. >> r rorter: maddie's or deal began august 3rd. she was home alone in sydney that afternoon, studying for an exam. around 2:15, a masked man entered her room, carrying a baseball bat. according to just released court documents, he told her, "it is down and no one needs to get hurt." he had a black box with him and forced the box against her throat and looped a device similar to a bike chain around her neck. he also attached a document to the contraption. he then instructed her to count to 200 and then left the room. after a few minutes, maddie yelled out for the man, but heard nothing. terrified, she texted her mother to call police. at that time, she read a portion of the document, saw the word "explosive" and immediately assumed the man placed a bomb around her neck. for nearly ten excruciating hours, that black box was strapped to her neck until authorities were able to x-ray it and determine there was no explosive. >> these past two weeks have been a very difficult time for us and we are hopeful that this development marks the

her family's sydney mansion. >> how a a you feeling, maddie? >> i'm fine, thank you. >> reporter: pulver was studying for exams in her bedroom, when a masked man walked in. according to just released court documents, her told her, "sit down and no one needs to get hurt." forcing a black box against her throat, looping a device like a bike chain around it and locking it to her neck. then attaching a document to it, instructing her to "count to 200. i'll be back. if you move, i can see you." and then left the room. maddie sat, petrified, for 10 hours as police freed her from the device. only to find out it contained no explosives. two weeks later, a half world away, peters was arrested in louisville, kentucky, at the home of his ex-wife. >> on behalf of maddie and the entire family, we are enormously relieved. >> reporter: prosecutors say an e-mail address linked peters to the ransom note and his credit card was used to purchase items for the fake collar bomb. all of it, they believe, as an attempt to extort money from maddie's father. someone of

but maddie's story ends on a much happier note. >> maddie particularly wanted to thank those few officersany long hours sitting with her, showing little regard to their own personal safety. they know who they are. and she is incredibly grateful. thank you. >> and now, you're going to know who one of them was. one of the first people on the scene, a female police officer, constable karen loudon, who entered the home without any protective clothing and sat by maddie's side for two hours. >> for her to be so composed. as it was unfolding, we didn't know what was going on. >> details leaked out again. to sit there for half a day with what you think is a bomb wrapped around your neck. >> how to stay calm through all just amazing. okay, josh. thanks very much. >>> we turn, now, to the trial of warren jeffs. the polygamist cult leader charged with sexually assaulting two young girls. wednesday's session was exceptionally comfortable with prosecutors playing a tape of jeffs having sex with a 12-year-olds. and jeffs is arguing back he is the victim of religious persecution. clayton sandell was in

i can tell you we as parents are extraordinarily proud of maddy, she is woken up this morning in prettyspirits. tired, sore from holding this damn device in place for hours. >> shepard: credit for risking her life to stay with the teenaged girl before the bomb next to young maddy for hours on end with no protective gear at all. she had no idea whether she might blow up any moment. the sydney morning herald newspaper reports the suspect left a long typed note warning young maddy that the bomb would detonate if she did not follow instructions. there was no ransom note as we once heard. so far few clues to that man's identity. today in no, a man accused of killing a child and slicing him up entered a plea and the plea he entered causing major controversy. just ahead, new developments in the grizzly cases that has stunned america's largest city and has parents reconsidering whether to even let their children walk alone. the photos that have scientists wondering whether there could be life on mars after all. so what are these photos? we'll show you what they found on that planet surface just

that is because you are working with will and maddie thatcher. they've come to work together to enliven the effort to create a place where the underserved youth can learn about camera works. this is been on my mind for a long time. do you know the old original joe's place? they have brought in a theater piano fight. that is a wonderful addition. it will be starting this fall. the dugan family will locate in north beach. i have been a patron of the original joe's for many years. i want to specifically thank the piano and fight -- piano fight theater. thank you for starting the wonderful theater. i know you will be asking for a grant. you have been a wonderful partner in looking out for the start-ups and helping them along, helping to identify where they can be and how they can get started. we both started the arts foundation at the corner of sixth and market. there are so many people to thank tonight. i wanted to begin with this list, the freshest efforts to start up. it is a signal to you that we want to thank you all for reinvigorati this centra

