tonight on "nightline," out of the mine, and into the limelight. three of the men at the center of the world's most famous rescue, and the agents, the movie people and the hangers on are moving in. everybody's interested in the love affair. now, the inside story of life above the ground. plus, cutest creature on earth. we have a coe voila encounter in trail yashgs and discover the problems their facing. our dan harris moves in for a hug. and, biden unplugged.

he's known for speaking his mind, and tonight, the vice president sounds off on everything from the upcoming elections, to rumors of his switching jobs with hillary clinton. it the it's the "nightline" interview. >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," october 14th, 2010. >> good evening. we begin again tonight with the extraordinary story of the chilean miners. news this evening that three of the rescued men left the hospital by the back door as the media swarmed in front. they are the first of the 33 to be given a clean bill of health. what life will be like for the men once they return to their homes remains to be seen. for one of them, surviving in the mine may have been the easy part, as his mistress, not his wife, greeted him above ground. neal karlinsky has the details.

>> reporter: when they descended into the mine a little more than two months ago, they were simple men with simple lives. they were victor mario and yonni. but they've come back transformed. today, in chile, they are the entertainer, the writer and the lover. three miners who came out of the tunnel and straight into the limelight. the lover was yonni bare yoesrios, the 21st miner to come up the only one with medical experience. while he was stuck a half mile underground, his wife marta, learned of the collapse when she got a call from his mistress. deep underground, he said he wanted to see them both when he came to the surface, but wasn't sure who would be there to greet him. as the world watched, we found out together. it was the mistress.

launching a tabloid frenzy that ended with a very public outing. this headline ys it all. chilean miner considers changing his name to don juan. >> hanging around with a lot of women. but it's -- there are jokes, basically. >> reporter: this prominent chilean tv anchor says the labels put on some of these men will be hard to shake. >> one is going to be like, the writer, the other one is going to be the womanizer, the other is going to be the entertainer. >> reporter: 40-year-old mario sepulveda is at the top of the heap. the man who came out of the mine fist pumping and cheer inging, showed off his personality underground, too, as he toured the mine on camera. earlier, he sent a brief hello from inside the hospital.

while outside, he is in heavy demand. his name attached to everything from a tv gig to a motivational speaking tour. >> if there was one of them, it would be a lot more valuable than the fact that there's 33. >> reporter: howard bragman says the fame the miners have experienced so far is just an appetizer for what's to come. but that doesn't mean they'll all get rich. >> the misconception is that when you get famous, that you immediately are superbly wealthy. i'm not sure how that works. and, there have to be mechanisms in between to money tiz your fame. and the real question is, are these guys the spokespeople that everybody wants them to be? >> reporter: still, the flood of freebies is under way. free oakley sunglasses to protect their eyes. a vacation to greece.

free ipods from apple. a supply of free sushi. there's a trip to see a world famous soccer team in europe. and another one to elvis' home graceland, is in the works. and that is the small stuff. the pressure to be the first to lock in one of the most popular miners to a deal is intense. how important was it for your bosses, for your show, to get some of these miners on? >> it was like a matter of life and death. >> reporter: life and death? >> it's like, you are going there and you have to come back here with three of them and you have no options. >> reporter: this woman is a booker for the chilean version of "who wants to be a millionaire?" while the men were still trapped, the show had on the daughter of one of the trapped miners to huge ratings. and a $12.5 million peso jackpot for the family. how famous are they? >> when they went to the moon

it kind of like that. you're going to be there and it's going to be like neil armstrong and the moon. >> reporter: that big? she says she signed the deal to get two of the miners on. she wouldn't say who. if she got victor the writer, she's ahead of most. there's talk of a book or movie deal based on the journals he kept. according to the bbc, he wrote, when i wake, i find myself in this eternal darkness that wears you down day by day. but before all this, victor was an electrician. during the ordeal, he was responsible for giving daily reports on the conditions of the miners. >> the miners are only as incredible as the story itself. the only reason that the whole world wants to know every detail is because the story was so incredible. >> reporter: jonathan franklin is hoping to score big on the story. he already has a book deal sealed up in eight countries, in

more than a dozen languages. >> they've been through so much. i think whatever they earn out of this, it's not enough for having lived ten weeks in a hole. >> reporter: all of this is why the vigil at the hospital where the mineers are being nursed back to health is relentless. there are far more media than family here, all waiting for a piece of the 33 men who are mining their greatest fortunes above ground. i'm neal karlinsky for "nightline" in chile. >> the new challenges that await them. when we come back, they're cute, they're cuddly, and the race is on to save them. we encounter furry ref ewe deeps down under. australia's koala.

