first, a conversation with abc news chief global affairs correspondent martha raddatz. she is the head of a joint venture called "on the radar. including today's surprise resignation of pope benedict and we look at versailles 73. the first film from the ad exec and focuses on the ad industry 40 years ago. martha raddatz and debroah riley draper coming up now. >> there is a saying that dr. king had said, there is always the right time to do the right thing. i just try to live my life every day by doing the right thing. we know that we are only about halfway to completely eliminate hunger and we have work to do. walmart committed $2 billion to fighting hunger in the u.s. as we work together, we can stamp hunger out. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. tavis: martha raddatz is an emmy award winning journalist that serves as the chief global affairs correspondent for abc news that has just launched a new project with yahoo called on the radar. she is a frequent guest and part-time post. she also moderated the vice- presidential deba

martha raddatz reporting in on a hidden base of operation, an escalating attack from the sky and a controversy about to erupt tomorrow. >>> so long, saturday. the post office declares an end to letters delivered on the weekend. passionate americans weighing in on the changing times. >>> fighting mad. what made the tough talking governor, chris christie, so angry today? >> completely irresponsible. completely irresponsible. my children saw that last night. >> the challenge he issued for everyone, nagging him about his weight. >>> and, the burger billionaire. meet the youngest female billionaire in this country. will she give warren buffett a run for his money? >>> good evening. we begin with america's secret war. those escalating drone attacks in the air and the consequences on the ground. and the question -- is it making the united states safer? abc's chief global affairs correspondent martha raddatz tonight traveled to the middle east and brings in this report. >> reporter: it is a secret war. and just today, in a sign of how pervasive and how hidden it is, the revelation that america has a s

abc's chief global affairs correspondent martha raddatz tonight traveled to the middle east and brings in this report. >> reporter: it is s

abc's martha raddatz here to debrief us. martha? >> reporter: diane, this is an acknowledgement that what the u.s. has been doing so far has not worked. and it is clear from phone calls i've been making to officials up until just a few moments ago, that the administration is now ready to do more to pressure the assad regime. it would be the first time the u.s. has given aid to the military side of the opposition forces. i'm told it could be anything from communications gear to medical supplies to body armor to armored vehicles. even if it is just communications here or medical supplies, that would be a significant shift for the u.s. and could be a big boost to these opposition groups. it is expected that the new secretary of state, john kerry, will announce this tomorrow in rome as part of his first overseas trip, diane. >> and what about weapons, martha? are they still on the table? >> reporter: well, there won't be weapons. syria is awash in weapons already. and the u.s. has always been wary of giving weapons for fear they would e

schieffer, anchor of "face the nation" and an author and winner of many journalism awards, and martha raddatz, the chief global affairs correspondent. she spent a lot of time in iraq and afghanistan and winner of many prizes for her reporting. candy crowley cannot be with us because of a family emergency. we send our best to her. jim and bob have done this debate stuff before. for martha, it was a first appearance. you have done so many interviews in your career. was this any different? >> not at all. [applause] [laughter] >> janet brown called me. i said, i'll take a vacation and go do the debates. it was so different. i was not covering the campaign. i was running around the world. i basically crammed and did nothing but study, like studying for the sats, and then taking them in front of millions of people. [laughter] when i first got the call, i was so out of the loop, with how they do it that i remember janet saying to me, so how many are there? we would like for you to do the rest of the debate. the fourth vice presidential debate. that is how much that i knew and i told my family, when

as abc 7 news reporter martha raddatz explains this comes on the eve of hearings to confirm cia nomineeecret war and just today in a sign of how per vasive and hidden it is the revealation that america has secret base in saudi arabia used to launch drones throughout the region, a tactic against terror which has grown 700% under the obama administration. whatever the benefit of the drone strikes, they have created enormous recentment among some here in the region who view the strikes as another sign of american arrogance. everywhere i travel from yemen. >> i think they are are not right. they are not right. this is our fight. >> to pakistan. >> you are hitting the dark leadership but the byproduct of this is anger. anger among the people. the innocent people who are getting killed. you are just creating more terrorists. >> now, the man who signs off on the kill list from a basement offense in the white house, john brnan about to be questioned in front of the world. >> i suggest that these targeted strikes against al-qaeda terrorists are, indeed, ethical and just. >> reporter: in pakistan