for maddie pulver and her family an end to a terrifying mystery. >> maddie, how are you feeling? >> very relieved. >> reporter: outside her sydnene home last night, confident police tracked down the man who terrorized the 18-year-old two weeks ago. >> i'm pretty sure it's him. i'm pretty sure we've got him. >> we're feeling good. >> reporter: paul douglas peters might be the last person you'd expect to be charged with such a chilling crime. he's a well-educated investment banker from a privileged background, who enjoyed fine wine, polo and private flying inging lessons. he has three daughters, one the same age as madeleine pulver. >> anything you want to say to the pulver family? any words for madeleine? >> yeah it's all very surreal. >> reporter: pulvevewas studying for exams in her bedroom when a masked man walked in. according to just-released court documents, he told her, sit down and no one needs to get hurt. forcing a black box against her throat, looping a device like a bike chain and locking it to her neck. then attaching a ransom note to her and instructed her to count t

what we are doing in our office, instead of doing the act on an annual basis -- to do not a full maddy act review, but to do it on a quarterly basis, where as these things come to our attention we will collect them, try to maintain what a reason is they are not meeting. if we find they are not meeting, certainly we could submit that to the city attorney earlier than annually. that could come to you on a quarterly -- it is certainly something we could talk about the time frame. chairperson kim: thank you. it was the cover story for "the sf weekly" this week, the number of boards and commissions we have. we do not actually know the number of task forces and committees we have. catullus how your office is able to keep track and monitor, so that boards can keep track of them. >> if it is a body that is created by the board or the board tracks appointments to, that also includes appointments they approve from the mayor. we are monitoring those. there are 96 of them. linda spends a lot of time doing that. i cannot speak to the executive branch of government. i am not sure what the process is

. >> we've been humbled by the selflessness and generosity of those wanting to help maddie in any way we can. from those we know well to those we've never even met before in australia and overseas. we want to say a very heartfelt thank you. >> australian police are awaiting his extradition. >>> and here's your "first look" a at other news going on. surveillance cameras rolled as a group of teens looted shelves inside a maryland store. the flash mob robbery was carried out without any resistance from store employees, they watched as approximately three dozen teens snatched and stuffed items away before leaving the store. police have not made any arrests, but have identified some of the suspects. >>> mother nature sparked a massive fire in southern idaho. fire crews have been stretched thin battling at least nine fires since sunday night. the largest blaze has charred approximately 40,000 acres. storms in the area have also knocked out power. some fires there remain burning unchecked due to a lack of resources. >>> volunteers in indiana put their sunday best on. using 50 gallons of ice

. >> maddie woke up in good spirits.e tired, a little sore from holding this dam device in place for ten hours. ae at t spacebar. will love ever find me? ♪ oh yes! ♪ what about love?! [ female announcer ] swiffer attracts dust. swiffer 360 dusters gets in hard to reach places. it picks up two times more dust than a feather duster using thousands of fluffy fibers to lock dust away. you're just my type! [ laughs ] [ female announcer ] swiffer gives cleaning a whole new meaning. your nutritional needs can go up when you're on the road to recovery. proper nutrition can help you get back on your feet. three out of four doctors recommend the ensure brand for extra nutrition. ensure clinical strength has revigor and thirteen grams of protein to protect, preserve, and promote muscle health. and immune balance to help support your immune system. ensure clinical strength... helping you to bounce back. ensure! nutrition in charge! shannon: casey anthony's secret hiding spot not secret any more. the "new york post" publishing photos

