane.

Actor and comedian Kevin Nealon tweeted this, quote, "Horrible plane crash here at Aspen airport. Exploded into flames as it was landing. I think it was a private jet," end quote. And singer LeAnn Rimes tweeted this, "So sad, horrible plane crash we just saw happen at the Aspen airport."

When we get any more information about the circumstances of that crash, we'll bring them on to you.

All right. Now to that dangerous arctic blast that barreling across the U.S. Right now it's targeting the Midwest with heavy snow, ice and pushing temperatures well below zero. The front is marching east. And by Tuesday, nearly half the country will be shivering in single digits or sub-zero temperatures. Several cities are already closing school for Monday and opening up warming centers.

The nasty weather is being blamed for thousands of flight cancellations. In fact, two jets slid off of icy taxiways. This one at New York's JFK Airport and the other at Chicago O'Hare. No one was hurt in either incident.

And this hour in Green Bay, Wisconsin, the Green Bay Packers face off against the San Francisco 49ers in extremely frigid conditions that promises to be one of the coldest games in NFL history.

Our George Howell is there.

George, last we talked it was five degrees. And you're expecting a little warm front to move in. Has it happened?

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And let me figure out this mike situation first, Fred. So yes, right now, we know that it's five degrees here. We're expecting it to get anywhere into the negative teens, negative 20 as far as wind chill is concerned. So this is probably as warm as it will get.

You can see that behind me over here. You can see the fans starting to go into the stadium. Some 70,000 people will be here to watch this game. The Packers versus the 49ers.

We do know that the officials here are doing several things to help out. They're offering coffee. They're offering hot chocolate to help. And they also sent out that warning, Fred, just to make sure that you bundle up. You know, wear the gloves, wear the hat, all of those things to help you as you watch this game in bitter cold temperatures.

We talked to a few fans about this experience. Here's what they had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can prepare for it but you can't really prepare for it. You know, we've been doing this our whole life up here. So it's what Green Bay is all about. It's called leather and hard hitting football.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know about the people from California. I don't know if you can be ready for this kind of cool.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: So can you be ready for this kind of weather? Well, again, as long as you come prepared, as long as you're bundled up, and you have to limit your time outside. You know, for instance, with these live shots, these reports that we're doing, you know, I come out right before the shot and then I get right back in because you had to limit your time out here.

And as little skin, you know, as -- that is exposed to this weather the better. So best to just come prepared if you're going to tough it out, out here.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And I wonder, you know, in the days of high security in a lot of stadiums and any public place, I'm wondering, you know, George, are fans allowed to come in with blankets, any kind of, you know, additional supplies, you know, to kind of keep them warm while they're sitting there on those cold bleachers?

HOWELL: Well, we're seeing fans bring certain things in, but there is a very detailed, a very specific list, according to the NBA, according to the Packers here that fans had to adhere to. So, you know, obviously, you'll have to check that list out to determine whether you can bring that blanket or not. But we do see people bringing several things in.

And again, you talk about layers, so what I have on is good, but I've seen people in much, much -- not worse but more.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

HOWELL: That's what you have to do to get through this.

WHITFIELD: Of course. It's about survival. Not just for the players on the field but particularly for the fans there in Lambeau Field.

Thanks so much, George. Appreciate that. Stay warm. Get back in that truck.

HOWELL: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: All right, clearly, we're in for some pretty nasty weather. In the next few days Alexandra Steele has the forecast.

ALEXANDRA STEELE, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Fred. Well, obviously, cold air continues to be the name of the game weather wise. And here it comes. This arctic invasion. It's actually a piece of the polar puzzle, believe it or not. It's a piece of the polar vortex that's coming down. It's the coldest air in North America and it will be ours here in the lower 48. And we're going to watch it spread south and eastward.

Take a look at these temperatures. Highs today, 15 below will be the high temperature in Duluth. That's 32 degrees below average. High in Minnesota today, in Minneapolis, seven below will be the high. Marquette to Chicago, you see those temperatures, too, well below zero.

Well, as we head toward Monday, look at Indianapolis, 50 degrees, close to 50. Colder than where we should be. A high of only 13 below in Indianapolis. So we are going to shatter records here from the north to the south and really for different reasons. As we head toward Tuesday 27 degrees below average. Atlanta, Georgia, will be with the high of only 25. Low temperatures in Atlanta, single digits probably for the first time since 2003.

