hut. they're setting up the equipment they need to to take the skin sample. the team went inside. the sample they collect will soon be in a lab halfway around the world. the team has to ignore the chilling sounds of grief, as they dispose of his body quickly, without ceremony. these drastic measures are essential when dealing with one of the most lethal and mysterious diseases on the planet, ebola. a viral hemorrhagic fever that comes out of the jungle has no cure and could kill in a matter of days. did the dead man have it? did he infect anyone else? >> there was someone else sick here? >> reporter: how do you catch it? and how do we stop it? questions we will try to answer from inside the hot zone. we've traveled here with a team sent by the u.s. government. the centers for disease control and prevention. their mission, to identify the source of the virus and contain it. it's a small word now. the potential for a deadly virus

to break out of the hot zone and travel around the globe is more frightening than ever. >> we don't have high walls around our country. just because something happens far away in africa, doesn't mean that it can't happen back in the united states. >> so he'll be coordinating that? >> reporter: our journey begins at cdc's headquarters in atlanta. my old stomping grounds. i worked here for 13 years. i'm here to meet the team i'm embedded with. led by epidemiologist barbara knust. this unassuming westerner and mother of a 1-year-old investigates deadly diseases all over the world but this will be her first brush with ebola in the field. >> hopefully, we'll be able to get it under control quickly. >> reporter: her job is to investigate where how and why this outbreak started. this is your first ebola

outbreak in the field. you don't seem very nervous. >> well, i've been spending a lot of years studying and preparing for this kind of a thing. >> reporter: together, we make the 8,000 mile journey to kampala, the kaemcapital of uga. we pick up the safety gear and start the four-hour drive to kagadi. it strikes me as unfair that a virus would ravage such a peaceful and beautiful place. there's no way to know if you have ebola until the symptoms develop. at first glance, the town seems normal enough, until you see people dressed like this walking around. this bare bones hospital is a ward that's become a makeshift ebola isolation facility. the rest of the hospital is totally deserted. we're greeted by dr. paul, the

epidemiologists. >> hopefully, patients will be housed in this area. >> reporter: in the meantime, the protection measures are basic at best. and there it is. the isolation ward. just on the other side of this wall are three confirmed cases of ebola. and these kids are also eager to learn more about this mysterious disease. where do you think ebola comes? >> monkeys. >> reporter: from where? monkeys? they're probably right. monkeys are probably the main transmitters of the virus. and just outside of town, monkeys are everywhere. there they go. but the cdc team has suspicion, it may not just be primates transferring it but also bats. unlike primates who die quickly from ebola, bats don't seem to be affected by the virus. the area around there is ground zero for the ebola outbreak.

60 confirmed cases. anyone with fever wonder if they will be the next victim. like this father who brought his son. also symptoms of ebola, but also symptoms of the other diseases. the team here doesn't take any chances. the boy is sent to the isolation ward. once inside, the cdc will take his blood sample. i'm invited to go in with them. we start the laborious process of getting suited up. going into the isolation ward is extremely dangerous and every precaution must be taken to protect ourselves. in some outbreaks a quarter of all ebola outbreaks are among doctors and nurses. this is to protect, in case anyone vomits or blood. if there's any splatter, it won't get down into my suit. every part of my body must be covered. even a ski mask covers my eyes. when you're dealing with something like ebola, making

sure every inch is covered is essential. the disease is not airborne, but inside the ward, there are fears that sick people have lethal bodily fluids on every surface. >> just try to stay calm. it is quite frightening, if you suddenly breathe it. don't touch your masks. good luck, man. >> reporter: thank you. i have to say that there are a few things that i've done in medicine that are as nerve-racking as going into this place. ebola is untreatable. those do have ebola. over there. over there. and over there. inside, patients with ebola should be separated with those who are unconfirmed but not all are. it must be terrifying for those who do not have it to be a few feet away from those who do. like the boy being tested. do you know what symptoms this

boy has? his father is still with him. neither can leave until the boy gets the negative result back from the blood test. do you feel okay? it looks like the main purpose of the ward to remove the people from the society, to protect the community from the untreatable disease. thank you. very little to do with healing the sick. i'm doused with bleach again. and again. it was an exhausting experience, but there's barely time to process it. there's more work to do. wrapping up this epidemic is all about going down these roads, finding any possible case. it's really hard work. and the people who are doing it, they can't even let the most remote case go without checking. >> moment of truth. >> reporter: for those in the ebola ward, there's only one way out, negative test results. yesterday, we were at this specialized cdc lab 200 miles away when the results for one patient were good news. >> it looks like it's negative.

>> reporter: and for the boy on the ward waiting for his results, good news. his test was negative, too. i'm dr. richard besser for "nightline" in kgadi, uganda. >> our severe thanks for dr. besser and alex waterfield for undergoing the risks they were willing to take for bringing us that report. and what did the material girl sell cynthia mcfadden about lady gaga? stay with us. one. most days i could get out from under and carry on. but other days i still struggled with my depression. i was handling it... but sometimes it still dragged me down. i'd been feeling stuck for a long time. so i talked to my doctor and she added abilify to my antidepressant. she said it could help with my depression, and that some people had symptom improvement as early as 1 to 2 weeks. i'm glad i talked to her. i wish i'd done it sooner. now i feel more in control of my depression.