fighting near tripoli's international airport artie's marina maria fanaa who's in the capital says maddie there are now living in constant fear. gadhafi still remains the number one for the rebels and since the beginning of the peroration here in the libyan capital of tripoli we've been hearing numerous reports and we've been here in numerous statements by the leaders all of the rebels that they could offer his whereabouts first as you remember they've announced that they've captured safe while islam cut off his son and then it turned out that he actually hasn't been captured then we've been receiving information that the rebels know where gadhafi is here in tripoli and they even sad that they've cornered khadafi and they spin headlines. many international news channels for quite a while but it actually didn't end with any concrete detail and can create a success as well we are receiving reports that the rebels have flooded the streets of tripoli trying to hunt down qaddafi what we saw while driving from the tunisian libyan border to the capital tripoli differs a lot from what we used to

. >> i can tell you that we as parents are extraordinarily proud of maddie. has woken up this morning in pretty good spirits. she's a little tired, a little sore from holding this damn device in place for about ten hours, but she is now, as we are, eager for her to get on with her life. >> police say they're treating this as an attempt ed extortion but are not sure why this particular well-to-do family was targeted. >>> casey anthony can stay wherever she is for now. she hasn't been seen since leaving prison since after being acquitted of murdering her daughter and a judge ordered she doesn't need to go back to florida to serve probation for hearing tomorrow.es not need to >>> investigators have taken away a pickup truck owned by the stepfather of israel and they also re-entered her home seeking new evidence about her disappearance and death. her body recovered monday a week after she disappeared. >>> a labor day tradition has come to an end. jerry lewis is not appearing on this year's muscular dystrophy telethon. the comic legend has been dropped as the chai

>> i haven't actually. >> is it really confusing for you, maddy? it must be such a strange thing to happen. >> yeah. it's all very surreal. >> your mom said you're wondering why you. did you ask that question? >> yeah. i think we're all wondering. >>> another incredibly frightening moment. a little girl is snatched off the street in an albuquerque neighborhood. and a bystander becomes her stanlt superhero. antonio diaz chacon saw a man wrestle the 6-year-old into a van. chacon jumped into his truck and took off after them. the chaotic chase ended when the van crashed and chacon rescued the little girl. >> she had injuries on her. she was bruised and banged up, her shirt was ripped. i think that should give it people a lot of hope he that there are people that are willing to do the right thing. >> kidnap p suspect phillip garcia is expected to go before a judge tomorrow. police say they found tape and straps in garcia's van. next hour, i'll talk with antonio diaz chacon about his heroics. >>> here's a rundown of some of the stories we're covering. f

. >> we as parents are extraordinarily proud of maddy.. she's tired and sore from holding this device in place for about ten hours. she's now as we are eager for her to get on with her life. >> police are saying right now, it's too early in the investigation to have any more information or any lunks to any suspects at this point. again, it's very difficult to say, it's a bizarre story. one would think in the area because it is such a wealthy neighborhood there would be some tv cameras. hopefully someone saw something. >> it is a weird story. monita rajpal in london for us. >>> president obama is urging congress to resolve an faa funding dispute. they failed to pass it before going on their recess. that's led to thousands of workers being furloughed. construction workers are also left in limbo. what about safety? >> safety will never be compromised. thousands of people got on planes today. hundreds of controllers went to work today, planes are being guided in and out of airports safely. actually our safety inspectors are on the ground, usi

. >> how are you feeling, maddy? >> i'm okay.ou. >> reporter: madeleine pulver is the daughter of a wealthy software ceo and peters once worked for a company with ties to their family. two weeks ago court papers say peters walked into maddy's room while she was home alone and she told police he was carrying a baseball bat and wearing a ski mask. he chained a black box to her neck, told her, sit down and no one needs to get hurt and told her not to call police. but police came after she contacted her parents. officers also found a usb storage device and a note. >> it was financial demands made. again, i can't go into too much detail on exactly what they were. >> reporter: police say they found peters by tracing an e-mail address he was using, an address with a reference to the book "tai-pan" the story of one businessman trying to destroy another. police say peters used his personal credicard to buy that baseball bat and the usb device. he's due back in court for an extradition hearing october 14th. rob and diana? >> so bizarre. >>

