neal karlinsky takes a look at the science of television for toddlers. >> reporter: if you have youngren, or have even just been in the vicinity of some, that happy, catchy tune is more than just a little familiar. ♪ you can lead the way ♪ hey hey >> reporter: and that catch phrase -- >> swipe or no swiping. >> reporter: you probably heard it repeated just a few times. >> oh, man! oh, man! >> reporter: dora the explorer is everywhere. >> you want to play? >> reporter: on tv, the internet, clothing and dvds. she brings in billions in merchandising revenue and delivers top ratings for nickelodeon. here she is ringing in the closing bell at the new york stock exchange. and while she's teaching spanish to english-speaking americans -- >> hola! >> reporter: the cartoon teaches english to children speaking 34 other languages. in more than 100 countries. but becoming a phenomenon for the toddler set is no simple task. >> maybe after dora says "si," we insert another piece of dialogue. >> hurry, guys, i really miss my -- >> right. >> reporter: in an edit room in animation headquarters, they a

neal karlinsky, abc news, anchorage. >>> a family is back together after being on a glacier in alaska. the family's sight seeing plane went down in severe weather sunday. several members of the air national guard had to be rescued as well. their helicopter rolled over on the glacier, killing a rescue attempt tuesday. >>> severe storms in the dakotas and minnesota with damaging winds, hail and flash flooding. scattered showers from washington, d.c. to new england. thunderstorms in arizona, new mexico and colorado, and heat advisories from the great lakes to the deep south. >> dallas sizzle as the 105. kansas city, 99. indianapolis, 95. 90s from new orleans to new york. 70s in pacific northwest. 83 in sacramento. and 90 in salt lake city. >>> coming up on this thursday, super bugs. a new threat from deadly bacteria that are resistant to drugs. >>> and iowa under water, some of the worst flooding. >>> and the mainstay of the sunday funnies about to say farewell. 's great new taste? today is your tast lucky day! sure, why not? isn't this the yogurt that, you know.../ helps regulate your d

neal karlinsky, abc news. >>> also tonight, a six-year washington investigation came to a close. the justice department has ended its probe of former house majority leader tom delay without any federal criminal charges against him for his ties to jack abramoff, the disgraced ex-lobbyist. >>> still ahead on "world news," the tragedy at the track. after eight deaths, is this the end of an extreme sport? >>> coming to a mall near you, eat, pray, love jewelry and clothes, raising the age-old question, can you buy happiness? >>> and building a village for adults with autism. the parents who made sure that others will care for their son when they cannot. [ male announcer ] this is rachel, a busy mom. she starts at dawn and so does her back pain. that's two pills for a four hour drive. the drive is done. so it's a day of games and two more pills. the games are over, her pain is back, that's two more pills. and when she's finally home, but hang on, just two aleve can keep back pain away all day with fewer pills than tylenol. this is rachel, who chose aleve and two pills for a day free of

and as neal karlinsky reports, other soldiers arrived at their base in washington state yesterday. >>or the last combat brigade in iraq, this is what the end of a long, deadly war looks like. >> give me a hug. >> reporter: for these families, the war in iraq has felt like a lifetime. and in some cases, it really has been. a lifetime measured in children who weren't yet born when their parents went off to war. this soldier's kids greeted him with a huge necklace of his favorite candy. how does it feel? >> i can't find words to express the feelings i have right now. to be home. i thank god that we praise them that we are back home safe. >> reporter: it's been seven, grueling years of war. thousands of troops called to serve three, even four times. this unit wasn't called up until the surge in 2007. but faced some of the heaviest fighting. then, they were extended when they thought they were coming home and deployed again. not far from this gym is the only reminder anyone needs of what they've been through. the 4th brigade's memorial to the 38 soldiers who never made it home. after all t

neal karlinsky, abc news, at joint ♪ >>> in the news this friday morning an american airlines flighto new york sits on the tarmac at sfo for hours after a threat. turns out to be bogus but passengers are still trying to get to their destinations this morning. >> $150 million and counting. police find hundreds of pounds of narcotics in a home in gilroy. the home turns out to be a lot more than they expected. >> notice parts of the bay bridge, stronger sea breezes here. kinds of cool and misty this morning. how much cooler it's going to be this weekend. >> even though it's friday, there have already been a few accidents earlier this morning. here's the 280/17 interchange where traffic is light but lanes are blocked due to an earlier problem. >> and state offices across california are closed today. the first of what could be many furlough fridays. state workers are being forced to take unpaid days off because of the budget battle in sacramento. good friday morning, everybody. i'm terry mcsweeney. >> and i'm kristen sze. topping our news this morning, some travelers who are passengers on

lewis in washington state, and neal karlinsky was there. >> reporter: for the last combat brigade in iraq, this is what the end of a long, deadly war looks like. for these families, the war in iraq has felt like a lifetime, and in some cases, it really has been. a lifetime measured in children who weren't yet born when their parents went off to war. this soldier's kids greeted him with a huge necklace of his favorite candy. how does it feel? >> there's not enough words to express the feeling i have right 93 now to be home, and i thank god and just praise him that we all made it home safe. >> it's been seven grueling years of war. thousands of troops called to serve three, even four times. this unit wasn't called up until thesurge in 2007, but faced some of the heaviest fighting. and they were extended when they thought they were coming home and deployed again. not far from this gym is the only reminder anyone needs of what they have been through. the 4th brigade's memorial to the 38 soldiers who never made it home. after all these years, was iraq worth it? >> i think so. i think the

