:00:00. > :00:00.everybody dry and into warm clothes and jackets. Time for a look at the
:00:00. > :00:12.news as seen across the US just a couple of hours ago. Tonight,
:00:13. > :00:16.blinding snow and plunging temperatures. Arctic air from
:00:17. > :00:22.Minnesota to Maine. A trained realm and makes matters worse. And a
:00:23. > :00:27.freezing countdown to New Year's Day. New images of the terror
:00:28. > :00:39.attacks in Russia. The giant blast caught on tape just weeks before
:00:40. > :00:44.American athletes head overseas. The racecar legend fighting for his life
:00:45. > :00:49.after a skiing accident. Tonight, why he was able to speak after the
:00:50. > :00:53.fall and before he went into a coma. And who is watching you? What the
:00:54. > :00:59.traffic light in your hometown reveals. Are these cameras making
:01:00. > :01:14.some intersections even more dangerous?
:01:15. > :01:19.Good evening. With millions of Americans travelling for New Year's
:01:20. > :01:28.Eve, it's going to be freezing across much of the country. This is
:01:29. > :01:31.the view from the windscreen of a driver in the Midwest. And in
:01:32. > :01:39.Minnesota, look at the temperature reading. It's getting even colder.
:01:40. > :01:43.Emergency crews battling freezing temperatures along with this
:01:44. > :01:50.explosion of flames when a freight train derailed in North Dakota. It's
:01:51. > :01:56.going to be a very cold New Year's Eve. We have full coverage tonight.
:01:57. > :02:07.Our correspondent is in Minneapolis. Good evening. The city
:02:08. > :02:15.is being swallowed by steam rising as they try to keep everybody warm.
:02:16. > :02:21.A deep fries with a tight and unapologetic chokehold on the
:02:22. > :02:28.Midwest. This is arctic. In North Dakota, freezing temperatures and
:02:29. > :02:33.powerful winds. Another look at this new video footage showing fire crews
:02:34. > :02:37.responding to this train derailment. No reported injuries. But
:02:38. > :02:42.potentially hazardous materials were on board. Across Minneapolis, those
:02:43. > :02:50.forced to be outside, walked quickly, said the tall and bundled
:02:51. > :02:54.up. It makes you shake. This family were out with their daughter. The
:02:55. > :02:59.baby carrier is completely sealed. This popular waterfall in
:03:00. > :03:08.Minneapolis has turned into an ice palace. It's completely frozen over.
:03:09. > :03:14.In Wisconsin, 14 degrees below zero. So cold, this shelter quickly filled
:03:15. > :03:19.every bed. Nights like this, we have to make room for everyone. In other
:03:20. > :03:25.parts of the Midwest, Peter bitter temperatures will linger. The cold
:03:26. > :03:40.is heading into the east. New York is preparing for giant crowds to
:03:41. > :03:44.ring in the New Year. It's the coldest it has been this season. By
:03:45. > :03:49.tomorrow morning, we are talking dangerous temperatures for many
:03:50. > :03:58.people. 26 degrees below zero will be the windchill in Minneapolis. In
:03:59. > :04:00.Times Square... We will have lots of people withstanding temperatures
:04:01. > :04:04.that feel like they are in the single digits. The actual air
:04:05. > :04:10.temperature will be just under freezing. You already have your eye
:04:11. > :04:19.on the first big storm of the New Year? Yes. On Tuesday and Wednesday,
:04:20. > :04:23.that will be in Chicago. And there could be a massive snow event on
:04:24. > :04:28.Thursday and Friday in land. Across the high ground, we will have
:04:29. > :04:36.coverage as it becomes available. Thank you. Overseas, dramatic new
:04:37. > :04:39.images after two terrorist attacks in Russia just weeks before the
:04:40. > :04:45.Winter Games. This new video shows the first attack the moment a
:04:46. > :04:48.suicide bomber strikes while at the metal detectors of a train station.
:04:49. > :04:54.The explosion tears through the station. Images of the aftermath.
:04:55. > :04:58.Victims were blown right out of the train station. And then dozens of
:04:59. > :05:09.people were killed when another person struck, this time targeting a
:05:10. > :05:13.us. -- bus. Today, Olympic security officials were poring over the
:05:14. > :05:21.chilling surveillance tape from Volgograd. This chilling video shows
:05:22. > :05:23.two suspects at the train station security checkpoint just before the
:05:24. > :05:30.suicide bomb was detonated on Sunday. In six weeks, this will be a
:05:31. > :05:34.busy harbour for athletes and spectators heading to the Olympics.