. >> reporter: maddie mcwilliams, who attends high school in upscale newton, agrees. >> it's getting easier for people to ignore the inequality. they can stay far away from it. >> reporter: insulate themselves? >> yeah. yeah, i think so. >> reporter: another reason people don't realize the extent of inequality-- most of it is explained by gains at the tippy- top. harvard economist richard freeman. >> in the last 30 years or so, the share of national... of income that has gone to the upper 0.1%-- not to the upper 1.0%; 0.1%-- rose by 10 percentage points. that is one of the most astounding patterns i've ever seen in data. >> reporter: 0.1%? >> 0.1%, yes. people sometes say-- "oh, the rich, it's the upper 10%, it's the upper 5%." no, no, this is the 0.1%. warren buffet has this wonderful statement where he says: "yes, there's been a class war in the united states, and my class," namely the super-rich people, "have won!" >> reporter: a graphic recent example-- this "new york times" online slide show of children's playhouses, which can cost up to a quarter of a million dollars. meanwhile

. >> we as parents are extraordinarily proud of maddy, waking up in pretty good spirits, a little tired sore from holding this device in place for ten hours. >> reporter: ten agonizing hours unable to move while the bomb squad carefully worked to remove what appeared to be an i am proviced explosive device from around the teenager's neck. madeleine's parents held a terrified vigil nearby as did friends and neighbors. in the middle of the night, good news. >> moments ago, we have secured the release of the young lady. >> reporter: the supposed bomb chained to her neck proved to be a sophisticated fake but police say the crime was real. >> our concern was that there was a letter attached to this device that did make certain demands. we are treating this as a attempted extortion. >> reporter: madeleine's father is a multimillionaire software company executive. his daughter's ordeal began wednesday afternoon sydney time. police say madeleine was home alone studying for final exams when an intruder wearing a ba la claf va placed the device around her neck. >> to me it sounded like a scene ou

. >> on behalf of maddie and the entire family we are enormously relieved that an arrest has been made in the united states. >> reporter: this story captivated the world. on august 3rd, 18-year-old madeleine was home alone studying for exams w wn a masked man brokokin, chained a bomb-like device to her neck and left a note of demands before leaving. she sat there unharmed but petrified fofoten hours until authorities freed her from the device only to find the bomb cocoained no explosives. police say this appears to have been an extortion plot on her wealthy father, one of the richest men in all of australia. >> there was financial demands made, again, i can't go into too much detail on exactly what they were. >> reporter: now an arrest halfway around the world here in the u.s. monday in a quiet suburb just outside louisville, kentucky, an fbi s.w.a.t. team arrested paul douglas peters. at his ex-wife's home. police say that there's no indication his ex-wife was involved. and she wasn't home at the time of the arrest. a neighbor asked not to be identified was stunned. >> we saw a s.w.a.

kyle maddie. >> reporter: for "today," bob dotson, nbc news, with an american story in joplin, missouriatette strength. we have much more, but first, this is "today" on nbc. >>> horse racing might be synonymous with luxury in the good life but for the horses, many face uncertain futures when they can no longer compete. our animal advocate found one organization working to place these animals into homes that fit their needs. jill, good morning. nice to see you. >> nice to see you. they call them beast of burden because a race horse's career usually ends by the time he is 3 or 4, if they're lucky. but after life on the track they're in the race for their lives and the odds are against them. >> reporter: it's known as sport of kings, but beneath the tradition, glamour, and the thrill of horse racing, lies a disturbing question, what happens to all the four-legged athletes who can't make it all the way to the winner's circle? >> it's a huge problem to find homes for horses. if you just want to close your eyes and pretend you don't know where they went, that's a solution but it's not a solut