york city, this is "nightline," january 2nd, 2013. >>> good evening, i'm cynthia mcfadden. tonight we begin with a twisted tale of romance gone deadly wrong. today, opening arguments began in the shocking murder trial of a 32-year-old woman who stands accused of an unbelievably violent crime. slashing, stabbing and shooting her one-time boyfriend. since her arrest, her story of what happened that night has shifted dramatically, and soon, her life could depend on which version a jury believes. here's abc's ryan owens. >> reporter: she may have won this jailhouse christmas carolling contest, but jody arias may have a much tougher time winning over a jury. >> this is not a case of whodunit. the person who committed this killing sits in court today. >> reporter: the 32-year-old who faces the death penalty cried today as prosecutors laid out their opening arguments, detailing for the jury in phoenix, arizona, how she allegedly murdered her one-time boyfriend travis alexander in june of 2008. prosecutors say the soft spoken arias attacked travis in a jealous rage as he showered.

. >> and good evening, i'm cynthia mcfadden. outside the law. it may surprise you to learn there are a growing number of americans living right here in the united states who insist that federal laws do not apply to them. including the 22-year-old who showed abc's dan harris the radical lengths he's willing to go to to fend off uncle sam. >> i'm going to go in and speak with the prosecutor. >> reporter: it's 8:20 on a monday morning at the county courthouse in idaho, and the 21-year-old operating this video camera is trying to bring it into the courtroom where he's contesting a minor ticket. >> i don't know what the held law book you're reading, man, but it doesn't apply to me. >> reporter: watch what happens next. i'm going in. >> no, you're not going in. >> don't touch me. >> you're not going in, sir. >> let the record show that you just battered me and -- >> step back. >> you're using. oh! stop, please. i'm not doing anything wrong! >> reporter: his name is robert peterson, and he says getting tased is a small price to pay for

abc news with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city this is "night line" january 7, 2013. >> i'm assistanty mcfadden. it's that time of year again time for the holiday spending hangover and for those of you feeling the sting it may surprise you to learn you could earn hundreds of dollars from the gifts you don't want or have lying around the house. paula farris brings us the tips. >> reporter: meet jamie and jordan from new jersey, jamie is a party planner and stay at home mom to four children. dad works in the software industry. >> what did you get for christmas? >> reporter: they shop the sales to make sure santa delivered on christmas morning. >> did you get this for christmas? what is it? >> reporter: but bills can pile up. and who doesn't need some extra cash. fortunately there is a lot of loot hiding in their home and we will help them buy a new camera. >> you have a nice camera. >> yes. >> but not practical. >> not at all. i have to try to get that out right now and i lost. moment's gone. and really? really? >> you're overloaded. >> you think. >> the camera

i'm cynthia mcfadden.n with america and its guns, as president obama prepares to announce his sweeping plan to curb gun violence tomorrow, across the country millions have already rushed out to buy a record number of new guns. and one man who thinks that's a very good thing, radio shock jock alex jones. he made national headlines last week with a fiery pro-gun tirade that quickly went viral, and that's not all he's got to say. here is abc's dan harris. >> reporter: are you for hitler or against hitler? whatever they say is the opposite. they never tell the truth. >> reporter: tonight as millions of americans worry about the government taking away their guns, this man, alex jones, is pushing a lot of buttons. >> and i'm here to tell you, 1776 will commence again if you try to take our firearms. we will not relinquish them. do you understand? >> reporter: when alex jones went on cnn's piers morgan to discuss gun control in the wake of the sandy hook massacre -- >> you're a hatchet man of the new world order.

"nightline" anchor cynthia mcfadden asked her about her next chapter and that first day off. >> reporter: saturday morning -- >> yes. >> reporter: what happens? >> well, i hope i get to sleep in. you know, i'm thinking about that, because it will be the first time in many years when i've got no office to go to, no schedule to keep, no work to do. that will probably last a few days and then i will be up and going with my new projects. >> and you can see all of hillary clinton's last interview as secretary of state, it is with cynthia mcfadden tonight on "nightline" at their new time, 12:35 a.m. eastern. >>> and still ahead on "world news," remember sandra bullock and "the blind side?" we caught up with the real life player who is about to play in his first super bowl. why he may not even have the most amazing story on the field on sunday. >>> and later here, what is it like to ride a record-breaking ten-story tall, 100-foot wave? much more say it? and how did he do it? ten-story tall, 100-foot wave? i have the flu... i took theraflu, but i still have this cough. [ male announcer ] truth i

