so, who killed ronni chasen? >>> king croc. they lurk, a predator atop the food chain with a ton of bulk, needle teeth and explosive ferocity. we go inside the hidden world of the salt water crocodile. >>> and, free fashion. get out of the way. clothing swaps are gaining popularity across the country. but second-hand doesn't have to mean second tier. and that's a "sign of the times." >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," december 2nd, 2010. >> good evening, i'm terry moran. and we begin tonight with a mystery worthy of hollywood, but tragically, it's no fiction. just over two weeks ago, movie publicist ronni chasen buzz driving her mercedes home on sunset boulevard when a gunman pulled up and opened fire. since then the story has emerged in bits and pieces. a sharp shooter, a shabby apartment complex and a neighbor who talked big until last night, when police officers came knocking. mike von fremd has our report. >> reporter:

also ahead, who killed ronni chasen? who police are saying about the man who supposedly bragged about her murder. and later, an emotional reunion nearly 70 years in the making against all odds. >>> president obama did not have a chance to see the battlefield in his short trip to afghanistan yesterday, but he did see the war through the eyes of injured soldiers he met at the bagram military hospital. we began our own journey home in afghanistan by way of germany at the same hospital just a week ago in the company of wounded warriors. thanksgiving night, two more soldiers are going home the hard way. the bagram airfield hospital, the last stop for the wounded on their way out of afghanistan. inside, the staff can already see what kind of night it's going to be. >> i see one, two, three, four, five traumas there and this tells you rpg blast? >> yeah, we've got -- it looks like a couple of traumas from the eastern part of afghanistan, along the border. >> most of the wounded are first treated at field surgical hospitals clos

chasen's murder was a random act of violence, committed by this man, harold smith.43-year-old transient with a criminal past shot himself to death in the lobby of a hollywood apartment building last week. now, tests reveal a match between the gun he used on himself and the murder weapon. >> the purpose of this was to tell you that it was a match. again, the firearm used to commit suicide in harold martin smith, is the same firearm that was used to kill ronni chasen. >> reporter: the 64-year-old famed publicist was shot five times in the chest from beverly hills, as he drove home from the premiere of the movie "burlesque." harold smith bragged to neighbors that he was the killer and was paid for the hit. >> we believe that mr. smith acted alone. we don't believe it was a professional hit. and i will tell you, it's an open and ongoing investigation. >> reporter: police say smith used his bicycle to ride up alongside chasen's car. they were led to him by a tip on the tv show "america's most wanted." >>> a damaged cruise ship with american passengers is still a day away

publicist ronni chasen. and reese witherspoon and paul rudd stop by to talk about their new romantic comedy. >>> and now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and more. i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching "early today." just your first stop of the day. today, on your nbc station. have a good one. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

. >>> tmz has been all over this story of ronni chasen's murder, the celebrity publicist who was gunned beverly hills. we're learning more about her will and where the $6.1 million in assets that she has acquired over her life, acquired over her life, where they're going to go. and it was a will dated back in 1994. but that's the most recent one that they're going with, at least right now. she was somewhat charitable in the will. she's giving ten grand to the make-a-wish foundation, $20,000 to hole in the wall gang fund, a lot of charities. but what i thought was interesting is it also talked about how she's only giving $10 to one of her nieces. jill gatsby. and in the document, again, obtained by tmz, she says, chasen said, or wrote, "i have intentionally and with full knowledge of the consequences omitted to provide for my niece, jill cohen, also known as jill gatsby, except for the gift of $10." >> ouch. >> so only that family knows -- >> 6.1 and you only get 10 of it. quickly, so there's apparently some scandal involving miley cyrus. from what we understand, there's a photo that lea

it has just over two weeks since 64-year-old chasen was murdered.et was on her way home from a party. someone fired into her car. police are considering several scenarios. maybe it was case of road rage, just maybe. and maybe it was a hit. al lap duke rechased part of cla chasen's last drive.stalking chase p, it would have been obvious. there are security cameras around here and plenty of people and they would have had to have been lying in wait to see as she left one would think. >> chasen may not have been a house hold name, but well-known in hollywood. and if you wanted to build your oscar buzz or build your name and your brand, she was the go-to pr woman to do it. working on campaigns for the hurt locker, on golden pond and driving misses daisy among many others, this is such a bizarre case. so many up answunanswered. what do we know about this person of interest? do we know why he tookp unanswe. what do we know about this person of interest? do we know why he took h unansw. what do we know about this person of interest? do we know why he took h

