right now, 74 people are stuck on this russian ship in the antarctic. it got stuck on the ice yesterday and sent out a distress signal. three ice breakers are on the way to free up the ship right now and there s no danger to people on board that ship. something underneath seattle is blocking the path of a monster drill, cutting a tunnel below the city. for the $3 billion project on hold. so, what could it be? stephanie elam reports. reporter: no doubt, bertha is a behemoth. billed as the largest tunnelling machine in the world and put to work grinding a tunnel under seattle for a planned highway. but bertha was only a tenth of the way on her nearly two-mile journey when she suddenly encounters something large enough and strong enough to stop her in her tracks. being really cautious, making sure we don t damage this $80 million machine. reporter: but what is it? the mystery is fueling lots of
a behemoth. she was put to work grinding a tunnel under seattle for a planned highway. but bertha was only a tenth of a mile on her journey when she discovered something that stopped her in her tracks. we want to be careful and make sure something doesn t damage this $80 million machine. reporter: but what is it? the scientists pointed out that the water edges were filled in with just about anything in the pioneer s shoes. there was a boat buried in downtown seattle. so you name it. it could be down there. reporter: another theory is it is a massive boulder left during the ice age. residents have their own guesses. some type of burial ground maybe? she is taking a christmas break. reporter: if that is the case, bertha s christmas break started two weeks ago.
speculation. geologists point to how seattle s watery edges were filled in with just about anything by the city s pioneers. old shoes, newspapers. there s a boat buried in downtown seattle. so, you name it. it could be down there. reporter: another theory is it s a massive boulder left during the ice age. residents have their own guesses. some kind of burial ground. merry christmas, big bertha. reporter: if that s the case, her christmas break started two weeks ago. since then, the $3 billion tunnel project has been on hold, as workers drill wells to alleviate water pressure in front of bertha in hopes of sending workers to the front of the drill to see what she s up against. you can t back the machine up. you have the segmented lining behind you. all you can really do is proceed forward. reporter: bertha won t be moving forward until at least early next year, after the mystery is solved.
so cliche, but something in seattle really is stuck between a rock and a hard place or something and it s standing in the way of building a massive new tunnel. don t you love the sound effects that go along with this? what is this mystery object? we ll look into it after this break.
if you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan. reporter: joe johns, cnn, washington. and thank you to joe johns for putting together that very comprehensive look at the scandals from this past year. what do you think was the biggest news story of 2013? you be the judge. voting is under way right now on cnn.com. there, you ll see a list of 20 stories. we want you to choose your top ten. december 30g9, 9:00 am eastern time online and on tv, we ll reveal the top ten stories of 2013 as voted on by you, our viewers. that s at cnn.com/yir. a utah couple finds out the hard way if you want to leave a negative online review, you could end up paying a price. why they say they were fined by an online retailer and what they re doing to fight back. stuck in seattle? something standing in the way of a massive project for the city. it s underground and it s big, very big. so, what in the world is it?