nbc's jeff rossen has the story. >> i'm going to a doctor's therapy and i just hope that i feel better been a long haul. >> reporter: you're watching a miracle in progress. marion hedges beating the odds. this surveillance video shows the moment of impact outside a target in harlem. two teenagers pushing that shopping cart off of this parking garage, smashing into marian 50 feet down. she collapsed in a heap as her 13-year-old son watched. at the time mere survival seemed unlikely, let alone this sidewalk interview taped monday. >> thank you. a little makeup and hair helps. i'm doing one day tight. i have no vision out of my left eye so my optical nerve was damaged. so it affects my walking. i only have one eye that works, so it's hard to see close or far. it's a work in progress. >> reporter: marian was here buying candy for needy inner city children when it happened. before the accident, she was a well-known social activist, but on this day, halloween day, 2011, these two teenagers in the very neighborhood where she volunteered dumped the cart as a joke, a prank. >> what about the tw

jeff rossen explains. >> awww, what a cute baby. >> they're really close, are they together?that was a crazy party. >> reporter: they are our most personal, most embarrassing moments meant for friends or friends of friends, not your new boss. >> my facebook profile contains my most intimate details of my life. these bosses are asking to get in and take a look around. >> reporter: he was applying for a job in finance. during the interview, the employer dropped a bombshell. >> i was shocked when she asked me for my facebook e-mail and password. >> she wanted to log in as you? >> that's right. i was taken aback by that question. >> reporter: what did you say? >> that i was not comfortable sharing that information. it was made clear sharing that and allowing them access to my page was part of the interview. >> reporter: no facebook, no job. >> it wasn't stated but denying the request lost me the position. >> reporter: lawmakers are drafting legislation, even asking the department of justice to investigate this tactic calling the behavior unduly coercive. >> put food on the table,

nbc's jeff rossen is in harlem with the story. hey, jeff, good morning. >> hey, ann, good morning to you. by all accounts, this woman shouldn't have survived this attack. i mean, you know, it's amazing she's alive, let alone walking around, out and about, and talking, as well. you're going to hear from her in just a moment. but first i want to tell you exactly what happened. last year she was outside this target store in harlem after buying candy, halloween candy, for needy kids in the area. that's when a couple of teenagers were on the fourth floor parking deck of this shopping center and threw a shopping cart over the side, hitting marianne here on the ground and crushing her. all of it caught on tape. >> i'm going to a doctor's therapy, and i just hope that i feel better and better soon. it's been a long haul. >> reporter: you're watching a miracle in progress. marion hedges, beating the odds. this surveillance video shows the moment of impact outside a target in harlem. two teenagers pushing that shopping cart off this parking

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nbc's jeff rossen has more. >> reporter: san francisco, this unspectrometrying wom suspecting woman isbbed. fort lauderdale, a thief sucker punches this man beating him to a pulp. the robber kicks him down and makes off with his iphone. in los angeles, one of the most brutal robberies caught on camera. a man follows this teenage girl into her apartment lobby just to snatch her phone punching her over and over again but this girl fights back. the crook pushes her against a wall and pummels her. >> i really wanted my phone. i worked hard for it. i was just going to hit him until i got my phone back. >> reporter: but he got the phone and is still on the loose. >> we had a case on capitol hill. >> reporter: washington, d.c. police chief cathy lanier sees it every day. >> this is a big business for thieves. >> it is a huge business. the after market resale of these phones is just driving this whole problem. >> reporter: and she says the wireless industry is putting its own profit over your safety. allowing stolen phones to be react investigated later with a different phone number. yes, that

nbc's national investigative correspondent, jeff rossen has this report on the "today show" this morningolice say it's an epidemic and it's only getting worse, tens of thousands of high-tech cell phones are stolen every year and yes, it gets violent. many victims are beaten, bruised, even hospitalized. authorities say there's an easy fix here. a way to stop these criminals right in their tracks. but they say the wireless companies are blocking it to protect their own profits. san francisco, this unsuspecting woman is about to get robbed. her iphone ripped from her hands. ft. lauderdale, a thief sucker-punches this man, beating him to a pulp. the victim tries to get up, but the robber kicks him back down and makes off with his iphone. and in los angeles, one of the most brutal robberies caught on camera, a man follows this teenaged girl into her apartment lobby, just to snatch her phone. punching her over and over again. but this girl fights back. the crook pushes her against the wall and pummels her. >> i really wanted my phone. i worked hard for it. i was just in this mode where i was j

jeff rossen is here to tell us what he found. good morning. >> good morning. this is an epidemic.of thousands of high-tech phones are stolen every year. yes, it gets violent. many victims are beaten, bruised and hospitalized. there's an easy fix here. a way to stop criminals in their tracks. but the wireless companies are blocking it to protect their own profits. san francisco, this unsuspecting woman is about to get robbed. her iphone ripped from her hands. ft. lauderdale, a thief sucker punches this man, beating him to a pulp. the victim tries to get up, but the robber kicks him down and makes off with his iphone. in los angeles, one of the most brutal robberies caught on camera. a man follows this teenage girl into a lobby to get her phone, punching her over and over again. she fights back. >> i really wanted my phone. i worked hard for it. i was in a mode where i was going to hit him until i got my phone back. >> reporter: but, he got the phone and is still on the loose. washington d.c. police chief sees it every day. this is a big business for thieves? >> it's a huge business

jeff rossen is here to unveil a brand new study. good morning. >> good morning, ann.bout the staircase. new numbers are startling. every six minutes a child falls down the stairs and is rushed to the hospital. nearly 100,000 kid as year. experts say there are three staircase dangers, flaws that may be in your home now. this morning we are showing you how to check for all of them. two houses, two different staircases, both in great condition, but safety experts say one of them has hidden dangers that could cause a serious fall. >> parents don't realize this is a lurking danger. they don't think it's going to happen to them or their child. >> reporter: dr. gary smith conducted a groundbreaking new study out this morning exposing staircase defects. we had one of his experts walk us through them. danger number one, the top of flight flaw. >> what is this flaw? >> in many homes the first step is longer than the remaining steps. as a parent you take a step and your mind is tricked into thinking the remaining steps will be the same length. >> so you fall down the stairs. >>