martha raddatz with such valuable perspective on this sunday morning, thank you, martha. bianna, over to you. >> all right, dan. >>> we're going to turn now to day six of the chilling siege in rural alabama where a 5-year-old autistic boy is being held in an underground bunker. in an odd twist this morning, negotiators are now publicly thanking the gunman. abc's gio benitez has the very latest from midland city. gio, this is a surprising development. >> reporter: it really is. bianna, good morning. that publy thank you came as a surprise to nearly everyone. and it came in the form of a press conference. >> we've had an open line of communication with mr. dykes. >> reporter: it was an unexpected moment of gratitude. >> i want to thank him for taking care of our child. that's very important. >> reporter: the local sheriff thanking 65-year-old hostage-taker jimmy lee dykes for the care of his 5-year-old victim. >> he's told us that he has an electric heater and some blankets inside, that he's taking care of him. >> reporter: abc news has learned dykes has requested that a re

tonight the suspect, the investigation and martha raddatz standing by on the bigger question surrounding-traumatic stress after war. is it america's invisible epidemic? >>> the demand. a 5-year-old being held hostage in a bunker. what the suspect now wants and what we're learning about the boy's condition. what his mother now fears most. >>> the scare outside the palace. a terrifying scene in london for tourists at buckingham palace. the man with knives, the police who had to act fast. >>> the super bowl's superstar. which celebrity will win the play off the field? and will anyone ever be able to tackle betty white's moment? >> you're playing like betty white out there. >> that's not what your girlfriend says. >> baby! >>> from abc news world headquarters, this is "abc world news" with david muir. >>> good evening. thank you for being here on this sunday night. we begin this evening with that unfolding tragedy, a former navy s.e.a.l., a hero to members of the military. this evening authorities say he was targeted and killed by a fellow veter.

here's abc's martha raddatz. >> reporter: this would be the first time the u.s.as given aid to the military side of the opposition forces. i'm told it could be anything from communications gear, to medical supplies to body armor to armored vehicles. even if it's just communications gear or medical gear, which is more likely, that would be a significant shift for the u.s. and could be a big boost to opposition groups. it's expected that the new secretary of state john kerry will announce this in rome as part of his first overseas trip. there will be no weapons. syria is awash in weapons already. the u.s. has always been wary of giving weapons for fear they would end up in the wrong hands. the rebels we and others are dealing with have been vetted, but as we know, some of the other rebel groups are affiliated with al qaeda. so we may not be giving these vetted opposition forces weapons, but whatever we give them improves their chances against the assad government. martha raddatz, abc news, washington. >> thank you, martha. >>> on capitol hill, an emotional plea fro

monday, a journalist jim lehrer, martha raddatz embarked cheever talked about how twitter and socialexperience -- and social media affect their experience. there were at the national press club. this is an hour and 20 minutes. >> hello and welcome to the national press corps and the kalb report. i am martin calb. most would agree for the 2012 election being too long, too loud, and too noisy. except for the last month, with three presidential debates and one vice-presidential debate. 70 million watched the first and 60 million watched each of the other three. only the super bowl did better than that. in 11 of the last 14 debates, there have been these debates and they are a fixed feature of the political landscape. we have a wonderful opportunity to talk to three moderatores of the 2012 debate. to my right is jim lehrer, who has done 12 debates. nobody will catch up to that. the most honored former anchor and prolific author and winner of every prize in journalism. to my left, bob schieffer, anchor of "face the nation" and an author and winner of many journalism awards, and martha rad

abc's chief global affairs correspondent martha raddatz with the latest tonight. martha? >> reporter: this embassy suicide bombing happened on hillary clinton's last day as secretary of state. she was informed immediately and made calls all morning before turning her duties over to her replacement, john kerry, who tracked this all day. the blast was destructive and deadly. 1:13 in the afternoon, a lone male wearing a suicide vest beneath his coat walked up to the u.s. embassy. he approached a visitor's entrance -- the first point of access to the embassy nearly 500 feet from the critical main building. several turkish guards were standing post, several more were behind bulletproof glass and steel gates. turkish tv reported that a security camera shows the bomber panicked when a metal detector went off. the turkish guard then shouted to others, "run away, a bomb." and the camera went black as the vest exploded. >> we have very good security to ensure people are stopped before they can actually get inside the fence inside the compound. that is exactly what happened. >> repo

martha raddatz replacing jon karl because you spent so much time on the issue and the don't war has becomeignature character rhys on the war on terror. dramatic expansion over the last four years but this is the most scrutiny it's got. >> that's certainly because of the testimony of john brennan and what he brought to the hill, what he talked about which, frankly, wasn't very much. the drone wars have not been discussed for four or five years. no one talks about them. it's a brilliant strategy if you don't talk about it, no one else will talk about them either. i just returned from the mideast, i was in israel, i was in northern israel, a lot of people are talking about drones. a lot of people are talking about the effects of drones, george. as you know, i've been in all the places they're used, in yemen, in pakistan, and people do not like them. john brennan is able to say, look, it's very effective and certainly been effective taking out core leadership but when you talk to people on the street, you wonder what the long-term strategy is. >> but, let me press you on that because you're ri