and now, they're shifting the investigation to friends of ronni chasen.hey definitely have been looking at family members. again, you know, because they've been so quiet about their investigation, it really is all speculation at this point, as to who they are looking at and what they're pursuing. ultimately, over time, these things can take a lot of time. ultimately over time, i think something's going to emerge. >> okay. thanks very much, dana cole, for your insights there. very weird, mysterious case. >> more and more bizarre, each day. >>> now, here with some other developing stories, right here, my friend, jeremy hubbard. >> our friend. >> our friend. that's right. both of you. good morning, ron. good morning, bianna. in the news this morning, the senate holds a rare saturday session, in the showdown over tax cuts. two votes are planned on extending the expiring tax cuts for taxpayers who make $250,000 and $1 million. but republicans are expected to block those proposals. >>> south korea's new defense minister is talking tough about any future clashes

of chasen's friends are skeptical about what police are now saying . of unanswered questions. maybe the police are right or maybe they're partially right but i think they're hurrying to make some kind of announcement because there's so much pressure on them. >> reporter: now despite linking smith to the crime police are not calling this case closed. they're still doing tests on his bicycle and interviewing other people in an effort to rule out any other potential killers. erica? >> ben tracy in los angeles, thanks. also joining us is former district attorney robin sax. it's interesting when we look at the details that we've had and the details we haven't had. now we're hearing from police, they come out and say he was, in fact, tied to the crime but they're not saying that the case is closed. does that surprise you? >> well, here in los angeles there are a lot more questions than there are answers still yet, and we're already three weeks out on this investigation. and what is definitely what we heard from law enforcement that they have unequivocally de

chasen's murder continues to be front-page news, two weeks after it happened. of their investigation. but wednesday, the preliminary autopsy report said the shooter was an expert shot. with the death of a potential suspect, the case itself, now d.o.a. >> does this mean that the chasen investigation isn't over yet? >> that's correct. it's not over yet. >> it may be a while before we learn more. the official autopsy report is now on security hold, which means police must approve its release. >>> kidnap victim elizabeth smart stormed out of the courtroom yesterday, as a psychiatrist was on the stand. the doctor testified that her alleged attacker was motivated by a desire to have children and create a new race in an imaginary zion. he said that brian david mitchell suffers from psychotic illness. but prosecutors in utah believe that mitchell is simply faking it. >>> the man convicted in that connecticut home invasion will be formally sentenced to death today. the lone survivor of that brutal attack, dr. william petit, is expected to speak directly to steven hayes

ronni chasen's apartment had many people's art that was not her own but art on loan.re some questions that something went bad during that -- during those dealings. >> as you said before, police out there have been very tight-lipped which is not normally the case and you give them kudos for that? >> i do give them kudos. what's interesting, what law enforcement is looking at is not only the truth out there but they're going to start looking at some of the lies. if they can find a lie from any one potential suspect or theories, that's where they're going to start hitting home. just just like dana had mentioned, this is the first type of case is follow the money situation. what police are going to look at, their going to look at ronni chasen's will, but not only her will but her mother's will. >> we know that ronni chasen's will is worth in excess of $6 million. robin sax, thanks very much. >> thank you. >>> we'll turn to other stories developing right now, juju chang is over at the news desk. good morning. >> good morning, robin. intriguing details. >>> but we're going

just who killed publicist ronni chasen and why? new details of the person of interest that killed himself after police tracked him down and what the link to the victim might have been. we have the latest on the investigation. >>> and to the rescue. a florida police officer shoots out a car window to save a woman trapped inside the burning vehicle. we'll hear from the hero himself early this friday morning, we'll hear from the hero himself early this friday morning, december 3rd, 2010. captioning funded by cbs >>> good friday morning to you everyone. i'm erica hill. >> i'm harry smith. >> quiet out there here on the streets of new york. north, though, it's quiet because no one's moving and they're stuck in the buffalo area. look at this. some people stuck for as much as -- more than 24 hours. as much as three feet of snow in some areas dumped and people stuck on the new york state throughway. >> tough sledding up there as they say. that's in a moment. >>> first, to politics an the latest on president obama and the lame duck congress

who killed celebrity publicist ronnie chasen. a real life hollywood mystery that's taken a twist overnight. has the case been solved those? kareen wynter is from los angeles and all over this investigation next. [ beeping ] ♪ my country ♪ 'tis of thee ♪ sweet land ♪ of liberty ♪ of thee i sing [ laughs ] ♪ oh, land ♪ where my fathers died ♪ land of the pilgrims' pride ♪ from every mountainside ♪ let freedom ring ♪ ♪ let freedom ring itbut every decemberg to the eas31st, we always make it.s. the very first people to meet the new year. "get up. you're gonna miss it!" we like to think of ourselves... as a welcoming party. for the life you live. a car you can love. love. it's what makes a subaru a subaru. ♪ we need to finish those projections ♪ ♪ then output the final presentations ♪ ♪ sally, i'm gonna need 40 copies, obviously collated ♪ what's going on? when we're crunched for time, brad combines office celebrations with official business. it's about efficiency. [ courier ] we can help. when you ship with fedex, you can work right