So how cold is it? Let's get perspective. Of course you know where Anchorage is, how cold it usually is, 34 will be the high temperature on Monday. International Falls in Minnesota will have a high of 16 below. Chicago will be colder than Anchorage as well on Monday with the high of only 12 below. St. Louis, Missouri, will be -- will be colder than Anchorage as will Atlanta, Georgia, colder than Anchorage, Alaska, on Monday with the high of only 24. So you kind of get the sense of the breadth and depth of this cold and of course records being shattered from 1909 with the high in Minneapolis of 19 below.

Wind chills on Monday dropping to 60 below potentially in Minneapolis. Chicago all-time daily high. So breaking records from Sin City to Detroit for kind of the consistent number of days sub-zero.

All right. So let's take it in Boston. Boston, the story is a little bit different. Of course it's going to be cold. But Monday it's going to be cloudy with rain and 50 degrees. And then that arctic air hits Boston. And look at the temperature drop from 50 to 19 in one day. Similar scenario in New York, we drop from almost 50 to 13 for a high on Tuesday, Fred. So the cold air is in place and we're all going to feel it.

WHITFIELD: We are. We're feeling it now. Thanks, Alexandra.

All right. As you just heard temperatures in Indianapolis could soon hit 13 below. And that has teams of outreach workers trying to help keep the city's homeless safe.

Walter Allen from the affiliate WISH explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRYAN HEAGY, HOMELESS: I guess if something did happen to me, well, I'm just another homeless person off the street.

WALTER ALLEN, WISH REPORTER: The wind (INAUDIBLE) around the buildings north of Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis.

HEAGY: My blankets and my coat, it's all I got.

ALLEN: Sitting on the sidewalk, rocking to generate any type of blood flow to warm up is Bryan Heagy.

HEAGY: And every day being homeless, it's a struggle.

ALLEN: Bryan is just one of a number of Hoosiers without a roof over their head. Low temperatures are expected to be close to 20 below or colder in the coming days.

HEAGY: We get together and sit on heat vents and we do OK, but a lot of people, they ain't got that and they don't make it.

ALLEN: The truth, it's as cold as the projected temperatures. It's life or death. And that's as real as it gets for Bryan and others on the street.

HEAGY: There's another homeless man that stays over there. And I hope he makes it. But in these temperatures, if you don't get some help, I don't think you will.

ALLEN: The help is coming. The city along with a number of different agencies pulling together their resources to get those out in the elements inside in the coming days.

MATT ROLLER, WHEELER MISSION MINISTRIES: Outreach teams that are out there already every day trying to get men and women out of the cold, get them into shelters.

ALLEN: Matt Roller is the director of Emergency Shelters Services with Wheeler Mission Ministries. He says their shelters, especially the shelter for men, are beyond capacity with around 300 needing a warm place to stay. To help with overflow, additional shelters are set up to meet the demand. That's only one part of the equation. Food and supplies is the other.

We talked with one worker with Wheeler. He told us he'd recently prayed for food. His prayers were answered.

DARRYL LEWIS, CROSSROADS DAIRY FARMS: Over here donating from our kindness week. Items that everyone at our job has donated.

ALLEN: Canned goods and other items poured out of three cars. Hoping their effort and example will help see those through the next frigid couple of days.

LEWIS: We have to help one another out in this time of need. We're all human. Everyone needs help. It's unthinkable that someone has to suffer. Some people always need a reaching hand.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And the Red Cross has also opened two shelters in the city for people who need a warm place to go.

The U.S. Coast Guard is on the way to Antarctica to help repair of ships trapped in ice. Fifty-two tourists if you recall and scientists were airlifted from the Russian and Chinese ships last week but the crew stayed behind with the ships. The Polar Star and the Coast Guard's only icebreaker has left Australia. It will take about a week to get to Antarctica. The Guard says it is ready and duty bound to help the troubled crews.

All right. Pope Francis will be in Holy Land in May. He announced his plans for the trip this morning. He will visit Jerusalem, Bethlehem in the West Bank and the Jordanian capital of Amman. It will his first trip to the Holy Land as pontiff.

And two people are critically injured after a three-alarm fire broke out in the New York high rise. Crews are still trying to get control of that fire which started only the 20th floor of this Midtown building. Smoke was pouring out. A fire department spokesman says there are people inside but it's still unclear if they're trapped.

U.S. Congress gets back to work this week after closing the door on a rather disappointing 2013. The U.S. Senate is back tomorrow, the House starts on Tuesday and the agenda is already packed.

Sunlen Serfaty joins me live now from Washington.

So, Sunlen, how does Congress hope to maybe turn things around this year?

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, last year did end on a high note with the compromise over the budget deal. And the White House hopes that will give Congress some momentum for this year. But there is still a lot to do and many of these issues have started fights in the past.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SERFATY (voice-over): The president's vacation is over. He faces a colder reality now -- Congress.

JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE": If you're a glass half full kind of person like I am, they're the number one most unproductive Congress in modern history.

SERFATY: Get ready for possible deja vu.

SEN. HARRY REID (D), MAJORITY LEADER: I wish I had a magic wand to say I know things will be better.

SERFATY: This year Congress has a full plate. Right off the bat a potentially easy one for the Senate. Confirming Janet Yellen as the first woman to head the Federal Reserve. But next a real battle over long-term unemployment benefits. Both sides arguing Sunday.

SEN. RAND PAUL (R), KENTUCKY: With regard to unemployment insurance, I've always said that I'm not opposed to unemployment insurance. I am opposed to having it without paying for it.

REID: We have never offset emergency spending. It's foolishness. We have people that are desperate. They've been out of work for -- some as much as two years.

SERFATY: On January 15th, a major deadline to fund the government. A deal was reached last year but it needs to be finalized.

As early as February, a deadline to raise the debt ceiling again with both sides already dug in.

GENE SPERLING, DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL ECONOMICS COUNCIL: I think that it will be harmful not just for the economy, but I think it will be harmful politically. If Republicans use 2014 as a year to threaten default again on the debt limit.

SERFATY: And an even heavier lift for a deal on immigration reform, which has escaped Congress for years.

REP. ERIC CANTOR (R) MAJORITY LEADER: It can't be my way or the highway on such a big issue.

SERFATY: Not to mention continued attempts by Republicans to change Obamacare.

REP. DARRELL ISSA (R), CALIFORNIA: This has been a failed launch, a flawed law and it needs real change. SERFATY: Don't hold your breath for all of this to be crossed off the list. According to the most recent CNN/ORC poll two-thirds of Americans called Congress the worst ever. And the midterm elections will suck up much desire this year to compromise.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are not likely to be times of large fruitful legislative harvest.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SERFATY: And the Senate will start to work on unemployment benefits tomorrow. And that will give us an early read on how combative the year will be. A White House aide says if Republicans are ready to fight over these benefits they are happy to have that fight, too -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Sunlen, thanks so much, from Washington.

All right. So last week, it was Colorado. Now another big state maybe making it easier to use medicinal marijuana.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Medical marijuana could soon be legal in New York. Supporters of Governor Andrew Cuomo say he will take executive action and allow select hospitals to dispense it to some patients.

Rosa Flores is in New York.

So, Rosa, the governor seems to be changing his tune a bit.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He definitely is, Fred. And advocates are pleasantly surprised because they tell us that tens of thousands of New York patients will be able to benefit from this.

New York will join 20 other states and the District of Columbia that now allow medical marijuana use for medical purposes of course. Now take a look at the northeast. It's already legal in most states surrounding New York.

Now this is a bold move by the governor of New York. Through an executive order he would allow the use of medical marijuana in a state where the Senate has already on multiple occasions killed comprehensive bills.

So here's how it all would work. Under this measure the Department of Health would create guidelines. Twenty hospitals in the state would administer the drug and a panel of hospital doctors would determine who qualifies for this prescription.

Now while this creates a lot of questions like where is this marijuana going to come from, advocates say it's a great first step, one some New Yorkers have been waiting for for a very long time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GABRIEL SAYEGH, DRUG POLICY ALLIANCE: There's Nancy out in Albany who's a cancer survivor, who use marijuana when she was recovering from -- dealing with the cancer treatments.

There's people all over our state for whom this is literally a life and death issue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: Now critics are not happy about this. Jeffrey Reynolds from the Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence says the following. And I'm going to quote here, "The prospect of policy changes that could potentially fuel further drug misuse diversion and addiction is quite frankly truly frightening to us," end quote.

So when could we see the first prescription?

Fred, I've got to tell you, some optimistic advocates say in three to four months.

WHITFIELD: Wow. OK. Right around the corner. OK. And in the meantime, what is the governor saying about all this? You have a lot of his advocates who were speaking kind of on his behalf. But what about him?

FLORES: You know, he's not saying much about this at the moment. He's expected to make the big announcement on Wednesday during his state of the state address. But like you said, his advocates are coming forward and saying this is a great first step because it will allow the ball to start rolling in the state of New York so that all of the infrastructure for this can be ready to go when the legislature comes back and hopefully, they're keeping their fingers crossed, they will have a comprehensive bill that will clear all the kinks as they call them when it comes marijuana use for medical purposes -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: OK. Rosa Flores, thanks so much. Appreciate that.

OK. So are the political dominos starting to fall in the politics of pot?

Rick Tyler is a former spokesman for Newt Gingrich and now a senior vice president at the Strategy Group Company.

Good to see you.

