leaves. >> i'm consider concerned. >> reporter: not surprising to elizabeth, for her safety, we hidden her face, she runs the maryland sex offender registry, overseeing the 8 staffers in charge of tracking nearly 9000 offenders, each one has to monitor roughly 1000 sex offendsers, but bartholomew insists staff size is not an issue. she says one of the biggest challenges to keeping the registry up to date, is the 60 plus agencies required to update it, use data bases that don't always communicate. >> we understands it's frustrating. we have been working for sometime to try and build a better system for collecting. >> reporter: information about sex offendsers released from local detention centers or prison isn't automatically updated as soon as they walk out the door. they want it to be soon. they have been using federal funding to mods modify the

registry. all detention centers still won't be linked in. which can turn advocates who rely on the registry. >> the left arm doesn't know what the right arm is doing. we expect agencies to work together. >> reporter: he says they would work better if several were brought under one umbrella. the offender case management system, eventually give offenders one universal state id and generate a list of releases for those in state custody. that's also a work in progress just like the registry itself. when its began in 2007, bartholomew says it couldn't tell you whether an offender was in jail. now they are changing the way it works adding new tools and trying to get them in to the hands of every agency that touches the registry so no one is missed. >> it's no excuse. at least we are getting there. we are seeing progress. >> reporter: joce sterman, abc2

news. even though local agencies would have to pay to be part of the system, they don't track sex offendsers for free. bartholomew says they get $200 per offender. most of time it goes in to the fund of the jurisdiction. bartholomew says baltimore city puts the thousands they get back in to the sex offender program. joce sterman profiled three offenders and turned them in to case studies, and posted them on the website, go to abc2news.com. a man worked with the volunteer fire department faces charges he sexually abuse twodz children. preston scott the second was arrested by arundel county police. he was a member of the fire department, and responsible for organizing monthly teen dance

fundraisers. it doesn't appear he had inappropriate contact with the teens attending the dances. a woman shot outside a home is out of the hospital tonight. it happened after 9:30, on north fulton baltimore. she was shot in the abdomen. there is a person of interest. state delegate busted for drinking and boating and drinking and driving. dwyer was sentenced on both charges. the judge gave him 30 days for each. total of 60 served on weekends beginning next month. dwyer will spend weekends during next year's general assembly behind bars instead of behind a desk in annapolis. he received 3 years of probation. and can't be anywhere that serves alcohol including legislative functions. family members of those hurt gave victim impact statements

today. >> it was nice for him to acknowledge and apologize, acknowledge what happened. stop denying. >> dwyer's attorney says he doesn't plan to step down though. man is in shock trauma after hit walking along york road, it happened around 1:00 at the intersection, across the street from towson, there is no word on the 24 year old's condition and we don't know if charges are going to be filed. plans in the works to drain pat of the lake. hang on a second. i thought the same thing. the western sides would be drained of water. the city would put two large underground water storage tanks, that part of the lake would become a field. once that happens, the lake would be open to recreational use. people would be able to use

boats and fish, and there is talk of building a dockside restaurant. who is being called in to fix this site and when it should be up and running the right way. >> what is not to like here? 100-pound pumpkins, elephant and fall colors , the zoo kicks off the zoo boo weekend. >> now is a great time at the zoo. clear skies this evening. qñwinds. freeze warning for parts of the state that haven't had one yet. central and southern maryland in the 30s. that's the deal and a cold start this the morning. we hit 56 today at dwi.

problems plaguing the

health care .gov website. the kinks will be worked out. they will go through each problem one by one. all of this comes as democrats began calling for delay, the individual mandate, something members of the tea party clambered before and during the shutdown. the site will be fixed, everyone will have access despite the problems. no up with is losing health coverage today. no one gets new benefits until january 1st. if an individual signs up by the 15th of desks they will have coverage on day one. >> the government paid out $375 million on the largest contracts, to give you an idea it took less than half of that to develop ty phone. in a week, people who rely on food stamps will get less money, $5 million in cuts to the program take effect.