ronni chasen was well-known in the film industry.ple. two weeks ago at the movie premier of "burlesque," chasen was hobnobbing off the red carpet, the last pictures of her alive. afterwards, chasen drove her mercedes west on sunset boulevard into beverly hills. at about 12:30, as she was turning off sunset towards home, officials say another car, perhaps a big suv, pulled alongside her and someone opened fire, shattering the passenger window of chasen's car. reportedly, some investigators called the shooting a professional hit job. police say their investigation is still very much open, hinting strongly that there may be other people people involved in the murder. ann? >> george lewis, thank you. >>> sales of new homes dropped more than 8% to a near record low in october. it was also the worst summer for foreclosure sales. realty track says sales plunged 25% in the third quarter and it is expected that sales of bank owned homes will drop even more by the end of the year. >>> cyber-monday was a great day to be on on line retailer. an

they're the ones handling the chasen case. as you mentioned off the top, they're not calling this man a suspect. they say he was just a person of interest, someone they looked to question. but detectives, kiran, did have a search warrant with them. they wouldn't elaborate on it. but police say when they approached this man, they say he pulled a gun. >> our detectives were here on a follow-up. and this person was a person of interest on the chasen incident. that's all we have. as the captain mentioned. this person shot himself. it was a self-inflicted gunshot wound pronounced later on. and the investigation is ongoing at this time. we have nothing further to disclose about the investigation. >> reporter: one thing, kiran, officials were clear to highlight is that this is a case that's far from over. meaning there could be another person, perhaps persons out there, who they're looking for who may be connected to chasen's killing. >> one of the sheriffs said just the nature of the gunshot wound seemed like it was professional. at

of murder publicist ronni chasen. abc news has confirmed that los angeles police have recovered the gun of the person of interest who killed himself. mike von fremd joins us from los angeles with more. mike? >> reporter: good morning, george. police say they have videotape of the man shooting himself inside this hotel lobby with his handgun, after he was approached by police. fellow residents say, it was apparently his big mouth that may have made him a person of interest. abc news has obtained these photos of the suicide scene. a crime scene that remains at the epicenter of what's growing into one of the great hollywood murder mysteries ever. >> i'm mark brown, eyewitness news reporter robert -- >> reporter: it was another head-spinning day in los angeles. >> it is the latest twist in a saga that has captivated the country. >> reporter: and on the worldwide web. as more details were emerging, reports are that the neighbor who was known as harold, and who killed himself in this hotel lobby as police accosted him was e

first the latest on the murder of hollywood publicist ronni chasen.olice play it close to the vest as a possible lead comes to a surprising and abrupt end. cbs news correspondent ben tracy has the story from los angeles. >> reporter: ever since ronni chasen was mysteriously gunned down two and a half weeks ago, the beverly hills cops have said next to nothing about their most high-profile murder investigation. >> if there's one thing we've seen in the last two weeks, they knew a lot more than they were letting on. >> reporter: that's because earlier this week detectives showed up in force at this run-down hollywood apartment building to question harold martin smith, a so-called person of interest. but, he shot and killed himself in front of police. tmz reports there is not yet any physical evidence linking him to chasen's death. >> harold martin smith, in a couple of days, could end up being the guy or could end up being somebody who has nothing to do with this. the cops don't know yet. >> reporter: neither do celebrities blogrs but still having a fie

they want to see if it's a match with the gun that killed chasen.eanwhile, chasen's will has revealed that she was worth more than $6 million. >>> dive teams have joined the search for three, missing brothers, last seen at their father's house on thanksgiving. but without any sign of andrew, alexander and tanner skelton, authorities say they don't anticipate a positive outcome and plan to suspend the search this weekend. the boy's father is facing charges of parental kidnapping. >>> christine o'donnell lost the delaware senate race. but she has now won a book deal. the tea party favorite is writing a book about her campaign and some of her frustrations with politics. she was endorsed by sarah palin. but had to deny that she was a witch in a campaign ad. the book is scheduled for publication come next august. >>> once upon a time, lebron james was crowned king of the cleveland cavaliers' castle. and his subjects thought he would reign happily ever after. >> but temptation reared its ugly head. james turned traitor and high-tailed it to the heat. as a

chasen had lots of a list during her career.she once promoted "driving miss daisy" and actor michael douglas for his role in "wall street 2." now, the investigation into her murder has taken a new turn. cops say they approached this guy, a person of interest to ask him some questions at his apartment building last night but he shot himself in the head and died right there. now, a neighbor telling an entertainment magazine the man bragged about killing this woman and said, he said "you know that publicist they're talking about on tv, yeah, i killed her." william lajunesse with the news. he's live this afternoon. where do the cops go from here? >> police will investigate another boastful claim made by the dead suspect, that he was paid $10,000 to kill chasen so instead of having one mystery, who kill the publicist, now we have two. why did this man do it and did he act alone? police say she was driving her black mercedes down sunset. she was in that left-hand turn lane when she was shot four or five times through the passenger's s