And Julian Epstein is a Democratic strategist and former chief council to the House Judiciary Committee.

Good to see you as well.

Happy new year to both of you, gentlemen.

JULIAN EPSTEIN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Good afternoon, Fred.

WHITFIELD: OK. So did Colorado's new law have an impact on New York Governor Cuomo's decision to ease restrictions? Julian? EPSTEIN: Well, I think there's a national move at least towards some liberalization on marijuana laws and Colorado certainly had an impact in the public debate. I think what -- I think opponents of it certainly have an argument in terms of the science not being in with respect to motor issues and cognitive issues.

But in New York the real issue is the medical use of marijuana and I think there, as your own Sanjay Gupta wrote in a blog recently, the science really is in. We really do know that medical marijuana properly prescribed can have enormous benefits for people suffering from cancer, (INAUDIBLE) benefits. We know that it can have medicinal or positive health benefits for people that suffer from things like brain seizures and other kinds of problems.

So I think the medicine is really in there. 75 percent of doctors really support the medical use of marijuana and in New York 82 percent of the public supports it. So I think the politics are good and I think the science is right and the public policy is right.

WHITFIELD: So, Rick, how do you see this influence in the debate about the real merits behind medicinal marijuana when more governors, you know, throw their support toward it?

RICK TYLER, FORMER SPOKESMAN FOR NEWT GINGRICH: Look, if we were talking about Tetrahydrocannabinol which THC, that's the drug that's found in marijuana, if we were talking about that as a drug, I don't think we'd be talking very much.

I mean, I agree. It has -- it has benefits to certain people suffering. It helps people with chemotherapy, it helps people with AIDS. And I think there's certainly a way that you can dispense with that.

But there's always arguing turns into something quite different. Remember, Colorado already had legal marijuana. The ballot initiative that just put it on the Constitution actually brought it under government regulation. So now they're going to attempt to regulate it like alcohol.

We'll see if that works or not. California has different way. I think here in New York the question is whether Cuomo is putting this out for -- let me be cynical for a second -- political purposes because surrounding states including Governor Chris Christie has had it, de Blasio, the new mayor of New York, seems to be getting all the headlines.

So what is the real purpose of Mario Cuomo coming up with medical marijuana? And I suspect it's because he doesn't want to talk about the economy.

(CROSSTALK)

EPSTEIN: Well, God forbid a governor do something when you have 82 percent of the public that supports it and most of the medical community that supports it. Again, I think we're talking about a limited use of marijuana here. The medical use which is wildly acknowledge they have beneficial effects. There is a fair debate that goes on about legalization so I -- I think I'd leave it there.

WHITFIELD: Well, do you wonder whether this would be the testing ground for whether New York would want to take it further like Colorado did and go from medicinal use to recreational use, Rick?

EPSTEIN: No, I -- go ahead, Rick.

TYLER: The way I look at it is look, we have a great federal system under way. I don't think New York should rush off and use -- and try recreational marijuana. Why? Because we have the great benefit now of looking at Colorado. We don't know if Colorado will work or not. But let them -- let them experiment a little. Let's see if it works in Colorado.

I have a suspicion it will cause more harm than good, but I may be wrong. And if it works fine there, other states can try it. So in that sense, you know, let it go. Don't rush off and do it. Wait for Colorado.

WHITFIELD: OK, let's talk about politics of another kind. Let's talk about Charlie Crist.

TYLER: Oh boy.

WHITFIELD: He's running for governor again in Florida. He was Republican, then an independent, and now he's Democrat. So how many times can you change your party and still be considered credible, Julian?

EPSTEIN: Well, going back to Teddy Roosevelt in 1912, you've seen lots of political figures change parties and many of them have survived. A number of people in Congress -- Senator Webb, Shelby from Alabama, lots and lots of examples of people switching political parties and surviving.

I think Charlie Crist's message is that he didn't leave the Republican Party. The Republican Party left him. And I think he's well positioned to campaign against the extreme rightward shift of the Republican Party in recent years. And if you look at the polls, he's been ahead in most of the polls. He's ahead in the latest poll by about four or five points. His name recognition is very, very high.

His favorability in Florida is very, very high. And he's traditionally taken positions that appeal very strongly to not just Democrats, but independents, if you look at the position he's taken on voting rights, on consumer, in 2008 keeping the polls open during the presidential election when there were voting irregularities. I think not only does he have those benefits but I think he'll also get the Obama political machine going into the gubernatorial race.

WHITFIELD: Interesting.

EPSTEIN: So I think he's the favorite right now.

WHITFIELD: OK. Rick, how do you respond to all that? Party left him, he still has leverage and perhaps even has support. Maybe he does have support from the White House.

