and my life isn't about my legs. >> reporter: for "nightline," i'm cynthia mcfadden, in aspen, colorado>> bravo to amy and to cynthia. as for amy's next mission, it's

i'm cynthia mcfadden. we begin tonight with a sad state of parenting. kids' birthday parties where once about pinning the tail on the donkey and cake. but tonight, we take a look at a disturbing phenomenon. children's parties where parents start fights and settle scores. why do the kids seem to be the mature ones in these pictures? here's abc's nick watt. >> reporter: how sweet. a "toy story" cake. a shy smile. all of his friends and family gathered around. then, bam. it all kicks off. can you hear "happy birthday" in the ground? this happens and not infrequently. bare-fisted brawling at kids' birthday parties at family restaurants. type chuck e. cheese into youtube, and you can watch as wide-eyed, multiple fights unfold. cell phone footage of birthday parties gone ferril. >> so, there's nothing wrong with chuck e. cheese itself. what's making these people go nuts? barbie clifton, a mother of five, was attacked at an ohio chuck e. cheese during her daughter's birthday party. >> all i really remember is hitting the floor. and my hair being ripped and rip

i'm cynthia mcfadden. we begin with a crime that still haunts after 16 years. jonbenet ramsey, the 6-year-old beauty queen, found murdered in her basement. tonight, with the child pageant scene bigger than ever, jonbenet's father, john ramsey, isn't mincing words. here's abc's juju chang. >> jonbenet ramsey. >> reporter: if jonbenet ramsey were alive today, she'd be 21 years old. what do you think she would have been like? >> i can't visualize jonbenet at that age. my image of her in my mind, is as a 6-year-old little girl. >> reporter: john ramsey remembers his daughter as fresh-faced and sporty. not as the tragic child beauty skween with glamorous curls and full makeup, who the world found was found murdered in her own home in 1996. >> she had a smile. >> reporter: all these years later, john has found an unexpected path to forgiveness. but not one without regret. the kidty pageant phenomenon, seen on "toddlers & tiaras," makes ramsey uncomfortable now. ♪ i want to be a cowboy >> reporter: and if he had another chance, he says he would not let jonbenet compet

i'm cynthia mcfadden. tonight, breaking news as dozens of tornadoes deliver a body blow to the nation's midsection turning towns into rubble and leaving 26 dead across 6 states. the path of destruction is historic in its width, with storms reported as far south as georgia and as far north as illinois. abc's ginger zee has been chasing the storms all day and reports now from henryville, indiana. ginger? >> reporter: cynthia, this is one of the most incredible steens i've ever come upon when storm chasing and one of the most incredible setups. to see it come to fruition has been unbelievable. >> that is just amazing. >> reporter: today will go down as one of the most destructive march days in recent weather history, tornadoes tearing up the heartland. this twister took aim at the tiny town of henryville, indiana. >> tornado. >> reporter: bearing down with winds estimated to near 165 miles per hour. the 2,000 residents here hit by a pair of tornadoes just minutes apart. >> total devastation. i lived here for

, this is "nightline," march 27, 2012. >>> good evening, i'm cynthia mcfadden. we begin tonight with a frightening day for aviation safety. the latest incident took place in the air between new york and amarillo, texas when the pilot seemed to go ber zerk. while the flat landed safely, the event has many asking tonight whether airplane personnel are under too much stress and too little scrutiny. >> reporter: captain clayton oz bonn, trusted with the lives of many passengers on a flight to new york to las vegas. he was taken off the plane in handcuffs and a wheelchair by police after six apparentlies wrestled the plait to the ground, concerned he was determined to crash the plane. >> first time landing an airplane when you have your knee on the neck of an airplane captain. >> reporter: it happened three hours into the cross-country flight. the co-pilot calling for an emergency landing. >> jet blue, authorities and medicals to meet us at the airport. >> yes, sir. jet blue, 191, they have the stairs ready. >> reporter: sources say the veteran captain, a commercial

i'm cynthia mcfadden. tonight, living outside the law. they are the anti-government extremists next door, who believe the laws don't apply to them. no driver's licenses. no taxes. and according to a report out today, these types of so-called hate or anti-government groups, grew explosively last year in the u.s. one of the biggest jumps, seemingly average people who call themselves sovereign citizens. a loose confederation of americans who can turn violent and have. here's abc's dan harris can tonight's "nightline investigates." >> reporter: the federal government considers them a, quote, extremist anti-government group. >> i challenge this jurisdiction as a sovereign. i'm not an american citizen. i do not recognize -- >> what if i advise you to not -- >> i am my counsel. >> reporter: sovereign citizens, people who believe the laws of america do not apply to them. >> they have their own driver's licenses. they have their own hunting licenses. they have their own physical permits. >> reporter: violence has gotten this group a lot of attenti