the stars of "django unchained" sit down with abc's cynthia mcfadden to talk about the language, the violence, and the controversy. >>> and we'll tell you how an american plan to catch osama bin laden may be fueling violence against the pakistani people. you're watching "world news now." >> announcer: "world news now" weather, brought to you by hotwire.com. >> i've been training all year for the big race in chicago, but i can only afford one trip. and i just found out my best friend is getting married in l.a. there's no way i'm missing that. then i heard about hotwire and i realized i could actually afford both trips. see, when really nice hotels have unsold rooms, they use hotwire to fill them. so i got my four-star hotels for half-price! >> men: ♪ h-o-t-w-i-r-e ♪ hotwire.com >> announcer: save big on car rentals too, from $12.95 a day. >>> welcome back, everybody. a serious story from pakistan. on tuesday, seven people were killed in what's considered the largest attack targeting efforts against polio. >> despite the attacks, vaccination workers say they will continue fighting this

>>> "nightline's" cynthia mcfadden asks, will she be the one to finally breakthrough that glass ceiling stick around. we'll be back. ♪ >>> on saturday morning, for the first time in many, many years, hillary clinton will not have a job or really anywhere she has to be. friday is her last say as secretary of state. >> as she prepares for what's next, she sat down with abc's own cynthia mcfadden. >> reporter: she's been secretary of state for four years, visited 112 countries, more than any of her predecessors, logged almost a million miles. but it's where she's going next that has everybody talking. let's just say this isn't the first time the question has come up. in moscow three years ago, you told me, i have absolutely no interest in running for president, none. you're never going to run for president again? >> i have absolutely no interest in running for president again. none, none. >> reporter: two years ago, you said the exact same thing in australia. you said talk about the future, you said you're not running for president in 2012 or 2016. what about 2020? in the past few days, a

. >> keep it right h >>> from new york city, this is "nightline" with cynthia mcfadden. >> good eveningthanks for joining us. tonight, cheaters beware. the trail of clues that you may not realize you're leaving could be coming back to haunt you, from tweets to e-mails and facebook messages, the digital age has blown open the door to new and cutting edge ways to catch cheaters red handed, including hidden electronic clues that maybe even the delete button can't destroy. here's abc's nick watt. >> reporter: technology, it's infidelity's best friend. texts, tweets. some say 30% of dating site users are cheaters, and the social networking sites like facebook get a bad rap as marriage breakers, allowing us to rapidly reconnect with that high school sweetheart or meet a total stranger the minute our marriages hit the doldrums. but there's a flip side. john nazarian, a hard-nosed p.i., joined me in a seedy hotel room to explain what's going on. >> privacy doesn't exist no more. >> reporter: privacy doesn't exist anymore? >> it's over. >> reporter: lipstick on a collar is no longer the cheat's

. >>> from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden, and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline." january 1st, 2013. >>> good evening, i'm terry moran, and we begin tonight with some late-breaking news out of washington. just a little while ago, the house of representatives approved the passage of a last-minute deal to narrowly avoid that fiscal cliff after weeks of increasingly heated, even ridiculous infighting. this late compromise will prevent many of the dreaded effects of the cliff, only the top 2% of americans are going to see a tax increase, sparing the other 98%, and those big spending cuts, they will be postponed. president obama tonight spoke about the nation's road ahead. >> the sum total of all the budget agreements we have reached so far proves that there is a path forward, that it is possible, if we focus not on our politics, but on what's right for the country. and the one thing that i think hopefully in the new year we'll focus on is seeing if we can put a package like this together with a little bit less drama, not scare the heck o

cynthia mcfadden, and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," january 3rd, 2013. >>> good evening. i'm bill weir. and it is the dream of countless american families. a knock on the door from a big-time college football scout and a spot on a team that fills coliseums on saturday. but tonight comes a revelation from a former star about the pain and pressure that exists inside the nation's football factories and the injectable risks some young men take in order to stay on the field. abc news's chief investigative correspondent brian ross brings us this "nightline investigates." >> reporter: game day at usc in los angeles. part of the huge college sports industry. with lucrative tv contracts, millionaire coaches and avid fans all dependent on their star players giving everything on the field, even when hurt. >> there's really no other option because i want to play, they wanted me to play, they needed me to play. >> reporter: but now abc news has found that behind the scenes of that drive to win at usc and other major colleges, in tucked away training rooms underneath the stadium is th

