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New Day Saturday

North Korea Frees U.S. War Veteran; Massive Ice Storm Paralyzes Dallas; The Return Of The High Paying Job; South Africa Mourns Nelson Mandela; Bill Clinton Remembers Nelson Mandela; Huge Saturday In College Football; North Korea Frees U.S. War Veteran; Open Court: Serena Williams; Facebook Rolls Out "Unfollow" Button

Aired December 07, 2013 - 08:00   ET

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

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

REPORTER: First thing, what would you like to do?

NEWMAN: Go home and see my wife.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Coming home. New this morning, an American detained in North Korea since October is on a flight back to the U.S. his journey and his first words as a free man and why North Korea let him go.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Start sliding sideways and got real close to the house. I thought I better stop and go ahead and get a wrecker out here.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: An ice storm grips the south just as a new storm is preparing to shock the Northeast. Cars swerved down streets, cities are paralyzed and hundreds and thousands of people are without power.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Big relief actually getting a paycheck instead of working for minimum wage.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

BLACKWELL: Jobs are up, unemployment is down and your 401(k) just got bigger. What Friday's jobs report says about how the economic recovery is really doing. Your NEW DAY continues now.

HARLOW: Good morning. I'm Poppy Harlow.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. It is cold outside for a lot of people this morning. It's 8:00. This is NEW DAY SATURDAY. We'll get to that in a moment, but first the breaking news overnight is going to lead to one happy family reunion at the San Francisco Airport today.

Merrill Newman, 85 years old, he is a veteran of the Korean War. He is now on a plane home. North Korea detained Newman for more than a month, but suddenly they freed him. CNN's Athena Jones at the White House. Athena, we know that Vice President Biden has been on this tour parts of Asia. He was then in South Korea today. What was his role, if any, in this release of Merrill Newman?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Victor. Well, Vice President Biden said he played no direct role in Newman's release. He did say he spoke with Merrill Newman on the phone, offered him a ride back to America on Air Force Two. Merrill Newman decided instead to take that direct flight from Beijing to San Francisco. Here is what Merrill Newman said when reporters caught up to him at airport in Beijing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MERRILL NEWMAN, RELEASED BY NORTH KOREA: I'm very glad to be on my way home. I appreciative of the tolerance of DPRK government has given me to be on my way home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do you feel now?

NEWMAN: I feel good. I feel good.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you want to do first thing?

NEWMAN: Go home and see my wife.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: So we know a lot of people are going to be waiting for Merrill Newman there at the San Francisco Airport. That is one thing Vice President Biden said. All of America is waiting to welcome you home. That is something he told Merrill Newman in that phone conversation -- Victor.

BLACKWELL: Well, another person that all of America is waiting to welcome come home is Kenneth Bae. I mean, Mr. Newman is out after a couple of weeks, Kenneth Bae more than a year. What about the custody battle for Bae?

JONES: Exactly, that continues. Kenneth Bae was arrested back in November of 2012. He was sentenced in May to 15 years of hard labor. Vice President Biden said that the North Koreans need to release Bae immediately. Former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson says the same thing. Even Merrill Newman's son, Jeff Newman in speaking to reporters, called on the North Koreans to do the same thing for Bae that they did for his father. So we'll have to wait and see if that happens -- Victor.

BLACKWELL: That effort continues. CNN's Athena Jones covering the release of 85-year-old veteran, Merrill Newman. Good news to start this morning. Thank you.

HARLOW: Yes, absolutely great news. Well, this morning, a deadly winter storm is hammering cities across the country. The southwest, rain, sleet and snow creating dangerous conditions for drivers.

BLACKWELL: In the Dallas/Fort Worth area alone, the ice storm has knocked out power for more than 200,000 customers. CNN's Ed Lavandera is live in Dallas where officials have called off tomorrow's marathon because of the bone chilling weather. You just can't have people, one, running out there, but all the spectators standing for so long there.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There is just no way at this point that runners could run 26 miles on the roads, in the path, that would take through the city of Dallas would just be incredibly treacherous. Clearly, there is no way they could have run this marathon at this point and this is largely in part because even though it is no longer the freezing rain and the sleet is no longer coming down, but the temperatures going to not get above freezing until at some point perhaps the forecasters are saying until late Sunday at the earliest.