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[ male announcer ] martin o'malley sworn in. inherits a billion-dollar surplus, low unemployment. o'malley signs the biggest tax hike in maryland history. raids chesapeake bay fund to cover spending. gives raises to top aides. business climate ranks 45th worst in the nation. now 200,000 jobs lost. o'malley covers up jobs report that proved maryland's economy stalled. if re-elected, o'malley will raise taxes again.

whether he does, is up to you. well, they sleep up to 20 hours a day. they're incredibly picky eaters. and they move in extreme slow motion. there's really nothing not to love about the koala. and so it's distressing to discover that in some areas of australia, they are facing man-made trouble. here's dan harris reporting for our series, "into the wild." >> reporter: this sleepy little character is marble, a male kowal lashgs snoring loudly, because he's just been sedated. these veterinarians put him under to give him an x-ray to see what might be causing some breathing problems he's been

having. the fur is really soft. it's nice. >> it's beautiful. >> reporter: not often you get to pet a sleeping koala. while his situation is serious, he's not nearly in as much trouble as many of his fellow koalas here at the australian wildlife hospital, where every day, they see the wrenching results of the assault on this country's signature species. >> we see over 600 koalas each year come into our hospital alone. of which probably only a third make it back out into the wild, so, you know, it's -- it's a fairly dramatic loss. >> reporter: this is the icu. the signs on the cages here in the intentionive care unit are dominated by dig know sis like "dog attack" and something called "hbc." >> what is that? >> hit by car. >> reporter: and that's common? >> yes, very. >> reporter: as australians increasingly build out the sort of suburban sprawl that we have

here in the u.s., they are biting directly into the koala's habitat. so, this is an example of what kills koalas right here. >> totally. >> reporter: they're going to cross this road. >> yes, and there's food sources over there, so, they go, i'm going to go and eat other there, crossing. it's just amazing how often they do it and still survive and then one day they get killed. >> reporter: they now have a very vocal advocate in the form of this woman, debra. they call you the koala woman? >> they do. >> reporter: you're okay with that? >> i am. somebody will say to me, you're that koala woman, aren't you? so, it a very lovely thing. >> reporter: absolutely. you could be the platt pus woman. she took us here, a place where animals are genuinely safe. they are living a comfortable life. >> they are in the waldorf here. >> reporter: to put it in new york terms.

>> they're in the waldorf. and, koalas in the wild are just doing it really tough. >> reporter: here, you can see the lazy creatures living in complete comfort. they look like living teddy bears. except, they are not, as many people think, bears. they are, in fact, in the same family as kangaroos. so, these are marsupials. >> they have their babies in a pouch. and they stay there for six months, come out of the pouch, live on mom's back for six months and then mom says "see you later." >> reporter: the babies are called joeys. how you doing? how you doing? do they ever bite anybody? >> yes. >> reporter: how do you know she's not going to bite me? >> she never has. >> reporter: they let me hold one, a female, who they named vinny. wow. i'm in love. she is amazing. kowalcoelae these animals live on one thing

alone, eucalyptus leaf. i'm not trying to be judgmental, but they seem to be a little lazy. is that an accurate description? >> well, they sleep about 20 hours a day. >> reporter: 20 hours a day? >> it's good. and it because the eucalyptus is so low in nutrients that it doesn't give you much energy. >> reporter: eucalyptus is all they eat, but with the trees being cut down for development, the animals are now starving, and catching all sorts of diseases. do you think we're looking at the extinction of this animal? >> i do. >> reporter: the picture may be a little bit more complicated than that. in some parts of australia, there are actually too many. but in other parts, like the area in which this hospital is located, the animals do appear to be on the verge of disappearing unless the government takes rapid action. >> we are certainly deeming with a population that's in decline. we are not managing that decline. we haven't done a single thing

to avoid it or to mitigate it or lessen it. >> reporter: and the threat isn't just limited to human encroachment. the koalas are suffering from diseases that can sometimes leave them withered and wasted away. can an animal like this survive? >> he's got a horrible smelly mouth. he's got chronic -- >> reporter: so what do you do with an animal like this? put him down? >> yeah. >> reporter: there are, we should say, some happy endings around here. >> there you go. >> reporter: as marble, who we met at the beginning of this story, starts to come to, the vets say his prognosis looks good. >> i'm going to find a nice, soft bed for him. >> reporter: outside, the other injured koalas are getting some sun and moving around gingerly displaying some of the

resilience this species will need if it's going to survive in an increasingly hostile climate. for "nightline," this is dan harris in queensland, australia. >> the fuzzy face of a serious environmental quandary. when we come back, joe biden, on the campaign trail. we spend a day with the vice president as he works overtime to round up votes for the democrats. swiffer wetjet absorbs and traps so much dirt you'll never go back to your old mop. [ funny voice ] hey, mop! wanna suck up dirt and grime like swiffer wetjet? then try the absorb-a-straw! now you're gettin' it. [ female announcer ] sorry, mop, but swiffer wetjet has a dirt dissolving solution and super absorbent pads that trap and lock dirty water deep inside the gradient core while mops can just spread it around. / swiffer cleans better, or your money back. / ♪ she blinded me with science ♪ expedia lets me mix and match airlines. i can take one airline out... and another home. so with more flight options,