food stamp benefits will increase during the recession. the number of people collecting them doubled. republicans argue the increase was temporary and the program is already bloated and in need of changes. the president hammered on republicans during a visit in a new york city school today. during a speech, he argued spending and not more cuts are the key to growing the economy. the opening settlement, members of congress are going to work on details for the actual budget. the hope is to get one done before mids january when we could face a government shutdown. the sheridan hotel. stores will close at the ends of next month. according to the article in the capital gazette. dp m is blaming sequester saying they capts afford $2

million until renovations. they would see if a company would take over the lease for five years. getting refills on prescription painkillers is going to be tougher and tougher. food and drug administration wants to reclassify drugs that contain hydrocodone and vicodin. the classification would limit the number of refills patients can get before they see the doctor again. fda wants control saying that it's more concerned than ever about the abuse and misuse of the drugs. you have a chance to get rid of your out of date prescription drugs tomorrow. the one thing you won't be able to drop off, the solutions and syringing. most citys and counties will have set up drop off sites and we have a list on the website. heads to abc2news.com/health. now, from abc 2, maryland. most accurate forecast. >> it gets mild afternoon

despite the cold nights. low 50-degree, 40s in pennsylvania. south,low 50s atlanta. don't let it bother fall you in to a false sense of security. freeze warnings through the carolinas, south carolina, at land ta, across through tuscaloosa. the cold air w a deep reach overnight. does includes most parts of maryland that have not seen a freeze warning yes, it is. that would be southern maryland down through st. mary's county and eastern shore across worster and ocean city. expecting the potential freeze at day break. bring in the tender vegetation. protect the plants and be dressed for a cold one this evening. stay warm. storm shield, the frost and freeze alerts for your zip code. it's a great app to have on the mobile devices. five sweeps scanning, set for a dry weekend. dry today at the beach. site of the huge and growing

sea woodses festival, gearing up for that. it's good weather. blue skies, breezy and temperatures won't be bad at the beach. parkville, blue skies, high thin clouds, parkville middle. haverly grace, maryland's mightiest river, finds a clear, night in progress. it's chilly down on the riverside. current conditions now, bwi, 51 degrees. winds northwest at 10. pressure high and rising 30.25. high pressure coming in. dress with thes tra layer, especially in the morning. color, start but a milder afternoon in the 50s, humidity is going to be low. breeze ohs stout out of the west and southwest tomorrow. look at numbers statewide. 32 mountains. a chilly wind flows in this

evening, headed to dinner and after dinner festivities kicking off the hall won halloween week. across the state now. it's crystal clear, a few fair weather clouds, closest precipitation in the great lakes, the cold air flowing in over the warm great lakes. lake effect snow and rain showers, we will be dry tonight. gigantic bubble of high pressure, a 10:30 high, drifting easts oh on the breezy side for another day. temperatures will moderate. that's a cold core air mass settling in west this evening. see the effect of that, with widespread 20s in charlotte. this is a deep reach of the chill, all the way to north florida, and here in maryland we won't get out of this one. tonight 32, a chilly blast

peeking overnight. we moderate a little bit. 2 go guarantee for saturday. tomorrow night down to 37. not much change on sundays. a weak cool front coming through, we moderate a little bit early next week in to the low 60s. chances for showers 50/50, critical trick or treat forecast time. we hope nature mother nature won't play a trick on us. we will see what happens. >> numbers are all over the place. >> moderate by next week. nice weather for the trick or treaters. ghosts and goblins taking over the zoo this weekend. they kicked off the zoo boo event and to get things started 100-pound pumpkins were given to the elephants. it's a great time to get down there. >> fall is one of the best times to come to the zoo. it's cooler out. animals are active. as we know, polar bears and lions like to lay around and

like to conserve energy. in the fall, you see a lot more activity a lot more swimming. >> zoo boo runs tomorrow and sundays, it's free with admission, trick or treating, hey maze and costume contest. [ male announcer ] there are always great footlong values at subway. like our two big october values --

