31/12/2013 ABC World News with Diane Sawyer

everybody dry and into warm clothes and jackets. Time for a look at the

news as seen across the US just a couple of hours ago. Tonight,

blinding snow and plunging temperatures. Arctic air from

Minnesota to Maine. A trained realm and makes matters worse. And a

freezing countdown to New Year's Day. New images of the terror

attacks in Russia. The giant blast caught on tape just weeks before

American athletes head overseas. The racecar legend fighting for his life

after a skiing accident. Tonight, why he was able to speak after the

fall and before he went into a coma. And who is watching you? What the

traffic light in your hometown reveals. Are these cameras making

some intersections even more dangerous?

Good evening. With millions of Americans travelling for New Year's

Eve, it's going to be freezing across much of the country. This is

the view from the windscreen of a driver in the Midwest. And in

Minnesota, look at the temperature reading. It's getting even colder.

Emergency crews battling freezing temperatures along with this

explosion of flames when a freight train derailed in North Dakota. It's

going to be a very cold New Year's Eve. We have full coverage tonight.

Our correspondent is in Minneapolis. Good evening. The city

is being swallowed by steam rising as they try to keep everybody warm.

A deep fries with a tight and unapologetic chokehold on the

Midwest. This is arctic. In North Dakota, freezing temperatures and

powerful winds. Another look at this new video footage showing fire crews

responding to this train derailment. No reported injuries. But

potentially hazardous materials were on board. Across Minneapolis, those

forced to be outside, walked quickly, said the tall and bundled

up. It makes you shake. This family were out with their daughter. The

baby carrier is completely sealed. This popular waterfall in

Minneapolis has turned into an ice palace. It's completely frozen over.

In Wisconsin, 14 degrees below zero. So cold, this shelter quickly filled

every bed. Nights like this, we have to make room for everyone. In other

parts of the Midwest, Peter bitter temperatures will linger. The cold

is heading into the east. New York is preparing for giant crowds to

ring in the New Year. It's the coldest it has been this season. By

tomorrow morning, we are talking dangerous temperatures for many

people. 26 degrees below zero will be the windchill in Minneapolis. In

Times Square... We will have lots of people withstanding temperatures

that feel like they are in the single digits. The actual air

temperature will be just under freezing. You already have your eye

on the first big storm of the New Year? Yes. On Tuesday and Wednesday,

that will be in Chicago. And there could be a massive snow event on

Thursday and Friday in land. Across the high ground, we will have

coverage as it becomes available. Thank you. Overseas, dramatic new

images after two terrorist attacks in Russia just weeks before the

Winter Games. This new video shows the first attack the moment a

suicide bomber strikes while at the metal detectors of a train station.

The explosion tears through the station. Images of the aftermath.

Victims were blown right out of the train station. And then dozens of

people were killed when another person struck, this time targeting a

us. -- bus. Today, Olympic security officials were poring over the

chilling surveillance tape from Volgograd. This chilling video shows

two suspects at the train station security checkpoint just before the

suicide bomb was detonated on Sunday. In six weeks, this will be a

busy harbour for athletes and spectators heading to the Olympics.

