i'm sharyn alfonsi for "nightline" in new york. >> hair gymnastics. sharyn alfonsi, thanks very much for that report. >>> when we come back this is the fattest place on earth. a secluded island nation whose residents have developed a giant public health problem. host: could switching to geico really save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance? do woodchucks chuck wood? (high-pitched laughter) man: hey you dang woodchucks quitchucking my wood! vo: geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. [ male announcer ] learn about a free trial offer from abilify. if you're taking an antidepressant and still feel depressed one option your doctor may consider is adding abilify. abilify treats depression in adults when added to an antidepressant. some people had symptom improvement in as early as one to two weeks after adding abilify. now with the abilify (me+) program your first two weeks of abilify can be free. abilify is not for everyone. call your doctor if your depression worsens or you have unusual changes in behavior

here's sharyn alfonsi. >> reporter: daniel hernandez was an intern.ere the congresswoman for a week. >> my instinct was to run where the congresswoman was. >> reporter: he did. towards the gunfire, to her. holding giffords until the ambulance arrived. >> i was holding her to my chest. and applying pressure to her wound. i would tell her, gabby, if you're with us, hold my hand and hang tight. >> reporter: he held her so tight he may have saved her life. she didn't lose much blooz. >> reporter: phil badger was grazed by a bullet in the head. but somehow was able to pull him to the ground. >> i grabbed him by the wrist and shoved down on him. >> reporter: the 22-year-old gunman, no match for the 74-year-old retired army conditiona colonel. >> every time he would move a little bit, i would apply pressure with my knee and choke him. >> i got the magazine and i was able to secure that. >> reporter: in the terror of that moment, how could you do that? >> because that's what needed to be done. >> reporter: most heroes are afraid. but they have the unique abil

and here's sharyn alfonsi. >> i feel good!ed in to see what he'll say next. >> between our dressing rooms, there is a little peephole and i want you to stop using it. >> reporter: today, regis proved he can still stun an audience. >> this will be my last year on this show. >> reporter: philbin's road to broadcasting giant began in his beloved bronx. friends say he's always been one part altar boy, one part cutup so perhaps it was only natural after a brief stint in the navy, he changed course. >> saw jack paar one night and thought, gosh, he's just sitting there talking about what he experienced the night before. maybe i can do that. >> reporter: he did, perfecting his hallmark host chat on a series of local tv shows before becoming the side kick on "the joey bishop show." >> that's his thing, man, that's his thing. >> well, i'm glad he finally got one. >> reporter: but the road was rocky. local talk shows followed, and this -- >> today, on "regis philbin's health styles." how to improve your sex life. >> are you still fan tha

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sharyn alfonsi tells their stories. >> reporter: daniel hernandez was an intern.d been working for the congresswoman just a week. >> when i heard the shots being fired, my first instinct was to run towards where the congresswoman was. >> reporter: he did, towards the gunfire, to her, holding giffords until the ambulance arrived. >> i was kind of holding her against my chest and applying pressure to her wound. i would tell her, gabby, if you're still with us, just grab my hand and hold tight. >> reporter: he held her so tight it may have saved her life. doctors say giffords is still alive because she didn't lose much blood. bill badger was grazed by a bullet in the head but somehow was able to pull the gunman to the ground. >> i grabbed him by the wrist and back of the arm and shoved down on him. >> reporter: the 22-year-old gunman no match for the 74-year-old retired army colonel. >> every time he would move a little bit, this other individual would apply pressure with his knee and i would choke him. >> reporter: patricia maisch, 61 years old, disarmed him. >> the

i'm sharyn alfonsi. thanks for watching. all of us here at abc news, have a good night. >> alan: searchers find a fifth car in a cam -- canal but still in sign of a boy who was snatched from the arms of his grandmother. this is the 38th anniversary of roe vs. wade, the supreme court decision that legalized abortion. here's more on today's demonstration. >> today is the seventh annual walk for life west coast. thousands of prolife activist from over the state and nation marched today in san francisco. in the plaza, thousands gathered to listen to prolife speakers while they called for the

sharyn alfonsi is in manhattan. where, as "the new york times" observed, there seemed to be a truck for every snowflake. >> reporter: truck-mounted cameras feeding live video to city haul. gps to track plows. 365 salt spreaders and 1,700 pl plows standing by. there's just one problem. it's hardly snowpocalypse 2011. the city really feels more like a snow globe today. the snow is barely even sticking, even my boots feel like overkill. >> i'll leave it to the pundits to talk about overdone or whatever. >> reporter: new york mayor mike bloomberg now facing criticism that today's massive effort is really just about digging out his political career. 71% of new yorkers say he did a bad job handling the holiday blizzard. streets went unplowed for days. trash piled up. and some still hasn't been picked up. the city, the mayor, once thought to be a possible presidential contender, now, a running joke. >> to be fair, the plows couldn't get out there and clean up the snow because of all the snow. >> reporter: but it's not just