. >>> and the mystery deepens, the investigation into ronni chasen taking a strange new twist as the person of interest who killed himself may now not be connected to the crime at all. early this monday morning december 6th, 2010. >>> good monday morning. ierica hill. it's chilly. >> it is indeed. a walk across the park was brisk this morning. >> i bet it was. i hope you wore a hat. a lot to get to including we're going to take you to washington to get you the latest on what is going to have to be a compromise. what's going to happen with the tax cuts set to expire at the end of the month, also unemployment benefits. >> first, this morning we're going to start with the week of -- the week with a blast of brutally cold weather. much of the midwest is covered in snow. parts of the south are coated in ice. and the east coast is shivering from maine down to florida. take a look at these temperatures this morning. 12 degrees in chicago, 27 degrees in raleigh, north carolina. 33 in crescent city, florida. cbs news correspondent don teague has the latest on the cold snap. good morning. >> r

investigators struggle to piece together the murder of hollywood publist ronni chasen. was the man who killed himself after they confronted him not a suspect after all? this morning, one of chasen's closest friends and the coexecutor of her will speaks out in a live interview. >>> and show-stopper. a reality tv contestant using special stilts to flip over oncoming cars. and more than 10 million people were watching live when something went very wrong. now that man is hospitalized and the show is facing tough questions today, monday, december 6th, 2010. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >>> and good morning. welcome to "today" on a monday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> and i'm natalie morales in for meredith. this morning, it looks like a compromise is in the works to extend those bush era tax cuts to every taxpayer in the u.s. >> this after republicans blocked two attempts by democrats over the weekend to approve the cuts just for the middle class. so what's changed? what does president obama have to say about this? we'll get the latest and what it could mean f

meanwhile, chasen's $6.1 million will is being scrutinized.rences, she sang a tribute to her departed aunt, the video seen here on tmz.com. ♪ live behind and carry on ♪ >> reporter: chasen was 64 and not married. and many publications are reporting on her past romances. criminologists say in a murder such as this, everything must be examined. the public wants to know the facts immediately. detectives who have worked cases like this say, they usually track down those who are responsible. but it often takes years. david? >> all right, mike. thank you for your continued reporting on this. >>> joining us now is ann louise bardach. she's a reporter for "the daily beast." she's written extensively on this. good morning. >> good morning to you. >> one of the things you reported on, is this development that perhaps another man pulled up to a woman in that same neighborhood. and showed a gun just a week before the crime took place. >> that's right. >> the police said they never had a report of this. so do you know whether the person ever filed a report

. >>> a new twist in the murder of hollywood publicist ronni chasen. police now believe the man who took his own life when he was confronted by investigators was the killer after all. but there are still lingering questions. >>> and giving it away. 26-year-old facebook founder mark zuckerberg makes a promise to donate the bulk of his wealth to charity. why he's committed to giving billions of dollars away and when he plans to do it "today," billions of dollars away and when he plans to do it "today," thursday, december 9th, 2010. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >>> and welcome to "today" on this thursday morning. i'm meredith vieira. >> and i'm matt lauer. president obama is being met with a chorus of nos coming from liberal democrats who are saying they may vote against this compromise on the bush era tax cuts. >> they are very angry, but the white house is pushing back saying failure to act could trigger an increased risk of a double dip desession. what would that mean for you and should president obama be picking fights with members of

track number one says what happened to ronni chasen, who killed her?ber two says, does this guy have anything to do with it or not? >> and did you take him out of it, how do you begin to piece her life together? again, friends say she had no enemies, nothing obvious is sticking out. how do police run down a case like this, assuming that this was a targeted hit? >> yeah, and my cases lester, i go back at least the last six months of her life and start to take it apart. who was she talking to? what cell phone calls did she make? what was she doing on the internet. if there was somebody out there, this was an actual conspiracy to kill her, i think it's going to be evidence, through threats, through financial engagements, something like that. police are going to put that case together. and i think we still cannot rule out road rage. she was allegedly shot five times and apparently with a semiautomatic pistol. there wasn't any shell casings found on the scene. that indicates somebody either picked them up off the street, or was shooting from a vehicle when

the tragic death of publicist ronni chasen has hollywood in tears.of the most talented screen writers were speculating this might become the ultimate celebrity whodunit. facts just released by the beverly hills police have ended that one fast. >> we believe that mr. smith acted alone. we don't believe it was a professional hit. >> reporter: the beverly hills police now believe they have a solid theory on just who is behind hollywood's hottest whodunit. >> the gun used to shoot ms. chasen was the same gun used by harold smith to commit suicide. >> reporter: the chief said harold smith used that gun when he took his own life in his apartment complex. investigators also say smith was desperate when he came upon ronni driving her mercedes. so desperate, he reportedly shot her five times from his bicycle. a bicycle could have been used to make the hit? >> we believe his mode of transportation was by bicycle. >> reporter: it may be a quiet end that has left a trail of conspiracy theories. was it an art deal gone bad? a disgruntled family member? a tip to "