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temperatures in the 40s, falling off under a clear sky. you are headed out for dinner, downtown, fells points, dress warm. it's not that bad, chillier when you walk out. here is the seven-day forecast. carbon copy day sundays, breezy all weekend. sunshine, low 60s next week. on and off showers possible. the weekend, i mean look, sunny, not bad. little chill by by night looks nice. >> fleece jacket. >> chop wood until 11:00. floe it on the fireplace. -- throw on the fireplace.

welcome to world news tonight, the search is on for the two americans, kidnapped by pirates. brian ross here with new details. shopping while black, high end store called police on black customers buying luxury belts and purses? and why a music superstar is caught in the middle and mystery solved, the little girl known as maria, her real mother comes forward. and tells the strange story of a hidden world. and good evening to you on this friday night, and as we come on the air, two american families are huddled with the fbi, the search underway for their luchd ones, kidnapped by pirates. the men were last located on

this stretch of orben off the coast of nigeria. no one has seen the americans now for 48 hours, but tonight, abc news has learned more about who they are. our chief investigative correspondent brian ross. >> reporter: abc news has confirmed the identities of the two americans on the c retriever, the captain and the chief engineer. both from southern states. but u.s. officials have asked us not to broadcast the names of the men, singled out by the pirates because of the sensitivity of the case. >> we are working closely with our counterparts in the american government and with the nigerians to bring that to a conclusion. can't say more about it at this point. >> reporter: at the same time the nigerian navy says it launched a search and rescue operation in the mangrove swamps where no one pirate and militant groups have camps. u.s. officials are worried that a nigerian military rescue effort could endanger the americans. how long would it take a pirate who might be drugged to unload

an ak-47 on a victim, if the gun is to their head? a second. two seconds. >> reporter: a new gps tracking of the ship on a maritime web site on its final days showed it veered far away from normal route to offshore oil rigs, suggesting the pirates took it to a larger mother ship. >> likely rendezvoused with another pirate vessel to steal the fuel off of the vessel and whatever else is on board. >> reporter: for the maritime criminals, the two americans on the c retriever were a kind of unexpected bonus. and fbi team is being cents to africa and other agents are working with the families of the two kidnapped americans. but 48 hours since the men were taken, still no known contact with the pirates about what they want to set the men free, diane. >> brian, thank you so much. and also tonight, in the middle of the maelstrom, the white house promising to if i can the obama care web site.

one month from now, a date certain to unleash a new wave of outrage, about whether it's too little too late and abc's white house correspondent jim avila on the fiasco and the fix. >> reporter: the white house bruised and battered by political opponents and probably worse late night comedians. >> the [ bleep ] calculator doesn't work? the one thing included in computers since 1972? >> reporter: today put the obama administration's already sullied tech reputation on the line again, making a bold promise to fix the errant health care.gov web site by november 30th. will obama care be the butt of more jokes come december 1st? right now web site performance improving but still not signing up enough customers. today 90% of applicants can now create an account on the web site, but the next important step of successfully applying for insurance remains

troublesome. as few as three in ten attempts are completed. so far, a mere 700,000 have been able to apply on the marketplace, far short of the goal of 7 million newly insured come 2014. second sebelius admitting she was blindsided by failure. >> actually, i didn't realize it would not be operating optimally before the launch. >> reporter: secretary sebelius on the hot seat. 32 republicans calling for her rescission nation, next week on the hill they get a shot at her in person they will be interrogated at hearings. >> jim avila at the white house. thank you. tonight, a new debate about race and america and what some people called shopping while black. a high end department store, customers singled out. and pressure on a superstar tonight, who is caught in the middle, here's abc's dan harris. >> reporter: the man who famously rapped about having 99 problems, now has one more. jay-z, husband to beyonce and