>> we did. >> you were in that region this week, martha raddatz.urprising to learn not only secretary panetta but secretary of state clinton had pushed for this. the president said no. >> and the chairman of the joint chief of staffs. i think that came as a surprise to those in the region, and i talked to a lot of officials in the region about this. i don't think they're convinced that if the rebels were armed this would have changed much. a lot of the people i talked to said, look, we didn't know who they were then and there was actually some disagreement -- >> the rebels. >> military -- the rebels. we just don't know who they are. we admit we shouldn't have been giving them guns, people i talked to and, yet, when you think about it, the united states really could have had someone to deal with in there and that's probably the argument that panetta would make, that general dempsey would make, that hillary clinton would make, you had somebody there. >> well, let me tell you, you got nearly 800,000 displaced people according to the un, you got more t

>> i want to remind our audience, that this is "the kalb report" and my guests are jim leher, martha raddatz and bob schiefer. a question, you believe that these debates make our democracy better. do these debates -- make our democracy, as we would like to think of it, does it make it better? >> 100 percent, yes, without reservation. because they are the only times in the course of a presidential campaign when the candidates on the same stage at the same time talking about the same things in a comparative way for everyone who will vote in that election, can see them in action and whenever they are doing, what ever they are talking about, that is the only time they can do that and anytime that you can do that is a good step in the democratic process. >> you will not agree with that? >> i think it is better for democracy and a terrific experience for the american public. and it is kind of a coming together. i now believe in the guy you, either. i would never come in there with a gotcha question. you have this sense that you are doing something very important. like you've never done before, tha

martha raddatz in the middle east tonight reporting on what might be an invisible epidemic. >> reporter: for our veterans, for anyone suffering post-traumatic stress, it is a feeling of powerlessness, numbness, your mind frozen in battles long ago. >> i couldn't stop thinking about iraq. >> i didn't care any more. >> i felt empty. i was just a shell walking. >> reporter: former marine brendan schnitzel is one of 70,000 service members in the last decade who have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. 70,000. with it can come depression, substance abuse, anger management, suicide. >> i was constantly feeling anxious. i constantly felt like something bad was going to happen. >> reporter: it is too early to tell whether ptsd or mental health issues contributed to today's horrific murders but it has happened before. in 2007 a mentally unstable army sergeant went on a killing rampage in a combat stress facility at his base in iraq. and retired staff sergeant robert miltonberger who received a silver star for saving countless lives in a hellish 2004 battle in iraq was later diagn

martha raddatz is covering a secret war of sorts. >> it is the american secret war, and we will take you inside. she will show us what she found in the middle east today. >> switching gears a little bit, an experiment about what we are willing to pay for the food we really buy out there. >> if a restaurant owner said to you, paid what you feel you should pay for your restaurant meal, how much would you pay? more or less than they might charge? we have a hidden camera experiment that will show you exactly what would happen. i am so happy about you and peter. i am so excited. >> thank you very much. we are really excited and very happy. thank you very much. but it is a wonderful thing. >> have a wonderful evening and we will see you soon. >> so i take it you invited diane to the baby shower? >> they really taught me how to live without sleep, and that will be good when the new baby comes. >> more than 25,000 students and teachers around the world are taking place in a bid to boost learning through the use of digital tools. every student in this government class has a laptop. >> it is w

thank you, martha raddatz. >>> and also today, a more trusted part of american life has succumbed to modern times. the postal service announced today that saturday delivery of letters will soon end in august. only packages will come to your door. and abc's ron claiborne tells us about the surprising ways this will affect everyone. >> reporter: a $15 billion budget deficit has done what neither rain nor sleet nor snow could do. >> the choice is either change some of the service or raise prices. and people don't want prices raised. we'll make the changes in service. >> hello. >> how are you today? >> i'm great, thanks. >> reporter: lorenzo hudson has been making the rounds in great neck, new york, for more than 20 years. he was featured in a postal service tv commercial that ran during the super bowl pregame show. >> we don't want to see the business go under, because they couldn't get rid of saturday or because they didn't get rid of saturday, but at the same time, i, you know, i want the perfect world. i want us to be able to stay with saturday delivery. >> reporter: in recent years,

you mentioned afghanistan, we're joined bid martha raddatz, our chief global affairs correspondent. the president did put a number on how many troops will come out this year, martha. >> 34,000 troops by this time next year will be out of afghanistan. we have about 66,000 troops there now. so, that is a big announcement. also, one change he did have to make to his speech today is the north korean conducted a nuclear test today, the third nuclear test they've conducted, two of those nuclear tests have been during president obama's term. >> the white house encouraged, martha, by the response of china to that north korean nuclear test. they believe china willing to crack down a little harder now? >> well, i think the response was somewhat muted from china, i think they expected more. they condemned the test. china tried to talk north korea out of testing a nuclear weapon but they did it. but they didn't really threaten them with any action but believe me, president obama would like to get china, china's help in this issue. >> so, tell us, again, matt, how much can the president get done