So everything that you see behind me on the ground will stay on the ground frozen for some time. Right now, we are hovering around 20 degrees. It feels colder than that. I have to be honest and this hopefully will be a day where a lot of -- especially the airport situations can catch up a little bit. Although we are already hearing from DFW Airport here in the Dallas, in the Dallas Fort Worth area that flights are being canceled.

Some 4,000 people had to spend the night inside the airport terminals last night because 90 percent of the flights out of the airport were canceled yesterday. So there are some flights moving in and out. But this is still a situation where they are just trying to catch up with that flight schedule and get people moving again.

But imagine 4,000 people sleeping at the airport. Again, the roads will be difficult again today. We have seen lot of slipping and sliding. Several deadly accidents and hundreds of crashes that crews have had to work, but all of that slush that was on the roadways yesterday, because it was so cold last night, has really hardened up throughout the night. If you are out on the roads again today, if you have to be, be very, very careful.

HARLOW: Yes, and the first time that they canceled that marathon in Dallas ever. Ed, I want to get you a hat. You are a warm weather guy. You look absolutely freezing out there. Get back in the live truck and warm up. Thank you for braving it.

LAVANDERA: I don't do well in these conditions.

HARLOW: I notice. Great reporting, Ed. Thank you as always.

BLACKWELL: Can you imagine training for a marathon?

HARLOW: Well, it happened in New York after Sandy last year.

BLACKWELL: That's true. Dallas is not the only place where the sun is rising over a frigid day. Towns and cities across the south central U.S. have the same problem, icy and freezing temperatures and the roads are just unbearable there.

HARLOW: Yes, meteorologist, Jennifer Gray joins us now with more. How bad it is going to be all weekend or are we turning the corner here? JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it is going to be very, very cold across the south all weekend. We have a little bit of a break from the precipitation today, but it does come back in the forecast tomorrow. Look at these temperatures. These are your high temperatures for the next couple of days. Today, high of 30 in Dallas, 33 on Sunday and 35 on Monday, their average this time of year, 59 degrees so they are almost 30 degrees below normal.

Same for Memphis, 31 today with the average high of 54, you are going to slowly warm up as you get into the beginning part of the week. Whatever is frozen on the ground is most likely going to stay that way for the next couple of days until we can get these temperatures to move on up.

So as you look in the northeast, it is going to be chilly today, but temperatures really take a dive for places like New York and Boston tomorrow and then gradually warming up again on Monday. The reason for all of this, we have that secondary system that is going to be working its way into the mid-Atlantic in the northeast tomorrow into tomorrow night.

So we could see ice and snow in portions of the country like D.C. and that is going to turn into rain most likely by the time it hits New York. But we could see anywhere from half an inch of accumulation in some of these parts. So we are going to have the freeze watches and warnings in effect for the mid-Atlantic as we go through Sunday.

The good news in all of this, it looks like the places that are heavy on ice and sleet during this last system, it looks like this one is going to be a little bit farther to the east. It is going to affect folks in Pittsburgh, D.C. and then up into the northeast. Guys, this is a messy weekend.

BLACKWELL: At least there is some good news because the first storm was in parts of the country where people were not used to dealing with this. You take it to the northeast at least some people know what to do. All right, thanks, Jennifer.

HARLOW: All right, turning to your money. The November jobs report showed not just the boost in the number of Americans who got jobs, but the kind of jobs that they were hired for, high paying jobs in health care and construction, a nice boost to manufacturing.

Alexandra Field is live for us in New York this morning. You spent time at a New Jersey manufacturer with someone really happy to have a pretty good paying job.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not in understatement. You know a key take away from this report, Poppy, is that while these jobs are being added. A lot of them are going to those recently unemployed and a lot of them are going to young people. Young people have higher unemployment rate. They have struggled to find work since the recession hit. Last month, more of them started taking home paychecks.

We spoke to a Rutgers University student who has a degree in engineering. Here's a story you hear a lot. He spent a year working part time serving coffee before finally finding a full-time job in his field. Here's what he had to say about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF DELORENZO, RECENTLY HIRED: I feel more comfortable. It is a relief getting a paycheck instead of working for minimum wage. I mean, I can do stuff. I don't have to rely on my mom and dad for everything. I can do what I want now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FIELD: A pretty good feeling for him. That more people are feeling. The banner headline on this report is that unemployment has reached a five-year low, 7 percent, but Poppy, there are still 11 million people looking for jobs and the long term unemployed who are struggling most to find those jobs.

