>> brian ross investigates for us tonight. thank you. >>> when we come back, we will check out a new weight loss trend built on cutting edge technology that kills off fat cells by freezing them. ooh, a brainteaser. how can expedia now save me even more on my hotel? well, hotels know they can't fill every room every day. like this one. and this one. and oops, my bad. so, they give expedia ginormous discounts with these: unpublished rates. which means i get an even more rockin' hotel, for less. my brain didn't even break a sweat. where you book matters. expedia. you've done a great job caring for your teeth. that's why there's a rinse like crest pro-health complete with fluoride. it helps you get a better dental check-up. in fact, it provides all these benefits. crest rinse makes the difference. new crest pro-health complete rinse. curtis: welcome back to geico gecko: caller steve, go right ahad.. steve: yeah, um, i just got a !free rate quote on geico.com, saved a ton, and it only took me 5 minutes and 12 seconds! steve: i was

brian ross takes us inside the luxury around him. >>> and, in other news today, a powerful new weapon in the fight against breast cancer. ♪ i was diagnosed with copd. i could not take a deep breath i noticed i was having trouble. climbing the stairs, working in the garden, painting. my doctor suggested spiriva right then. announcer: spiriva is the only once-daily inhaled maintenance treatment for copd, which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. i love what it does. it opens up the airways. announcer: spiriva does not replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms. stop taking spiriva and call your doctor right away if your breathing suddenly worsens, your throat or tongue swells, you get hives, have vision changes or eye pain, or have problems passing urine. tell your doctor if you have glaucoma, problems passing urine, or an enlarged prostate, as these may worsen with spiriva. also, discuss the medicines you take, even eye drops. side effects include dry mouth, constipation, and trouble passing urine. it makes me breathe easier. i can't do everything i used to do. but there's

our chief investigative correspondent brian ross broke the toyota story more than a year ago and he brings us the latest findings tonight. brian? >> reporter: well, diane, it was very good news for toyota in a year where they had to recall more than 8 million cars for safety defects led to dozens of deaths and thousands of accidents. the problem first emerged a year and a half ago. >> our accelerator is stuck. we're in trouble. there's no breaks. >> reporter: one four people died after a california driver could not stop his lexus, with a passenger calling 911 for help. >> we're approaching the intersection. we're approaching the intersection. hold on. pray. >> reporter: what followed was a wave of reports, speculation about the electronic acceleration system as a cause. today, transor theation secretary raymond lahood said, flatly, that was not the cause. >> the jury is back, the verdict is in. there is no electronic-based cause for unintended high speed acceleration in toyotas. >> reporter: lahood said his conclusion was based on a ten-month investigation of nine separate toyotas conducte

tonight, brian ross investigates. >>> and blitz. opposition forces in libya surge towards the capital. their target? an increasingly shrill leader. our cameras are there. the fight for libya is on. >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city this is "nightline," february 24th, 2011. >> good evening, i'm cynthia mcfadden. we begin tonight with entertainment. and some of the biggest and youngest stars. many aren't even old enough to vote. and yet, their audience is massive, large enough to make nickelodeon star miranda cosgrove's show "icarly," among the highest rated on cable, with 40 million viewers a week. the question is, what does it really take to make it big, and is it worth it? juju chang as our report. >> reporter: she seems so famous, so familiar. but who the heck is she? >> thank you. >> reporter: if all goes according to plan it won't be long before the answer is as obvious as miley, the jonases, selina and demi. >> hair trouble. welcome to the life

investigator brian ross has the video. >>> and is diet soda putting you at risk for a heart attack or stroke? we fact check a new study. >>> and this four-legged genius who knows 1,000 words. [ male announcer ] this is lara. her morning begins with arthritis pain. that's a coffee and two pills. the afternoon tour begins with more pain and more pills. the evening guests arrive. back to sore knees. back to more pills. the day is done but hang on... her doctor recommended aleve. just 2 pills can keep arthritis pain away all day with fewer pills than tylenol. this is lara who chose 2 aleve and fewer pills for a day free of pain. and get the all day pain relief of aleve in liquid gels. ♪ 100 ways to enjoy pringles. ♪ 100 crisps, 100 ways. ♪ everything pops with pringles. sleep is here, on the wings of lunesta. and if you wake up often in the middle of the night... rest is here, on the wings of lunesta. lunesta helps you fall asleep and stay asleep, so you can wake up feeling rested. when taking lunesta, don't drive or operate machinery until you feel fully awake. walking, eating, driving,

