i'm jim avila for "nightline" in washington, d.c. >> that's a grim ordeal. thanks to jim avila for that. >>> next up, you know him as a talk show host. you may not know him as a heart surgeon as he cures one woman with an illness. my cut hurt! mine hurt more! mine stopped hurting faster... [ female announcer ] neosporin® plus pain relief starts relieving pain faster and kills more types of infectious bacteria. neosporin® plus pain relief. for a two dollar coupon, visit neosporin.com. neospfollow the wings.elief. but they can be really well thexpensive.ted a puppy, so to save money i just found them a possum. dad, i think he's dead. probably just playin' possum. sfx: possum hisses there he is. there's an easier way to save. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. why let erectile dysfunction get in your way? talk to your doctor about viagra. ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, fl

jim avila covers aviation for abc.nd he's back on the story. >> reporter: these lasers happen at most critical times for the pilot. landing and taking off. it happened just outside of san francisco's international airport. two commercial planes. a virgin atlantic and a sky west commuter jet. just minutes from landing. when the pilots noticed a blinding light. >> we just want to let you know that there's a laser by the bridge. it's green. it came through our window. >> reporter: that laser likely one of these. a simple point and shoot. it can blind a pilot. >> san francisco, that laser is almost right underneath us right now. >> reporter: with potentially deadly consequences. >> what happens, that pinpoint spreads out once it's higher and further away. >> reporter: police were immediately dispatched to find whomever was shooting the laser. and this weekend, the fbi has joined the hunt. this is just the latest incident in what is coming from an alarming trend. just this past may, in salt lake city, two planes hit. >> we

where jim avila combs the intraweb finds the best potentially viral video.> the word fings sags and video don't usually go together. >> i can relate to this mother. sort of. this mother thought it would be really funny to put a temporary tattoo on her 16-month-old tattoo. temporary. he didn't. check out his reaction. >> he's terrified. he continues to cry. >> she takes it off eventually. a temporary tattoo. >> jim, what do you got in. >> i'm a big baseball fan. love the tarp. rainstorm interrupts the baseball game in tennessee. look at this poor guy. it's a tsunami of sort. pretty good speed. i got to say. he outruns the belly by a good, you know -- not bad at all. >> i'm going to forfeit my fixation and go to ginger. >> it's car ride and this is how abby in colorado always takes her car ride. check it out. every single vehicle that goes by, she growls at it. >> i'm being told, breaking news, we do have time for my fixation, which includes some geniuses in a dorm room a brain trust of scientists pulling off an experiment that involves a hapless guy and super

jim avila is here with sans. >>> and surviving this. a thousands lighten strikes in one hour and the man who survived his third direct hit. >>> good evening. we have big news tonight, out of philadelphia, the nationwide effort to crack down on criminals who prey on children. police enlisted ordinary citizens in a whole new way and it worked. you'll remember we showed you the video last night. a o 10-year-old girl escaping a kidnapper many broad daylight while 8 million people watched this and set off a chain reaction so swift and powerful police say the suspect turned himself in. here now is abc's pier thomas. >> reporter: this is carlos figueroa fagot, the man police believe is responsible for the heinous attempted child abduction caught on this chilling surveillance tape. police say he's the man seen here sneaking up on a 10 year old girl, attacking her and literally snatching her off the street. a television and social media blitz to catch the suspect apparently paid off. just six hours after the tape was made public, figueroa fagot

details from jim avila. >> one of the once on the bottom. >> reporter: shopping day for barbara webb. bracing for a sharp jump in food prices over the next nine months. >> of course i'm concerned. i'm concerned for the people who can't afford it. >> reporter: usda forecasts expecting a 5% food price hike. an expensive jolt brought on by the great american drought. you have a family of three, two children. in a week you're spending what? >> $150. >> reporter: which means she'll be spending $160 a week next year. adding up to $500 more from her budget. it's affecting the foods americans eat most. last year's milk price, $3.57. by early 20 13rks projected at $3.84. ground beef -- $2.77 a pound, by next year, more than $3. eggs last year, $1.77 a dozen. by 2013, nearly $2. >> this is exactly the kind of thing we worry about with climate change. >> reporter: farmers and consumers had better get used to tougher growing conditions and higher prices. >> the new normal for agriculture is going to be frequent episodes of very high temperatures. temperatures at which pretty much any crop doesn't

