. >>> these 500 pound lions and tigers may have been used as man eaters by drug kingpins. >> drug dealers were feeding them humans? >> yes. >> with their owners behind bars, this woman takes over the lion's den, literally. and ryan's got ava, but hey girl, these two are among hollywood's love birds expecting to be parents. so what's with the hollywood baby boom? but first, the "nightline" five. >>> good evening. thanks for joining us. living on the sea. sounds like a life of adventure and fun. but for one family who found themselves stranded in the middle of the pacific ocean with a sick child, their family adventure turned into a national flashpoint, and they aren't alone. there are others living their lives away from the safety of the shores. abc's reena ninen hops on board with one set of aquatic parents and kids. >> reporter: on deck, this might look like a fun family vacation. but below deck, severely cramped quarters for this family of five. but it's home for this family, who ten months ago sold everything they have to live at sea with their three young children. >> we all sat down

and it was bad. >> without the kingpin, the crane is doomed.econds later, big blue and the roof come crashing down. >> watch it! >> there's no -- there's nothing you can do, you know. it's terrifying. >> the crane and roof fall away from jeff's yellow man basket seen on the right and miss him. but another crane on the left is hit. it's holding a man basket with three other iron workers in it. >> there was a crane holding my three friends and then my crane and then blue and mine was the only one left standing, i think. all of the other cranes went over. >> all three men lose their lives. it's a devastating blow. >> jerry star was a really nice guy. he was our union steward on the job. jeff is the guy i knew the most. and bill, diver we called him on the job, i had just met him. he was a real nice guys, you know. >> several other people are injured, including kasinski. he sustains a career-ending back injury when his basket is lowered and stopped too quickly. >> that was my last day on the job. >> an investigation finds several factors are to bla

while there have been seizures and arrests only one criminal kingpin has ever been caught,

state senator leland yee, chinatown kingpin raymond "shrimp boy" chow and former san francisco board of education president keith jackson, who is accused of being the middleman in some sordid deals. the trouble began in march when yee was arrested of accusations of drug running, murder-for- hire and weapons sales. yee and jackson are on bail and working on plea deals behind the scenes possibly. >> the fact that they have been dribbling in and dribbling in, the characters who are being caught in the net they now are giving information trying to buy their way out. i would think there's probably going to be quite a number of other people still to come. >> reporter: raymond "shrimp boy" chow is still in jail. he hasn't been granted jail. the lawyer may push for that today. today's hearing starts here in federal court at 10 a.m. live in san francisco, anne makovec, kpix 5. >> lee is still a state senator but he is suspended. >>> oakland police are investigating what led to the electrocution of a man near the old pacific pipe factory in west oakland. it happened just before 9:00 last night

state senator leland yee, chinatown kingpin raymond "shrimp boy" chow, and former san francisco boardeducation president keith jackson who is accused of being the middleman in some sordid deals. the trouble began in march when yee was arrested on corruption charges as part of an undercover sting investigation into chinatown gangs with accusations of political favors, murder-for-hire and weapons sales. yee and jackson are now out on bail. maybe working on plea deals behind the scenes. >> the characters who are being caught in the net, they now are giving information, some of them trying to buy their way out so i would think that there's probably going to be quite a number of other people still to come. >> reporter: raymond "shrimp boy" chow is still in jail. he is not out on bail. his lawyer may push for that today at the hearing that begins at 10 a.m. anne makevoc, kpix 5. >>> one last check of the bay bridge toll plaza. it is backed up to the maze about 20 to 25 minutes to get on the span. but i got to say westbound 580 that approach still looks good as well as the 880 approach in oa