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since he got fired as governor. man 2: ehrlich's raked in millions. man 3: he worked for a wall street bank that took 10 billion dollars from the bailout. woman 3: 10 billion of our money. woman 4: our money. woman 5 sync: and he worked for another bank that collapsed. man 4: costing tax payers 17 million. anncr: tell bob ehrlich big banks don't need help. middle class marylanders do. >> announcer: "nightline" continues from new york city with cynthia mcfadden. >> and we turn to politics, with only 19 days to go until the mid-term elections, the vice president is crisscrossing the

country, rallying the democratic base. and he seems to be having a darn good time doing it. whether it's working is another question. a question my co-anchor terry moran punts to him in tonight's "nightline" interview. >> reporter: there's one guy in the party that seems to be having a great time. vice president joe biden is the party's workhorse in this bleak electoral landscape, the designated democratic optimist. >> reports of the death of the democratic party have been exaggerated. >> reporter: yes, it joe biden's job to say stuff like that. and, yes, joe biden is almost always convinced about whatever he says. that's what americans have come to expect from him. how even "saturday nht live" talks about hill. >> joe biden follows his heart, not instructions. and joe's got a big old heart. >> reporter: we spent a day with the vice president this week.

a day that began as he arrived at andrews air force base outside washington, d.c., bound for iowa and illinois to stump for endangered democrats. it is a tough year for democrats. what are you doing, trying to help these guys? >> making sure that everybody knows this is a choice, not a referendum. and literally, what i go out and tell them is, that republicans are pretty straightforward. if they return to power, they're going to do exactly what they did before. >> reporter: but in this election, things are different. >> we must take our country back! >> reporter: anger and anxiety in the country stoked the tea party movement all year with astonishing results. in nevada, sharron angle has senate majority leader harry reid on the ropes. they clashed in a debate tonight. >> man up, harry reid. you need to understand that we have a problem with social security. >> reporter: and christine o'donnell won the gop nomination for biden's old seat in delaware though she has

struggled. >> what opinions of late do you most object to? >> oh, gosh. give me a specific one, i'm sorry. >> actually, i can't, because i need you to tell me which ones you object to. >> look, christine ran against me. i'm the only guy in america that had two opponents, christine o'donnell and sarah palin. because i was on the ticket in delaware as a senator and as vice president. and, i took them both very seriously. we take christine o'donnell seriously. i think it's a mistake to not take them seriously. >> reporter: after nearly 40 years in american politics, biden is surely enough of a professional to know how long the odds really are against his party. >> i think we're going to take some losses. a lot of people are hurting. there's millions of people out of work. and people are upset. and the question is, are people going to show up? is our base going to come out and vote? i think they will.

>> reporter: so, it's time to rally the base. the only hope democrats have of stemming the republican tide and that task is right in biden's wheel house. >> theicyies of the last administration decimated ordinary families. >> reporter: and in these final weeks, biden, president 0obama and democrats have started a new fight. political spending by republicans and their allies. biden and the democrats have claimed that karl rove's group crossroads america and the u.s. chamber of commerce, are raking in cash from foreigners seeking to influence the american election. >> karl rove, ed gillespie. they're bush cronies. the u.s. chamber of commerce, they're schills for big business. and they're stealing our democracy. republicans benefits from secret foreign money. >> reporter: let's talk about the money in the election. you are really going after the chamber of commerce and other inde independent groups.

and you are making accusations that "the washington post" is calling baseless. sounds desperate. >> let me put it this day. all these republicans voted against disclosure. what's wrong with disclosure? just tell us where the money is coming from. what's the problem? what is the problem? why can't the chamber say, these are the contributions that are coming from. why can't karl rove tell us where the contributions are coming from? >> reporter: another theme biden hits on the trail, blaming the bush administration. >> they decimated the lives of millions of americans and tens of thousands of eyeiowans. >> reporter: what people hear in that is you want to run against george w. bush again. >> i don't think so. i point out what we've done, and what we're going to do. we have created 860,000 private sector jobs since january. that's more jobs than the entire bush eight years. all eight years.

>> reporter: so, biden's been the loyal soldier and attack dog that a vice president should be. but that hasn't stopped the rumor mill from churning up the wild notion that he'll be dumped from the ticket in 2012. he laughs it off. >> i have breakfast with hillary almost every tuesday. i assure you, she's not interested in switching nor am i. >> reporter: biden's got the knack, which the president sometimes seems to lack, of connecting with middle class voters on a visceral level, and having fun doing it. people used to say about bill clinton, he feels your pain. seems that people don't have the that sense about brkarack obama. >> i think he gets it. and name me anyone including bill clinton who ever showed up and 30,000 people come to listen to him. his style is very different. that's why i think the president and i make a good combination. >> reporter: and in this very bad year for democrats, joe biden keeps slugging away.

>> get up! get up! and fight back. >> reporter: for "nightline," i'm terry moran in chicago. >> retail politics in action. we shall see how it all turns out. when we come back, bill o'reilly and the ladies of "the view" mix it up. that's the subject of tonight's closing argument. but first, jimmy kimmel with what's coming up next. >> jimmy: tonight, katherine heigl, julia stiles, music from nas and damian marley. and "this week in unnecessary