:05:35. > :05:41.It indicates they were looking to derail a train in transit. With a
:05:42. > :05:45.second attack this morning, there are now 31 people dead and dozens
:05:46. > :05:48.more injured. Almost all were innocent civilians including
:05:49. > :05:54.children. There have been no claims of responsibility. Many US officials
:05:55. > :05:59.are convinced that the attacks can be traced back to this man. He is
:06:00. > :06:02.the ruthless leader of an Islamist group which has called the Olympic
:06:03. > :06:07.Games Satanic and has vowed to stop them. They have been in operation
:06:08. > :06:12.for a long time. They are ready for battle. The location of the Winter
:06:13. > :06:18.Games is 400 miles away from the attack. President Vladimir Putin has
:06:19. > :06:22.promised airtight security. The mayor of Sochi has told me this
:06:23. > :06:29.month that he has no worries about terrorism. Many US officials do not
:06:30. > :06:33.share that confident viewpoint. Some say that the Russians have failed to
:06:34. > :06:39.fully cooperate with American security teams assigned to protect
:06:40. > :06:44.the 235 US athletes who will come here. The US will be sending small
:06:45. > :06:48.teams of armed security personnel to Sochi to protect American athletes
:06:49. > :06:51.but today, the White House said there was a need for closer
:06:52. > :07:01.cooperation, which is diplomatic speak. Being so difficult. --
:07:02. > :07:05.speak. Being so difficult. It's looking more likely that they will
:07:06. > :07:09.have to launch an air evacuation in the Antarctic to rescue dozens of
:07:10. > :07:16.trapped passengers on board a Russian science vessel. Tonight,
:07:17. > :07:20.eyes in this guy over that trap ship in the Antarctic. 74 passengers have
:07:21. > :07:31.been told they may have to abandon ship. -- eyes in the sky. You can
:07:32. > :07:35.see how far of the sea ice really is. This is the Australian
:07:36. > :07:42.icebreaker trying to tear through miles of thick ice. You can hear it
:07:43. > :07:47.crunching. But overnight, with just a few miles to go, the rescuers were
:07:48. > :07:54.forced to turn back. It's blowing snow. Punishing weather and heavy
:07:55. > :07:57.ice has put the mission on hold. It's a disappointing day but
:07:58. > :08:05.hopefully, the icebreakers will get in tomorrow. It may be too late. The
:08:06. > :08:07.Australian and authority says that the tourists and researchers on
:08:08. > :08:13.board will likely have to be airlifted by the Chinese helicopter
:08:14. > :08:18.waiting at the edge of the sea ice. And believe it or not, it's actually
:08:19. > :08:24.some are down there. It turns out there is an abnormal amount of sea
:08:25. > :08:28.ice full stop tonight, new word from the State Department after our
:08:29. > :08:33.interview with the family of an American father and grandfather held
:08:34. > :08:36.captive by Al-Qaeda. A spokesperson from the State Department says they
:08:37. > :08:40.have called on the people holding him to release him. Tonight, the
:08:41. > :08:47.family have spoken out on the newest video of their loved one. We are
:08:48. > :08:51.determined to get him home. This is the family of an American father and
:08:52. > :08:54.grandfather believed to be held captive by Al-Qaeda. Today, the
:08:55. > :08:58.State Department says the US has called on Al-Qaeda to release him
:08:59. > :09:03.immediately and return him to his family. This video is all that they
:09:04. > :09:08.have. It has a message to his family. I think about each and every
:09:09. > :09:15.one of them every moment of every day. This is the first proving more
:09:16. > :09:19.than one year that the man is alive. He was working as a consultant in
:09:20. > :09:24.Pakistan, helping build the local economy when gunmen stormed his
:09:25. > :09:28.apartment and took him captive. When he looked into that camera and said
:09:29. > :09:35.he has been abandoned... And forgotten. I wanted to die right
:09:36. > :09:42.there on the spot because he has no idea how hard we have tried to get
:09:43. > :09:47.him back. This thing is that I always take him to the airport and I
:09:48. > :09:52.always pick him up. He sees my lip begin to quiver and he says, please
:09:53. > :09:56.don't cry. That is the last time I saw him. How hard has it been trying
:09:57. > :10:04.to explain it to your children where their grandfather is? It was the
:10:05. > :10:13.hardest thing ever. They ask if he will be home for their birthday. How
:10:14. > :10:21.do you answer that? It's such a terrible thing to have to...