he is being charged under a state drug kingpin law normally used for big time street dealers. also in new york city, brooklyn da to stop low-level weed prosecutions. it's being done to ease the burden on the courts and jails. this new policy will not apply to 16 or 17-year-olds or people caught smoking in public or near children. >>> in washington state the first recreational pot shops opened for business tuesday where customers found long lines and limited supplies. >>> here is your wednesday weather. nbc 4 new york meteorologist raphael miranda. better weather? >> good morning, richard. depends. >> cooler? >> not really, sorry. don't have a lot of good news in the west especially. the heat continues and the flood threat continues, monsoon season in effect across the southwest. a look at the satellite and radar picture, heavy rain continues, flood threat continues for the four corners region, showers and storms into the overnight hours. southern arizona some very heavy rain along i-8 from the west heading out of tucson towards yuma. watch out for localized flooding there. maj

he is being charged under a state drug kingpin law normally used for big-time street dealers. >>> also in new york city, brooklyn d.a. to stop low-level weed prosecutions. it's being done to ease the burden on the courts and jails. the new policy won't apply to 16 and 17-year-olds or people caught smoking in public or near children. >>> and in washington state, the first recreational pot shops opened for business tuesday, where customers found long lines and limited supplies. >>> all right, we're going to switch gears now and get to our inhouse sports guru, of course, none other than richard lui. good morning. >> very good day to you. made it to wednesday, betty. >> yay! >> yes. it was the largest landslide in world cup semi history. germany destroys brazil. five goals in the first 30 minutes alone. and then this. >> once again, that's seven! an utter humiliation! >> ouch! germany goes to 7-0. >> humiliation is what he called it. >> you got that right, betty. a moping brazil, somehow, though, able to muster one goal, but germany trampled 7-1. the odds in that happening, 1 in 20,000 say

>> ahead, dangerous wild animals kept by know torous drug kingpins. who is saving the animals in?nges in the ]. fast aisle. enhancements you say soon see in your favorite cereal box. you're watching "world news now". ♪ ♪ i like i like cereal ♪ >> announcer: "world news now" weather brought to you by hotwire.com. for up to 60% off,get a 4-star l even at the last minute. in the neighborhood where we wanna go? yes. you just won't the name until after you book. hmm. ooh. definitely. it's all about sleep. it's not all about sleep. yeah, well, for me it is. lucky me. ♪ that's notthat's dirt r carpet, creeping in. send it running with resolve high traffic foam. its foam power removes three times more dirt than vacuuming alone. all while neutralizing pet odors. don't just vacuum clean . resolve clean. i've got a nice long life ahead. big plans. so when i found out medicare doesn't pay all my medical expenses, i looked at my options. then i got a medicare supplement insurance plan. [ male announcer ] if you're eligible for medicare, you may know it only covers about 80% of your part b medi

. >>> these 500 pound lions and tigers may have been used as man eaters by drug kingpins. >> drug dealersrl, these two are among hollywood's love b

cases are very slow and seldom involve the kingpins behind the racket. >> the situation in sri lanka, most of the organizers are not arrested. normally they are returning. >> reporter: he must wait a year before his case is called. with no jobs, moumenting debts dash -- mounting debts, he's growing fruit and vegetables to okay out a living. >>> in the mediterranean the italian coast guard rescued 50 migrants from a small boat. the u.n. estimates more than 500 died in the mediterranean in the past six months. the final journey of the "costa concordia" is over. salvage crews towed the scuttled cruise ship to the italian port of geppoa -- jennoa. it took four days. italy's program praised the true, remembering the 32 people that lost their lives when it capsized. >> translation: we know that what happened took place due to an error that someone made, and it was truly a tragic ech and we are not -- event and we are not here to celebrate. >>> over the next several months crews will move furniture and heavy items. the ship will be scrapped. >>> 500 homes have been evacuated in northern cali

some of those deported gang bangers eventually became kingpins in central america, terrorizing the population. >> their gang members over there look out to anything that comes from l.a. so you might be a small guy, but you come from l.a., so that makes you a leader. >> reporter: enrique hertado is a former l.a. gang member born in el salvador. he now runs a program aimed at rehabilitating gang members. >> if you're not victimized, you're a victim. >> reporter: that's what this 13-year-old is struggling with. he traveled with many other children last year when he snuck across the u.s. border. he says he's running away from a violent future after living a violent past in the m-13 gang. what's the worst thing you had to do for the gang? "kill people. because they didn't want to pay the prescribes to the gangs" he says. you understand why people in america say you have to go back, we don't want the gangs here. he understands, but says if people in the u.s. knew the terror and hunger facing children in central america, maybe the understanding would go both ways. now, erin, i want to give you the l