father to blue ivy facing tough questions tonight about his deal with high end retailer barneys to design exclusive items that will go on sale next month. like this raincoat, which will run you 675 bucks, this double gold ring, and this leather backpack. the deal became controversial this week, after two young african-american shoppers came out to say they were racially profiled at barneys. >> very embarrassing. very. >> reporter: trayon christian, a 19-year-old college student says he bought a $350 ferragamo belt with his debit card. after he left, he says two undercover cops stopped and handcuffed him saying his card was fake. it wasn't. then kayla phillips, 21-year-old nursing student whose brother is a cop came forward with a similar story. saying she used tax rebate money to buy this 2300 dollar bag and was stopped by police. she had a message for jay-z. >> don't have dealings with

barneys. >> reporter: she is not the only one pressuring jay-z to bow out. one tweeting will blue ivy be racially profiled. in cases like these, they are called by the store, and do not act independently. barneys has now offered its deepest apologies, but this is not a new problem in stores across america. it even has a name, shopping while black, just today in fact, actor robert brown, who stars in the hbo show treme sued macy's saying he was unlawfully searched by undercover detectives. macy's is investigating that case. as for barneys it hired an outside expert to review it's policies from top to bottom. jay-z meanwhile is on tour in sweden, he was reportedly asked by journalists today there about the barneys controversy. and flatly refused to comment. one of the people in his entourage was quoted as saying, jay-z is not allowed to speak on this matter. >> okay, dan.

there will be more on this story. we can count on it. and today, a kind of pay back for passengers, who have been stuck on the tarmac, united airlines fined $1.1 million for holding passengers on the tarmac too long. one flight, four hours and 17 minutes. 12 other united flights were also held up that same day in july, 2012, at chicago's o'hare, the biggest fine ever under the new rules which say passengers should be able to get off the plane after three hours of waiting. and now, to the thrill ride gone wrong at the state fair in north carolina. riders thrown to the ground by a ride that spins and flips upside down. the ride was supposed to be over, when some were knocked unconscious. abc's david kerley has the latest on what happened. >> reporter: tonight, the chaotic 911 calls. >> you got to get somebody out here quick, on the vortex ride. >> reporter: the vortex ride at the north carolina state fair. >> is there any serious

bleeding? >> yes, they are bleeding. >> reporter: these pictures right after the carnival ride accident. >> there is like one, two, three, four, five people down. >> reporter: first responders arrived within minutes two critically hurt. in all five were taken to the hospital. two people have gone home. they were riding the vortex. this is it in operation right before the accident. it spins, twists and turns upside down. but as riders were unloading, it suddenly started up again, slamming a worker and riders to the metal deck. how does one get critical injuries with what happened last night? can you tell us specifically what happened. >> it's like a car wreck. cars break down, cars wreck. i don't know how they got -- each one was hurt. >> reporter: the association that represents carnival operators tells us americans take more than a billion rides a year, and each year, 13,000 are injured and visit an emergency room. that is a higher rate than at theme parks, which have many

more riders, and fewer injuries. there was a switch problem, that was fixed on that vortex ride on monday. but officials don't know if it's related to the accident. which they are calling an isolated incidents with two people with critical injuries this vortex ride is shut down for the last busy weekend of the north carolina state fair. diane. >> david kerley reportsing from north carolina tonight. now we head overseas to japan, and a nerve-wracking day there. a 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit off the coast, so powerful it triggered tsunami warnings, tremors felt inland as far as tokyo. people on the coast ordered to evacuate, including at the crippled fukushima nuclear site. you can see it shaking there. this is two years seven months after that other giant quake and tsunami. and tonight, we are glad to report, there are no reports of damage. and the tsunami warning was lifted after two hours. officials at fukushima claim

radiation levels there did not change. staying overseas, a dramatic end tonight to an international mystery, the little girl known only as maria, found living with an unrelated family in greece. so how did she get there? tonight we have the dna tests and the story. abc's lama hasan. >> reporter: this evening the mystery of little maria, solved. dna tests confirming, the girl, dubbed the blond angel is the biological child of this roma or gypsy couple living in bulgaria. this is her mother. she says she gave birth to maria about four years ago in greece. where she was working as an olive picker, too poor to care for her, she gave her away. she says she knew nothing of her daughter's fate until she spotted her on tv this week. and this is her brother, the resemblance striking. it's the end to more than a week long search, maria's picture rocketing across the world after