It indicates they were looking to derail a train in transit. With a

second attack this morning, there are now 31 people dead and dozens

more injured. Almost all were innocent civilians including

children. There have been no claims of responsibility. Many US officials

are convinced that the attacks can be traced back to this man. He is

the ruthless leader of an Islamist group which has called the Olympic

Games Satanic and has vowed to stop them. They have been in operation

for a long time. They are ready for battle. The location of the Winter

Games is 400 miles away from the attack. President Vladimir Putin has

promised airtight security. The mayor of Sochi has told me this

month that he has no worries about terrorism. Many US officials do not

share that confident viewpoint. Some say that the Russians have failed to

fully cooperate with American security teams assigned to protect

the 235 US athletes who will come here. The US will be sending small

teams of armed security personnel to Sochi to protect American athletes

but today, the White House said there was a need for closer

cooperation, which is diplomatic speak. Being so difficult. --

speak. Being so difficult. It's looking more likely that they will

have to launch an air evacuation in the Antarctic to rescue dozens of

trapped passengers on board a Russian science vessel. Tonight,

eyes in this guy over that trap ship in the Antarctic. 74 passengers have

been told they may have to abandon ship. -- eyes in the sky. You can

see how far of the sea ice really is. This is the Australian

icebreaker trying to tear through miles of thick ice. You can hear it

crunching. But overnight, with just a few miles to go, the rescuers were

forced to turn back. It's blowing snow. Punishing weather and heavy

ice has put the mission on hold. It's a disappointing day but

hopefully, the icebreakers will get in tomorrow. It may be too late. The

Australian and authority says that the tourists and researchers on

board will likely have to be airlifted by the Chinese helicopter

waiting at the edge of the sea ice. And believe it or not, it's actually

some are down there. It turns out there is an abnormal amount of sea

ice full stop tonight, new word from the State Department after our

interview with the family of an American father and grandfather held

captive by Al-Qaeda. A spokesperson from the State Department says they

have called on the people holding him to release him. Tonight, the

family have spoken out on the newest video of their loved one. We are

determined to get him home. This is the family of an American father and

grandfather believed to be held captive by Al-Qaeda. Today, the

State Department says the US has called on Al-Qaeda to release him

immediately and return him to his family. This video is all that they

have. It has a message to his family. I think about each and every

one of them every moment of every day. This is the first proving more

than one year that the man is alive. He was working as a consultant in

Pakistan, helping build the local economy when gunmen stormed his

apartment and took him captive. When he looked into that camera and said

he has been abandoned... And forgotten. I wanted to die right

there on the spot because he has no idea how hard we have tried to get

him back. This thing is that I always take him to the airport and I

always pick him up. He sees my lip begin to quiver and he says, please

don't cry. That is the last time I saw him. How hard has it been trying

to explain it to your children where their grandfather is? It was the

hardest thing ever. They ask if he will be home for their birthday. How

do you answer that? It's such a terrible thing to have to...

(SOBBING). Excuse me. They have to wonder if they grandfather is OK.

She told us the story of her son, a toddler, who had figured out how to

get on Skype with his grandfather before the governmental game. He was

talking to his grandfather. Now the only way to see him is through this

video. I just want to tell him how much I miss him. (SOBBING). I want

to tell him that I love him and I think about him every day.

We turn to a big medical headline for millions of Americans. Sweeping

new guidelines, anyone who has been a heavy smoker, will want to pay

attention to eat tonight. It is calling for CT scans. How big a deal

is this? It is a big deal. Number -- lung cancer is the number one

killer. Annual CT scanning of the right people will save some lives.

But I always thought they were dangerous. They are. It is limited

to those who are the heaviest smokers. People who are over 55 and

who smoked a packet a day for over 30 years. Tomorrow is New Year's

Eve. This is the time for all smokers to improve their health.

Now to the race car legend in critical condition. Michael

Schumacher, now in a coma after an accident on the ski slopes. But he

was conscious after the accident. The window of time after a skiing

for when a loved one may be worse off than anyone suspects.

Skiing the French Alps on Sunday, he fell, slamming his head on a rock,

severely injured but reportedly still conscious and moving, when he

reached a hospital 90 minutes later. It is extremely common for a person

to be in issues we awake after a head trauma. His condition rapidly

spiral, rushed into emergency surgery and put into a coma. Doctors

said that he would have surely died if he had not been wearing a

helmet. A record number of US skiers are now wearing them. One estimate

says up to 70%. An actress was not wearing a helmet in 2009 when she

hit her head skiing. She felt fine at first, then she was rushed to

hospital in the next day, where she died. You are safer. Doctors say

that if you hit your head while skiing, even if you are wearing a

helmet and feel fine, get it checked out. Your brain could be starting to

swell or bleed. As he hangs on to life, doctors say it is the helmet

that is giving him a fighting jams. -- Johns. There is still much more

ahead. The traffic lights that are still recording your every move.