the charges brought down was a charge they usually used for, like, mafia kingpins. were overseeing a criminal enterprise. i know you have maintained you were not found guilty of any specific infractions. you maintained your innocence. when you look at what was revealed about your administration, the kickback schemes taking place under you, around you -- >> there was one -- when you know that. >> oh, i think so. the fact of the matter is, the leader, you know, when you got a judge who instructs the jury, even though the mayor, the mayor should have known -- >> whether he knew or should have known, that's basically the instruction. frankly, i'm not running for office for redemption. i'm running for office because i love the city. i don't like what's happened to it. we have very high self-esteem here in 2002. now we don't have high self-esteem anymore and lead leadership. the city needs a resurrection. i'm not going to bad mouth my opponents. not one of them has been in office before. one has been a -- i don't think we need that. i'm not aspiring to any other office. i

kingpins dealing heroin and other hard drugs should go to prison. but what we need to do is, as i said, take a broader approach. there is pharmaceutical advances that are treating heroin addiction and also recognize prescription drugs. even with this increase in heroin recently, prescription drugs is far more common than heroin abuse, so i hope we can also focus on that as well. >> mr. chairman, thank you. i think what i got out of that is huey lewis probably had the answer, a new drug? we need to find a drug that's not addictive, not harmful but still pleasurable. and we need to put ourselves on it tomorrow. >> i always thought that was what we call glazed donuts. mr. bachus, you asked for unanimous consent? >> unanimous consent, and professor otis sort of reminded me of this. i had it, but this is a crime scene. and this is in alabama. these are two young people that overdosed on a synthetic drug earlier this year. so it is a different crime scene. but it looks pretty violent, i'm sure, to their parents and their friends. i would also like to ente

he says that cases are very slow and seldom involve the kingpin behind it. >> very weak situation in sri lanka. most of the organizers still are arrest not arrested. more normally they're arrested in the sea. >> he must be wait ar i year before his case is call. with no job, mounting debt and no income, he's trying to grow fruits and vej ables to eat. >>> time now for all your sports with annie. >>> thank you so much. vin chen zone has claimed the tour de france title for the first time in his career. he's the sixth man to win all three major races. as is tradition, he enjoyed some champagne on the final stage that ends up in paris with rivals. he's really been in charge ever since he took the lead in stage 2. his victory margin of nearly 8 minutes is the biggest since the race in 1997. this sunday is seeing the first ever women's race organized by the tour de france. more than 100 pro cyclists are taking parts which was won by world champion mariana voss. >> it's great for women to show themselves in front of the crowd and the whole world. >> i hope it's the start of something big.

congress recommended mandatory minimums to be imposed against drug kingpins, but as we found out, it's often low-level offende offenders, often people of color who receive it. does this comport with your experience? >> i'm just going to jump in because congress asked us a few years ago to do a study on exactly this issue when we issued our report in 2011. and at least as of that time, we studied it, and, in fact, the mandatory minimums, as we said, applied very broadly not just to serious and major drug offenders, but they were also applying to street-level dealers, couriers and mules. so, for example -- now, many of those get safety valve relief, but they're getting hit at very high levels with convictions of statutes carrying mandatory minimum, and particularly the street-level dealers are, in the end, subject to them. >> thank you. could i finish, mr. chairman, by asking judge keeley to weigh in on this, please? >> as you know, i speak for the conference, and the conference for 60 years has opposed mandatory minimums, and one of the basic reasons we've opposed it is because of the d