and there was a self-inflicted gunshot wound at that point in time. >> reporter: ronni chasen was one of hollywood's most elite publicists. and the interest in who may have wanted her dead is off the charts. >> the investigation is ongoing at this time. we have nothing further to disclose about the investigation. >> reporter: police sources tell abc news that the first thing they will do is a ballistics test to see if the gun used in the suicide is the gun that killed chasen. and won't say yet how the dead man was connected to the shooting. but as we reported earlier this week, one thing's for sure, the shooter knew what they were doing. >> this is something that's done, you know, with some skill. and i couldn't -- i'll be honest with you. i've carried a gun for 38 years. and had to qualify quarterly. i don't know if i could shoot, you know, hit that. >> reporter: today, police are investigating someone who may have had a much closer relationship with the victim. the latest details have this moviemaking capital on edge. george? >> okay, mike. thanks very much. >>> in other news, there

. >>> there is a break in the murder of hollywood publicist ronni chasen. it wasn't a professional hit. kabc's leslie miller reports. >> reporter: beverly hills police now believe ronni chasen's murder was a random act of violence committed by this man, harold smith, who used his bicycle as his mode of transportation. >> we believe mrs. chasen was going to be the victim of a robbery. >> reporter: 43-year-old smith, a person of interest in the case, was a transient with a long rap sheet of robbery and drug crimes. he shot himself in the lobby of a hollywood apartment building last week after police detectives approached him for questioning. police confirmed preliminary ballistic tests show a match between the gun he used on himself and the weapon used in the chasen murder. >> the purpose of this was to tell you that it was a match. again, the firearm used to commit suicide in harold martin smith is the same firearm that was used to kill ronni chasen. >> reporter: police say they were tipped off about smith by the television show "america's most wanted." >> "

many remain stunned by chasen's violent death.t at this beverly hills intersection november 16th. no shell casings were found at the scene but her killer fired a .9 millimeter handgun loaded with at least one hollow-point bullet. according to a partial coroner's report. details that may point to a targeted hit and could involve this suicide victim. >> what role did he play? did he act alone? did he act on behalf of others? these are the big q over. erica? >> ben tracy in los angeles this morning, ben, thanks. criminal profiler pat brown joins us now this morning washington. pat, good morning to you. it is interesting, as ben jest touched on again, the lack of information that we have. there's very little detail to go on and and very little detail about this man now dead. from what you've seen, though, what do you make, is there some sort of connection here to him and ronni chasen? >> well, i would think, erica, there should be at this point. they've been watching him and had to have some information that led them obviously to this

chasen represented an a-list of movie stars.st month when driving home from the opening party for the movie "bur lelesq" >>> it could mean the difference between which city will crumble. the earthquake in haiti killed 100,000 people and injured another 3,000. you have to design your buildings to withstand them. >> a lot of buildings in general are designed to withstand this that now we know are substandard for the possible earthquake. >> speakers spent the day speaking about how to minimize earthquake risk. so what city is most at risk if there is an earthquake? the answer, surprisingly, is seattle and other big cities in the pacific northwest. >> the earthquake in portland, seattle and vancouver and all those places in between is significantly higher than what we have in california. >> earthquake building codes here are not as stringent as those in california. and there is a massive fault system offshore, the cascade seduction zone, capable of an 8. construction codes save lives. the problem is they don't usually get made tough

there has been a dramatic twist in the investigation into the murder of hollywood publicist ronni chasen. a man described as a person of interest killed himself when he was approached by police. last night, detectives in l.a. tried to serve a search warrant to the man at his apartment. >> the suspect produced a handgun and there was a self-inflicted gunshot wound at that point in time and the suspect was pronounced at the scene. >> chasen, a well-known hollywood figure was shot last month as she drove home from a movie premiere. police have not released a possible motive. >>> this morning, a british newspaper reports that wikileaks founder julian assange is in britain but police are holding off arresting him. assange is on interpol's most wanted list for alleged sexual crimes in sweden. "the independent" reports police won't arrest assange until they clarify the european arrest warrant. >>> a deadly snowstorm has engulfed parts of europe. the sub-zero temperatures blamed for eight deaths in poland. major airports in britain, france and switzerland have been forced to shut down causing se