greek police found the blue eyed blond haired girl living with this gypsy couple, a dna test confirmed maria was not theirs, and thousands of tips poured in including from the u.s. the parents of missing lisa irwin from kansas city thought she might be their daughter. those hopes now dashed. maria's biological family live in this gypsy camp. her uncle saying their ten children sleep on the floor. authorities here in bulgaria still investigating maria's parents, not sure they didn't sell their daughter. but her mother has told reporters she wants her little girl back home. for now, little maria is under the care of a greek charity, and said to be in good spirits, her final fate far from clear. lama hasan, abc news, bulgaria. >> back here at home tonight. a new twist in the mystery involving another little girl, the unsolved murder of jon benet

ramsey found dead in her family's home the day after christmas 17 years ago. her parents john and patsy ramsey forced a torant of accusations before exonerated a stranger's dna found on the girl's clothes. tonight, newly released court documents reveal how close those parents came to a trial, closer than we knew, a grant jury wanted to indict them for child abuse leading to murder. the prosecutors refused citing lack of evidence. patsy died of cancer in 2006, two years before the dna evidence would clear the family. and tonight, john ramsey is remarried, living in michigan. john benet's killer is still unknown. and an issue that has everyone arguing tonight. what should happen if parents let their kids drink at parties? one town is threatening to send a mom and dad to jail. and legendary singer james taylor, the star spangled none

making headlines tonight in our instant index. back in two minutes. [ male announcer ] you'll only find advil, the #1 selling pain reliever, in one cold medicine. advil congestion relief. it delivers a one-two punch at pain and sinus pressure with the power of advil and a nasal decongestant in a single pill. advil congestion relief.

and next, there is a lot of talk tonight about a problematic issue inside every american family, it is about teens and drinking. what is the right thing to do, when teenagers are drinking under your roof? abc's linzie janis takes us to a town, where police are cracking down on teens and their parents. >> reporter: when the baltimore sun published this picture of maryland's attorney general doug gansler at a party with underage drinking it struck a nerve for many parents. he told abc's jim avila he was just there to speak with his son. did you set a good example going into a party, participating in the party -- >> i'm walking through. >> reporter: this attorney general is having trouble

figuring outs what the rules are. he's not alone. >> i understand the position of some parents. they can't allow it to happen. the law is clear, if you allow underage drinking in your home, even if you don't provide alcohol you are looking at sanctions and potential civil lawsuits. >> reporter: two extreme cases in glastonbury, connecticut show how confusing the issue can be. this is the house whehere the nixons threw their teenage daughter a party even handing out flyers saying they would be supervising the bash. when police arrived they found 100 teens and plenty of drinking. >> they knew the party was going on, they knew alcohol was there they didn't do anything about it. >> reporter: even though they say they didn't know about the alcohol, the nixons were arrested and charged with allowing minors to possess alcohol, a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in prison. around the country most parents arrested for this end up paying fines or doing community service. this week when the parents of two teen as ride home from a

vacation to find their dauters throwing a drinking party at their house on this suburban glastonbury street they didn't take chances, calling the cops, but ended up getting their own kids arrested. what this is ultimately all about is the high number of accidents on the roads, because of young people and alcohol. nationwide, more than 12,000 are killed every year, including six from this area just last summer. the trac outcome police and parents are trying to avoid. linzie janis, abc news, glastonbury, connecticut. >> tonight, we'll give you a sneak peek at halloween, a costume idea that will light up the night. our friday instant index coming up. ooh, homemade soup! yeah... [ male announcer ] try campbell's homestyle soup brimming with farm grown veggies. huh, just like yours. huh. [ male announcer ] and roasted white meat chicken. just like yours. huh.

