now our brian ross goes face to face with the controversial coal boss. >> a lot of people despise your views. >> 29 people died in his mine now. he is furious about taking the blame. >> he is a liar. >> he is a murderer. >> he is the devil. >> the kissing congressman, the politician caught on tape with a married staffer. now asking for forgiveness from his wife and children. >> but first, the night line top five which starts right now. ♪ i know a thing about an ira ♪ i got a lock on equities ♪ from my google phone ♪ i need some help i'm not alone ♪ ♪ >>> good evening. it was a spectacle in the courtroom today as oscar pistorius took the stand and for the first time told his version of events from the night he shot and killed his girlfriend. midway through his testimony, the olympic star broke down. actually he not only broke down he fell apart completely. weeping so hard that the judge actually got up and left the room. abc's matt gutman reports now for "blade runner on trial." >> reporter: a gut wrenching moment. you couldn't see oscar pistorius testify but you didn't have to. accused

>> brian ross one-on-one with the man in charge as 29 miners are trapped and die in west virginia. and tonight, new outrage from the victims' families. >>> and staying healthy. news, tonight, about a simple way to reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease. >>> good evening, on this wednesday night. a special west coast edition of "world news." and we begin with the breaking news, today, that shooting at ft. hood in texas. it is the largest army base in the nation, north of austin. the site of that other deadly shooting nearly five years ago. and this was the urgent message sent out to those on base. 41,000 people told to shelter in place. and this is what they heard over the speakers. listen. >> seek shelter immediately. >> the president has now spoken out, tonight, saying he is heartbroken. and we'll bring that to you in a moment. let's go straight to abc's chief justice correspondent, pierre thomas, for the latest details on the shooter and the casualties. pierre? >> diane, multiple law enforcement sources tell us the shooter is dead. authorities are in the process of clearing

now, abc's chief investigative correspondent brian ross with details of our undercover investigation.d evening, brian. >> reporter: good evening, dan. we spent six months trying to learn all we could about this company which is now the target of federal investigations and the subject of an epic battle between wall street billionaires. >> ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 2013 herbalife extravagan extravaganza. >> reporter: the american dream seems alive and well at diet and nutrition product company called herbalife. >> let's have a little fun, you know! this is herbalife! >> reporter: the ceo michael johnson at a convention of its big money earners. >> the cumulative value of our bonus tonight is $52 million. give me one of those checks! >> reporter: even more impressive are the highly produced videos posted on youtube from some of herbalife's top independent distributors. >> if you just dream you also can have everything we have and much more. >> reporter: the lore of big homes, private helicopters and fast cars. >> i step out of the ferrari, people go, what does that guy do for

and abc's chief investigative correspondent brian ross is here with more. what are his days, brian? >> he is in isolation in a small cell in a prison hospital outside of boston. he's 20 years old now. his visitors have included lawyers and his sisters. he's allowed muslim meals but no radio and tv. we haven't heard anything publicly and no apology. his lawyers say his defense will be he was under the sway of tamerlan, his older brother. who was killed in the police shootout. >> that bomb was sophisticated. those bombs were sophisticated. is there anything new about who helped them? >> they made three or four separate devices much more sophisticated than first thought, than what they could have found online. and there is concern that they were trained or at least he was trained on his trip to russia where he met with chechen rebels. >> when is the trial? >> november 3rd in boston. he faces a number of counts including some applying the death penalty. >> jury trial in boston. thank you, brian ross. >>> next we head overseas to chaos in ukraine. russian president vladimir putin has sai

abc's chief investigative correspondent brian ross is in boston this morning. ng to bring us a look inside the high-tech command center. brian, good morning. what is new this year in terms of security? >> reporter: good morning, dan. what's really new are all the cameras that have been installed along the marathon route. from the finish line here out to the starting point 26.2 miles away. the cameras will all be monitored in a high-tech underground command center called the bunker. last year surveillance cameras were able to spot the two people allegedly responsible for the bomb attack. this year the goal is to see if there's anything going on to stop it before it happens. along with all the cameras, there will also be 4,000 police officers along the race route. plus 500 undercover plainclothes detectives. spectators have been asked although not required to leave their backpacks at home. anyone who brings one will likely get a friendly tap on the she'll be searched. >> so what are officials pose worried about? >> reporter: well, the boston police commissioner, b