HARLOW: That's the thing. You still got 11 million Americans out of work, about 4 million of them that have been out of work for six months or longer. The data shows that the longer you are out of work, the harder it is to find a job. It is a lot about sentiment. Even though this jobs report was a lot better than expected, the sentiment isn't there, is it?

FIELD: Right. So this is a good jobs report, but people definitely want to see more good jobs reports. In November, CNN and ORC conducted a poll and here's what the number showed us, only a quarter of people polled believe that economic conditions are getting better and about four in 10 people believe that economic conditions are actually getting worse. So that is where perception is right now -- Poppy.

HARLOW: Yes, absolutely. We got a long way to go, but we'll take that report. I was so happy to see that it wasn't just the lower paying sectors that were seasonally hiring for the holidays. That it was some of those more stable, higher paying jobs that was the upside certainly. Alexandra, thanks. I appreciate it.

BLACKWELL: And of course, later this morning, we are going to have the conversation about the age discrepancy. If you are over 50 or under 50, you view this economy in very different ways, very different perspectives. We are going to talk about that this morning. Stay with us for that.

Also since the breaking news on Thursday night, the death of Nelson Mandela, South Africa is a nation in mourning, but also celebrating. Here live, I believe this is Johannesburg, outside of his home there. People are bringing the balloons and cards and pictures and flowers as a way to mourn the death of who many in the country call Madiba, his tribal name.

But to celebrate his accomplishments, an incredible scene outside his home and tribute to the man who changed the world. Former President Clinton reflects on a conversation he shared with Mr. Mandela that he will not forget. That is ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: He helped reunite South Africans of all races after years of apartheid. Now South Africa is preparing to honor its beloved Madiba, Nelson Mandela. We are learning more details about his state funeral. That will happen next Sunday, but there are other events before then.

CNN's David McKenzie joins us now from Johannesburg. David, tell us more about the event that are playing over the next seven or eight days that the South African government has been unveiling some of the details.

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that is right, Victor. Certainly today is the day of celebration here in South Africa. There are ten days of mourning here, but this is the uniquely South African way to celebrate the statesman's life that rarely touched the world's lives. They are singing and dancing, many revolutionary songs behind me, songs of the struggle against apartheid.

Now people of all races are gathering here today to celebrate this great man. Yes, the government has announced the next few days it is going to be days of mourning and celebration, reflection. Tomorrow, there will be a series of prayer services across the country.

Then on Tuesday, a big event on the main soccer stadium south of the city here in Johannesburg, Mandela's body will then lie in state at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, very symbolic, former centerpoint of the apartheid regime. Thousands of South Africans I'm sure will want to view him and pay their final respects.

Then he will be flown to his hometown of Qunu in the Eastern Cape. It will be a private funeral, but all this week, it is a sense for South Africans to come together and celebrate the miracle that was Mandela for the democratic transition of this country.

BLACKWELL: David, the news of Mandela's death has now sunk in. It happened Thursday night. We are into Saturday morning. He was one of the most revered figures in the world. What's the mood there now?

MCKENZIE: The mood is one of joy, frankly. It is maybe hard for people to understand that around the world and in the U.S. I think people were expecting this in many ways. Nelson Mandela had been sick for quite some time in his home behind me on life support of some kind until he passed away late Thursday local time. So I think in some ways South Africans were ready for this moment. After the initial shock, it is one of celebration and dance.

BLACKWELL: All right, David Mckenzie in Johannesburg for us, thank you.

HARLOW: Also, we want to bring you this. In 1998, former President Bill Clinton visited the notorious Robben Island with President Nelson Mandela. That is where Mr. Mandela spent nearly two decades of his 27 years behind bars. Now former President Clinton told our very own Wolf Blitzer about the conversation he had with Mandela, a conversation he has never forgotten.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: One of the most enduring conversations I had with him over the meeting we had in our 20-year friendship was, I said I know how you came out of prison, but how did you get there. How did you come out a bigger man than when you went in? Didn't you feel full of rage when they sent you to prison?

He said yes, I was young and strong and I was a boxer. I lived on my hatred for 11 years. I remember it very clearly. He said I was breaking rocks about 11 years into my prison term and I realized they had taken so much from me. I had been physically and mentally abused.