the person of interest in the the death of powerhouse publicist ronni chasen.had a lengthy criminal past and was out on parole. smith took his own life in this los angeles hotel when confronted by police. beverly hills investigators confirm they were checking out a lead they received from the tv show "america's most wanted" about what he was telling residents at this hotel. >> he said he's expecting a big pile of money. he just said, oh, that publicist on there, i did it. i got hired. i'm waiting on my big pay. >> reporter: others say it was ridiculous to think he was involved. >> ain't no conspiracy. this guy wasn't intelligent enough. he would stand out here for hours. on a bicycle. >> reporter: residents describe this as a transient hotel, located in one of the rough sections of los angeles. hardly the sort of place you'd expect one of the most elite publicists to have any connection with. investigators are reviewing surveillance camera video taken in beverly hills the night chasen died. and it shows the moment she crashed her car. investigators are also rev

his connection to chasen's killing is not immediately known. he was simply a person of interest. 64-year-old chasen was shot as she drove through beverly hills on the way home from a movie premier. >> a man sentenced to death will learn his fate today. a jury recommended death in a case called a night of terror in a suburban connecticut home. a mother was strangled and her two daughters tied up and left to die in a fire. the father was the only 1 to survive. the judge will issue the final decision on that death sentence recommendation today. the new york congressman accused of ethics violations. the house will vote on whether to censure charles rangle. democrats will likely proceed. they recommend rangle be censured which is the ultimate punishment under the house rules. it would force him to stand ort floor and be formally reprimanded. >> another agency taking any sb in the way you use the internet. >> we were talking about the fcc maybe protecting the way you use the internet. now the federal trade commission would like to do so. they are tal

a man believed to be connected to the death of ronnie chasen shot and killed himself at a hollywood hotel. police were trying to serve whim a warrant. the man's connection is not immediately known. he was simply a person of interest. 64-year-old chasen was shot two weeks ag as she drove through beverly hills on the way home from a movie premier. >> the army plans to overhaul the way it trains soldiers. they will treat them as elite athletes. no more long runs and train, butt long blades have go in the end of a rifle have not been used to decades. more will be paid to mobility, flexibility and endurance. they are changing the way to feed the soldiers. yogurt is in and soda and white bread are out. >>> changing the way you use the internet. >> we have been talking about the fcc and now the ftc, federal trade commission wants involved in some of this. they are talking about a do not track list for the internet like the do not call list for telephones. how it would work is a bit up in the air. most people know websites and ad agencies track their behavior on the internet. many don't realize h

chasen. i believe mr. smith acted alone. we don't believe it was a professional hit. it's an open and ongoing investigation. >> talking about mixed signals a week ago authorities in beverly hills said the suicide gun used by harold smith the 43-year-old ex-con person of interest in the ronny chase sen murder investigation did not match the gun used to kill the prominent hollywood publicist. on wednesday they changed their mind made me look bad claim the results confirm smith's suicide gun was used to murder 64-year-old chasen in a random act of violence. some experts not convinced. mayor jim delshad joins us along with former district attorney robin sax. you are convinced they have the right guy. it was this harold smith and he killed himself when confronted by the cops. >> first of all let me set the record straight. i am here to set the record straight and not disclose anything that's going on in the investigation. >> understood. >> you made the comment a week ago level hills police said it did not match the bullet. that is erroneous. it never came from police. st i

chasen. i believe mr. smith acted alone. we don't believe it was a professional hit. it's an open and ongoing investigation. >> talking about mixed signals a week ago authorities in beverly hills said the suicide gun used by harold smith the 43-year-old ex-con person of interest in the ronny chase sen murder investigation did not match the gun used to kill the prominent hollywood publicist. on wednesday they changed their mind made me look bad claim the results confirm smith's suicide gun was used to murder 64-year-old chasen in a random act of violence. some experts not convinced. mayor jim delshad joins us along with former district attorney robin sax. you are convinced they have the right guy. it was this harold smith and he killed himself when confronted by the cops. >> first of all let me set the record straight. i am here to set the record straight and not disclose anything that's going on in the investigation. >> understood. >> you made the comment a week ago level hills police said it did not match the bullet. that is erroneous. it never came from police. st i

chasen. investigators believe she was killed in a botched robbery attempt. and that results indicate the run used in her murder was the same gun used by a career criminal, harold martin smith used to commit suicide last week. >> it appears he did act alone. there was a question earlier if mr. smith knew mrs. chasen. it doesn't appear at this time that there's any connection between the two. >> the complete definitive ballistic test results are due back in a couple of weeks. >>> well, that is our report for tonight. we hope to see you back here tomorrow night. until then, for all of us at abc news, have a great night, america. >> dicky: it's the "jimmy kimmel live" fantasy league. presented by gmc. >> jimmy: hi, i'm jimmy kimmel. >> and i'm his cousin sal. >> jimmy: the regular season is winding down and the playoff race is -- what is it, winding up. >> up, i think. >> jimmy: okay. let's go to the scores. adam nips the fridge, creating a three-way tie for the last playoff spot with just one we

be very careful and very fact dr oriented. >> 64-year-old ronni chasen was shot in her car on november6th in beverly hills as she drove home from a movie premier. if police know the motives, they aren't saying what it is. >>> outrage calls for a new law after they found a cell phone in the prison cell of charles manson. manson, one of california's most notorious inmates, hid that cell phone underneath his mattress. he reportedly called and sent text messages to people around the country and in canada. manson is not the only one. >> we know in fact from inside prison walls, inmates are trafficking drugs, out in the streets, ordering hits. they are certainly controlling gang activity. >> more than 8,000 cell phones were found in california prisons just this year. now, although president obama signed a bill this summer that made cell phones illegal in federal prisons, they are not illegal in our state prisons. they are just considered contraband. >>> spiderman under arrest at lax. a german wildlife trafficker is in custody this morning on charges he smuggled hundreds, maybe thousands of t