>> brian ross, reporting in. thank you, brian. >>> and next, tonight, we're going to take you inside the big-league battle. the baseball player who became a lightning rod when he chose his new baby over showing up for the game. it is a red-hot argument over paternity leave and why most new dads rush back to work. we're back in two minutes. would you take it? well, there is. [ male announcer ] it's called ocuvite. a vitamin totally dedicated to your eyes, from the eye care experts at bausch + lomb. as you age, eyes can lose vital nutrients. ocuvite helps replenish key eye nutrients. ocuvite has a unique formula not found in your multivitamin to help protect your eye health. now that's a pill worth taking. [ male announcer ] ocuvite. help protect your eye health. [ male announcer ] ocuvite. so when my moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis them. was also on display, i'd had it. i finally had a serious talk with my dermatologist. this time, he prescribed humira-adalimumab. humira helps to clear the surface of m

>> brian ross one-on-one with the man in charge as 29 miners are trapped and die in west virginia.nd tonight, new outrage from the victims' families. >>> and staying healthy.

abc's chief investigative correspondent brian ross is in boston. brian?> reporter: good morning, martha. the boston police commissioner told me that his only real fear tomorrow is a copycat attack. he's spending millions of dollars to make sure that does not happen. the city seems in a festive mood, with a record number of runners, some 36,000 signed up to run this year's marathon, but it's all deadly serious, inside what's known the bunker, the underground high-tech control room, where he showed us around. more than 100 newly-installed cameras along the 26.2 route will be monitored, twice as many as last year. >> we have expanded across the board. >> reporter: last year's surveillance cameras helped to pinpoint the alleged bombers, but only days after the attack. this year, the goal is to stop an attack before it happens. >> any person is presenting a concern to us, may be monitored very quickly. >> reporter: in addition to the cameras, some 4,000 police officers will be on patrol along the route, 500 of them will be undercover in order to keep the festi

abc's brian ross investigates in boston. >> reporter: the city seems in a festive mood with a record number of runners, some 36,000 signed up to run this year's marathon. but it's all deadly serious. inside what's known as the bunker, the underground high-tech control room where kurt schwartz, director of the state's emergency management agency, showed us around. more than 100 newly installed cameras along the 26.2-mile route will be monitored, twice as many as last year. >> we have expanded across the board. >> reporter: last year, surveillance cameras helped to pinpoint the alleged bombers but only days after the attack. the challenge this year is to stop any possible attack before it happens. >> anything of trouble, any person that's presenting a concern to us, may be monitored very quickly. >> reporter: in addition to the cameras, some 4,000 police officers will be on patrol along the route. 500 of them will be undercover in an effort to keep the festive spirit from being overwhelmed by the police. >> i don't want it to be an armed camp, that people feel intimidated by the police

abc's brian ross has the story. >> reporter: even before the mine disaster, don blankenship was despised and feared by many in coal country. this is how he once greeted abc news, but his reign as ceo of massey energy came to an end after a lack of safety practices were blamed on the deaths of 29 men four years ago this week in the company's upper big branch mine in west virginia. officials said most of the men, age 20 to 61, working a thousand feet under ground were trapped in small groups, starved of oxygen after a massive explosion of build-up methane gas and coal dust. at the time, blankenship told diane sawyer it was a safe line. >> reporter: but it was later conclude fed basic safety measures had been if place there would have been no loss in life at the upper big branch mine. >> we will prosecute whoever. maybe responsible for the conditions that existed and that led to this very horrible tragedy. >> reporter: so this week facing possible charges, blankenship showed up at abc news, possibly gentler, but still begging the case he is misunderstood. >> like yourself m people despise y