sharyn alfonsi has details from behind the cameras. >> i thought nothing could surprise me anymore, but let me tell you, i was wrong. >> reporter: today the talk show host sharing her own family secret telling the audience she recently reunited with a half sister her mother hid from her for decades. a little girl born in 1963 but given up for adoption. >> i was 9 years old at the time living with my father in nashville and didn't even know my mother was pregnant. >> reporter: patricia, a single working mom from wisconsin, was looking for her birth mother when she made the unbelievable discovery, vernita lee, oprah winfrey's mother was her mother. >> the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. i said, no, i said that can't be. >> reporter: but it was. she tried desperately to discreetly contact her and later oprah but didn't hear back. and while someone else might have tried to cash in, patricia held on to the secret for years, only recently quietly approaching a relative of the family. never sold her story. never tried to sell her story. what does that mean to somebody in a position like

. >> so sharyn alfonsi went to the experts to find out more about the tell-tale signs. >> there was justs or cue cards. what's worrisome is if there's something you do every day, you forget how to get to that place you drive every day. >> reporter: but what about this? the president seems to struggle to find the answers to a question. >> we're doing everything we can. >> we're doing everything we can. >> reporter: does that look like a patient with alzheimer's to you? >> that looks like a patient who is having some difficulty remembering words. >> reporter: is that alzheimer's? >> but not necessarily alzheimer's. >> reporter: in fact, she believes the president may have been suffering from something called mci, mild cognitive impairment. friends or family members may notice problems with your language or memory. but it doesn't interfere with your daily life. >> what we know is people with mci, about half of them go on to alzheimer's disease in three to five years. >> reporter: but she says the clearest indicator the president did not have alzheimer's yet -- >> the -- >> reporter: -- can

here's sharyn alfonsi. >> reporter: so many choices. but often, the healthier one isn't the affordable one. >> that is a problem. you want to buy salads and vegetables and fruit and that always costs more. >> reporter: but now walmart says it will lower the price of its fruits and vegetables. slash the sodium and sugar on its great value brand foods. and use its massive buying power to prod other food manufacturers to do the same. >> the largest corporation in america is launching a new initiative that has the potential to transform the marketplace. and to help american families put healthier food on their tables. >> reporter: 140 million americans pass through walmart's doors every day. they sell more groceries than any store in the country. so, if walmart demands healthier products from suppliers, shoppers at other stores could benefit. >> walmart is the 800-pound gorilla in the grocery industry. whatever walmart wants, walmart gets. and it could have a huge ripple effect in grocery stores everywhere. >> reporter: still, some wonder i

here's sharyn alfonsi. >> reporter: they are the songs that pump us up. ♪ don't stop ♪ make it pop ♪: that can comfort a broken heart. ♪ that's been so close >> reporter: or inspire a first kiss. ♪ baby just say yes >> reporter: like most teenagers, allyson townsend loved music, but her deaf friend just didn't get it. >> she would watch me sing the song and she asked me, how do you know which words to sing at which point, and how long do you know how to say the word, if it's a short word, just ask me questions like that and it was really interesting to me. >> reporter: so allyson made this video for her. ♪ strike up the band ♪ and make the fire flies dance ♪ ♪ silver moon sparkling >> reporter: translating not just the words, but the feeling. ♪ so kiss me >> she loved it, she absolutely loved it. she asked me to do more. >> reporter: she did, posting other songs online. ♪ just to see you smile >> reporter: today, more than 15,000 people have watched. watched, because many of her fans can't hear the videos. ♪ don't stop ♪ make it pop ♪ dj blowing my speakers up >> reporter: to them, t

and sharyn alfonsi is here with us now. she's been tracking the return to snowmageddon. >> reporter: this is the fifth major snowstorm this winter. across the northeast, you can hear a collective "enough already." hoboken, new jersey, yesterday and today. snow on top of snow. weighing heavy on trees and the millions left digging out, again. >> everybody is tired. we're exhausted. it's been out of control. >> reporter: a storm the northeast first heard. >> wow! that is crazy. >> reporter: then saw. altering the landscape in hours. new york city. philadelphia. boston. and while some places now look like a story book, this storm made it one for the record books. philadelphia normally gets 21 inches of snow. so far this season, 38. so much snow, you needed skis to negotiate the subway stairs today. boston's average snowfall, 41 inches. this season, 60. dwarfing those trying to dig out. new york city slammed, too. 56 inches of snow so far. the city that never sleeps, today, stalled. >> it's taken me about a half an hour just to