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exciting and would always come max and pto my rescue. bookstore but as time passed, i started to notice max just wasn't himself. and i knew he'd feel better if he lost a little weight. so i switched to purina cat chow healthy weight formula.

i just fed the recommended amount... and they both loved the taste. after a few months max's "special powers" returned... and i got my hero back. purina cat chow healthy weight. now time for our friday instant index. some of the great pictures and moments we do not want you to miss from this week, and here is abc's nick watt. >> reporter: we begin our best of the week round up with the kid who finally passed math, and set up a camera to capture his dad's reaction. [ screaming ] >> reporter: james taylor was booked to sing the national anthem before game two of the

world series. >> oh beautiful -- oh say can you see -- >> reporter: great save, what a pro. we also got this sneak peek, the halloween costume a california man made for his 2-year-old daughter. an led stick figure. and math dad is still crying. meanwhile, humpback whale punches a camera toting diver. an insane mountain biker descends a treacherous ridge and -- by the way math dad finally moved beyond elation into suspicion. >> they haven't made -- you did so little work. >> reporter: that was instant index and i am nick watt. >> if you see something out

there, all week long tweet it to me @diane sawyer. and the superstar, the career that defied gravity. the lesson sandra bullock teaches us all tonight. she is our person of the week, and that's next. what makes yout is what makes us different. we take the time to get to know you and your unique health needs. then we help create a personalized healthcare experience that works for you. and you. and you. with 50 years of know-how, and a dedicated network of doctors, health coaches, and wellness experts, we're a partner you can rely on -- today, and tomorrow. we're going beyond insurance to become your partner in health. humana.

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which may include changes in body hair or a large increase in acne, possibly due to accidental exposure. men with breast cancer or who have or might have prostate cancer, and women who are or may become pregnant or are breast-feeding, should not use androgel. serious side effects include worsening of an enlarged prostate, possible increased risk of prostate cancer, lower sperm count, swelling of ankles, feet, or body, enlarged or painful breasts, problems breathing during sleep, and blood clots in the legs. tell your doctor about your medical conditions and medications, especially insulin, corticosteroids, or medicines to decrease blood clotting. in a clinical study, over 80% of treated men had their t levels restored to normal. talk to your doctor about all your symptoms. get the blood tests. change your number. turn it up. androgel 1.62%.

and finally tonight, our person of the week. did you know that in real life, sandra bullock has a fear of flying? an irony since her movie gravity is soaring at the box office. this week, she won best actress at the hollywood film awards. they honored what she did in that physically exhausting role. sandra bullock who proves the middle of life is a great time to take a chance. here she is. a spirited reminder, that -- two other actors said no to this part in gravity. before sandra bullock took the chance, receiving the award this week, saying she's grateful for

the -- >> opportunity to keep trying, keep doing new things, and not send me out to pasture. i don't want to go to the pasture. cold. i'm allergic to grass and cows are mean. do you copy? >> and as you look back across the decades on screen, she always seems to be living a life so close to ours. >> don't mess with me. >> joy. bouncing back. remember, 19 years ago, she was 30 in "speed." her biography is full of surprises. fluent in german [ speaking in german ] >> her german mother was an opera singer who died young of cancer. she paid tribute at the oscar's. >> if i could thank my mother for not letting me ride in cars

with boys until i was 18, because she was right i would do what i wanted to do. >> if life hands you a personal blow, show up. >> let's be honest here, i win this for being entertainer of the year, or did i win this, because of the spectacular explosion that became my personal life? >> and none of us do, while she was making the movie "blind side" she secretly adopted a baby boy, louie, taking what life hands you, turning it into love. >> i wasn't expecting in my ad, nothing to prepare, you realize you need very little other than knowledge, patience and a whole lot of love. i would like to thank what this film was about for me, which are the moms that take care of the babies and the children no matter where they came from. >> she is 49 years old and says she danced her way into shape for gravity. she tells herself, you can't go backwards. i'm grateful that i'm here,

exactly where i want to be now. >> and so we choose sandra bullock, winning the big award this week. we thank you for watching. we are always here at abc news.com. and remember, 20/20 will be here tonight. and david muir will be right here all weekend long, and i'll see you again next week. good night. music ]