TYLER: Well, first of all, Teddy Roosevelt left the Republican Party to join the Bull Moose Party, and that was not a successful effort. Nor will Charlie Crist's effort be successful. He left the Republican Party -- remember, he was on the ballot as a Republican who ran against Tea Party candidate Marco Rubio. He was beaten so he drops out and ran as an independent.

And then, in the very same year, he rushes off to Charlotte, North Carolina, and endorses the president of the opposite party, Barack Obama. I find that fairly strange. I mean, it is amazing if he -- if he is successful that, you know, someone who -- can make a political career out of an identity crisis will be rather remarkable. But I think Charlie Crist's days are over. I don't think anybody in Florida takes him seriously.

He recently has now changed his position on gay marriage, which actually says more about the Democratic Party because you have to have -- you have to be docturnal, you've got to believe what the Democrats believe and everything they believe, because it seems to me fairly likely that a gubernatorial candidate who believes in tradition marriage wouldn't get elected in Florida but not if you're a Democrats because they don't allow that sort of thing. So that's -- they have Charlie Crist because he's got name I.D. and they got no one better. That's all there is to it.

EPSTEIN: Well, Rick is correct with respect to Teddy Roosevelt. He did choose -- change to the Bull Moose Party and he did lose after that. My point was that many politicians have changed parties and have succeeded.

But with respect to the point on same-sex marriage which is I suspect going to be Republican charge on flip-flopping on an issue, I think Republican voters -- I think all voters give candidates a mulligan when they believe that the position evolves on conscience. And in Florida, again, same-sex marriage is supported somewhere between 55 and 75 percent of the public. So if the Republicans want to go and campaign on the issue of same-sex marriage in Florida, I think they're climbing up a steep hill.

WHITFIELD: OK. All right.

TYLER: When Charlie --

WHITFIELD: We will leave it there.

TYLER: Well -- look, the ballot initiative issue was of 72 -- 62 percent that passed. Charlie supported it.

WHITFIELD: Rick Tyler --

EPSTEIN: Well, look at the polls today. It's a different day today than -- when the ballot initiative.

TYLER: Could be.

WHITFIELD: And Julian Epstein, thanks so much, gentlemen. Appreciate that.

Thank you.

EPSTEIN: Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Happy new year to both of you.

All right. First it was our e-mails, then our computers in a different kind of way. Now the NSA is building a new super computer. And if you thought your online records were safe, think again.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. We're following that breaking news out of Aspen, Colorado. A plane has crashed at the Aspen Pitkin County airport. Officials say the aircraft appears to be a Bombardier Challenger 600 arriving from Tucson, Arizona. But they don't know how many people are on board that plane.

Actor and comedian Kevin Nealon tweeted this saying, "Horrible plane crash here at Aspen airport. Exploded into flames as it was landing. I think it was a private jet," end quote. And singer LeAnn Rimes tweeted this, "So sad, horrible plane crash we just saw happen at the Aspen airport," end quote.

Alex Burchetta, director of operations with the Pitkin County Sheriff's Office joining me now on the phone.

So, Mr. Burchetta, tell us what happened as far as you know?

ALEX BURCHETTA, PITKIN COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: Fredricka, good afternoon. Shortly after 12:20 local time here in Aspen, a private jet as you indicated to be a Challenger 600 plane exit the right side of the main active runway here at the Aspen Pitkin County Airport, and overturned on to its top and caught fire.

We do know that there were three people on board. At this time if you confirm that one of those three did die and two of the survivors were transported with moderate to severe injuries to the Aspen Valley Hospital.

WHITFIELD: And we obviously have eyewitness accounts as to -- it took place right on landing. Have any eyewitnesses said anything to you about whether it seemed as though there was a problem with that flight as it was approaching landing? Or does it seem as though this accident happened upon impact and there were no other indicators before that?

BURCHETTA: Right now, we have no indication that there was anything wrong prior to landing. However we do have investigators on the scene and the two investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board are on their way to the scene. I'm sure they'll conduct a full and thorough investigation into what the sequence of events were leading up to the incident.

WHITFIELD: And then can you tell us anything about the identities of the three people on board?

BURCHETTA: We have no identities at this time right now that we can share. We will release the name of the deceased and then the injured parties later on in the day. At this time, like I said, we are just waiting for the National Transportation Safety Board to conduct their investigation and we don't want to release anything that may impede or affect their investigation into this sort of (INAUDIBLE).

WHITFIELD: Alex Burchetta, thank you so much. Of course, we are hoping the best for the family members of those involved.

BURCHETTA: Absolutely. Thank you for your time.