i'm sibth ya mcfadden for "nightline" in new york. >> tina brown, thanks to cynthia

i'm sibth ya mcfadden for "nightline" in new york. >> tina brown, thanks to cynthia for that.watching "nightline." we are going to talk to the woman with

i'm cynthia mcfadden. we begin with the lottery that seems to have everybody talking. the single biggest jackpot ever. and just about 48 hours from now, someone, somewhere, could be a half billion dollars richer. millions of people in 42 states have purchased what they hope to be winning tickets. we fake a hard look tonight at winners and losers. >> be the lucky one. >> reporter: they are buying in los angeles, on manhattan island, in philly, cleveland, in tulsa, oklahoma. some on a whim and some with a plan. all with the hope and the dream, and maybe deep down the need to win. >> $10. >> reporter: and whoever does win, it will be in a way that's never happened before. last night, when the balls popped out for the midweek drawing and known had the numbers for the jackpot, it changed the game sizewise. not only was the jackpot still out there, but it grew, hugely. it grew from this to this. wow that is a record. and the next draug day is friday, just about 48 hours from now. >> the winning ticket. >> that is why they are lining up ever where to play a game that is so st

. >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," march 30th, 2012. >>> good evening, i'm terry more r moran. just a half hour ago, $640 million drawing, and late into the night, people were still lining up to buy a piece of the dream. in all, americans spent an estimated 1$1.5 billion in hopig to win. with the odds stack against them, it seems nearly everyone had a strategy, and abc's ryan owens has a day in the life of a jackpot-crazed nation. >> tonight's mega-millions jackpot is a world record $640 million. >> reporter: the nation held its breath tonight. >> our first number tonight is -- >> reporter: waiting on those six little numbers that add up to so many hopes and end up dashing so many millions of dreams. >> 46, 23, 38, 4, 2 and the megaball is 23. >> reporter: with the biggest jackpot in history up for grabs, we spent the day crisscrossing the country to discover people's strategies to win it all. 6:00 a.m. in dallas. dawn of a dreamer's biggest day. this gas station is hopping. even

. >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," march 23rd, 2012. >> good evening, i'm bill weir. for years, hypnotists were aassociated more with fairgrounds and variety shows, but the trans-like state has emerged as a more widely accepted form of behavioral therapy, from anxiety to smoking, they say they can change the mind. but what about tricking the mind into shrinking the body? here's abc's matt gutman. >> one. two. and three. close your eyes. >> reporter: clarissa delong is undergoing a radical weight loss procedure. she's hoping to lose 140 pounds by convincing her body that she had gastric bypass surgery. but without ever going under the knife. >> you can feel that it's time to put that band on your belly. >> reporter: it's called gastric bypass hypnosis. the cost is around $1,200, while the real surgery costs up to $35,000. what was the sensation like? >> it was surreal, almost, you know? it was that hollowness and it was almost like dreaming. >> reporter: clarissa has battled with h

>> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city. this is "nightline." february 29th, 2012. >>> good evening. i'm terry moran. while the church of scientology is one of the world's newest religions and growing. opening dozens of new churches around the world. and making high-profile converts in places like hollywood. but tonight, a former scientology insider will allege that there is much we don't know about this famously powerful, wealthy and secretive institution. allegations of misuse of power and physical harassment. abc's dan harris brings us an exclusive interview with a woman who was once a high-ranking church official. in his report, "scientology: on insider speaks." >> reporter: scientology, a church known for celebrity. >> i'm a scientologist. >> reporter: secrecy. and controversy. >> you listen to me for a second. >> reporter: and now, the latest p.r. hit involves a former high-ranking insider, named debbie cook, who is being sued by the church, and is fighting back by making headline-generating allegatio

>> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city. this is "nightline." march 1st, 2012. >>> good evening. i'm terry moran. and we begin with a question of love. or crime? a california high school student has left school and moved in with her male, 41-year-old former teacher. she's 18 now. and she and her boyfriend say their relationship is a may-december romance. but her mom claims a crime has occurred here. and she points to some 8,000 text messages, dating to when her daughter was a minor, to prove it. here's abc's cecilia vega. >> reporter: this might look like innocent love for james and jordan. but he's 41. she's 18. and there's another twist. one month ago, he was her high school teacher. are you in love? >> yes. i do love him. i mean, my best friend. i mean, he's more than just a lover. >> i would say we're in love, also. i would say i'm in love. i guess i can speak for myself. >> reporter: james and jordan first met when jordan was a high school freshman and he was her business class teacher. >> when i had j