. >>> there is a new twist this morning in the murder of veteran hollywood publicist ronni chasen.ing a warrant last night on a person of interest in the case. when they arrived at his apartment he shot himself to death. so far police have not identified the man or his possible connection to the case. chasen was gunned down two weeks ago, driving to her beverly hills home. >>> kidnap victim elizabeth smart stormed out of the courtroom as a psychiatrist was on the stand yesterday. the doctor testified that her alleged attacker was motivated by a desire to have children and create a new race in an imaginary zion. he said that brian david mitchell suffers from psychotic illness. prosecutors believe mitchell is faking mental illness. >>> despite all those security crackdowns the u.s. is now facing a growing threat from homegrown terrorists who could successfully kill americans. that is the dire warning from michael leiter, director of the national counterterrorism center, who also says preventing attacks is becoming increasingly more difficult. >> i'll speak for the entire counterterro

a breakthrough in the ronny chasen murder. police announce what they think is the answer to a. >> reporter: strange rvery stra riddle. >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," december 8th, 2010. >> good evening, i'm bill weir. well, legend has it that an ancient sill sill yan king would dress like a commoner and would sneak out and gorge himself on pizza. a few hundred years later, that delicious combination of crust, cheese and sauce creates such universal delight it has become an american economic indicator. you can tell the depth of the recession by how many pepperoni supremes come out of the oven each day. and john berman tells us why. >> reporter: a slice of heaven. a batch of bubbling beauty. a literal piece deresistance. but that pete is a isn't just a beacon of gooey goodness. pizza is delivers a taste of economic goodness. there are more than 65,000 pizza parlors in the u.s., with more popping up each day. and this yea

police say a person of interest in the shooting death of ronnie chasen fatally shot himself last nightd as officers were serving a search warrant. chasen died when a gunman opened fire on her car. >>> and minor accidents can be extremely spence s extremely expensive. it's because that i ever bueir t match up. >>> you want to talk about gender poll ticks, we'll do wih brianna. >> i think it's a story any woman can appreciate. did you know that off the house floor, the only people who have restrooms are men. women have to go pretty far to use the restroom and there are 71 women in the new congress so the transition team says they will change this and they will have a restroom for women built off the house floor. and then also on the ticker, a story about mitt romney. he is not running for president yet. he was on jay leno last night. he said that if he does take a gig with fox news, then that is going to be an indication that, yes, he is running for president. obviously taking -- having a little fun at the expense of sarah palin. he did praise her, but also had criticism saying that he c

. >>> also an update on the murder of hollywood publicist ronni chasen.ear from a former lapd chief bill bratton. plus feeling broke from holiday shopping? well, tips on easy ways to save $500 by january. that's the "cbs morning news" for this friday. thanks for watching. i'm betty nguyen. thanks for watching. i'm betty nguyen. have a great weekend! -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> your realtime captioner is linda marie macdonald. caption colorado, l.l.c. >>> the wrecking ball about to come down on a piece of bay area history. we'll show you what's going up in its place. >> the

police sources say the man killed himself as they tried to talk to him about the murder of ronni chasen was named harold smith, and a neighbor says he openly bragged about the killing and getting paid for it. >>> stranded, hundreds of drivers stranded on a car on a new york highway for 20 hours after an accident in the middle of a heavy snowstorm. and now some areas are buried in as much as 3 feet of snow. >>> and oy viral. first there was this version, and we tried it, then just in time for hanukkah. ♪ in the air sometimes faith saying a-yo ♪ ♪ spin the dreidel >>> the new holiday version lighting up the internet "today," december 3, holiday version lighting up the internet "today," december 3, 2010. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >>> good morning. welcome to "today" on a friday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> i'm meredith viera and i think we have been officially one upped. >> who are those guys? >> they're good. more video just ahead. >>> also ahead, some new details tied to the controversial website wikileaks. overnight the provider of wick wikileaks.org's domain name pul