:10:22. > :10:25.(SOBBING). Excuse me. They have to wonder if they grandfather is OK.
:10:26. > :10:29.She told us the story of her son, a toddler, who had figured out how to
:10:30. > :10:34.get on Skype with his grandfather before the governmental game. He was
:10:35. > :10:42.talking to his grandfather. Now the only way to see him is through this
:10:43. > :10:54.video. I just want to tell him how much I miss him. (SOBBING). I want
:10:55. > :11:03.to tell him that I love him and I think about him every day.
:11:04. > :11:08.We turn to a big medical headline for millions of Americans. Sweeping
:11:09. > :11:12.new guidelines, anyone who has been a heavy smoker, will want to pay
:11:13. > :11:20.attention to eat tonight. It is calling for CT scans. How big a deal
:11:21. > :11:25.is this? It is a big deal. Number -- lung cancer is the number one
:11:26. > :11:29.killer. Annual CT scanning of the right people will save some lives.
:11:30. > :11:35.But I always thought they were dangerous. They are. It is limited
:11:36. > :11:42.to those who are the heaviest smokers. People who are over 55 and
:11:43. > :11:46.who smoked a packet a day for over 30 years. Tomorrow is New Year's
:11:47. > :11:53.Eve. This is the time for all smokers to improve their health.
:11:54. > :11:58.Now to the race car legend in critical condition. Michael
:11:59. > :12:02.Schumacher, now in a coma after an accident on the ski slopes. But he
:12:03. > :12:05.was conscious after the accident. The window of time after a skiing
:12:06. > :12:13.for when a loved one may be worse off than anyone suspects.
:12:14. > :12:17.Skiing the French Alps on Sunday, he fell, slamming his head on a rock,
:12:18. > :12:22.severely injured but reportedly still conscious and moving, when he
:12:23. > :12:26.reached a hospital 90 minutes later. It is extremely common for a person
:12:27. > :12:30.to be in issues we awake after a head trauma. His condition rapidly
:12:31. > :12:35.spiral, rushed into emergency surgery and put into a coma. Doctors
:12:36. > :12:40.said that he would have surely died if he had not been wearing a
:12:41. > :12:45.helmet. A record number of US skiers are now wearing them. One estimate
:12:46. > :12:51.says up to 70%. An actress was not wearing a helmet in 2009 when she
:12:52. > :12:54.hit her head skiing. She felt fine at first, then she was rushed to
:12:55. > :13:00.hospital in the next day, where she died. You are safer. Doctors say
:13:01. > :13:05.that if you hit your head while skiing, even if you are wearing a
:13:06. > :13:10.helmet and feel fine, get it checked out. Your brain could be starting to
:13:11. > :13:17.swell or bleed. As he hangs on to life, doctors say it is the helmet
:13:18. > :13:22.that is giving him a fighting jams. -- Johns. There is still much more
:13:23. > :13:27.ahead. The traffic lights that are still recording your every move.
:13:28. > :13:27.What they are now revealing. Could they be making some intersections
:13:28. > :14:46.more dangerous? There is growing controversy over
:14:47. > :14:50.these traffic light cameras that record you as you drive underneath
:14:51. > :14:56.them. New video of what they capture and some wonder if they are making
:14:57. > :15:01.anyone any safer. Smashed, crashed, and crushed.
:15:02. > :15:06.Drivers and the disastrous effects of running red lights caught on
:15:07. > :15:11.camera. More than 700 people die in the US every year. In response, over
:15:12. > :15:16.500 communities in 25 states have turned to cameras like this one, to
:15:17. > :15:21.catch and deter the offenders. Just the presence of one of these cameras
:15:22. > :15:26.has been found to reduce red light running by 40%. But they are still
:15:27. > :15:31.not without controversy. Opponents say that while they decrease deadly,
:15:32. > :15:34.so-called T-bone collisions, drivers are more likely to slam on the
:15:35. > :15:38.brakes when they see a camera to avoid paying a fine, increasing less
:15:39. > :15:46.serious but still dangerous rear end collisions. I would take every end
:15:47. > :15:50.crash every day. Some states are turning to a different solution.
:15:51. > :15:53.Longer yellow lights to give drivers more caution, but experts said the
:15:54. > :15:59.best way to stay safe is to be prepared to stop.