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let's just say it's been an eventful summer for the queen of pop. she's on a wildly successful global concert tour. she just received a public lashing from elton john. and now, madonna's involved in a controversy with the russian government, after expressing

support for the all-girl band jailed for performing an anti-putin song. but madonna's never shied away from expressing herself, as "nightline" archer cynthia mcfadden discovered a few months ago. >> reporter: madonna has been all over the world. a nipple, and in rome, all part of the tour. such antics go with the territory. that was clear the last time i sat down to talk with her with a stack of viewer questions. of all these, there's one question that blew up the internet. do you have any idea what it is? >> i don't know. >> reporter: they want to know what you think about lady gaga. lady gaga has admitted being influenced by madonna. ♪ i'm on the right track baby i was born this way ♪ >> reporter: but when "born this way" sounded a little more than

similar to "express yourself" ♪ some wondered if influence was plain out copying. >> it feels reductive. >> reporter: is that good? >> look it up. >> reporter: we did. it means simplified or crude. her answer set off a firestorm. >> she's -- her career's over. >> reporter: elton john's been on her case ever since. most recently on australian television on a program called "sunday night." >> she looks like a fairground stripper. >> reporter: madonna tried to prove her point with her known mashup as part of her mda tour. she's expressed herself all the way to the bank. her tour is reported to be the highest grossing tour of all times. you heard me, all times. sure doesn't sound like her

career's over. in fact, it's been a very busy year for madonna. in january, the super bowl. ♪ >> reporter: the academy awards. but her love life is seasonless. her current romance, 20 something dancer. >> i didn't write down on a piece of paper, i'm now going to have a relationship with a younger man. i just met someone i care for. and that just happens to be his age. >> reporter: and what's appealing about it? >> i don't feel comfortable with this conversation, but, you know, i don't want to live my life on my own. i love being a mother. my children fill me up in many ways. and inspire me in many ways, but i need a partner in life. i've never really lived a conventional life, so i think

it's quite foolish for me or anyone else to start thinking that i'm going to start making conventional choices. >> reporter: so how are things work ought with a man half her age. >> i'm the easy one. >> reporter: are you the easy one? >> no, i don't know. i mean, i go home. i wash my face. and i put on my sweat pants. and i lay down on the bed and i say, oh, please rub my feet. and he says, no, you rub my feet. so, you know, behind the curtain, i'm just like everybody else. >> reporter: everybody else -- hardly. but over, don't count on it. for "nightline," i'm cynthia mcfadden in new york. >> a tour de force, our thanks to cynthia mcfadden. next up, a glory of silver, gold and bronze.

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you know, today, american gymnast ali raisman won her second gold medal at the london games, bringing the american gold total to 30, just behind china with 34. we only hear about the silver, gold and bronze medalists. but with the agony and heartache of coming in fourth, shouldn't there be some consolation prize.

here's our correspondent julie foudy. >> reporter: just competing in the olympics is a victory, right? so why is it that medal winners get all the glory? gold. silver even a bronze. but finish fourth, and you get nothing. no bling. dave mitchell is out to change that. >> in recognition of your fourth place olympic games 2012 -- >> reporter: from his tiny bookstore outside of london, dave was reading up on olympic history when they got to thinking, why stop at bronze? >> i just think that stopping at three is nowadays too soon too early. >> reporter: so david has been going over to his local trophy shop and forking out his own money to make fourth place medals. how many have you sent to athletes here? >> we've sent out a dozen so far. >> reporter: until you write off dave as completely looney, it wasn't until eight years after

the return of the modern olympic games that the third place winners were given a medal. before that, it was first and second. but why stop there? by today's standards, if your child plays a sport, they get a medal for just showing up. sports psychologist michael gervais thinks we've gone too far. >> no, there shouldn't be a fourth place medal. gold, silver and bronze. we know who the best three in the world are. >> reporter: gervais knows because he's counseled some of the best in the world. from misty may-treanor to gold medalist rebecca stoney. >> we're playing in a make-believe world. >> reporter: gervais said the competitive spirit is so intense amongst olympians that many have said coming in third is easier than finishing second. >> i won a silver, and i sometimes think, maybe the bronze would have been easier. >> i was so close. i touched it.

i was there. and that's painful. >> reporter: gervais said it's a loss that pushes us to try harder. ten-time winner agrees. >> we learn more from our losses than our victories. >> i'd hate it if i got fourth and got a medal. i'd feel like it's a pity medal. >> reporter: what is it made out of? >> it should be made of pewter. >> reporter: but dave mitchell isn't willing to give up, he said he's willing to stand alone until there's one more winner on the medal stand. >> if you imagine the podium, gold, silver, bronze, pewter. then the bronze medalist has got a mate now. someone to hold. shall we recommend it to rio? hmm. >> reporter: in london, i'm julie foudy for "nightline." >> our thanks to julie foudy. check in with "good morning america" where bill weir will be reporting the latest from the

'8 good evening. >> jimmy kimmel will begin in seven minutes. developing story, a earthquake sha shakes southern california, a magnitude 4.4 earthquake hit half an hour ago 30 miles southeast of los angeles. it was felt from a wide area. that was followed by a 2.7 magnitude aftershock. no reports of injuries or damage. >> tonight, chevron apologized for last night's inferno at the richmond refinery but did that did not pacify the angry crowd of 700 people. >> i have an apology for the disruption for concern we caused you in the community last night. as part of the refinery and smoke that you saw i have

nothing more to add. my sincerest apologies. >> i have personal responsibility for 1600 employees. that is not relevant. >> some residents at the townhall meeting say they didn't receive the automated telephone warning calls. county officials say they did activate the system right after the fire started. >> they say the fire created no pollution of consequence according to an analysis of their samples. levels were below federal health standards of toxic pollutants. nevertheless, 949 people showed up at local hospitals seeking medical treatment after the incident. >> i still don't have