chief envisit gator correspondent brian ross has been on the madoff story since day one. >> reporter: the interview took place tuesday at this federal prison in north carolina. madoff hadn't spoken on the record since he arrived here in shackles and a blue jumpsuit in july 2009. a times reporter, she described madoff noticeably slimmer and a bit agitated. madoff did business with some of new york's biggest banks and hedge funds. without naming any specific one, he accused them of willful blindness to his ponzi scheme. they had to know, he said, the attitude was sort of, if you're doing something wrong, we don't want to know. previously madoff had told the court falsely that he pulled off the entire scheme by himself. since then, several top employees have been indicted. or convicted. bankruptcy trust tree has alleged, madoff close friends and family including his wife ruth who still regularly visits him knew or should have known about the fraud. >> some of these people were in control or were absolutely in a position to understand what was going on. >> reporter: among those accused by

our chief investigative correspondent, brian ross, is here. brian, we hear the terms, see something, say something, so much. it's a slogan that's in danger of becoming a cliche. but in this case, it proved to be very valuable. >> reporter: it worked very well. the company in north carolina and a second company in texas both called the fbi to alert them to khalid aldawsari. there was something very suspicious about him. a real lone wolf. and they feel this kind of program can stop that. >> a useful slogan in this case. and i understand you have an update this morning on another investigation you recently brought up. >> reporter: that's right. on friday, we reported on the failure of the big three rental car agencies to repair safety defects on cars before renting them to customers. but because of a calculation error, we didn't give them full credit for the repairs they did make. although, the numbers still fall far short of the 100% safety advocates say they should be making before renting. the correct figures in the study of general motors and

madoff in prison and we'll talk about what heçó said with peter lattman of "the new york times" and brian rossf abc news. >> he had to know but his attitude is if you're doing something wrong, we don't want to know. >> charlie: and we continue with three italian reporters joining me to talk about the scandal involving italian prime minister silvio berlusconi. he'll tell us about the man and the charges. we conclude this evening with the great james taylor. ♪ i've seen fire and i've seen rain ♪ i've seen sunny days i thought they'd never end. >> charlie: an interview with bernie madoff, the possible captioning sponsored by rose communications from our studios in new york city, this is charlie rose. captioning sponsored by rose communications captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org trial of prime minister berlusconi of italy and james taylor and some tunes when we continue. if you've had a coke in the last 20 years, ( screams ) you've had a hand in giving college scholarships... and support to thousands of our nation's... most promising students. ♪ ( coca-cola 5-note mnemonic ) m

. >>> and, now, we turn to a brian ross investigation. he has learned that there are dozens of aging oil refineries across this country, using the chemical that can escape and kill. and brian looks at who is at risk and what can be done. >> reporter: in corpus christi, texas, the warning sirens come at all times of the day and night for the nearby oil refineries. >> you never know when you go to bed if you're going to live through the night. >> reporter: few here have forgotten what happened two years ago, after an explosion at the citgo refinery when safety precautions failed to fully stop a release of a little known but highly lethal chemical called hydrofluoric acid, that just barely missed the neighborhood. scientists call it one of the world's most hazardous chemicals. >> you can't breathe eventually. you die from asphyxiation. >> reporter: as seen in this industry test film, a release of the chemical in liquid form doesn't fall to the ground but floats across the desert in a kind of death cloud. >> it's really nasty stuff. >> reporte

