he's elizabeth vargas with a special "nightline" investigation. >> reporter: it is may 31, 2009, air france flight 447 prepares to depart rio de janeiro. 730, p.m., takeoff it is a routine flight across the atlantic. the plane is filled with vacationers, citizens and families. destination, paris. 8:30 p.m., passengers settle in. there's no sign that one of the biggest mysteries in modern aviation is about to unfold. among the passengers is eth na walls an irish medical students and a riverdance star on holiday in rio. her sister is kathryn. >> her last text was saying she was getting on the flight. she'd had a brilliant holiday. >> reporter: she's on board with 215 other passengers, knowing their lives are in the hands of the men in the cockpit led by captain marc dubois. what they may not know is just how much the captain and his team depend, perhaps disastrously on the sophisticated automated systems of the plane, the airbus a330, considered to be among the safest in the sky. >> airbus like to say their plane is pilot-proof. >> reporter: that's the good news. here is the bad news.

here's "20/20" co-anchor elizabeth vargas. >> reporter: in just a few short year, katy perry has becomepop selling over 75 million singles. her last album generated five number one billboard singles making her the first female artist to such such a record. the only other artist to do that is the self-titled king of paper michael jackson. ♪ i'm a man a man come on >> reporter: the youtube video earned more than 1 billion views. a figure that transformed into box office gold when she releases her new movie next week. a film called "part of me" which combines never before scene behind the scenes footage of perry with dazzling performances. >> i just put out "teenage dream" and people were responding to the video. and i went and booked my tour with management, and everybody wanted to come. and i thought to myself, well, i think this is going to be a moment, maybe i should catch it on tape. >> reporter: showcasing that trademark perry sun, we get to see the origin of the crazy costumes. >> she's got so many looks that she can pull off which is so fun for us. >> reporter: we also get to see t

so, yeah. >> reporter: for "nightline," i'm elizabeth vargas in los angeles. >> perry's "part of me" stay tuned for her next on "jimmy kimmel." as for the "hover cat" video we're close to 1 million hits. thank you, and thank you for

elizabeth vargas goes one-on-one with the blushing bride. we will talk to her next. >> a compulsive hoarder's wake- up call. we have a camera in your bedroom right now. you do want to make a change? right now. you dwhen it comes to gardening, we're, well, inexperienced. is this right? right here, like this? ♪ turn that off! plants can smell our fear then miracle-gro expand'n gro made things a lot easier for us. it expands when you water it. and improves your soil. for big beautiful plants that grow up to three times the flowers and vegetables. guaranteed. we were so bad at this before. particularly you. [ laughs ] everyone grows with miracle-gro. tonight on abc prime-time, all new with an interview with a faked cancere who get her dream wedding. elizabeth vargas joins us about the show an vega.iew with jessica this is a situation so many people look at and say it is deplorable. does jessica say in her own defense? but she has a lot of explanations. told a lieat she initially because she was trying to get her husband's attention actuallyshe d

correspondent elizabeth vargas spent a year looking into what happened.black box recording show the captain was on a scheduled break more than a minute to get back toot cockpit despite frantic calls for help during a thunderstorm. the pilot may have been occupied while traveling socially with an off-duty air france flight attendant. "good morning america" will have more at 7 a.m.. >> fbi is reportedly launching an investigation into possible leaks of classified information about a u.s. cyber warfare program against iran. republican senator mccain claims the white house has been leaking the information for political gain. white house press secretary jay carney denies the charge calling the suggestion grossly irresponsible. senator feinstein the democratic chair of the intelligence committee and carl levin the chairman of the senate armed services committee are considering a joint hearing on the issue. >>> the boy scouts of america agreed to consider a plan that would let individual unit as point gays as adult leaders. a scout leader from the northeast prop

we're happy to have elizabeth vargas here. >> i'm happy to be here. but happy to fill for her for a day. katy perry sat down with us. >> and the movie, the documentary, looks fantastic. >> it's really good. and i have to say, she is gorgeous. i think a couple times i just sat there -- i had nothing more to say. >> a very busy morning. >>> starting in washington. >> that's right, with a decision awaiting from the supreme court on the president's health care bill. it is possible it could be wiped from the books if the justices find that it is unconstitutional. all eyes on washington, d.c. >> big impact for every american. also a big impact on the presidential race. >>> you see that woman right there. she's a professional poker player. in a divorce battle right there. what's at stake? 1,200 pairs of shoes, you see them right there. worth $1 million. her ex wants his share. >> why does he want women's shoes? >> he wants the money. >>> and charlie sheen. you never know what he's going to say but we'll find out because he's live in our studio and ready to r

abc's elizabeth vargas has been spent a year unraveling exactly what happened. and tonight we have new details about day yos in the cockpit and the passengers in the final minutes. >> reporter: it is three and a half hours into the flight cruising at 37,000 feet when captain mark dub wa makes a fateful decision. despite a thunderstorm lurking ahead, he takes a scheduled break. just a few minutes later, a piece of equipment that reads the air speed suddenly fails. the automatic pilot shuts off. now the control of the aircraft and the lives of the 228 people on board is in the hands of the least experienced of the three-man crew. 32-year-old cedric bone yay. >> and the captain is sitting where i'm sitting right now. >> bill vaz joined us in i flight simulator to recreate what happened. >> what did he do? he fuld the nose up? >> a fairly dramatic up. >> it's precisely the wrong thing to do. it can cause the plane to start falling out of the sky. the stall warning goes off. >> it keeps saying, what's happening? they call for the captain six times. >> reporter: we do

