14 Dead In Russia Blast; Michael Schumacker In Critical Condition; U.S. Egypt Leaders Speak; No Guns Allowed; Lawmakers Reach To Benghazi Report; Obamacare Enrolment Soars
JOHN BERMAN, CNN GUEST ANCHOR: Welcome back to NEW DAY, everyone. Ana Cabrera has some of today's top stories.</s>ANA CABRERA, CNN GUEST ANCHOR: And making news this morning, a suicide bombing on a bus is the second deadly terror attack in Russia in as many days. At least 14 people are dead a day after 17 others were killed in the same city at the rail station in the same city. Diana Magnay joins us from Moscow with the latest on how these attacks could impact security for the upcoming Olympics, of course, in Sochi just six weeks away now -- Diana.</s>DIANA MAGNAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Ana. Well, Russian government officials are telling us that all necessary security team measures have been taken to make sure that Sochi and the Olympic games themselves are safe. But of course, after this twin bombings in which a total of 31 people were killed on Sunday and also in today's rush hour, many people are questioning that claim that Russian officials have said this will be the safest Olympics ever. You have a very troubled restive reason very close to Sochi the north caucuses, especially the area Dagestan. That is of course, where the two suspects in the Boston bombings originated from and many are extremely concerned especially when they terrorists targeting successfully major hub cities like Volgograd in the region about 400 miles from Sochi that it is easy for them also to come closer and closer towards the Olympic venues themselves -- Ana.</s>CABRERA: All right, Diana Magnay, we appreciate that report. Of course, we have been talking about the security issues gearing up for the Olympics all morning long. Famed Formula One driver, Michael Schumaker, is in critical condition after suffering a severe head trauma during a skiing accident. The 44-year-old fell hit and his head on a rock while back country skiing with his son in France. Schumaker was wearing a helmet when that incident happened on a difficult unmarked run that's reserved for top skiers. Doctors say it's still too early to get any sort of prognosis for his recovery, although, they do say the helmet likely saved his life. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has expressed concern about recent developments in Egypt to the country's army chief. In a phone call, the Pentagon says the two discussed the balance between security and freedom in Egypt's strained political climate. Egyptian authorities have also detained a group of journalists there they say met with the members of the Muslim Brotherhood, which has been labeled a terrorist group by the military just last week. No guns allowed. That's the policy at country superstar, Toby Keith's restaurant in Virginia. House rule has some people up in arms. Some angry patrons took to social media to air out their grievances of the restaurant piles, some saying they plan to boycott the establishment. Now, Virginia is a gun friendly state where it is permissible for people to strap on a weapon and go into a bar or restaurant. It was an unexpected Christmas guest for one Florida family to say the least, a black bear crashing into their Lake Mary home. At first the homeowner thought it was a burglar trying to break if. He was even in greater surprise. You saw the bear and amazingly wasn't too scared of the camera. He broke through the patio door, making a bee line for a large pot filled with turkey oil apparently. When the bear found no turkey inside, he turned around and walked right out.</s>MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: He was moving kind of slow. It looks like he had some turkey. It was kicking in.</s>BERMAN: Who would invite a bear over for Christmas, right?</s>PEREIRA: A lot of finger pointing. Nobody wants to take the blame.</s>BERMAN: What do you get a bear who already has everything? Thanks so much, Ana. Appreciate it. It is time now for our political gut check. There is this new report out in the "New York Times" that deals with the 2012 attack in Benghazi and this has put some members of Congress now on the defensive and then of course, there is the question, could the tide had finally turned for the president on Obamacare? The administration announced Sunday that over 1 million people have signed up for health care through the federal exchange. We are joining now to talk about all this with CNN political analyst and executive editor of "The Daily Beast," John Avlon. John, thank you so much for coming in.</s>JOHN AVLON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, guys.</s>BERMAN: An early happy new year.</s>AVLON: Absolutely.</s>BERMAN: Let's start with Benghazi because this report in the "New York Times," it is an impressive piece of journalism. It makes two big claims. It says, number one, al Qaeda was not behind the attacks in anyway in Benghazi and number two, that this anti-Islam film in some way was an inspiration for at least part of the attacks there. These are the two claims it made. Already you have members of Congress pushing back on this both Republicans and Democrats. It seems like this does not put any of the controversy to bed.