. >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," march 22nd, 2012. >> good evening, i'm bill weir. drugs, jim morrison once said, are a belt with your mind. 40 years after his body was found in a bathtub, we have another belove and tortured artist to remind us of the stakes of that bet. the results of whitney houston's autopsy are in tonight, and they confirm her cocaine use and the toll that addiction took on her mind and her heart. here's abc's jim avila. >> reporter: since the day her body was pulled from the bathtub of her beverly hills suite, it is the diagnosis whitney houston's life style has warned of. and her family, friends and fans had feared. >> the final cause of death has been established as drowning, due to heart disease and cocaine use. >> reporter: there was water in her lungs, indicating drowning. her heart weakened by 60% blockage of arteries. and the final, perhaps overriding factor, whitney houston's wlolong-time weakness cocaine contributing to her death. her body showing

. >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, from terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city. this is "nightline," march 13th, 2012. >>> and good evening. i'm bill weir. for court-watchers it is a case like no other. a young father, executed after dropping his child at day care. a killer who says he was just following the orders of angels and demons who look and sound like pop stars. after riveting closing arguments today, one question remains in the dunwoody day care shooting case. was the killer crazy? or just crazy enough to trust his alleged mistress? here's abc's andrea canning with the latest in our "nightline" series, "crime and punishment." >> reporter: after nearly a month of testimony involving murder and manipulation. >> liar, liar, pants on fire. >> reporter: not to mention, an angel with the voice of livia newton-john, and a demon who sounded a lot like barry white. ♪ that's what you are >> reporter: the prosecution and defense wrapped up their case today. and it was explosive. >> this is where it starts. >> reporter: leaving the jury with one, b

. >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is a special edition of "nightline," super tuesday showdown. >>> good evening. i'm terry moran. tonight it was a rollicking super tuesday with ten states and 437 delegates up for grabs in what now seems like a marathon republican contest to take on president barack obama. tonight saw mitt romney and rick santorum locked in a dead heat in the critical fight for ohio. right now abc news can report romney has the lead of about 1 percentage point over santorum with romney looking like the apparent winner in. and that razor-thin victory means he's still poised to win the nomination, eventually. with such a tight race it won't be easy. romney took virginia, vermont, idaho, massachusetts. santorum won in tennessee, oklahoma, and north dakota. newt gingrich took only his home state of georgia. we're not going to be projecting a winner in the tenth state, alaska. where results from the caucuses this evening are still coming in. in a race that is just now still too close

. >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is a special edition of "nightline," super tuesday showdown. >>> good evening. i'm terry moran. tonight, on super tuesday, a republican donnybrook out there. it's too close to call right now. mitt romney, rick santorum, they're in a dead heat in the critical fight for ohio. if santorum could pull off a win, he would turn the political terms on its head. he has won tennessee and oklahoma and north dakota. if he takes ohio, romney could be in jeopardy. he has won in virginia, massachusetts and vermont. but ohio is the one race that can change everything. and david muir is covering the romney campaign for us. so, david, mitt romney has got to be thinking, what have i got to do to shake this guy, santorum? it is really a test for him. >> reporter: yeah. and you really sense that within this campaign, terry. just 24 hours ago, one adviser told me, they really liked the numbers they were seeing. the momentum heading into super tuesday. particularly in ohio because the

anyway, recently madonna gave our own cynthia mcfadden an idea of how things actually work at casa ciccones to cook. >> do you have anything you can cook? >> my nannies cook. my housekeeper cooks. the drivers cook. everybody cooks. >> do you cook anything? >> no. but i do everything else. ♪ >> reporter: oh. and another unusual mummy challenge. keeping her kids away from her x-rated work. nick watt, abc news, london. >> yeah, that would be a little tough. >> that's the dumbest thing i've ever heard. you are a multimillionaire. you have nannies and drivers and cooks and housekeepers. get out of here. no one wants to hear you whine in the middle of a recession about how you take care of your four kids including your fifth if you count the 12-year-old you're dating here. get out of here with that crap, madonna. i don't want to hear that. >> at least make a grilled cheese sandwich. a little butter on the bread, some cheese in between. grill it. the kids would love it, madonna. >> what are you talking about? ♪ papa don't preach ♪ i'm in trouble deep >> announcer: this is abc's "world news now."