republican congressman jason chasen joins me up. >> hello, glenn fired up ready to go. >> jason, 855illion is that know counting the would would-be tax increase? >> roughly about just under 550 billion dollars of that scores, according to the congressional budget office actually accounts for the taxes. about 8cent 0 billion . 550, of that. if they raise the taxes and cut them. if you maintain the taxes. that is not a tax cut. >> i don't understand. the media gets away with it. but what else is in this? i am beginning to think what is the rush on this one. you guys are going in and get blamed for whatever else is in this bill next year. i have a gut feeling it is not going to be good. >> the problem that i see now that we look under the hood and look at numbers. the president said we need to extend unemployment. that was a 56 billion i think for a conservative like myself it is unpalatable. we'll add 300 billion to our debt and no tough decision in washington d.c. if we spend money over here we'll have to stop spending money over there. it is new stimulus and that drives me crazy. it

did someone hire this guy to take out ronni chasen and why would they want to.. this guy apparently it was an ex-con, they are not releasing his name officially. apparently was an ex-con, he served two stints in st. paul according to reports and vowed he would never go back to prison which could explain he shot himself in the head as the police were moving in. the question is, does this look like he was some sort of a hitman hired by somebody to murder this publicist? >> absolutely. the police are trying to figure out what was the connection between this gentleman who killed himself and the victim. there appeared to be on the service no connection between the two. when you look at the autopsy report that is already published in certain media it looks as if this was definitely a hit, because of the grouping, the way this woman was shot. police are looking at not just the individual who killed himself, megyn but who could have been the people behind this individual that perhaps offered him $10,000 to kill this woman. megyn: in your experience as a homicide detecti

. >>> a person of interest in the shooting murder of ronni chasen has committed suicide.horities are not releasing his name yet. police say the man shot himself in an apartment building lobby in hollywood as detected tried to talk with him. >>> buffalo is buried in snow, approaching four feet in some areas and falling fast. at last report the snow was falling up to an incredible two to three inches per hour. faster than plows can actually take it away. >>> and take a look at this. could these pictures of bacteria mean there's life on other planets? scientists are excited about the discovery of a form of bacteria that thrives on arsenic. a researcher says that challenges what was known about the elements required to sustain life. very exciting news for the scientists. >> i don't quite understand it, frankly, i tried to reach as much as i could today but it's complicated. >> we should be excited, though, because they are. >> i'll take that. all right. randi, as you no doubt heard, qatar was announced today, to host the world cup, a country that only existed since 1971. you

investigators say the gun he used in the suicide is the same gun used to kill ronni chasen as she drovewas riding a bicycle and tried to rob her as she waited to make a left turn off of hollywood boulevard. >>> more electric car charging stations are popping up around san francisco. the hilton san francisco, ace parking and general motors. the plan is to build convenient stations for drivers before chevrolet rolls out the volt in the bay area. they will be built at hotels, workplaces and shopping malls. >> mark zuckerberg is adding his name to the list of philanthropists. he is one of 17 billionaires promising to give away at half of their fortunes. 57 billionaires have joined the pledge led by warren buffett and bill gates. they don't collect money or tell them how to dish it out, it just gets the commitment from the charities. zuckerberg's cofounder also joined that pledge. >> a cal swim coach is the first woman ever chose tone head up the women's swim team. she is already counting down to the 2012 london games. the long time coach at the university of california was an assistant coac

investigators say the gun he used in the suicide is the same gun used to kill ronni chasen as she wasng home from a movie premier. he tried to rob her as she waited to make a left turn. we now know what's behind the medical condition that landed a queen in the hospital. aretha franklin's family told "people" magazine the singer is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. franklin said she was taking six months off under doctor's orders and what she called a successful surgical procedure. it's among the deadliest forms of the disease, but had been treated successfully with surgery. >>> california company celebrating space travel. >> they are calling it mind blowingly awesome. the launch of the rocket on tuesday or wednesday that sent a capsule into orbit and brought it safely to earth. now why you are seeing champagne i don't know, but it's the first time a company anywhere accomplished such a feat. it never brought them back. it's funded by one of several companies based in california. looking to privatize. >>> the bbc reports a chinese company block a website in mainland china. why is not c

composer hans zimmer who just got a star on the hollywood walk of fame dedicated the star to chasen.and man busted when he hit that he was blowing up a military recruitment center. 21-year-old antonio martinez is accused of plotting to attack and kill military personnel. prosecutors say he got what turned out to be a fake bomb from an undercover fbi agent. they arrested him yesterday near baltimore. >> with this arrest we have completely eliminated the threat that this individual posted. >> there is no evidence that the defendant was acting as part of a larger group. >> martinez also known as mohammed hussein, is said to have told investigators he thought the u.s. military is waging war against islam. he was in court shortly after his arrest yesterday. he is due back in court before the judge on monday. >>> the man convicted of bombing a pan am jet over scotland in 1988 is reported to be near near death. he was from a scottish prison -- he was released from a scottish prison last year after doctors say his death from prostate cancer was imminent. at the time he was expected to live n