rooer happy to have jim avila here this morning. >> good morning, dan and bianna. good morning to all of you. >>> news out of florida, george zimmerman is out of gail but hardly a free man. he made bail buzz of online donations. matt gutman has the details from florida. >> that's right. the judge imposing the million-dollar bail and stricter restrictions on zimmerman. laying it out in an eight-page ruling. he cannot leave the county. must wear a gps device at all times. all of this will make it more difficult to secure him. you saw him wearing the bullet-proof vest. the judge saying zimmerman hid $150,000 from the court and the fact that he had taken out a second passport, all leading the judge to believe he would have attempted to flee the country and prosecution, had he only been given the chance. jim? >> matt gutman in miami, thank you. >>> afghanistan is officially a friend of the united states. the diplomatic language is major non-nato ally. hillary clinton is there to make the announcement this morning. it's a statement of the future and promises military hel

jim avila answers the question, could it happen here? >> reporter: shades of the great blackout of 2003 -- america's largest -- knocking 55 million in the northeast into the dark. but this time it's twice the population of the united states without power. india, where subways are stopped and no air conditioning in 100-degree weather today. in great supply -- frustration and despair. >> the whole system was at a standstill. that goes to show how vulnerable we are. >> reporter: and today at the federal energy regulatory commission's command center, a ripple of uncertainty about how vulnerable this country is. >> can something like india happen here? >> it can't spread to california was the grid is divided here in the nation. >> reporter: the main difference, say engineers, is america's grid is now monitored more closely than ever, checking for line surges 30 times a second. and since the northeast's 2003 blackout, 16,000 miles of new transmission lines have been added to the grid. still, some in the northeast are more than 70 years old. >>

abc's jim avila has the report. >> reporter: jetblue captain clayton osbon looks anything but sleepy his freak-out on board his flight from new york to las vegas. eyes wide open as he runs through the cabin yelling about jesus and al qaeda, scaring his passengers and crew until taken down in the aisle. and held until his co-pilot landed the plane in lubbock, texas. >> he started to curse at me and started to say you better pray, iraq, and iran. i so say, you know, you know what i'm going to show you what iraq and iran is. >> reporter: but captain osbon beat charges of interfering with a flight crew and today court transcripts obtained by abc news reveal the key testimony that freed him. a psychologist testified that all this was caused by a "brief psychotic disorder" caused by "sleep deprivation." there was no trial, the u.s. attorney's office did not dispute the diagnosis and the captain was found not guilty by reason of insanity by the judge and sent to a mental health facility in ft. worth, texas, for more treatment and perhaps some sleep. >> it is possible for sleep deprivation,

jim avila, abc news, washington. >> a lot of folks suffer with migraines.hy it is taking excederin so long to get it back on the shelves. >> nobody really knows. >> for business purposes. we'll be back in a moment. stay with us. ♪ ♪ [ female announcer ] for everything your face has to face. face it with puffs facial tissues. unlike the leading regular tissue, puffs has soft, air-fluffed pillows for 40% more cushiony thickness. so you can always put your best face forward. face every day with puffs softness. those spots are actually leftover food and detergent residue that can redeposit on your dishware during the rinse cycle. gross. jet-dry rinse agent helps wash them away so the only thing left behind is the shine. jet-dry rinses away residues for a sparkling shine. ♪ i'm watching i'm watching i'm watching american television ♪ ♪ i'm watching i'm watching i'm watching american television ♪ >>> well every woman knows putting it altogether every day is not cheap. but if the eyes of an entire nation are on you, you got to step it up a notch. >> so kate middle

jim avila, abc news, washington. >>> and now 120 days to go until americans go to the polls. your voice, your vote. he called on republicans for the tax cut. he said let voters decide on tax cuts for the wealthiest americans on election day. >> the fate of the tax cut for the wealthiest americans will be decided by the outcome of the next election. my opponent will fight to keep them in place. i will fight to end them. >> the vote to come. and the battle tonight, a new snapshot of the race. and how much money is pouring into the romney campaign? romney raised a whopping $106 million in the month of june. his best month so far. president obama raised just $71 million in june. >>> and money will make a difference in the key battleground states where the torrent of tv'ds is under way. and abc's jon karl decided to put some of them to a fact check for us tonight. >> reporter: for most of us, this is what the country looks like. but for the obama and romney campaign, it looks like this. almost all their campaigning in a dozen hotly contested states. and if you follow the money, it