I had been deprived of seeing my children grew up. It ultimately destroyed my marriage. He said I realized they could take every single thing away from me except my mind and my heart. Those things I would have to give them. I decided not to give them away. He looked at me and smiled and said neither should you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Wow. That was a fascinating conversation.

HARLOW: What a moment.

BLACKWELL: Still, we have seen college football fans with the most exciting games of the season. That was last weekend, but some of the country's top teams face off today. We are going to see if we can see some more magic on the field, get a closer look as people move closer to that national championship.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: It is a huge day in college football and Victor is going to be watching all afternoon.

BLACKWELL: I don't think so. I hear that we have --

HARLOW: Jennifer will. Jennifer Gray will.

BLACKWELL: We brought in meteorologist, Jennifer Gray, who is new to our show, who loves college football. We are talking about the national championship. Joe Carter is here as well. What's going on this weekend?

JOE CARTER, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Well, I tell you, Jen and I used to work together in Miami. She is a huge college football fan, LSU, they are not playing today, but she knows a lot about college football. Today is a huge day, arguably the best Saturday of all the season because we all these college championship conference games.

You have three teams today or three games that have national championship implications. The best match up today is the SEC championship game. Auburn and Missouri, it's actually going to happen next door to us here, Georgia Dome. Obviously, Auburn is being hailed the team of destiny is because they had two last-second wins to end the regular season.

Of course, one against Georgia and who could forget the one against Alabama. My goodness, Missouri has quietly put together a great season, 11-1. They only lost to South Carolina in double overtime. Now the winner of this game will be watching tonight's games because they need either FSU or Ohio State to lose in order to get into the national championship game.

We also have the ACC championship game. That is Florida State against Duke. Florida State is a 30-point favorite in this game. They are obviously the hottest team in college football. They are definitely the most dominant. If FSU wins tonight, they are in. No problem.

But if Duke wins, the world will fall off its axis, kidding. If Duke wins then FSU is out and the SEC champ will get in. We have Ohio State against Michigan State. If Ohio State wins, they are in the national championship game. If Ohio State loses, they are out and Michigan State will play in some sort of like sugar bowl.

There is a slim chance that if Ohio State still wins tonight, but they barely beat Michigan State, an SEC champ would jump and slide into the title game. It is possible, but not probable. To make it more confusing for those that are having a hard time following.

BLACKWELL: Please.

CARTER: If Ohio State loses and Florida State loses, Alabama has a good chance of getting into the national championship.

HARLOW: They are not playing today.

GRAY: I think Alabama is a better team than Ohio State.

CARTER: This coming from the LSU fan.

GRAY: Anybody who beats Alabama, I am rooting for. Auburn.

CARTER: Some people going to say teams that come off huge wins, Auburn has two, have a tendency of a hangover.

GRAY: Meantime, Duke, not just a great basketball school.

CARTER: They are in the first ACC championship game. Duke, one of the schools has had one five-star recruit in five years. Florida State has had 50. It is David versus Goliath. You never know.

BLACKWELL: How about the Auburn/Alabama game?

GRAY: I was screaming at the top of my lungs. I would love to see Florida State and Auburn in the national championship game. That would be good. I'm rooting for Duke, 30-point favorite.

CARTER: A lot of people look at Ohio State and say they have not lost a game in two years, still not good enough to get into the national championship. A lot of people want to see a good game. We hope next year when they go to a playoff system, they will have a fair system.

GRAY: I'm ready for that.

HARLOW: You are going to join us in a few hours. We will see you then. Thank you, Joe.

BLACKWELL: Thank you, Joe.

HARLOW: He cannot wait to get home to hug his wife. This broke overnight. We will tell you about this story. More than a month in custody in North Korea. That country releases an American who fought on the Korean Peninsula 60 years ago.

BLACKWELL: Christine Romans has a preview of "YOUR MONEY" coming up in about an hour from now. Good morning, Christine.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Poppy and Victor, and all you watching at home. Pull up a chair. You are invited to Saturday Brunch with Christiane Amanpour, Candy Crowley and me. We are solving the world's problems at 9:30 a.m. Eastern on "YOUR MONEY."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Bottom of the hour now. Welcome back, everyone. I'm Poppy Harlow. 8:30 a.m. here on the East Coast.

BLACKWELL: Good to be with you, good to have you with us. I'm Victor Blackwell. Let's start with five things you need to know for your NEW DAY.