>> announcer: the following program is sponsored by operation smile. every year, hundreds of thousands of children are born with cleft lip and or cleft palate. >> dr. bill magee: why should any child, anywhere on this planet, have to live a life of misery. >> kathy majette: a lot of people think that children that are born with these deformities are cursed. just imagine a life alone, that nobody wanted to be around you. >> norrie oelkers: and we had children coming in for screening with brown bags over their head. they're never allowed to leave their house unless they have a bag on their heads. >> kathy majette: some children don't live, because they have problems with eating, and drinking, and die of malnutrition.

>> mel: and they see us as their last resort. >> dr. jill gora: every child deserves a fair chance at life, >> peggy stillman: it may only take an hour to do something that will change their lives forever. >> noreen kessler: and you just see a whole new person, a whole new beginning. it's almost like they're reborn. i can't think of another word but phenomenal. [ music ] >> roma downey: as a mother, i would do anything i could to help my child live a normal life. and i'm sure you would, too. but what if you couldn't do anything? what if you were totally helpless? that's the situation for hundreds and thousands of parents in developing countries whose children are born with cleft lip or cleft palate. in the united states, these deformities are corrected shortly after birth. but in many countries around the world, these children are left untreated and are shunned.

[ music ] [ children's voices ] >> roma downey: i'm in le loi hospital. the volunteer operation smile medical team has come from all over the world to perform surgeries, and parents have brought their children here, hoping that they'll be selected. nine-year-old sut has been ridiculed and rejected all his life. sut isn't even his real name, but that's what he's been called from the day he was born. sut means harelip; a terrible name for a child born with a cleft lip. he's from a very poor family who could never afford surgery. when he was 5, he went for his first day of school. the other kids laughed at him and made fun of him, so he ran away from school, and he's never been back. he has problems speaking, eating, and drinking. >> leslie rice: he's got to be able to move his lip, so that's the first part of speech.

so, that's why we've got to be able to fix this part, so he can talk better. can you open your mouth wide? good. can i hear you say ahhhh? >> ahhhh. >> leslie rice: there are so many children who have facial deformities and cleft palate and cleft lip and they need so much attention and help and especially how we do it at home, so young, and to think that we have 7 and 8-year-olds in these countries that need help. >> peggy stillman: if we don't do it, the children are going to have deformities for the rest of their lives. it'll affect their happiness, their ability to speak, the way they look. and if we can just do a simple procedure, it may only take an hour to do something that will change their lives forever. [ child crying ] >> dr. bill magee: operation smile began when my wife kathy and i were asked to go on a medical mission to the philippines to take care of children who were born with cleft lips and cleft palates.

>> kathy magee: well, in the philippines, we turned away 250 children and we always had hoped that we would be able to take care of those kids. and we went back. we gathered a group of our friends and we did that. we took care of those children. >> dr. bill magee: that decision literally changed the course and the direction of our lives, our family's lives, our values and, i believe, our purpose in life. >> roma downey: this little guy's name is son. he's two years old. he was born with both a cleft lip and a cleft palate, which is an opening in the roof of his mouth. his mom is very worried. son has difficulty eating and often chokes on his food. [ child crying ] they don't have enough money for rice, much less to afford this surgery.

she never, ever thought he might have this chance. she says she wants him to be handsome. the hardest part is, operation smile can't possibly operate on all these children this week. more than 500 kids have come here for screening, most of them from miles and miles away. but we'll only be able to help about 100 children, this trip. >> dr. bill magee: why should any child, anywhere on this planet, have to live a life of misery because someone isn't there to take care of them? there is no justice in that. [ music ] [ children laughing ] >> roma downey: ngan, who's 3, has a beautiful smile, but it wasn't always this way. she was born with a cleft lip and cleft palate. last year, operation smile repaired her lip and she's back now to have surgery on her palate.