abc's brian ross investigates. >> ladies and gentlemen -- >> reporter: with hundreds of thousands ofrican independent distributors -- >> this is herbalife! >> reporter: the herbalife company says business has never been better. despite two federal investigations and allegations by critics it's an illegal pyramid scheme, which herbalife denies. the $6 billion company produces a range of diet powders and nutrition products that are sold only by its distributors like amway or tupperware operators, but the company remains under a court order from the 1980s not to make false or misleading representations about the products' health benefits. which herbalife board former surgeon general, says is essential. >> give people false hope. they may not go to doctors. >> reporter: in its training materials it tells distributors not to tell people that herbalife can treat, prevent or cure any disease. but look at what undercover reporters found. this distributor told us of a woman who overcame a brain tumor thanks to herbalife. >> whatever it is that the product did helped her a lot. >> reporter: th

abc's brian ross has more. >> he is in isolation in a small cell at a federal prison hospital outside's 20 years old now. his visitors have included his lawyers and two sisters. he has given meals prepared mr. muslim guidelines but no radio and tv. we haven't heard anything publicly and certainly no apology. his lawyers say his defense will be he was under the sway of his older brother, tamerlan, who was killed in that shootout. they made three or four separate devices, much more sophisticated than first thought. more sophisticated than found online. there is concern that he was trained, tamerlan was trained where he faced chechen rebels. brian ross, abc news, new york. >> federal authorities are considering whether to file hate crime charges in connection to the shootings near kansas city this weekend. the state of kansas is charging frazier glenn cross with murdering three people outside jewish community sites. the 73-year-old has a long record of racist and anti-semitic activity, including leading a ku klux klan chapter. >>> a canadian college student is charged with stabbing five

abc's chief investigative correspondent brian ross says some of those families are feeling vulnerable in another way. >> reporter: in the midst of their anguish and grief, the families of the missing passengers say they are being besieged by high stakes versions of ambulance chasers, u.s. lawyers looking for clients. >> that's piling insults on to injury. and that's just not acceptable. >> reporter: among the u.s. lawyers who have already shown up in malaysia are members of the ribbeck law firm from chicago led by monica ribbeck kelly discussing multimillion dollar lawsuits against boeing, even though we don't know what actually happened. >> we cannot wait for them to find the wreckage. >> reporter: according to two counselors, the firm has been distributing business cards and brochures in chinese to family members, something that would not be legal in the u.s. in order to protect vulnerable families at a difficult time. caesar sun is a volunteer grief counselor in beijing who told us about the experience of one family member. >> he told me that a lawyer came to him and said you can g

. >>> a brian ross investigation about a popular brand of products. you may have heard the name. perhaps, they're in your home. herbalife. the company says its shakes help you lose weight and help you live a healthy life. tonight hidden cameras show what some of the distributors say what's behind closed doors. abc's chief investigative correspondent with his report. >> reporter: with hundreds of thousands of american independent distributors the herbalife company says business has never been better despite two federal investigations and allegations by critics that it's an illegal pyramid scheme. which herbalife denies. the $6 billion company produce a range of diet powders and nutrition products sold only by its distributors. by am way. but the company also remains under a court order from the 1980s not to make false or misleading representations about the product's health benefits which herbalife board member richard carmona, a former surgeon general, says is essential. >>> you give people false hope. they may not go to the doctors. >> reporter: in the training materials the com

now our brian ross goes face to face with the controversial coal boss. >> a lot of people despise your

brian ross, abc news, new york. >> apparently they have high expectations, because they say they expect50% of the families of the passengers on board that flight. the problem is, they're not saying how many of the families sought them out and asked them to represent them and how many they stuck a paper in front of and said -- >> ribbeck also representing 115 passengers on the asiana flight that crashed back in july in san francisco. >> i am starting to see a scene here. >> yeah, clearly they have an outlike. >>> all right, coming up, who is breaking up and who is having a baby girl? >> we'll have that all in "the when i have an asthma attack... i feel like a fish with no water. learn how to prevent your child's next asthma attack. because even one attack is one too many. ♪ >>> skinny time. we start with a very big announcement from one of our good friends over at "the view." take a look. >> very happy, because he is happy for me, because i just got engaged! [ cheers and applause ] >> big congratthere is to jenny mccarthy and now fiance donnie wahlberg who popped the question with a quie