WHITFIELD: Thank you.

And we will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The NSA has been quite busy from eavesdropping on our e- mail to hacking into our computers to developing software that tracks iPhones. Well, now they're building a supercomputer that will be able to crack encryption on practically every computer in the world.

Here's CNN's Brian Todd.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Encryption, those scrambled codes that protect our most sensitive information online, shield the most top secret crucial data that governments possess from hackers and cyber spies.

Now the NSA is reportedly developing what's called a quantum computer. When it's complete, it will be able to break just about any encryption in the world.

(On camera): When NSA gets that quantum computer, what will it be able to do?

JAMES LEWIS, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: Quantum computing will be a game changer. It will make it a lot easier for NSA to break the codes that foreign governments use, that foreign criminal groups use.

TODD (voice-over): But NSA will also be able to break encryption codes that we all use to protect our bank accounts, e-mails, medical records. A privacy advocate says that may lead to a world with no secrets, where it would be almost pointless trying to protect anything. MARC ROTENBERG, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ELECTRONIC PRIVACY INFORMATION CENTER: We don't know for the most part in fact what the capabilities are, what steps are being taken to undermine the types of encryption that you and I might rely on, for example, when we go online to purchase a book or download some music.

EDWARD SNOWDEN, NSA LEAKER: Recently we learned --

TODD: The Quantum Computer Program is revealed in documents provided by NSA leaker Edward Snowden and reported by "The Washington Post."

How would this supercomputer work? When a regular computer tries to solve a problem, it has to go through each possible solution one by one by one until it arrives at the correct answer. What makes a quantum computer so special is that it simultaneously tries every possibility, arriving at the correct answer much quicker.

According to the documents, the quantum computers is being developed at this lab in College Park, Maryland.

(On camera): How close is NSA to finishing this computer? Experts say it could be anywhere from five years away to a decade or more. Contacted by CNN, the NSA wouldn't comment on the project.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And it's the Super Bowl for techie. Up next a sneak peek at the Consumer Electronics Show next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: This week in Las Vegas, the newest gadgets from tech companies will be on display.

Brett Larson shows us what's hot at the International Consumer Electronics Show.

BRETT LARSON, TECHBYTES HOST: Hey, Fred, I'm T minus 24 hours away from hitting the ground in Las Vegas for the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show. It is the Super Bowl for geeks like myself. It makes sense that we would call it the Super Bowl.

There are over 40 football fields full of gadgetry, high definition televisions, all kinds of cool electronics.

A little backstory on the Consumer Electronic Show, it is where the world said hello to the VHS player, the compact discs, DVDs, more recently Blu-Ray and of course our high definition televisions.

This year, what I'm excited to see is advancements in 4K TV. Ultra high definition. What that is basically four-times better resolution than your current high definition television which yes, unfortunately, does mean that your brand new HDTV is soon to be outdated and replaced. But I think we're still a few years away from that really taking a stronghold in the living room, in the homes of consumers.

4K TV advancements, I think we're going to see more televisions. I think we'll see less expensive televisions. Probably also some announcements in terms of ways of getting 4K content on to those TVs either via Blu-Ray players that can play back 4K content or streaming services that will be able to stream 4K content which will require a pretty good broadband connection.

YouTube just before the Consumer Electronics Show announced that they will actually begin streaming some 4K content. Netflix also has been experimenting with streaming 4K content.

Also with those 4K TVs, well, we're going to need new 4K cameras. Cameras that can capture those great high resolution images, both for still and for video. And I actually think what I'd like to see is an under $2,000 consumer camera that has the ability to shoot a quality 4K image. That's really going to be a game-changer for the independent filmmaker. Even for the mom and dad who just want to make movies.

But more specifically for the independent film maker, which that's -- that's going to give them the ability of having a Hollywood look and feel to their movie, but on a kickstarter budget. You know, they'll really be able to afford making a really quality product. Automotive, not to be left out this year. I think we'll see a lot of really cool stuff with cars. Ford and Audi both expected to make some big announcements in terms of bring that Internet right to your dashboard.

Now I don't mean we're going to be sitting there playing games on our dashboard, Angry Bird and Candy Crush, when we're stuck in traffic. But we are going to have some entertainment options on our dashboard. Streaming radio services like Pandora will have more content in the Cloud access.

But we're also going to have smarter cars, in general. GPS that's not just going to be able to give you turn-by-turn directions, but also give you turn-by-turn directions and avoid things. Traffic accidents or just traffic backups. Maybe you need to get gas. Your GPS is actually going to be able to tell you where the nearest gas station is and give you a real-time how much gas is going to cost you when you get to that gas station.