HARLOW: Number one we are talking about this crazy weather of bitterly cold storm and blamed for four deaths already the weather system hit the south central United States with ice and snow more than 200,000 people are out of power.

Marathons in Dallas and Memphis they have been canceled because of this storm. And the governors of Tennessee and Arkansas have declared a state of emergency.

BLACKWELL: And number two a critical lead in the case of Abigail Hernandez, the missing New Hampshire girl. Police believe that a letter written to the teen's mother may in fact be from Hernandez. Although the letter may mean she's still alive, officials fear she maybe held against her will.

HARLOW: Number three, Sunday's deadly train derailment in New York is prompting officials to make some changes. The Federal Railroad Administration has issued an emergency order requiring Metro North Trains to stick to all speed limits. It's telling the railway system to modify the existing signal system to make sure that those limits are obeyed until those modifications are made. Officials want two qualified railroad employees operating trains at all times.

Four people died when a Metro North Train derailed in the Bronx after traveling 82 miles an hour in a 30-mile-per-hour zone.

BLACKWELL: Number four President Obama and other world leaders are expected at the state funeral for Nelson Mandela next Sunday. Ten days of mourning are underway following Mandela's death on Thursday. He was 95 years old.

Mr. Mandela's body is being prepared for his lying in state later this week. On Tuesday, there will be an official memorial service and that's in Johannesburg.

HARLOW: Number five, police are searching for four people believed to be behind the killing of an American school teacher. Officials say 33-year-old Ronnie Smith was gunned down while he was jogging in the Libyan city of Benghazi on Thursday. Smith moved to Libya just about a year and a half ago. He was teaching there. And he was planning to return home to his family this month.

BLACKWELL: Merrill Newman, 85 years old and a veteran of the Korean War, he'll be back with his family in California today. North Korea released Newman last night after holding him for more than a month.

CNN's Paula Hancocks in Seoul looks at Newman's role in the Korean conflict.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Putting on military fatigues in a rundown office in Seoul, former members of the so-called Koal (ph) partisans talk about the Korean War. Now in their 80s, these men were part of an anti-communist guerilla group. They carried out undercover operations in North Korea. They say the released American citizen Merrill Newman was one of their leaders.

Newman used to send down orders to us this veteran tells me indicating which island to infiltrate and occupy. Then we used to work on combined operations. Looking at photos of Newman when he visited Seoul several years ago, the veterans reminisced about their war-time operations. Im Jung Sung (ph) says he worked with Newman during the war and claims the Koal group was and still is hated in the north.

Im says, "I heard that even when North Korean soldiers die, their last wish is to see the dead face of the leader of the Koal (ph) partisans. We accomplished a lot during the war."

North Korea released a video last weekend as Newman reading a handwritten apology for killing civilians during the Korean War an apology that may well have been coerced. A clearly relieved-looking Newman traveled through Beijing on his way home Saturday mentioning nothing of his past.

MERRILL NEWMAN, RELEASED BY NORTH KOREA: I'm very glad to be on my way home. I appreciate the tolerance of DPRK government has given to me to be on my way.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do you feel now?

NEWMAN: I feel good. I feel good.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you want to do first thing?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The first thing what would you like to do?

NEWMAN: I go home and see my wife.

HANCOCKS: U.S. Vice President Biden paid respects Saturday to American soldiers who died during the Korean War. He mentioned a second U.S. citizen still imprisoned in North Korea. Kenneth Bae a Korean-American missionary has been held in North Korea for over a year sentenced to 15 years hard labor last May for so-called hostile acts against the regime.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: And Paula Hancocks live in Seoul for us now. Paula I -- I don't see the strategy here. I mean what does North Korea stand to gain from this? They seemingly did it without concessions from the U.S.

HANCOCKS: Well that's right, Victor. We've seen in the past the U.S. has had to send a president to lobby for the release of an American citizen. We've seen President Clinton and President Carter go to Pyongyang in the past. But this time there were no concessions like that.

I spoke to one expert here in Seoul about it. And he said that what North Korea got out of this was that apology from a U.S. Korean War veteran. And this would play very well domestically. This was certainly a propaganda coup for Kim Jong-Un the new leader and certainly he would be very pleased to be able to show this domestically. It shores up support for him. It shows that -- that the propaganda that North Korea has been telling all these years that North Korea won the war and that the U.S. had carried out atrocities against North Korea, he was able to prove this with the apology that was televised by Merrill Newman.

