tonight on "nightline," don't mess with gloria. lovers scorned. we spend time with gloria allred, the hard-charging l.a. lauer so many women behind the tabloid stories turn to when the heat is on. saving dolphins. an oscar-winning movie was supposed to stop the slaughter of dolphins by fishermen, but did it? we learn the shocking truth, as the man who leads the crew said to save them returns to the cove. and, righteous rage? a 21-year-old new yorker allegedly turns on his muslim taxi driver in a vicious attack, and sents off a new wave of angry accusations on all sides. has the argument over a mosque near ground zero gone too far?

>> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," august 26th, 2010. >> good evening, i'm terry moran. and we're going to begin tonight with the hard-charging l.a. lauer you don't want to hear from if you're a man in the tabloid news. gloria allred is her name. she represents women who have been wronged. actresses, ex-wives and now several of tiger woods' mistresses. her flair for commanding public attention have made her a divisive figure. david wright reports. >> what you have not heard from the e line exclusive. >> how did one of the ugliest divorces. >> the swinging bachelor back on his game. >> the twors. history. >> reporter: behind many a good

tabloid story -- >> i made a lot of errors in my life and that's something i'm going to have to live with. >> reporter: stands a lover scorned. or in tiger woods' case, multiple lovers scorned. an ex-wife who broke her silence in a tall-all interview with "people" and many alleged former mistresses, still nursing a bit of a flame. >> i allowed myself to have feelings for him. i allowed myself to believe what he was saying. >> reporter: you fell in love? >> i did. >> reporter: behind several of tiger woods' alleged exlovers stand s gloria allred. behind rachel uchitel who reportedly settled her claims against woods for $10 million. >> do you feel like the woman who brought him down to size? >> no, i think it was tiger who brought himself down. >> reporter: but were it not for you, he might not be in the situation he finds himself in this week. fair to say?

>> i think that tiger woods needs to be accountable. >> reporter: allred is that los angeles lawyer you tend to see behind a bank of microphones. and the sheer number of microphones gives you some indication -- >> another alleged victim. >> reporter: whether it's a british actor accusing roman polanski of sexually abusing her. >> to my right is amber frye. >> reporter: or the ex-girlfriend of scott peterson, a man later convicted of murderering his wife. people are riveted by what her clients have to say. >> as a lawyer who represents a lot of celebrity men in this town, and i've said to him, you represent the hollywood bad boys and i rep the women they hurt. i do believe that women should not have to suffer in silence. >> reporter: and you give them a megaphone. >> i help them to have a voice.

>> reporter: a recent profile pictured her clad in armor. a feminist kru saider. >> for a long time, these hollywood bad boys had the sense of entitlement, they could do whatever they wanted to and just walk away and leave that human wreckage behind. and i want to empower those women. >> reporter: the mere fact that she's talking to a person connected with a big case is news to someone. a hint that another high heeled shoe may be about to drop. >> we believe that he has not been rehabilitated. >> reporter: allred's name is known for scandal. the punch line in "saturday night live" skits. >> i would like to give you a bath. >> i'm going to be contacting gloria allred. >> reporter: and on chelsea handler's late-night show. >> i felt violated. i immediately called gloria allred. and she got me $1.3 million. i never have to strip again. but i'm going to.

>> words are never going to deter me. >> reporter: "the new york times" described you as somewhere between a feminist avenger and a deluxe ambulance chaser. are you offended by that description? >> over the 35 years i've been practicing law, we have done more women's rights cases than any other private law firm in the nation. we have won hundreds of millions of dollars for victims. and we're very, very proud of our reputation. i don't necessarily represent nuns or angels, though, i have to say, i've received some nice notes from some nuns that i know that commended me on my activism for women. >> well, they don't call her gloria take no prisons allred for nothing. >> reporter: jodi fisher is another of allred's clients. her explosive allegations of sexual harassment against the ceo of hewett pack ard resulted in his sudden ouster, and spawned a huge shareholder

lawsuit. how was it she was able to help you? >> i think she was my advocate. what i did with gloria is, i told her my situation, and she helped me. and that is probably about as much as i want to say about that. >> reporter: do you feel like justice was done in the end? >> boy. >> i don't think she can comment on that, i'm sorry. >> reporter: allred is nothing if not productive of her clients. she empathizes with them. >> i had many of the same challenges that many young women still face today. having been myself a victim of rape in mexico many years ago, having had to have an abortion when abortion was illegal and having been discriminated against as my very first job at a department store when i earned less than a man. >> reporter: home sweet home. >> well -- >> reporter: money is no longer a problem for allred. her practice is clearly a lucrative one, judging from her