. >> from the global resources of abc news, with cynthia mcfadden, terry moran, and bill weir in new york city, this is a special edition of "nightline" -- to hold again. >>> good evening, i'm bill weir. can you even imagine waking up after doctors removed both hands and both feet? the realization that you suddenly have no idea how to brush your teeth or go out on a date, not to mention start a family or dress a child. a few years ago, a lovely young woman named lindsay experienced just that, but somehow managed to hold on to the dream of somehow being able to touch again. and what happened next is nothing short of incredible. "nightline" producers spent three years following lindsay's journey. >> reporter: it is the simplest thing. the grasp of one hand inside another. but lindsay will never see it that way, for her hands, these, once belonged to someone else. her story and these hands' story are one in the same. now. but listen to how that came to be. growing up, lindsay was always one of the pretty girls. she went to college. she did some modelling and got to work building a caree

. >>> from new york city, this is "nightline" with cynthia mcfadden. >> good evening, and thanks fors. tonight, we begin with a shocking story of love gone deadly wrong. the latest twist in the murder trial of 32-year-old woman charged with shooting, stabbing, and slashing her one-time boyfriend. well, she's admitted to police that she did indeed kill him. she's claiming it was self-defense. but today, explosive new tapes reminded the jury that that was not always her story. here's abc's ryan owens. >> if travis were here today, he would tell you that it wasn't me. r >> reporter: her web of lies untangles before our lies. >> i'm all for the ten commandments. thou shalt not kill. >> reporter: every detail shown to riveted jurors, who will decide if jodi arias should die for her crime. >> if i hurt travis, if i killed travis, i would beg for the death penalty. >> reporter: for the last three days, the prosecutor has played interrogation videos of arias from july of 2008. she's just been arrested for the brutal murder of alexander. >> i'm begging you to at least come clean and tell me w

. >>> from washington, this is "nightline" with cynthia mcfadden. >>> again, and thanks for joining usnternational search for the young american mother who suddenly vanished while traveling alone on a dream vacation. it was her first trip overseas, but right before she was supposed to return home to her husband and her two young boys in new york, she disappeared without a trace. abc's juju chang brings us the latest. >> reporter: it was the trip of a lifetime complete with artsy instagram posts from istanbul, that sarai sierra, an avid photographer, shared with her family in new york. but when they went to pick her up at the airport, they discovered to their horror that somewhere halfway around the world she simply vanished. >> i called united airlines. they stated that she didn't board the flight. >> reporter: tonight her husband steven is caught up in a gut wrenching global missing persons case. >> you know, you have so many thoughts going through your mind. you don't know what to think. you don't know what to believe. you don't know what to expect, what's going to come out of this.

. >> abc's cynthia mcfadden sits down with the stars of this >> abc's cynthia mcfadden sits down withrs of this nf afc, offensive lineman, defensive tackles, quarterbacks and cornerbacks are all living united. to ensure the academic success ofof millions kids in our communities. all the way toto graduation day. but that won't all the way toto happen without you. so take the pledge at unitedway.org. make a difference in the life of a child. suit up like your favorite nfl players, and become a volunteer reader, tutor or mentor with united way. >>> maybe you've heard of quinten tarantino's new movie, "django unchained." >> did we mention it's kind of controversial here? >> reporter: it is one of the best reviewed but most controversial movies of the year. quinten tan tino's film "django unchained." i sat down with the stars. it's an epic, revenge fantasy. >> i like the way you die, boy. >> romantic westerns. one critic said recently, there's something for everyone to hate in this film. >> i don't think you do a film like this with quentin tarantino and not expect that. that's what you si