neal karlinsky is in anchorage again tonight. >> reporter: inside the tiny twisted wreckage, four survivors spent a night that must have felt like an eternity. the injured, bloody and scared, seated alongside the dead. some of the few rescuers who made it to the steep mountainside, including three good samaritans, were dropped in under dangerously low visibility. they describe an impossibly slick, muddy slope, so treacherous they had a hard time just standing up, while trying to pry the plane open. >> there was just one survivor outside of the plane, under the wing and that's where he had spent the night. >> reporter: and was he one of the children or -- >> he was one of the younger ones. >> reporter: 13-year-old william phillips survived the crash, only to watch his father die before his very eyes. former nasa chief sean o'keefe and his teenage son were hurt, but alive. in a statement late today, a family spokesman says their injuries do not appear to be life-threatening, and we are confident they will make a full recovery. ted stevens was apparently dead on impact. >> i think they did hav

neal karlinsky, abc news, anchorage. >> most of the nation may remember ted stevens as the sometimesicon in his home state. george stephanopoulos has a look back at stevens' career. >> reporter: during his 40 years in the u.s. senate, ted stevens didn't hide his irascible side. >> no! no, i will not. >> reporter: he never apologized for using all that power he built up to enrich alaska. >> my motto has been here, to hell with politics, just do what's right for alaska. >> reporter: a decorated veteran of world war ii, stevens flew in combat with the flying tigers. as a senator, few did more for their home state. for the toughest fights, stevens wore an incredible hulk neck tie. in 2008, stevens narrowly lost re-election days after being convicted on federal ethics charges. >> i treasure every moment i spent here representing alaska and alaskans. the land and the people that i love. >> reporter: the conviction would later be tossed out. but by then stevens was already back home. >> that again was abc's george stephanopoulos reporting. among the crash survivors are the former head of na

neal karlinsky was there for the homecoming. >> reporter: for the last combat brigade in iraq, this islong, deadly war looks like. >> love you guys. >> reporter: for these families, the war in iraq has felt like a lifetime, and in some cases it really has been. a lifetime measured in children who weren't yet born when their parents went off to war. this soldier's kids greeted him with a huge necklace of his favorite candy. how does it feel? >> oh, it's -- i -- there's not enough words to express the feelings that i have right now to be home. i thank god each day, just praise him that we are back home safe. >> reporter: it's been seven grueling years of war. thousands of troops called to serve three, even four times. this unit wasn't called up until the surge in 2007. but faced some of the heaviest fighting. and they were extended when they thought they were coming home and deployed again. not far from this gym is the only reminder anyone needs of what they've been through. the 4th brigade's memorial to the 38 soldiers who never made it home. after all these years was iraq worth it? >>

for "good morning america," neal karlinsky, abc news, seattle. >> and joining us now is dr.les sophie. this alleged criminal behavior was going on for as long as a year and a half. how could somebody not notice this? >> well, oftentimes in these situations, these women prey on young boys. they see it as a romantic interlude. he don't see it as a violent crime and oftentimes there is no violence. it is a romantic, luring with gifts, sexual stimulation of a young boy who files empowered and acts on it and oftentimes that's just how it goes on for quite some time until discovered. >> there seem to be plenty of warning signs of inappropriate behavior. driving them around in her suv giving them extravagant gifts and a facebook page with messages and friends which were all teenagers. >> oftentimes these things do not come overnight. there are inappropriate signs you'll see over the way from behavior to the way that she was dressing to maybe the way that she interacts with other children, the need to be around young children. there are signs that are inappropriate that should have

for "good morning america," neal karlinsky, abc news, anchorage. >> time now for the weather.off today so let's go to marysol castro in central park. marysol, what a crowd. >> the crowd is unbelievable, george. all these folks so excited to see the jonas brothers and demi lovato, i think by the end of the show i will have no hearing whatsoever. but i ran into some folks. this is valerie from san antonio, yes. who is your favorite jonas brothers? >> nick jonas. >> if you could tell him one thing, what would it be? what do you want him to know? >> like what? >> what? like can you take me out to dinner? you want to go to the movies. >> let's go to the movies. >> valerie from san antonio. nick, she wants you to take her to the movies if your schedule permits. to the videotape and show you yesterday's severe storms that ripped through the washington, d.c. and maryland area. there you see a lot of structural damage. there were some injuries with this storm that was just fast and furious but there were no fatalities. 100,000 people were without power at the height of that storm. you