malibu beach house. what a view. >> thank you. >> reporter: paid for, presumably, by her contingency fees. 30% of the settlement fees. not to mention book deals, movie rights and so on. >> i consider her, if i may say, my best work. >> reporter: law in its most popular, mass market form, is something of a family business. >> certainly that would come out at trial. >> reporter: attorney lisa bloom, legal analyst for cbs news, is allred's daughter. >> stand up for what i believe in. that's what my mom does. >> reporter: seems like a lot of the cases you take on don't end up in court. >> that's true. >> reporter: tried to some extent in the court of public opinion. you seem particularly adept at that. >> well, actually, there's another alternative, as well. >> reporter: okay. >> i have kept many se credits from the press. many confidential settlements with some of the highest profile people in the world that they have never found out about, that

they never will find out about. that i will take to my grave. because i am the vault. >> reporter: but when she wants to get something noticed, there's no one better. >> thank you so much. thank you. >> reporter: this morning, she held a news conference in west hollywood, calling an end to a 30-day hunger strike for the equal rights amendment. she's had no solid food for a month. you must be hungry. >> i'm hungry for justice. >> reporter: after we joined her today as she broke fast at the ivy with some other high profile clients. >> looking forward to my first meal. >> reporter: robin and diane hired allred to sue the state of california so they could get married. one of the cases that hacaused e supreme court to lift the ban. allred thinks of herself as a modern day suffragette, fighting for women's rights one case at a time. that seems like a world apart from the mistresses of tiger

woods. >> the mistresses of tiger woods are only a small part of my practice. in 35 years, i have represented literally thousands of women. >> reporter: she says it's not her fault if the media pays more attention to some of her clients than others. as for the case that's on everyone's radar right now? as you watch tiger woods brought down to size a bit this week, do you feel satisfaction? >> i feel sorry for him. i really don't take any joy in what has happened to him. >> reporter: do you feel like any good has come from this story? >> i do. i think that secrets destroy people. and i don't think he really has been fully accountable to each and every person. >> reporter: but writing them a letter or writing them a check? >> it really depends on the situation, and the particular facts. i hope he's learned from this. but i guess we'll have to wait and see.

>> reporter: if gloria allred has anything to say about it, and no doubt, she does, tiger woods probably shouldn't put away his checkbook just yet. i'm david wright for "nightline" in malibu. >> and tonight we received an e-mail from gloria allred's law firm rejecting that "new york sometimes" suggest that some consider her an ambulance chaser. she said, quote, all the clients that have retrained gloria and our law firm have contacted us. thanks to david wright for that report. when we come back, defending the dolphins. we go behind the says with a the dolphins. we go behind the says with a crew saying filmmaker out to stop the slaughter of dolphins stop the slaughter of dolphins around the world. 2k2k2k2k2k2k2k2k 2k2k2k2k2k2k2k2k2k2k2k2k2k2k2k2k

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the oscar-winning movie "the cove" captured shocking footage of fishermen slaughters dolphins in japan. the man behind it hoped his film would put an end to the practice. but he discovered an unsettling truth, and bill weir brings us the story. >> reporter: whether they're performing at marine parks or swimming with tourists in caribbean resorts, few animals seem to enjoy captivity more than the dolphin. but according to a legendary trainer turned activist, that lovable smile masks a brutal truth. >> they are blood dolphins, as in blood diamonds. it's about the traffic in

captive dolphins. >> reporter: rick 0 berry and his son have been fierce enemies of the marine park industry and the trainers and fishermen who supply them. now, every one of these missions takes on new peril, because 40 years after turning this brill yan species into a global sensation with this -- ♪ flipper ♪ flipper >> reporter: rick achieved new fame with a very different dolphin story. the academy-award winning expose, "the cove." it is set in the center of the global dolphin trade, in japan, where every september, fishermen bang on metal poles, creating a painful wall of sound to drive hundreds of dolphin pods to shore. waiting for the round up are trainers from around the world, willing to pay $150,000 apiece for the most attractive females, and then they watch as the rest are slaughters for seafood. those they're actions are completely legal in japan, the

fisher mep and exporters are so hostile and secretive, 0 berry and his team resorted to cloak and dagger tactics to film them in action. they are new in an effort of shaming the japanese. >> "the cove" has created a lot of activists. when i leave here, i'm going back to japan, the dolphin killing season begins september 1st. and we'll be there. and i say we, we are now 1.7 million people from 155 countries. >> reporter: are you still per son that nongreat that in japan? >> i don't know. i'm always surprised when i get through immigration. i expect them to turn me around. >> reporter: for the new animal planet show "blood dolphins," 0 berry and his son return to see if anything has changed. security around the cove is tighter than ever. with new cameras, beefed up

razor wire. >> this is something they put up since we were here last time. >> reporter: and more guards. but now the japanese media is covering the controversy for the first time, and during one roundup last year, an amazing site. doll fuphins returned to the wi. >> there they go. >> reporter: days later, the water of the cove turns blood red. >> looks like they killed a dozen, maybe 16 animals. >> reporter: pressuring rich nations like japan is just one front in the 0 berry crusade. they venture to dirt poor places like the salmon mon islands where villages use dolphin teeth as a form of currency. here, they try to find new ways for the people to survive, but in the capital, the attitude is much more sinister. dolphin dealers keep the animals swimming in their own filth.