Now of course it is quite likely that this was coerced this apology or at least it wasn't completely his words. So that's what North Korea gets out of this. Of course it was a big surprise this Saturday morning locally when it was announced that Newman was leaving. It was a very sudden decision but of course it was very sudden decision when he was arrested as well just as he was trying to leave the country back in October -- Victor.

BLACKWELL: So what's. We've seen the power of propaganda there in North Korea. Paula Hancocks in Seoul, South Korea for us thank you.

HARLOW: Now we want to take you to Shanghai. The air is dangerous to breathe in parts of China. I want you to look at these pictures because it's pretty stunning. I was there a few months ago. It didn't look anything like this. This is Shanghai. The government's air pollution monitoring site says the smog has hit one of the highest levels ever recorded. They say it's hazardous to the public, hazardous to the public health. Authorities have told schools to keep kids inside as much as possible and the airport there in Shanghai had to cancel hundreds of flights yesterday.

BLACKWELL: A law that bans guns that can't be picked up by metal detectors is set to expire just a couple of days. Up next, we'll hear from one lawmaker who wants tighter restrictions all together. His main target? 3-D printed guns.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The story of Serena Williams' 2013 season is best told by the numbers and by her opponents, 11 tournaments wins.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To play against Serena is always definitely the biggest challenge there is.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two Grand Slam trophies.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So if she is having a good day, you can just try. But you know it's very tough.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: World number one.

SERENA WILLIAMS: This year, becoming number one, I really took it upon myself to do the best that I really could.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So how do you top a season like that? You chase history. Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova each have 18 Grand Slam singles titles. Serena has 17.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The way she's going if she stays healthy God, I think she could break all the records.

WILLIAMS: I have four grand slams next year to try to catch up at least with Martina and Chrissy. So that will be really, really exciting and hopefully I can do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Imagine this, click, print, fire. Gun control advocates now have a new target -- 3-D printed guns. This week the House voted to renew a ban on firearms that cannot be picked up by metal detectors. But some lawmakers say the ban is set to expire next week and would still need the Senate's approval does not go far enough. They are concerned that plastic 3-D printed guns which often contained a removable metal pin could fall into the wrong hands and slide past security in places like airports and schools.

Congressman Steve Israel has introduced a legislation to close a loophole in the current law. He joins us now. Congressman it's good to have you.

First question, what is the difference between what has been law since 1988, this Undetectable Firearms Act, which makes it illegal to manufacture, import, sell, shop, deliver, transport or receive of a gun that cannot be spotted by metal detectors and what you are proposing?

REP. STEVE ISRAEL (D), NEW YORK: Well the fundamental difference is that when we passed the Undetectable Firearms Act in 1988, the notion of a 3-D plastic gun that could go right through a metal detector and on a plane was science fiction. Today, it is a reality. They are out there. More are coming. And so we need to extend that ban. It's just not a good idea for us to allow these plastic guns to get through metal detectors onto planes and into secure environments.

The problem is just as these 3-D printed guns have become an absolute reality, this law is going to expire. It's going to expire on Monday. Now I led the House of Representatives on a bipartisan basis on extending the law. It passed the House of Representatives. Now the Senate has to act very early next week or else the law becomes -- it expires, it is terminated and America is a more dangerous place.

BLACKWELL: Quickly, do you think there's going to be any hold up in the Senate?

ISRAEL: I hope not. You know look we have to extend the ban but then we have to modernize it to require that every single firearm has at least one plastic -- one metal or two metal parts so that yes they can be detected by metal detectors.

Now some are saying we shouldn't extend the ban unless we get that modernization. I'm not going to vote against one step because we couldn't get every step. Let's extend the ban and then modernize it and keep Americans safe.

BLACKWELL: Senator Schumer asked that or recommended a propose that there should be a one year extension so that this, the existing law, the UFA could be modernized. You're adding this additional law but I just want to be clear what you're proposing is that these parts cannot be remove from the plastic weapons correct?

ISRAEL: Correct.

BLACKWELL: Ok.

ISRAEL: There is a huge loophole in the law. We have to close that loophole by requiring metal parts on all firearms.

BLACKWELL: I want to read something that Representative Steve King of Iowa said. He says, "Just because the founding fathers didn't think of a 3-D printer doesn't mean we don't have a Second Amendment constitutional right to make one with new technology." What do you say to opponents of your proposal your bill that this is an infringement upon their Second Amendment Rights?