neal karlinsky now reports from anchorage. >> reporter: rescuers describe a heartbreaking ordeal when one survivor who had already made it out of the plane, one of the young boys on board. everyone else was still trapped inside the plane. survivors, volunteers at first, spent the night with them. comforting them, comforting the boy who had made it out, trying to keep him warm and dry under one of the wings. the survivors who were inside eventually were cut out of the plane by national guardsmen, who dropped in by helicopter. they said it was a treacherous slope. the plane was sitting in its own fuel. it was slippery, it was dark. >> they estimated that the airplane impacted the hillside about 800 to 850 feet up the hillside, and then slid up the hill. >> reporter: the survivors were in shock and sitting right alongside good friends and loved ones, in fact, who had died in the crash. it seemed to be a lottery as to who lived and who died. the pilot sitting right up front was killed, while right alongside him, a few inches away, another man who was in the front seat actually survived. a

we're all single moms, doing it by ourselves. >> reporter: for "good morning america," neal karlinsky, abc news, seattle. >> think we'll hear a sigh of relief from sarah and todd palin. >> time to raise that baby with a little privacy, i think. >>> coming up, thinking quick on her feet. in the most bizarre home invasion yet, a woman tide up by robbers used her toes to type out a plea for help. she joins us with her story. >>> and the supermodel sparking the mother of all debates. why gisele says nursing should be required by law for six months for everyone. yeah. hope. i don't see any hope. i don't see any hope in here. you can't see it there, but you can see it here... 'cause every time you get a happy meal or a mighty kids meal some of the money goes to ronald mcdonald house charities. to help lots of kids and families. hope's good! happy meals. the simple joy of helping. ♪ ♪ [ female announcer ] the coffee house. the lines. the cost. the hassle. ♪ express yourself ♪ [ female announcer ] why not try coffee-mate? with over 25 delicious flavors for a fraction of the cost of the coffee

neal karlinsky, abc news. >>> two toddlers have drowned in a south carolina river.ng to determine if it was an accident. the little boys' bodies were discovered still strapped in their seats in their mother's submerged car. she's now been charged with leaving the scene of an accident as police try to sort out exactly what happened. >> there wasn't any physical evidence to support a vehicle accident. >> it was one of the rescue workers ran on the other side, banging on the driver's glass like he was trying to break that glass to get in there. >> reporter: the incident reminded many of the susan smith case from back in 1994. smith left her children in the car, then rolled it into a lake. she's now serving life in prison. >>> now to that miracle jetliner landing in the caribbean. the injured passengers, including at least two americans, are being moved to hospitals in colombia this morning. they are among the 130 people who survived the crash on san andreas island. sharyn alfonsi has the story. >> reporter: the jet crashed so hard it split into three sections. and some

it's a complicated as a reality show love story and neal karlinsky has the details. >> reporter: it isvi johnston twice engaged and twice broke up. the couple's rocky relationship has been embarrassingly public and at times ugly. >> sarah doesn't do anything unless she gets something big from it. >> reporter: but today, there is at least one thing at that couple can agree on the rules surrounding the custody of their 9-month-old son tripp. the just-reached custody agreement spells out that palin will have primary custody, while levi will have two days a week to visit with his son. between the hours of 9:00 and 4:00 on saturdays and 12:00 to 6:00 p.m. on wednesdays. johnston will pay child support calculated from his current salary which court documents say is $72,000. >> if levi were to make substantially more that would call for a larger amount of child support. >> reporter: but in what could prove to be bad news for the nation's tabloids it now appears that trash talking might soon stop by court order. according to the custody agreement, the parties agree at that child shall receive

we'll talk to the first national guardsmen to reach the crash site, but first neal karlinsky is in anchorage, alaska with the latest on the crash. good morning to you, neal. the survivors are suffering from a variety of injuries here at this hospital in anchorage. former nasa chief sean o'keefe is in critical condition. the others are generally listed in serious but for survivors it could have been much worse if not for three good samaritans that hiked in to help them on the side of a mountain right after the crash. survivors are moved from a huge c-130 airplane to an ambulance after what investigators describe as a heroic race for survival on a remote mountain. they say two volunteer emts and female physician were dropped in by aircraft and had to hike more than a thousand feet to reach the crash site. when they arrived they found the plane on a steep 30-degree slope but largely intact. one survivor had already climbed out on his own, injured but walking. >> there was a lot of selfless work that was done last night. >> reporter: the plane had cut a 100-yard gash up the mountain before comin

karlinsky. brought to anchorage, where we begin tonight with neal eporter: . was? >> reporter: george, there was a real sense of disbelief out ere. ted stevens was a legend in alaska. in main international airport right near here, in fact, is him.d for him. small plane small plane he was ast ast night, not much bigger than the one behind me here, behind meflew into terrible weather and crashed. this was this was the plane, seen here on an earlier flight, that was an taking former senator ted taki ted ns and the others on what was supposed to be a relaxing was fishing trip near bristol bay. the plane had taken off at 2:00 p.m. for a 200-mile flight to the fishing lodge. but the plane flew into heavy rain.nd rain. air:30 p.m., a passing aircraft spotted wreckage and called for search teams. >> it's a mountainous area about 7 miles north of dillingham. about a 40 degree slope of the mountain itself. >> reporter: a private rescue team managed to reach the site ed toe nightfall. miraculously, they found survivors. but they spent the night on the mountain. weather was so