now, jessica vega is speaking out for the first time to "20/20's" elizabeth vargas. >> reporter: thisy of jessica vega, and mike o'connell. the two talked about marriage. but then, there was trouble in paradise. for a while, they broke up. desperate to keep her man, jessica made a decision that would make headlines. so, she told a big lie about the big "c." isn't there any other way to get his attention than telling him you're dying of cancer? >> i'm the mother of his children. and he wouldn't call me. >> reporter: jessica showed him a letter from a doctor. it said she was dying. >> reporter: did the ruse work? did he come back? >> he insisted i move in right away. >> reporter: did you think of this through? >> it wasn't premeditated. >> reporter: she was doing what she called to keep up the charade. she cut off her head. when people were donating things for the wedding, mike was touched and called a newspaper. suggesting they do a story about the community's generosity. you got a free wedding dress. you got free wedding rings. you got a free honeymoon. you got free airfare to aruba f

. >> he was on "good morning america" yesterday and spoke with elizabeth vargas in for robin roberts.. he is currently drug-free, but not alcohol-free. not abstaining. he tried rehab. it is just not for him. he says he has a completely different outlook on it. he says it is not a one-size-fits-all. and it didn't fit me. take a listen. what he had to say. >> so you are no longer doing drugs? >> i'm not, no. >> you do drink? >> who doesn't? do you drink? >> people who have been through rehab don't drink. >> i don't believe in rehab anymore. >> that's one thing that you stuck to? >> it's just not for me. it's not for everyone. not a one size fits all, you know. it didn't fit me. but, you know we live in a country where it is always miller time. what are you going to do? >> some place. >> it's happy hour some where in the world, right? >> he was drinking water on the set. they wouldn't give him anything else. but he seemed fine. >> he was there to promote the june 28th premier of his show on fx -- >> "anger management." >> yes. >> yeah. >> early reviews have been good. about it. hopefully

in a abc7 news exclusive elizabeth vargas spent a year looking into what happen.a using blood and saliva from parents. what is important is the technique did not require an invasive test that usually involves samples from the baby en route row which is risky. scientists say this is a big step toward "ing genetic disorders early. >>> -- >> no radiation detected the word on a huge japanese dock found on an oregon beach. it was ripped from its mooring in japan. the negative radiation check indicates it broke lose before the nuclear power plant meltdown. oregon authorities have not sided what to do with with it yet. >>> ahead -- we are continuing to follow breaking news from east palo alto. the help police are requesting after an overnight shooting leaves one person dead. >> making sense of store credit card. michael finney has tips on which ones could work best for yoccccc

abc's elizabeth vargas has new details about chaos in the cockpit. >> reporter: it is 3 1/2 hours intoising at 37,000 feet, when captain marc dubois makes a fateful decision. despite a thunderstorm lurking ahead, he takes a scheduled break. just a few minutes later the plane's pitot tube, a piece of equipment that reads the air speed, suddenly fails. the automatic pilot shuts off. now the control of the aircraft and the lives of the 228 people on board is in the hands of the least experienced of the three-man crew, 32-year-old cedric bonin. >> and the captain is sitting where i'm sitting right now? >> correct. >> reporter: bill voss of the flight safety foundation joined us in an a-330 flight simulator to recreate what happened. >> what did he do? he pulled the nose of the plane up? >> a fairly dramatic pitch-up. >> reporter: pulling up is precisely the wrong thing to do. it can essentially cause the plane to start falling out of the sky. soon the plane's stall warning goes off. >> it keeps saying repeatedly what's happening, what's happening? where's the captain? they call for the cap

elizabeth vargas is here with more. >> we spent a year looking into it.t happened to air france 447 was unprecedented. a state-of-the-art commercial jet vanished, in flight over the atlantic ocean. next month, french authorities will issue their final report on the accident that killed 228 people. but abc news got access to cockpit voice recordings and black box data that french authorities have never revealed. and they paint a harrowing picture of chaos in the cockpit. >> air france flight 447, from rio de janeiro to paris disappears over the atlantic. >> reporter: it was a midair mystery. a plane that simply fell from the sky. but hundreds of hours of an abc news investigation reveals what probably happened aboard that doomed jet. it's 3 1/2 hours into the flight, 447, heading from rio to paris. 228 people are onboard. it is cruising at 35,000 feet over the atlantic. when the captain makes a fateful decision. despite a thunderstorm looming ahead, he takes a scheduled break. just minutes later, the plane's tube, a piece of equipment that reads the air sp

would start to break down, and he would continue to chat with whoever it was, brian williams or elizabeth vargas, and people would just sit there riveted. you could hear a pin drop. sometimes the crew would stop breaking down and listen to. and dan bartlett and i would sometimes be in the back going, why didn't he sound like this when they were rolling? i'm sure that -- >> he always, he always tightened up when the lights were on. >> and he was always and is always quite brilliant and relatable and quick when the cameras are off. i don't know if that's just a normal human condition or if that was something that particular particularly haunted him in those public interviews. but i think that what a president does off camera with his press corps, and this may make me old fashioned and get me railed on by rush limbaugh and my friends on the right but i think what a president does off camera with the members of their press corps, the reporters that go to work every day at the white house, that travel with them, is priceless. and i think that bringing in the members of your press corps who leave thei