jim avila explains. >> reporter: demolition derby on a city street.speeder takes flight after he runs a red light and t-bones an innocent motorist. its caught on four separate cameras at an intersection in rosewell gardens, new jersey. police releasing this video as a warning that they take red light running seriously because it's responsible for the most deadly type of accidents. one in five crashes are caused by red light violators. this was the lift off point. dramatic but not uncommon, these cameras reveal that across the country, at each intersection, someone runs the red light every 20 minutes. florida's melissa wandall lost her husband to a red light runner. >> they think when somebody runs a red light, there's either near misses or everybody's okay. and then you hear about the ones like my husband, mark, who were killed. >> reporter: cities and towns across the country are fighting back. more than 500 in 25 states have installed red light cameras to crack down and it seems to be working. less serious rear-enders are up because of panic stops,

jim avila, abc news, washington. >>> coming up, could someone in your family survive a direct hit by this? fiction about surviving lightening in the summer of extreme weather. mine was earned off vietnam in 1968. over the south pacific in 1943. i got mine in iraq, 2003. usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection, and because usaa's commitment to serve the military, veterans and their families is without equal. begin your legacy, get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve. there's the sign to the bullpen. here he comes. you wouldn't want your doctor doing your job, the pitch! whoa! so why are you doing his? only your doctor can determine if your persistent heartburn is actually something more serious like acid reflux disease. over time, stomach acid can damage the lining of your esophagus. for many, prescription nexium not only provides 24-hour heartburn relief, but can also help heal acid-related erosions in the lining of your esophagus. talk to your doctor about the risk for osteopor

abc's senior national correspondent jim avila tells us. >> what are the ones on the bottom? >> reporter: shopping day for barbara webb. bracing for a sharp jump in food prices over the next nine months. >> of course i'm concerned. i'm concerned for the people who can't afford it. >> reporter: today's usda forecast predicting nearly a 5% food price hike. an expensive jolt fueled by the great american drought, that consumers will soon start to see at the checkout. you have a family of three, two children -- >> right. >> reporter: approximately in the week, you spend what? >> $150. >> reporter: which, if the usda economists are right, she'll spend $160 a week next year, adding up to $5 $500 more out o her yearly budget. a hike so broad, it's difficult to shop around, affecting the foods americans eat most. last year east milk price, $3.57 a gallon. by early 2013, projected at $3.84. ground beef, 2011 price, $2.77 a pound. by next year, more than $3. eggs last year, $1.77 per dozen. by 2013, nearly $2. >> this year is very emblematic of the type of thing we worry about with clim

richard besser and also jim avila once again. >>> and now, we turn to the race for the white house, 118 days until your voice, your vote. and today, one of the candidates entered the political equivalent of a lion's den. mitt romney speaking to the naacp about the hot button issues they oppose. abc's jon karl tells us what happened next. >> reporter: he knew it would be a hostile audience, but mitt romney came to the naacp convention anyway. and then, proceeded to tell them exactly what they didn't want to hear. >> i am going to eliminate every nonessential expensive program i can find. that includes obama care. and i am going to work to reform and save -- [ booing ] >> reporter: those boos lasted a full 15 seconds. romney then went on to slam president obama's record and added this -- >> if you want a president who will make things better in the african-american community, you are looking at him. take a look. [ booing ] >> reporter: talk about a tough sell. telling the nation's most prominent african-american organization to vote against the nation's first african-american president. a

we're happy to have jim avila here this morning. good morning to you. >> hey, good to see you. >> good morning, dan and bianna. good morning to all of you. >>> news out of florida, george zimmerman is out of jail but hardly a free man. the man charged with killing trayvon martin made bail thanks to online donations. the rules have changed since last time he was out on bail. matt gutman has the details from florida. >> reporter: that's right. the judge imposing the million-dollar bail and stricter restrictions on zimmerman. laying it out in an eight-page ruling. saying that zimmerman cannot leave the county. he cannot go anywhere near the airport. must wear a gps device at all times. all of this will make it more difficult to secure him. you saw him wearing the bullet-proof vest. underneath that suit the other day. all this still as money coming into his defense fund, $20,000 since the judge's ruling. the judge saying zimmerman hid $150,000 from the court and the fact that he had taken out a second passport, all leading the judge to

jim avila is here with more on that. >>> and surviving this. thousand lightening strikes in one hour and the man who

jim avila, abc news, washington. >> this.line poll jaysing for a mistake that allowed passengers to return to the u.s. from mexico to bypass custom and security. happened at the atlanta airport. passengers arriving sunday from cancun made their way through door that led straight to baggage claim bypass ago critical security step as you return to the country. sources at the airport say delta employees at the gate were expecting a flight from a country where passengers pre-cleared customs and immigration and they didn't verify where the plane came from. >> if you didn't control that environment then security is breached. and once the breach starts, you can't control the air at all. >> we didn't go through customs or security. zo something is not right. >>reporter: delta spokesperson says the airline regrets the error an safety and security of its customers is delta no. 1 priority. delta continues to investigate. >>> judge in florida had a sense of humor after a suspect pulled a fast one on him. you can see karl funk here appear