Also with the smarter cars and those Internet connections in cars are cars going to be able to tell us things. When we bring them to the mechanic, they're going to be able to say I need an oil change, the battery is in need of replacement. The shocks are a little bit out or what have you.

And also those smarter cars are going to be more plugged in. We'll be able to access them through apps on our smartphones, unlocked doors, things like that. Security settings.

I also think there will be that one more thing that everybody crowds around and all of us think, well, why didn't I think of that? That's kind of a cool idea. Hopefully, it will be something small so I can slip it in my pocket and bring it back and give it a closer examination of it when we're back in New York.

I'll be checking in with CNN throughout the show. So be sure to stay tuned for that. And I will come back next weekend and give you a recap of everything. I will break the rule of what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas to give bring you the full recap of the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Thank goodness. Break the rules. What a cliffhanger. Thanks so much, Brett.

All right. The biggest game in college football is tomorrow. Which team will leave Pasadena with the BCS title?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. The NFL playoff games aren't the only football games people will be talking about. Auburn and Florida State will face off in the BCS championship Monday night.

"Bleacher Report's" Joe Carter has the preview.

JOE CARTER, BLEACHER REPORT: Hello, to you, Fred, from sunny California.

You know, at the beginning of the college football season, no one, and I mean, no one picked the Auburn Tigers to be playing here for the national championship. You know, it was supposed to be the other team from Alabama playing for all the marbles. Because if you remember back to last year, Auburn was terrible. They were 0-8 in the SEC. They had only won three games all season long.

But then they hired a new head coach Gus Malzahn and he brought with him a new attitude and a new mindset. The team pulled off two miracle wins, became SEC champs, and pulled off the improbable worst-to-first turnaround.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRE MASON, AUBURN RUNNING BACK: It started with Coach Malzahn coming, changing everybody's mindset. You know, and believing. You've got to believe. We believe from the beginning of the season that no, we knew we were going to be good, but we didn't know we're going to be in the national championship.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARTER: For Florida State, getting back to the national championship game has been a work in progress for many years. Back in 2009, Florida State decided to part ways with legendary coach Bobby Bowden. They hired new head coach Jimbo Fisher and the program has seen a lot more wins.

But perhaps the biggest difference maker has been the most polarizing figure on this team in quarterback Jameis Winston.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the winner is Jameis Winston, Florida State University.

JAMEIS WINSTON, FLORIDA STATE QUARTERBACK: My life hasn't changed because I still have that goal to get that national championship. And I'm not looking for my life to change, I'm going to change other people's lives. I'm looking to make my teammates happy and bringing home this national championship is more important than anything else.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARTER: The campuses of Auburn and Florida State are pretty close. Only about 200 miles separate the two schools. But the road to Pasadena for the two programs couldn't have been further apart. Auburn, labeled the team of destiny. Florida State, the team of dominance.

Come Monday night, Fredricka, it will be the final time that we see the college football champion crowned through the controversial BCS system because next year college football like all the other major sports will crown its champion through a playoff system.

Back to you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thank you so much, Joe.

All right. Tens of thousands of football fans are watching their teams today, including in Green Bay. Icy cold Green Bay where forecasters say could be one of the coldest games ever played in the NFL?

Chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has some ways to stay warm and safe.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, I think most doctors would say, if you can, try and minimize your time outdoors as a first step. Of course the fans that are going to these games, they don't want to hear that. If they are at the game, maybe they can inside a little bit to a heated bathroom or some area that's heated even for a few minutes. That's going to help.

But, look, you know, a lot has changed over the years in terms of the ways that we can keep ourselves warm. The types of materials which is Gore-Tex certainly help a lot. People talk about layering clothing. Let me give you a couple of things that may surprise you or be non- intuitive. But you want to layer pretty loosely.

The goal is to get warm air trapped in between the various layers of clothes. So layer but do it loosely. Wear a hat, even a silly one, about 20 percent of your body heat is lost through your head. And then make sure you cover exposed skin. Fingers, toes, ears and nose. Those are the areas that are particularly susceptible to frostbite. Throw the cheeks in there as well.

If they're looking red, that's going to be sort of what you expect. It's when those areas start to turn white. And somebody -- somebody that's with you may notice this, that's when you're at real risk of developing frostbite. The two biggest concerns, obviously frostbite, and also hypothermia. Just lowering your body temperature.

Now I will tell you, again this may surprise you, but eating a big meal could be helpful because you create something known as thermogenesis. You increase your body's production of heat.

Whereas drinking alcohol could have the opposite effect, Fred. That could actually lower body heat because you're radiating too much.