"nightline" anchor cynthia mcfadden sat down with clinton as her term comes to an end. >> reporter: she's been secretary of sate for four years. visited 112 countries, more than any of her pred sersz. logged more than 1 million miles. it's where she is going next that has everybody talking. can you still say with a straight face there is no way you would consider running for president. >> sitting here right now, that's certainly what i believe. i'm still the secretary of state. i'm not in politics. >> reporter: are we up to maybe. >> that's very good, cynthia. well, of course, of course, i am flattered and honored. i didn't know about some of these things that are happening now. i don't know how else to say it. but i am going to get back into my life again. >> reporter: a recent series of medical problems have been no laughing matter. it is good to see you looking so healthy. >> thank you, thank you. >> reporter: it really was a serious health scare. >> it was a big surprise to me, because i've been so healthy for my entire life. i'm getting fully recovered. i will be back to full speed.

. >> i have to give credit to sinth cynthia mcfadden and it's tough to put on a news show at 11:35 andtwo biggest comedians and "nightline" was able to do that, but the program didn't make itself indispensable because more of a variety show where they would do light and more serious topics. >> very much so. >> and the reason abc musked it out of the time period was abc is seeking some sort of parody from 11:35 with a one-hour comedy show to control a lot more variety of advertisers and sponsors than a news program that only lasts a half an hour. just so much commercial time in a 25-minute show, which is what "nightline" had been reduced to and just so many advertisements that want to be with a serious news program. the door just flies open for sponsorships when you put a comedy show on at 11:35. >> you're giving me the business explanation. but already in the four nights this has happened the audience for "nightline" has been reduced from 4 million to just under 2 million on average. i mean, that is a big blow. >> but you don't know how many -- >> no, you go ahead. >> i was just going

cynthia mcfadden is doing the report. >> reporter: by the late 80s the clan had dwindled to by a fewey number to 6,000. >> many chance we have talked to said barack obama has been our single effective recruiting tool. >> i think there is some truth to that. >> reporter: steve and his wife nicole tell us something stunning about steve's 11-year-old daughter who is here for all of the night proceeding. >> your 11-year-old daughter has a robe? >> cenk: ed >> cenk: todd, they don't see this as something negative. i'm teaching her the right thing. i put a robe on her and she knows how to conduct herself. there. >> there were two kids that day the other probably a little younger, probably from the same family. they didn't know what was going on. halloween or something. they didn't know what they were doing there. >> what is poignant is the kid looking in the mirror. as adults we say take a look in the mirror and look at what you've become. i imagine this 22-year-old in my hopeful way looks back and sees himself as a child. >> cenk: hermella says she's sure he's a racist and you're hopeful.

. >> abc's cynthia mcfadden sits down with the stars of this controversial film.ming up. >>> maybe you've heard of quinten tarantino's new movie, "django unchained." >> did we mention it's kind of controversial here? >> reporter: it is one of the best reviewed but most controversial movies of the year. quinten tan tino's film "django unchained." i sat down with the stars. it's an epic, revenge fantasy. >> i like the way you die, boy. >> romantic westerns. one critic said recently, there's something for everyone to hate in this film. >> i don't think you do a film like this with quentin tarantino and not expect that. that's what you sign up for. >> i don't think anybody is going out there saying we used the word more excessively than it was used in 1858 in mississippi. >> reporter: leonardo plays the despicable calvin kanldee. a plantation owner and all around bad guy who uses the n world repeatedly. >> the first day onset was incredibly difficult for me. >> it's supposed to be tough. you're not supposed to feel like that's normal in 2012, 2013. >> reporter: and th

come of the questions that cynthia mcfadden asked her yesterday. cynthia? >> good morning, george.'ve interviewed secretary clinton nearly a dozen times over the years. i have never seen her as relaxed as she was yesterday. we got personal, discussing the lingering effects of her concussion. while she's logged almost 1 million miles on the job, it's where she's going next that has everybody talking. hillary clinton has only three days left as the u.s. secretary of state. so the question everyone is asking, what will her next job be? in the past few days, a pac called, ready for hillary, has been launched. can you still say with a straight face that you have -- that there's no way you would consider running for president? >> sitting here right now, that is certainly what i believe. and i am looking forward to having something resembling a normal life again. >> reporter: and yet, are we up to maybe? >> that's very good, cynthia. i don't know how else to say it but i am going to get back into my life again. see how it feels. >> reporter: when you conceded defeat in the primary, you ma