What they are now revealing. Could they be making some intersections

more dangerous? There is growing controversy over

these traffic light cameras that record you as you drive underneath

them. New video of what they capture and some wonder if they are making

anyone any safer. Smashed, crashed, and crushed.

Drivers and the disastrous effects of running red lights caught on

camera. More than 700 people die in the US every year. In response, over

500 communities in 25 states have turned to cameras like this one, to

catch and deter the offenders. Just the presence of one of these cameras

has been found to reduce red light running by 40%. But they are still

not without controversy. Opponents say that while they decrease deadly,

so-called T-bone collisions, drivers are more likely to slam on the

brakes when they see a camera to avoid paying a fine, increasing less

serious but still dangerous rear end collisions. I would take every end

crash every day. Some states are turning to a different solution.

Longer yellow lights to give drivers more caution, but experts said the

best way to stay safe is to be prepared to stop.

Finally tonight, a little more than 24 hours, we will be preparing for

the big countdown. What a year it was. Our journey from all of you.

From Boston Strong, to the strongest little superhero.

It was a beautiful and proud day in Boston. Then the first bomb hit.

Then the second one. Two home-made bombs ripping through the crowd at

the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Everyone started running.

It killed three, wounding nearly 300. The 26 -year-old, his younger

brother -- younger brother... And MIT police officer shot and killed.

The older brother was killed as well. A Boston suburb in lockdown.

The police moved in. They were saying, Boston pride, Boston

Strong. America would soon turn to and the scene, Cleveland. A 911

Court ten years in the making. Amanda Berry disappear ring at 16.

Making the brave call, 27 years old. Three women trapped inside, all

captured by Ariel Castro. He fathered a baby with Amanda. This is

the news that a community has been waiting for 14 years. We were dared

the day that Amanda Berry came home. Those young women survivors. There

has been some kind of crash at San Francisco International airport.

Incredibly, more than 300 people survived this, and Asiana Airlines

triple seven crashing. He landed far too short. Over my shoulder, you can

see the fuser large. In a cool twist of fate, one teenager survived the

crash, only to be run over by first responder trucks. For the survivors

in Oklahoma, tearful reunions. Two elementary schools were wiped out.

One of the teachers following her own instinct, brushing her students

into the bathroom. That brave teacher bringing us back to the

school. On that day that she will never forget, suddenly finding her

own son. There were prayers around the world this year or Catholics

waiting to meet their new pope. We are looking at the smoke billowing.

He took the name Pope Francis, inspired by Saint Francis of Assisi,

known for his compassion for the poor. He even let this little boy

still the spotlight on stage. At summer 's end, a American suddenly

learnt that we were on the brink of war. Did the Syrian government use

chemical weapons against its own people? There was worldwide shock.

The children gasping for air. The US should take military action. Russia

stepping in, negotiating a deal with Syria to give up its chemical

weapons. 2 million refugees. We met so many children waiting to go home.

A sudden breakthrough elsewhere. Iran, and acting a new president. He

travelled to America to speak before the UN and speak on the phone with

President Obama. Beginning to curb pay run's nuclear programme, easing

the crippling sanctions. -- Tehran's. I believe we must test it.

One other victory this year for a different kind of superpower. In San

Francisco, the caped Crusader gave a thumbs up to Little Miles, diagnosed

with leukaemia, granted a wish by make and wish. He wanted to be

Batman for a day. He told Miles the hat to go to work. The helicopters

overhead watching him save the day. The whole city was on in -- in on

it. Suddenly realising his power. Watch this. The same trademark

confidence that he showed us. A superhero just when we needed one.

He saved the day and left as all smiling.

I will see you first thing in the morning on good morning America.

From all of us, have a good day. If you are hoping that as 2013 turns

into 2014, they will be a change in the weather, a relief from all the

storms, you will have to think again. This forecast contains plenty

more wind and rain in the coming days. At times it will be heavy. The

winds will be gale