an outrageous story that was highlighted on "nightline" by brian ross.that. >> this is a story that begins in coal country with miners out of breath and out of luck. >> it was about big money and black lung. gary fox died at the age of 58, denied for ten years the $700 to $900 or so a month he would have been due under a special program for miners. had the coal company doctors, this one and this one, found he had disabling black lung, but they did not. >> toipt highlight the pulitzer for fiction which went to donna tart. an incredible novelist. gold finch is her third book. she's an old school sort of woman that takes her time. her first novel "the secret history" which i love, came out in 1992, and then another ten years for her next one. then over ten years for the gold finch. people don't do it like that anymore. she takes three or four years just to figure out what the novel is going to be about, and then starts witling it down. she writes by hand. she's from mississippi. old school novelist. proud to see donna tart getting the attention she deserves

abc news which teamed up with the center says the hard work of brian ross and other reporters shouldognized, even though tv networks aren't eligible for pulitzer. they say it was limited and geared toward producing a television version of the story. the center says it won't be bullied by abc. it's too bad this ended in squabbling. >>> chersharyl attkisson made n when she talked here last week. what about the macking of her computer? that's next. >>> live from america's news headquarters. >>> a shootout at a checkpoint manned by pro-russian separatists. ukraine and russia trading blame for that attack. it's apparently the first armed clash since the deal was reached on thursday to try to ease tensions in eastern ukraine where pro-russian gunmen have seized government buildings in at least ten cities. >>> pope francis celebrating easter sunday in front of an overflowing crowd in st. peter's square. more than 150,000 of the faithful turning out for the mass of the hole left day on the christian calendar. the pope calling for peace in ukraine and syria and an end to terrorist attacks aga

more from abc's brian ross. >> reporter: the real campaign of american politics begins long before and dinners and luxury yachts. >> what's your name, sir? won't tell me your name? >> no. >> reporter: where the super rich decide which politicians get their money, therefore, who has a chance to be elected. >> it's absolutely about the money. >> and without it -- >> without it, you're pretty much dead in the water. >> reporter: with this week's supreme court ruling finding spending limits invalid, rich donors can now give the maximum amount to every single candidate for congress, leaving average americans on the sidelines. >> your voice is going to be completely drowned out by these massive contributions from just a few wealthy interested parties. >> reporter: indeed, a handful of billionaires from las vegas to wall street have emerged as the country's backroom power brokers. on the republican side, there's already been a parade of potential presidential candidates to see casino owner sheldon aidles on, who says he'll spend $100 million if he finds the right candidate. and david koch and

abc's brian ross, with the latest on the security precautions being taken. good morning, brian. >> reporter: good morning, robin. there will be more than 100 cameras all along the 26.2-mile route. and they will be monitored at a special underground high-tech center called the bunker. the goal, not to just produce evidence of what went wrong but to spot it before it can happen and stop it. there will be the seen and unseen, as well, as about i guess it's close to a thousand -- 4,000 police officers and 500 undercover plainclothes detectives. >> you talked to the police commissioner over the weekend. his main concern? >> reporter: a copycat. someone trying to repeat what happened last year. they're spending lots of money and putting lots of people on patrol to try to stop that. >> we saw what happened recently. thanks. >>> the latest now on a major u.s. move against al qaeda. drones killing dozens of suspected militants in yemen just days after a top al qaeda leader publicly rallied his troops there. abc's chief global affairs correspondent, martha raddatz, is

ross. on the fundamentals, steve cortez, founder of veracruz tjm. all right, steve, kids today just not playing with barbie. i guess it's not on the ipad. will things turn for mattel? >> brianey will not. and you're exactly right. after decades of barbie being really the icon of feminine youth, all of a sudden barbie has gotten middle-aged and boring. these are stale properties, stale brands that mattel has. thomas the train, barbie. it is a digital world. if you were to put those toys on the floor in ex-to a tablet with games on it, almost every child now is going to play with the tablet. so in this space, i much prefer that you look to names like electronic arts or even disney, the creators of the next wave of kids' entertainment, not mattel. >> nobody ever talks about skipper anymore. remember skipper? >> oh, the male barbie. >> no, skipper was barbie's, like, less attractive friend. >> that's why they don't talk about her. >> ken was the male barbie. >> rich, technicals. >> melissa we've seen a lot of volatility in this name and clearly retailers have been the worst-performing sector. when we look at the track, you can see 2013. we put in that ominous triple top up arou