ISRAEL: Well you know allowing plastic guns that could kill somebody through metal detector unto a plane is an infringement of my rights and my constituents rights. We're not trying to ban the technology we're just saying that we should extend the law. Ronald Reagan supported the Undetectable Firearms Act. It was renewed under Bill Clinton, it was renewed under George W. Bush. Not exactly a foe of the NRA. When Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and George Bush all agree on something, we ought to pass it because it's simply a matter of common sense.

BLACKWELL: NRA you brought those up I want to bring up a statement that the NRA released based on these renewal of the law and your new proposal. Says the NRA strongly opposes any expansion of the Undetectable Firearms Act, including applying the UFA to magazines or gun parts or the development of new technologies. "We will continue to aggressively fight any expansion of the UFA or any other proposal that would infringe upon our Second Amendment Rights."

I want to add to that on this proposal which comes from people who disagree with you. These plastic weapons have not been used or seen in any major events in America or anywhere in the world. You aren't seeing them passing through the airport yet. So are these as much of a threat as you say they are?

ISRAEL: Well, you just showed a video where one was used. This is a recent -- this is a fairly recent technology. But 3-D printers are now widely available. You can go to any office equipment store. You can buy a 3-D printer. You can download a digital blueprint. You can manufacture a gun. You could bring it past the metal detector.

And so while they may not be widespread, who wants to be the first person to have to deal with a plastic gun that fires a bullet because we did not have the common sense to extend a law that would ensure that that gun got picked up by a metal detector?

BLACKWELL: And that conversation will continue. Congressman Steve Israel, thank you so much for speaking with us this morning.

ISRAEL: Thank you.

HARLOW: That was a fascinating interview.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

HARLOW: You know, just this whole debate because we have 3-D printed guns now.

All right. Coming up, sick of selfies, food, porn and too many baby pictures on your social media feed? Up next we're going to show you the newest way to get rid of those annoying posts.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: If you are sick of selfies on your news feed, you are not alone, especially the one people take as soon as they get into the car. That's the one that gets you.

You know you have the baby photos, the workout updates --

HARLOW: Right.

BLACKWELL: -- the mushy engagement announcements -- I don't mind those so much. We all have friends on Facebook we wish we did not hear from so often.

HARLOW: Some people truly think they can just tell us all their problems on Facebook.

BLACKWELL: Yes. I don't care what you had for lunch.

HARLOW: Now that social media giant is rolling out a new tool to make it easier for you to block those annoying posts without offending anyone. God forbid offending any one of your bazillion friends.

Let's bring in the host of (inaudible) and he joins us from New York. Good morning to you sir.

BRETT LARSON, HOST, "TECHBYTES": Good morning.

HARLOW: You know, when I started reading about this, I was thinking, how is this any different from "hide all"?

LARSON: "Hide all" -- it's like at least two or three clicks less.

BLACKWELL: Oh, well.

M1: So I mean right away -- Facebook is trying to help us with -- help us save our fingers from too many mouse clicks. I think it just comes in response to a lot of people going through the process of going through their news feed and seeing as you've described the selfies, the gym selfies, the food -- all of that stuff -- the things that we don't care about. And we're not going to go so far as unfriending someone because that's -- that would be rude. Your friend will find out that you are not seeing everything that they are doing.

So if you can just unfollow, then you don't have to see their stuff in your news feed and it's much better. Now, of course, the caveat to this, they're going to know because you are not liking their pictures or their posts or commenting. There is still that aspect of it going forward.

BLACKWELL: So they won't know if you click this new unfollow that your friend has no idea that you're catching all the pictures.

LARSON: No. They're not going to get an alert. There is nothing that's going to show up on their news feed that says your friend blank has now unfollowed. And the one thing -- I mean you can actually get around the whole you are not liking and commenting by just occasionally dropping by their page -- their homepage -- and scrolling through their timeline and finding --

HARLOW: That's too much work. Seriously? What?

LARSON: Yes.

HARLOW: No.

LARSON: I mean why not? You know you don't want to see posts from Taylor Swift as we were just showing there. I'll just listen to her songs about how sad her life is. That's so much easier

HARLOW: I guess the question is sort of like if you have to do this why are you friends with the person -- LARSON: Why are you friends in the first place, yes.