>> the tank was completely black. >> reporter: he still feels a responsibility for spending his young life on the other side. 0 berry trapped and trained all five of the dolphins that played "flipper," including a we neal named kathy. chef was the star of the show until 1970 when 0 berry said she grew so depressed, she killed herself in his arms. it is stunning to consider this dolphin committed suicide. is that a scientifically proven fact, they have that capability? >> well, it's a scientific fact that dolphins and other whales are not automatic air breathers like we are. and they could end their life any time they want to simply by not taking the next breath and i think that's what happened with flipper. >> reporter: did your conscience act up before that moment at all? >> it did. but i didn't do anything about it. until flipper died. >> reporter: 0 berry believes that mistreatment and slaughter will not end until the dolphin

trade is banned entirely, and that belief has made him a lot of enemies. >> in a perfect world, we would stop capturing dolphins from the wild. sea world's already done that. release those back into the wild that can be released. the ones that can't should be involved in birth control and phase this industry out in a gentle way. that's the best scenario. i used to be motivated by guilt, but now i'm motivated by progress. i see results. >> "blood dolphins" premieres tomorrow on animal planet. thanks to bill weir for that report. next up, the finalists in the people's plate list competition. the people's plate list competition. local chefs send us videos of their cooking skills, and we'll ask you to pick the best one. can i get in on that? are you a safe driver? yes. discount! do you own a home? yes. discount! are you going to buy online?

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>> announcer: "nightline" continues from new york city with terry moran. >> last month, we contacted the finalists in our people's plate list competition to find the country's best local chef. and tonight, we've got the videos they made, showing off their kitchen chops. the winner will be the subject of a national plate list feature, so, get ready to vote. >> when we moved up here, i never made a pie. we started with the chocolate chip, right off the bag and we crewed it up. it took us weeks to figure out what we did wrong to make it so darn good. >> i love cooking! america, show me your love. >> you know why my food is better than everybody else? because i cook with love. love is what makes the food taste so good. >> trademark other than the food would be my hats. i'm wearing a different hat every day. >> if only the world could be a

little bit more like dessert gallery. what a wonderful world that would be. we have amazing sandwiches and wraps and salads and stuff like that, but you know it's all about the dessert. >> i'm cajun ryan. >> i'm cajun ryan. >> i'm cajun ryan. >> i am cajun ryan, and this is what we're going to do. we're going to black a gator and -- >> whoa! >> i'm here to catch us dinner. right in my backyard. wait a minute -- who am i kidding? i don't catch dinner. i cook dinner. >> western style breads, taters and beans, chicken fried steaks and cobblers. there's just something about food prepared just like they did in the old west. this is our kitchen right here. and if you look out here in the prairie, this is -- this is our restaurant. >> my nanny and i started

cooking together when i was 10 years old. this definitely was a time of family and family gatherings. every meal was an event. >> hello, america. my name's paulie, i'm here on the historic square in talladega. i got to race this salad over across the river by the restaurant. >> 42, i took a leap of faith. quit my job at the post office and bought a custom harley-davidson. my wife begged, borrow and stole to come up for the tuition at will cordon bleu. >> okay? and i didn't know anything when i was married. i could barely make a tuna fish sandwich. now, we put this on the chicken. >> little salt. got to keep it tender. >> secret ingredient here at the diner is love and happiness.

love from the hand i cook with, happiness that runs from my heart. at the same time, a few sharp knives and a little bit of attitude. >> why do i love food and cooking? because it's the passion of my life. i am a product of my environment. it sustains my love of cooking and challenges me every day. >> i had about five years to live. the doctors gave me. so, what i decided to do, with the passion and the love and what i had about food, i turned it around, i gave it a twist. i took it, i made it healthier, made it fun. i made it exciting. made it tasty, and everybody loves it. >> i don't know, i think you have to ask my customers that one. >> this is a dish that i created myself. as a matter of fact, i think probably last week. >> i think everybody should vote for a.j. >> vote for a.j.! >> yum. remember to visit abcnews.c

abcnews.com/nightline and vote for the people's plate list winner. when we come back, we're going to show you new video, those trapped miners, but first, jimmy kimmel with what's coming up next on "jimmy kimmel live." >> thanks tonight. jada pinkett smith. from "bachelor pad," chris harrison, music from luke bryan, and a toddler named hitler. "jimmy kimmel live" is next. ♪

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