</s>AVLON: No, but it does give folks in the Democratic side of the aisle a lot of cover because it re-enforces the administration's early story and just as importantly, it gives Hillary Clinton's supporters cover as she looks to a future run. This not being a critical report, the fact that Democrats and Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee are pushing back and saying their assessment shows there was al Qaeda involvement. It shows that this is far from a settled issue.</s>BERMAN: You brought up Hillary Clinton there.</s>AVLON: Yes.</s>BERMAN: That is an interesting issue. You already have some people on the right suggesting the "New York Time's" is putting this out to provide cover for Hillary. I seriously doubt that the "New York Times" is doing this to provide cover for Hillary. But what opportunity does this grant her going forward? How much of an albatross was Benghazi and does this change the equation?</s>AVLON: Understand that around -- a great deal of the controversy surrounding Benghazi right now is a flanking move designed to depress Hillary Clinton in 2016. When ads were originally put out about Benghazi funded by Karl Rove, they focused on Hillary Clinton, not Barack Obama. So to a large extent, the conspiracy theories and concerns about Benghazi are very much focused about trying to derail a possible Hillary Clinton candidacy.</s>BERMAN: There are real concerns. We see people have legitimate concerns and issues with what happened there.</s>AVLON: I am talking about the political aspect.</s>PEREIRA: All right, let's move to another topic that we want to get to you is Obamacare. December looks like it was a good month for sign-ups. The surge, over a million people have now signed up for the affordable care act. Do you think -- it looks now that they are on track to meet this goal, a bold prediction, 7 million by the end of March?</s>AVLON: Yes, there is a big gap between 1 million and 7 million. It is a significant milestone in that direction. So the administration after that, they planned a rollout. They say, look, we were able rally, get 1 million people up before the end of the year and those folks will be covered going forward. That march to 7 million will be significant. Here's what we know about Romney care. The real surge of sign-ups happen before the penalties are about to kick in. That's March 31st. People responded. We're journalists. We focus the mind. So that's going to be the real thing to watch out for. Not just how these plans work in the initial rollout as we get closer to March, do they get closer to that 7 million, which is the mark they said needed to be in place for the markets to start working.</s>PEREIRA: So here's the thing, will this surge and positive numbers and sign-ups and the individual exchanges sort of make us forget? We are revisionist history and forget that failed launch?</s>AVLON: It could very well. Look. People are going to be able to judge this rollout ultimately not on how they were introduced to it, but whether the insurance and plan works. That's right. You want to him sauce. You don't want to watch the whole darn thing. Here's the point I think that is significant. Republicans made the rollout of Obamacare and the entire policy look like it was apocalyptic, the end of freedom. That's a high bar when people go to the polls in November. Right now it is unpopular because of the botched rollout. You know, 11 months from now when people are going to the polls, will the result be better than this rhetoric?</s>BERMAN: It depends on the glitches still continue. Some people are having a hard time signing up. It affects over 1 million people in fact, long-term unemployment benefits, which were not extended. Congress has chosen not to extend them before the New Year. It did not come up as a part the bucket compromise. John, do you think there is any chance these will be reinstated in the New Year?</s>AVLON: It's got to get through the Republican House. That's a tall order. Here's the key thing 1.3 million people losing unemployment benefits still with this great gap between how the super-rich are recovering and the rest of the folks. The Republican Party needs to find out and put forward what is their agenda to deal with this? It's not simply enough to go back to boiler plate. There is 1.3 million at the height of the holiday season. That's a tough fact. Congress has to do something. That fact in the dividing government is a tough bridge to cross.</s>PEREIRA: Are you ready to roll in the New Year?</s>AVLON: Let's do it.</s>PEREIRA: All right, John Avlon, we appreciate having you here. Enjoy your last two days of 2013.</s>AVLON: I love it.</s>PEREIRA: Coming up next on NEW DAY, a new initiative will have calorie counting in many vending machines in the New Year. But what is the cost to you? We'll have that story coming up.</s>BERMAN: The holiday weekend was a big one at the Box Office. We'll tell you which movie about a hobbit took the top spot?</s>CABRERA: Which could that be, John?</s>BERMAN: We'll tell you all about this coming back.