:16:00. > :16:04.Finally tonight, a little more than 24 hours, we will be preparing for
:16:05. > :16:09.the big countdown. What a year it was. Our journey from all of you.
:16:10. > :16:15.From Boston Strong, to the strongest little superhero.
:16:16. > :16:21.It was a beautiful and proud day in Boston. Then the first bomb hit.
:16:22. > :16:24.Then the second one. Two home-made bombs ripping through the crowd at
:16:25. > :16:29.the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Everyone started running.
:16:30. > :16:42.It killed three, wounding nearly 300. The 26 -year-old, his younger
:16:43. > :16:46.brother -- younger brother... And MIT police officer shot and killed.
:16:47. > :16:52.The older brother was killed as well. A Boston suburb in lockdown.
:16:53. > :16:57.The police moved in. They were saying, Boston pride, Boston
:16:58. > :17:08.Strong. America would soon turn to and the scene, Cleveland. A 911
:17:09. > :17:14.Court ten years in the making. Amanda Berry disappear ring at 16.
:17:15. > :17:18.Making the brave call, 27 years old. Three women trapped inside, all
:17:19. > :17:25.captured by Ariel Castro. He fathered a baby with Amanda. This is
:17:26. > :17:30.the news that a community has been waiting for 14 years. We were dared
:17:31. > :17:36.the day that Amanda Berry came home. Those young women survivors. There
:17:37. > :17:41.has been some kind of crash at San Francisco International airport.
:17:42. > :17:45.Incredibly, more than 300 people survived this, and Asiana Airlines
:17:46. > :17:53.triple seven crashing. He landed far too short. Over my shoulder, you can
:17:54. > :17:58.see the fuser large. In a cool twist of fate, one teenager survived the
:17:59. > :18:08.crash, only to be run over by first responder trucks. For the survivors
:18:09. > :18:12.in Oklahoma, tearful reunions. Two elementary schools were wiped out.
:18:13. > :18:20.One of the teachers following her own instinct, brushing her students
:18:21. > :18:24.into the bathroom. That brave teacher bringing us back to the
:18:25. > :18:33.school. On that day that she will never forget, suddenly finding her
:18:34. > :18:36.own son. There were prayers around the world this year or Catholics
:18:37. > :18:45.waiting to meet their new pope. We are looking at the smoke billowing.
:18:46. > :18:49.He took the name Pope Francis, inspired by Saint Francis of Assisi,
:18:50. > :18:56.known for his compassion for the poor. He even let this little boy
:18:57. > :18:59.still the spotlight on stage. At summer 's end, a American suddenly
:19:00. > :19:04.learnt that we were on the brink of war. Did the Syrian government use
:19:05. > :19:12.chemical weapons against its own people? There was worldwide shock.
:19:13. > :19:16.The children gasping for air. The US should take military action. Russia
:19:17. > :19:21.stepping in, negotiating a deal with Syria to give up its chemical
:19:22. > :19:30.weapons. 2 million refugees. We met so many children waiting to go home.
:19:31. > :19:36.A sudden breakthrough elsewhere. Iran, and acting a new president. He
:19:37. > :19:41.travelled to America to speak before the UN and speak on the phone with
:19:42. > :19:45.President Obama. Beginning to curb pay run's nuclear programme, easing
:19:46. > :19:56.the crippling sanctions. -- Tehran's. I believe we must test it.
:19:57. > :20:01.One other victory this year for a different kind of superpower. In San
:20:02. > :20:05.Francisco, the caped Crusader gave a thumbs up to Little Miles, diagnosed
:20:06. > :20:12.with leukaemia, granted a wish by make and wish. He wanted to be
:20:13. > :20:18.Batman for a day. He told Miles the hat to go to work. The helicopters
:20:19. > :20:24.overhead watching him save the day. The whole city was on in -- in on
:20:25. > :20:29.it. Suddenly realising his power. Watch this. The same trademark
:20:30. > :20:34.confidence that he showed us. A superhero just when we needed one.
:20:35. > :20:39.He saved the day and left as all smiling.
:20:40. > :20:41.I will see you first thing in the morning on good morning America.
:20:42. > :20:58.From all of us, have a good day. If you are hoping that as 2013 turns
:20:59. > :21:02.into 2014, they will be a change in the weather, a relief from all the
:21:03. > :21:06.storms, you will have to think again. This forecast contains plenty
:21:07. > :21:10.more wind and rain in the coming days. At times it will be heavy. The
:21:11. > :21:11.winds will be gale