brian ross will have much more on this later today on "good morning america." >>> the colombia military has seized a sophisticated drug trafficking submarine. and they say it was able to carry cocaine from colombia to mexico. there were no drugs onboard. but authorities believe it was ready to be loaded. they did find some weapons onboard. but so far, no one has been arrested. >>> one of the sons of north korean leader, kim jong-il, has reportedly been seen in public for the first time in five years. of all places, at an eric clapton concert in singapore. the 29-year-old second son of the reclusive leader was wearing a black t-shirt. he was surrounded by plainclothes security guards who were trying to block cameras. >>> if you're looking for a cure to the common cold, you may want the to try some zinc supplements. taking some within 24 hours of the onset can shorten a cold by the day. our dr. richard besser has some doubts, though. >> some of the studies show it works. but in those studies, some were taking a 10 milligram lozenge every hour and a half when they're awake. that's a lot of

brian ross. >>reporter: the american raymond davis former special forces soldier opened fire from inside his car in the city her here. bullet hole visible on the cell phone video after the shooting. the if what followed over the last 3 weeks has turned into a show down between the u.s. and pakistan. about demonstrators demanded davis be tried and hanged. police have refused to free him. even though he has a u.s. diplomatic passport and claims self-defense. date set for murder trial. >> of us u.s. says he was a technical advisor for the american consulate there but the pakistani say they found him with photo of sensitive security locations as well as a gun, camera and wire cutters. leading to the suspicion he is a spy. about davis case is playing out on the streets and on pakistani television. making a behind the scene resolution even more difficult. >> ray davis is entitled to full i man ty. >> i just works as consultant there. >>reporter: even police video of davis being questioned ended up on p

brian ross, abc news, washington. >>> high school trip turned deadly on a mississippi highway.ide-swiped a bus and collided head-on with a second school bus. the truck driver and two school employees were killed in the accident. at least a dozen students were treated at hospitals for their injuries. >>> and now to egypt and a tough new warning to protesters from that country's vice president, omar suleiman, saying the government cannot put up with continued protests. he said there will be no ending of the regime and no immediate departure for president hosni mubarak. with more on the protest, here is terry moran in cairo. >> reporter: for the first time the egyptian revolution came to the country's parliament. as nervous soldiers and officials looked on, thousands of egyptians with a boldness that would have been unimaginable in this country just a couple weeks ago, brought the simple, shiny, demanded this revolt, right to the gates of cairo. >> we need free, freedom, freedom. >> reporter: it was as if the protests caught a second wind and downtown cairo was once again transfor

brian ross, abc news, new york. >> in addition to poor sleep, there's also very poor pay.. one pilot in newark said his starting salary was $17,000. keep in mind, someone who drives a bus starting salary, $30,000 a year. no compensation. i think the overall thought is you just have to really love the job and love flying. >> you would have to to work and sleep under those conditions and make that level of pay. i assumed it was 10, 15 times what they're saying. sullenberger talked about when he crashed into the hudson, had he been sleep deprived, he may not have been able to pull off that landing. he saved more than 100 lives that day. >> of course, we all remember, he since testified about all those things. >> wow. >>> coming up next, it was no act for lindsay lohan in an l.a. courtroom. >> the judge's stern warning and why lohan smiled in court. >>> lindsay lohan was back in iled in court. >>> lindsay lohan was back in urt >>> lindsay lohan was back in court wednesday, a place becoming all too familiar with the troubled actress. >> she was facing grand theft stealing. surr

joining me now brian ross chief investigationive correspondent for abc news, he reported on the storyor world news tonight earlier this evening and here is what he said. >> among those accused by the bankruptcy trustee, the owners of the new york mets, the cats family. fred and madoff became close personal friends and had intertwined business interests. in the times interview madoff said willpon did not know of the scheme. in a lawsuit asking for a billion dollars the trustee has received e-mails from willpon's advisors warned him of madoff for years. quote notwithstanding our concerns, the willpon and cats family continued to invest with madoff's securities unquote the advisers wrote. at the spring training he said that the family denied the allegations. >> we're going to fight it and we're going to be victorious in the end. >> charlie: joining me is peter lattman of the new york time. he's written extensively about the madoff case many i'm pleased to have both of them here about this startling story today that was in "the new york times." tell me about how she got this interview. >>