let's get, right now, to abc's martha raddatz in washington with the latest.ood morning to you, martha. >> reporter: good morning, josh. this test was big. as much as three-times the size of previous tests. it was bold. even china, north korea's staunchest ally, had north korea not to test a nuclear weapon. this is the first nuclear test under kim jong-un, who said the test is aimed at ferocious u.s. hostility towards north korea. in december, also successfully tested a long-range missile, capable of reaching hawaii. the white house is calling this a highly provocative act. and calling on actions from the international community. there's very little the u.s. or the u.n. can do at this point since strong sanctions are already in place. in fact, this morning, north korea is saying, we will consider search of our ships and other sanctions by the international community as an act of war. and, josh, they say it will bring on relentless retaliatory attacks. >> we will certainly keep our eye on this. martha, thank you for that. >>> meanwhile, there's word this mornin

martha raddatz is live with this developing story. >>> breaking, new details on the pope's stunning resignatione making. the covert operation to replace his pacemaker now revealed. and we learn of the retirement home being built right now on vatican property. we're live, from rome, with the latest. >>> crisis escalates on the carnival cruise ship stranded at sea. thousands of passengers trapped with no toilets and scarce food. the ship now being towed at a snail's pace to alabama. this morning we hear directly from those onboard for the first time. >> there's no lights. no water. we can't flush. ♪ highway to the danger zone >>> and caught on tape. the corvette versus the chopper. gripping video just released of a dangerous stunt in the desert for a top reality show. the chopper spinning wildly out of control and crashing. unbelievably, the pilot walks away. >>> and good morning, everyone. happy mardi gras to robin. she's going to be back in just

martha raddatz, abc news, jerusalem. >> one of the more interesting things in our post 9/11 world.ther it was waterboarding and torture, whether it was abu ghraib, about how far are we willing to go to protect ourselves, if it means compromising our ideals when it comes to due process and civil liberties. it's an interesting debate. there probably's no real right answers. we've seen this kind of debate before. now the latest incarnation happens to be these drone strikes. >> and there are lawmakers in 11 states that want to do away with these. they're afraid that these drones are going to start flying over their states. but police agencies say they're helpful for surveillance, search and rescue. we saw a generation of it being used in -- for the little alabama boy who was in the bunker. they were trying to see if he was alive under the bunker. and they flew some kind of generation of a drove over there. so you can understand how in some cases it's helpful, but you can see how some people are very afraid of the civil liberties being -- >> security and liberties. that debate, that is

." >> on monday, journalists jim lehrer, martha raddatz, and bob schieffer talk about the 2012 presidentialce presidential debates. they were interviewed by a harvard professor at the washington -- at the national press club in washington, d.c. [applause] >> hello and welcome to the national press club and the kalb national press club and the kalb report.

so looking into the future, our own martha raddatz says the replacement is a air force general namedve. >> these two had become close and now he has this position to fill. there's some interesting politics going on in terms of the nation's national security and foreign policy. >> let's get this done. >> he was nominated for the most prestigious overseas military position. >> >> it's taken a few days but now we're getting details about that round of golf that president obama played with tiger woods in florida on sunday. woods is now in arizona getting ready for a tournament and he walled mr. obama "pretty cool." woods said the president hit the ball well in tough conditions and joked about how the round came about in the first place. >> yeah, he calls up and says hey, tiger, you want to play? >> he does not. >> okay. obviously there is a process that's involved and i was invited to play. >> he said that's simply an invitation you do not turn down. woods said if the president ever spent more time playing golf he could get to where he's actually pretty good player. >> one person from th

. >> john: martha raddatz joins us very shortly.the ones you'll never forget. ♪ ♪ i don't know what you done to me, but i know this much is true ♪ >> announcer: stephanie miller. ♪ i want to do bad things with you ♪ >> john: that's a great song, isn't it? >> i love it. >> john: terrific opening credit. true blood. >> john: a show that has gotten better every season. >> i don't know about that. it is a little convoluted. >> john: it has always been convoluted, but what they were trying to do with the fontaine character last year -- or -- who is the guy? who is tara's cousin -- the gay character. >> richard simmons! >> john: no lafayette. having these witch -- sometimes they'll try to do a subplot. and they just drop the whole plot line halfway through. >> yeah. >> john: but that show has gotten a lot better and we know when they have an irish character, we'll have leprecons. >> yeah, when they brought in the fairies, i was like okay. i'm out of here. >> john: we'll have markos moulitsas on in just a few minutes. i want to give a shou