sharyn alfonsi reports. >> reporter: daryl bem often wows friends with his card tricks.ic to identify a card pulled from a deck. >> ace of hearts. >> you remembered that. okay. actually, you're very good at that. >> reporter: but bem also happens to be one of the most respected psychologists in the country and he started to wonder. do some people really have an extra sense? can they predict things? does esp exist? he decided to look into it. testing a thousand students over a decade. it wasn't quite like that scene from "ghostbusters." >> what are you trying to prove here anyway? >> i'm studying the affect of negative reinforcement on esp. >> reporter: bem used a computer test like this. try it. an alluring image will be placed on either the right side or left side of your screen. guess which side. all right, again. right side or left side. 53% of the time, students correctly predicted where the image would be posted in the future. >> 53% may sound very small when chance would be 50%. but if you look at political campaigns, if you win a campaign in a two-candidate race,

sharyn alfonsi, abc news, new york. >> and the sad reality is something that consumer groups have long these predatory financial scams, they abuse people like veterans and active duty military men and women. it's almost like they're looking for people that in essence are the most vulnerable at some point. >> it's true. outside some of these military bases around the country you'll see pawn shops, you'll see check cashing stores. you see them in poorer neighborhoods around the country. they're going for the certain audience that may be vulnerable. those kind of things taking advantage of the people doing so much for us. >> so easy to be caught up in a scam like that too. >> weird. 3q while there are some home disasters you can't avoid, there is one you can. septic system breakdowns affect 1.2 million homes in the us each year. septic backups can cost about six thousand dollars in expense, and countless hours of repair. rid-x costs only six dollars, and the advanced natural bacteria generate powerful enzymes, which accelerate the waste digestion. use rid-x once a month, and help save you

sharyn alfonsi has details. >> i thought nothing could surprise me anymore, but let me tell you, i wasthe talk show host sharing her own family secret, telling the audience she recently reunited with a half-sister her mother hid from her for decades. a little girl born in 1963 but given up for adoption. >> i was 9 years old at the time living with my father in nashville and didn't even know my mother was pregnant. >> reporter: patricia, a single working mom from wisconsin, was looking for her birth mother when she made the unbelievable discovery, vernita lee, oprah winfrey's mother, was her mother. >> the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. i said, no. i said, that can't be. >> reporter: but it was. she tried desperately to discreetly contact her and later oprah but didn't hear back. and while someone else might have tried to cash in, patricia held on to the secret for years, only recently quietly approaching a relative of the family. never sold her story. never tried to sell her story. what does that mean to somebody in a position like oprah? >> well, i mean, i know that oprah is v

here's sharyn alfonsi with more. >> in between our dressing rooms, there is a little peephole.f-century in broadcasting. >> so, i took this viagra. see? >> put it right here. >> that's not where you're supposed to put it. >> reporter: regis proves he can still stun an audience. >> but this will be my last year on the show. >> i wish i could do something to make you change your mind. >> well, now, wait a minute. >> wait a second. >> reporter: last night, he discussed his departure with old friend, david letterman. >> you're telling me now, that, in fact, we will be seeing you again. >> no. i didn't say that, dave. >> would you at least come on my show. >> once in a while. but not too often, dave. really. >> reporter: his story began humbly in the bronx. friends say he was one-part altar boy, one part class cut-up. it's not a surprise he left the navy to work on tv shows. he became a sidekick on "the joey bishop show." >> that's his thing. >> i'm glad he finally got it. >> reporter: but that show didn't make it. regis would return to his hometown here, to a little local morning s

sharyn alfonsi asks the experts. >> there was just something that was off. >> reporter: ron reagan says father was showing early signs of alzheimer's, he decided to shadow him for a day in the white house. you say that he was sitting at the phone making phone calls and he was reading note cards like he had prompts. >> yeah, and that bothered me. >> reporter: but now his half brother michael writes on twitter that ron is an embarrassment and accuses him of selling out his father to sell books. so we asked two of the country's leading alzheimer's experts to weigh in on those key moments the two brothers now debate. first, note cards to make calls. >> i wouldn't be worried about stickies or cue cards. what's worrisome is if there's something that you do every day, you forget how to get to that place you drive to every day. that's when you start to worry. >> reporter: but what about this? the president seems to struggle to find the answers to a question. >> we're doing everything we can. >> we're doing everything we can. >> reporter: does that look like a patient with alzheimer's to you? >>

but first let's go to sharyn alfonsi out at new york's laguardia airport. sharyn? >> reporter: good morning, george. with those images of people camped out on cots all over the airport, many travelers aren't taking chances. they're here early trying to get out of town. everyone from city to city trying to beat the snow. snowstorm, round two. and new york city is scrambling to prepare for up to 5 inches of snow, still making up for last week's failed efforts. >> we want to ensure all new yorkers that we are doing everything in our power to make sure we don't experience those types of problems again. >> reporter: this time the city has new weapons in their arsenal. gps devices on 50 plows and scout teams with cameras feeding live video back to city hall so they can detect problem areas. but you don't need cutting-edge technology to see the city's biggest problem. trash. it's everywhere from the upper west side to midtown, greenwich village, brooklyn and beyond. some areas haven't had their trash picked up in more than two weeks so it is shoulder-high in some areas, s