here's jim avila. >>reporter: the need than bigger than life statue outside the stadium paterno built in pennsylvania must have buckled a bit today but at penn state they still sell his souvenir on main street and the library carries his name in honor of the coach who won the right wa way. reputation perhaps destroyed by a sex scandal that an independent university investigation found the coaching legend and his bosses could have stopped. >> most powerful men at penn state failed to take any steps for 14 years to protect the children who sandusky victimized. >>reporter: the 4 men taken down by scandal graham president of the university for 16 years, gary shuttle vice president in charge of the athletic department and the police, and tim curly athletic director described as paterno errand boy and symbol of past glory 45 year head coach paterno. >> motivation to avoid the consequences of bad publicity. coach paterno told the grand jury he had no specific knowledge of sandusky pedophile but the judge inve

jim avila, abc news, chesapeake bay, maryland. >> that's -- go ahead. >> i had no idea july 4 was theo de mayo. or new year's eve. >> makes sense. the average crash will cost you $2,000. the radar will cost you $1,200. a smart investment. we have the kind of technology where cars can talk to you these days through the bluetooth, that technology makes sense, all about safety. i like it. it will come standard which is good news over the years and become commonplace, which is great to hear. speaking of cars, new cars are selling fast these days. in fact automakers just had their best month in five years. dealerships exceeded sales expectations last month. analysts predict this year could be the best since 2007. car sales up 22% from a year ago with generous incentives. showrooms are expecting a busy 4th of july today because of all the summer sales. >> i didn't know that either. >> the day to go shopping for your back to school supplies and your car. >> and your car. >> look at all that! >>> well a big crowd was there to watch the final rehearsal ahead of tonight's big concert at the u.s

here is abc's jim avila. >> reporter: a celebration 14 frustrating hours in the making. >> when we wereinging hallelujah. literally. >> reporter: discount airline spirit, los angeles to ft. lauderdale, taking off at 10:56 pacific time. three hours into the flight, 4:00 in the morning central time forced to land because a passenger is out of control. >> it was like -- touching everybody who was going to the bathroom. kicking their walls. >> reporter: houston is the closest airport, but spirit doesn't normally fly there. so passengers wait for a gate on the tarmac for nearly two hours with no air conditioning or comforts. >> we were at that point on more than an hour with nothing to drink or eat. >> reporter: finally in the tellerinal, families -- many returning from vacation -- just sit and wait. until around 8:00 a.m. the pilot announces the crew can no longer legally fly, so passengers will be bused five hours to dallas where spirit has a plane to take them to florida. >> folks, i hear you. i know you are upset. >> reporter: a plan met with chaos and rebellion. [ shouting ] >> reporter

here's jim avila. >> reporter: in st. a connection jet with the nose cone and left wing crushed in a desperate act by a desperate man, exposing a weak link in security. just before 1:00 in the morning, a licensed but suspended commercial pilot for skywest airlines, climbs over the airport fence, boards the unlocked jet, standards it up, and heads for the runway. but in his haste, clips the wing of another parked plane and ricochets off the taxiway. through a fence and into the parking lot, damaging the terminal itself. >> he is a current skywest pilot. he knows how to get into the plane and activate the systems and take that plane off. >> reporter: the pilot was on the run from colorado springs, 675 miles away. prime suspect in the murder of his ex-girlfriend, christina lopez. in a reckless escape from justice, he apparently tried to fly away, failing, he shot himself to death. the jet engine still idling when police arrived. a tragedy on the personal level and a wake-up call in several security levels. >> aviation securi

and jim avila covering it for us. good morning, jim. >> reporter: good morning, josh. the s.w.a.t team stormed on, and the bomb squad looking for an explosive device that turned a jumbo jet around after takeoff from new york city. terror in the sky? or another case of airplane jitters? it was another white-knuckle moment in the sky. about an hour into the flight, the pilot told passengers he was turning the plane around due to mechanical problems. but it was really for something more sinister. >> we think, she's the one that's supposed to be the decoy, that keeps looking at the gentleman that was playing with the possible explosive device in the lavatory. >> reporter: that's the pilot of the delta jumbo jet that just took off from jfk airport, headed to madrid, spain. requesting assistance from air traffic control after a device a possible explosive device, was found, and a passenger was reportedly acting suspiciously. >> so, if she gets off the aircraft, we need her escorted by police also. we're going to want paramedics to take her. >> i understand you want her off a