General rule of thumb. At the temperatures we're talking about this weekend, about 15 minutes before you develop frostbite. So keep an eye on things. Stay safe. Get inside as much as possible.

Fred, back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Great advice. Thanks so much, Sanjay.

All right. Now to a far more serious topic, the war in Syria has forced more than two million people from their homes and their country. And many of them are children.

CNN's "Impact Your World" is trying to help them and here's UNICEF ambassador Lucy Liu.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LUCY LIU, UNICEF AMBASSADOR: Hi. I'm Lucy Liu. And we can make an impact for Syrian children.

There's a civil war going on that is creating absolute pandemonium and people are fleeing into Lebanon, into Jordan, into Iraq. These children are suffering. They have lice, they have scabies and they've lost family. They can't go to school. They're not getting the medical attention they need. They're not getting the nutrition they need.

There's going to be a lost generation of children if this continues.

Children deserve to have a childhood. What happens on the other side of the world isn't just their business, it's our business, because we share the same water. We share the same environment. If we understand that, we are actually one community. Then it makes the world so much smaller and much more tangible for people to understand.

UNICEF is currently desperate for donations for Syria. It's our duty as human beings to give back.

Join the movement. "Impact Your World." CNN.com/impact.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Dennis Rodman and several former NBA stars are on their way to North Korea. Our Karl Penhaul tells us why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARL PENHAUL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He promised he'd be back to shoot hoops for the North Korean leader's birthday. Kim John Un turns 31 Wednesday. And this weekend NBI veteran Dennis Rodman confirmed to the Associated Press that he'll be at the party with a team of his ageing basketball buddies.

South Korean basketball start and commentator Cho Sung-Won believes it's a PR stunt, not sports diplomacy.

"I don't know Dennis Rodman personally but he is quite peculiar and does unexpected things. I think he went to North Korea as a publicity stunt. On the other hand North Korea plays some high quality basketball so they could learn from his experiences.

Rodman met and coached the North Korean side on his last trip in December. Since then his Irish book maker sponsors pulled out.

Cho played against Club (INAUDIBLE) in North Korea in 1999. If this week's gang goes ahead as planned, he warns Rodman's old timers to expect a few hard knocks from the Kim Jong-Un,

The North Koreans were quite strong, well built and tall as well. If very determined not to lose against South Korea.

"It was a friendly match but I was still intimated a bit," he says.

South Korean table tennis star Hyun Jung-Wha did not play against North Korea. She was on the same side. Part of a joint Korean team in the 1991 world championships.

She praises Rodman's bid to break the ice with Pyongyang.

HYUN JUNG-WHA, KOREAN TABLE TENNIS, STAR (Through Translator): What Dennis Rodman is doing now is personal, but I think he's brave for doing it. I believe sports definitely can help diplomacy. Sportsmanship is pure. I think diplomatic results can come out through sports.

PENHAUL: But Rodman has talked down suggestions he would use basketball to persuade Kim Jong-Un to free Korean American missionary Kenneth Bae from the North Korea labor camp.

DENNIS RODMAN, FORMER NBA BASKETBALL PLAYER: I always want to do a basketball game in the national point of view.

PENHAUL: If team Rodman and North Koreans do play ball, Hyun believes that Jim Jong-Un selection will not abused home advantage.

HYUN (Through Translator): North Koreans try their hardest in training and in competitions. The actual winning or losing didn't seem to matter as much as they've given their all. Of course they say they compete for Kim Jong U.S. But they are satisfied that they've done their best.

PENHAUL (on camera): Of course even the brashest competitor might consider the wisdom of trying to beat one of the world's great dictators on his special day.

Karl Penhaul, CNN, Seoul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Jobs and a troubled star in court, all that and more coming up in the week ahead.

The man accused of slapping a toddler and calling him a racial slur while on a plane last year, faces a sentencing hearing on Monday. Joe Rickey Hundley pleaded guilty in October under the plea deal he could get up to six months in prison. The child's mother may testify at the hearing tomorrow.

On Wednesday Dennis Rodman and his team of former NBA players will face off against the senior national team in North Korea. The exhibition game is in honor of leader Kim Jong-Un's 31st birthday.

Rodman calls the game basketball diplomacy.

On Friday, actress Amanda Bynes is due for a court hearing in New York. It stems from an arrest in May of last year on misdemeanor charges of reckless endangerment, attempted tampering with evidence and criminal possession of marijuana. Also Friday we'll find out if employers did a lot of hiring last month. Analysts are expecting good numbers when the Labor Department jobs report comes out at 8:30 a.m.

All right. That's going to do it for me. Thanks so much for being with me in the NEWSROOM this afternoon. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Much more straight ahead with my colleague Martin Savidge.