HARLOW: Like Victor would just de-friend me -- let's be honest.

LARSON: Yes, right. Yes, right. And that's a very valid question. Why not just unfriend these people if you're not interested in their day to day. But I think its' -- because Facebook has become more than just sort of connecting with our friends and seeing everything that's going on in their life.

HARLOW: Right.

LARSON: It's still a way -- a great way to stay in touch with a lot of different people. You just don't want to hear about everything that they are doing every single day.

HARLOW: Well and that's the beauty of Instagram, owned by Facebook, but the beauty of just the photo.

LARSON: Yes, quick fixer -- keep it moving. Exactly.

BLACKWELL: I want to talk about something a little more serious for the people who are on the social media sites. Massive Internet hack.

HARLOW: Huge.

BLACKWELL: So this week, two million passwords from sites. And we've got a list of them here: Facebook, Gmail, Twitter, Yahoo stolen in this data breach. How can people protect themselves.

LARSON: Now, it's hard to protect yourself against the hack where passwords are stolen. There's nothing you can do about that. It's really on the service provider's then. But what you can do, obviously is if you have an account on any of these sites immediately change your password.

Especially if it's your e-mail; you're e-mail password is the most critical because that is where everything goes when you need to reset your password. And you can see here, you should vary your passwords -- you should use some password software -- things like Dashlane -- will create strong passwords and then store them for you across multiple devices -- your iPhone, your Android, you're laptop.

Don't use single words. And use symbols there like the dollar sign or an ampersand or the "at" symbol.

And this is my favorite. The top six passwords here. Look at this -- people, don't use that as your password. 123456? Are you kidding me? That is the first thing a hacker is going to try.

HARLOW: I have a hard time because I forget my passwords.

LARSON: Oh yes, me too.

HARLOW: I was just trying to get on Twitter on our desk on the laptop and I cannot remember it. The tools where you can save them -- they're these cool apps and they're very safe. Those are key.

LARSON: Absolutely. Those are absolutely key. You want to make them complicated too but also something you're going to remember.

BLACKWELL: I'm going to tell on myself. I share an office with a reporter here, Sarah Ganum. And one of the systems to look for video -- my password doesn't work.

HARLOW: You just take hers.

BLACKWELL: so I just took hers and her password -- I'm not going to say it on television.

HARLOW: Don't say it.

BLACKWELL: But I just knew what it was and I used it. but I told her after that. Yes.

HARLOW: Very sneaky.

LARSON: That's nice.

HARLOW: Sarah, we'll talk after the show. Ok, Brett thank you. I appreciate it.

LARSON: Thanks guys. Have a good morning.

HARLOW: Good advice.

I can't believe you'll take her password.

BLACKWELL: She knows about it.

HARLOW: Deadly ice storm -- we're going to talk about this crazy weather going on. Deadly ice storm has already caused tens of thousands of power outages, travel headache, all across the country. You might be dealing with it, not over yet.

It is pushing east just as a new storm gets ready to hit. We will have all the details coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: This is really good. A mystery man is leaving these huge tips at restaurants across the country. He struck again this week this time in Washington State. Look at this -- $5,000 tip. The bartender read the receipt, saw that number. He had to double check. Is there a decimal missing somewhere? Now, it was not a mistake. The man has been signing each tip with the Instagram user name @tipsforjesus.

HARLOW: Wow, I love that. That is the good stuff this morning. That is for sure.

You know what; it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Washington. President Obama did the grand honors last night and lit the National Christmas Tree, the first family you see there right there joined by a lot of celebrities including Mariah Carey, Aretha Franklin -- the one and only and the band trained.

The president has some rhythm showing off his moves. You can see him here actually grooving alongside. If you pull out -- it will come in a second, "A Dancing Elf". This little girl. Adorable.

BLACKWELL: Let me just say this, I got some Twitter hate --

HARLOW: Put it out there. Put it out there

BLACKWELL: In the last hour. Let me just put it on the table. Apparently the first lady said Donder and Blitzen. And I said ha-ha, Donder -- she said Donder. It should be Donner. Actually the original is Donder so --

HARLOW: So she got it right.

BLACKWELL: She got it right. I was wrong. There it is.

HARLOW: Ok. Because I certainly didn't know what it was. All right guys, thank you so much for starting your morning with us.

BLACKWELL: We have a lot ahead on NEW DAY SATURDAY. It continues right now.