brian ross, abc news, new york. >> scary story for millions. >>> in other news, toyota issued yet anotherthe event is the latest in the white house musical series. the first family also got into the act and showed off a few moves of their own. a good time at the white house. i still say smokey robinson song "cruising," best ever. >> that is a good song. >> that is a personal favorite. >> we'll have to cue that up. >> more news coming up in a second. stay with us. ♪ i heard it through the grapevine ♪ hehehere would you go next if you had a hoveround power chair? the statue of liberty? the grand canyon? it's all possible ith a hoveround. tom: hi i'm tom kruse, inventor rand founder of hoveround. when we say you're free to see the world, we mean it. call today and get a free overound information kit that includes a video and full color brochure. dennis celorie: "it's by far the best chair i've ever owned." terri: "last year, 9 out of 10 people got their hoveround for "little or no money." jim plunkitt: "no cost. absolutely no cost to me." breaking news...when you call today, we'll include a

our brian ross is here and has more on this. good morning, brian. >> reporter: good morning, robin. for many pilots, the hardest part of the job is staying awake. fatigue is the dirty, little secret of the airline industry. now, our undercover investigation has provided a rare glimpse of what leads to those tired eyes and tired skies. a night flight over washington, d.c. seen from the cockpit of a jet airline. it's no time for a pilot to be struggling to stay awake. but all-too often, that is the case. >> one pilot will reach over to the other and tap him or her on the shoulder, and say, hey, listen, i'm going to exam the overhead panel for a little while. that was code for i'm going to recline my seat, look up and fall asleep. >> reporter: it's a system where poorly-paid pilots report to duty hundreds or thousands of miles from home. and have to scrounge at night for a place to sleep. ending up in secretive, so-called crash pads, seen in this abc news undercover video, of one crash pad near laguardia airport in new york. bunk beds, 24 in all. crammed into rooms in violation of hous

. >>> we now have an exclusive brian ross investigation he first reported here on "gma." rental car companies may be putting lives at risk by refusing to fix recalled cars in their fleets. now, the federal government has followed up on brian's report with a study that shows the problem may be worse than we first thought. and brian is here. brian, this started with a story you broke back in december. >> reporter: that's right, george. it turns out that renting a car may be a consumers' version of russian roulette following a study that started with an investigation here on "good morning america." a survey of the major rental car companies by safety officials found in an overwhelming number of cases, the companies are renting cars under safety recall without first fixing the defects. based on the survey, the big three in the rental car business, hertz, enterprise and avis are letting tens of thousands of cars go on the road with unrepaired defects. >> the bottom line here shows that none of the rental car companies are doing a good job. >> reporter: the best overall perform

our brian ross looks closer into this. good morning, brian. >> good morning, robin. it's quite a story. madoff, apparently now spending his days in a 12-foot-square cell, with a window, overlooking the prison lawn, with his roommate. the interview was his first since he went to prison. and he's still trying to spin the case in ways he apparently thinks will help him. madoff was interviewed tuesday by "the new york times," at this federal prison in butner, north carolina. no reporter had seen him since he entered the prison in july 2009, in shackles and a blue jump suit. reporter diana henriques noticed he looked noticeably slimmer and frail and a bit agitated. in the interview and a series of e-mails, madoff pointed the finger at unnamed banks and hedge funds he said were complicit, and had to know about his massive ponzi scheme. but the attitude, he said, was, if you're doing something wrong, we don't want to know. that's much the same claim the bankruptcy trustee has made in court filings against madoff's family and close associates. >> some of these people were in

brian wilson was on the scene with a beard still very dark. sea captain grey on the talk show circuit gone. the position players don't have to be here until friday but several arrived early. cody rosshe panda. why not? the fun starts now. >> the pressure is winning -- there's no pressure. you come into spring training and you want to win the world series. if you don't, more even playing baseball. do we have a target on our back? >> yes, of course, we're the top dog right now, of course. but that doesn't stop what we need to do or put any more added pressure on what we want to accomplish. >> it's still pretty cool to think that some days we're the world series champs last year and that's something we'll always have that title but we have a unique opportunity with the group of guys we have and a possibility and chance for a few years to make a run at this thing for a while. >> raj and i were saying, brian wilson is starting to look like johnny walker. >>> spring training continues in arizona. intensive spring training coverage right up until opening day as nightly at 10:30 p.m. for sportsnet central only on comcast sportsnet bay area. oakland as pitchers and catchers start tomorrow.