congress recommended mandatory minimums to be imposed against drug kingpins but as we found out, it's often low-level offenders offenders, often people of color who receive it. does this comport with your experience? >> i'm just going to jump in because congress asked us a few years ago to do a study on exactly this issue when we issued our report in 2011. and at least as of that time we studied it and in fact, the mandatory minimums, as we said, applied very broadly not just to serious and major drug offenders, but they were also applying to street-level dealers, couriers and mules. so, for example -- now, many of those get safety valve relief but they're getting hit at very high levels with convictions of statutes carrying mandatory minimum, and particularly the street-level dealers are, in the end, subject to them. >> thank you. could i finish, mr. chairman, by asking judge keeley to weigh in on this please? >> as you know, i speak for the conference, and the conference for 60 years has opposed mandatory minimums and one of the basic reasons we've opposed it is because of the dispr

congress intended mandatory minimums to be imposed against drug kingpins, but as we found out it is often low-level offenders, often people of color who received it. does this comport with your experience? >> i am going to jump in because congress asked us a few years ago to do a study on exactly this issue and we should our report in 2011 and as of that time we studied it and the mandatory minimum applies broadly, not just to serious and major drug offenders but also applying to street level dealers, courier's and mules so for example many of those get safety valve released but they are being hit at high levels with convictions carry it -- mandatory minimum industry level dealers are in the end subject to them. >> mr. chairman, can i finish by asking judge keeley to weigh in on this please? >> as you know i speak for the conference and the conference for six years has opposed mandatory minimums. one of the basic reasons we oppose it is the disproportion malady in sentencing that results by treating similar of the offenders that may pose very different risks to society. to the extent thes

congress recommended mandatory minimums to be imposed against drug kingpins, but as we found out, it's often low-level offende offenders, often people of color who receive it. does this comport with your experience? >> i'm just going to jump in because congress asked us a few years ago to do a study on exactly this issue when we issued our report in 2011. and at least as of that time, we studied it, and, in fact, the mandatory minimums, as we said, applied very broadly not just to serious and major drug offenders, but they were also applying to street-level dealers, couriers and mules. so, for example -- now, many of those get safety valve relief, but they're getting hit at very high levels with convictions of statutes carrying mandatory minimum, and particularly the street-level dealers are, in the end, subject to them. >> thank you. could i finish, mr. chairman, by asking judge keeley to weigh in on this, please? >> as you know, i speak for the conference, and the conference for 60 years has opposed mandatory minimums, and one of the basic reasons we've opposed it is because of the d

assist with counter drug efforts in mexico fighting against organized crime groups, taking down kingpinsaders of the mexican cartels. host: let's go through the summary. you mentioned one disrupting organized crime groups linked closely to drugs in this country. also encouraging reforms inside mexico's criminal justice system and strengthening the border. let's talk about the final two, especially the border issue and reforming the criminal justice system inside mexico. guest: those components of the context.e are not d&d they are four pillars of the initiative. the first is disrupting or fighting against organized crime. the second being judicial reform and feeling the rush including police reform -- including police reform. the next is building a 21st-century border between the countries. there is a focus on social and community development programs intended to prevent gang activity, promote economic development in some communities. on the two you mentioned on judicial reform and border first we seethe u.s. cooperation through usaid lawthe state department's enforcement bureau intended

they were not drug kingpins. they were really low-level non-violent offenders.w she is using her success to keep more women out of prison. fighting on capitol hill for lower mandatory drug sentences and alternatives to prisons for low-risk felons. like mom timyka soto. >> it's the worst fear for a mother to leave their children. >> reporter: soto was facing five years for domestic assault against her boyfriend. instead of prison, she entered a new program called justice home. it lets offenders remain home with their kids and undergo counseling and job training. >> they get the help with those issues, mental health, substance abuse, parenting help. that program is going to cost around $17,000 per woman. and in new york state where we do our work, it costs $60,000 a year to incarcerate somebody. >> reporter: soto says she's now empowered to go back to school and stay out of jail. >> prison is not education. it's torture. >> reporter: you said most of the women you served with did not need to be in prison. did you? >> i don't defeat my sentence. if we expect prison