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sharyn alfonsi, abc news, new york. >>> and still ahead on "world news," hip replacements, heart valves, pacemakers placed in your body without full human tests. our dr. richard besser with a warning tonight. >>> and new york hotels struggling to cater to thousands of demanding four-legged vips. investors are demanding more for their money. good. this time, i'm watching fees like a hawk. i hate hidden fees. why should i have to pay for something that i shouldn't have to pay for? td ameritrade's pricing is clear and it's straightforward... it's spelled out upfront. no hidden fees... no bait and switch. no gotchas. and there's one flat rate for online equity trades... for big accounts... or small ones. that's the way it ought to be. call, click, or come in to td ameritrade. so i've got to take care of my heart. for me cheerios is a good place to start. [ male announcer ] to keep doing what you love, take care of your heart with cheerios. the whole grain oats can help lower cholesterol. love your heart so you can do what you love. i know what works differently than many other allergy medic

thank you, sharyn alfonsi. >>> and coming up, kate middleton. she's reporting for royal duty.d she pass with flying colors? tends to stn motion. n staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arths, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide our relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is er. and celebrex is not a narcotic. when it comes to relieving your arthritis pain, you and your doctor need to balance the benefits with the risks. all prescription nsaids, including celebrex, may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death. this chance increases if you heart disease or risk factors such as high blood pressure or when nsaids are taken for long perio nsaids, including celebrex, increase the chance of serious skin or allergic reactions or stomach and intestine problems, such as bleeding ann occur w.

here's sharyn alfonsi. >> reporter: in new jersey, governor chris christie booed by firefighters. after suggesting the retirement age had to be raised. and that pension plans had to be cut. >> promised you benefits that they had no way of paying for. >> reporter: new jersey facing an $11 billion deficit this year -- >> 50 times three is -- >> reporter: in new york, mayor bloomberg threatened to cut teachers jobs because of a loss in state funding. >> i don't think we can afford to lose any teachers. but if we have to do, we'll have to do with 6,000 fewer. >> reporter: most states, unlike the federal government, have to balance their budget every year. 2012 is shaping up to be one of the most difficult on record. 48 states and the district of columbia are projecting short falls. totalling $125 billion. federal assistance is largely gone. so legislators are looking to cuts. they're considering limiting the power of public unions, hoping to cut their pensions and benefits. as we saw in wisconsin and ohio today, public workers say they now feel like public enemy number one in a battle

and as sharyn alfonsi reports, he wanted other football players to think hard about the dangers they> reporter: he was exceptional, a four-time pro bowl safety, number 2, a two-time super bowl champ. >> the first four -- intercepted by duerson. >> reporter: some say dave duerson was also exceptionally smart and kind, which is why they were shocked when last week the 50-year-old killed himself with a gunshot to the chest. he sent a text message to his ex-wife hours before. >> and he told me he loved me very much, and he was truly sorry and that he loved the kids and that he felt -- he thinks there was something wrong with his brain on the left side and for me to please get it to the nfl. >> reporter: duerson asked his brain be examined for chronic traumatic encephalopahty or cte, a degenerative disease often found in those with a history of concussions. >> football players are at a very high risk because they take, studies show, about a thousand hits to the head each fall, some at least 20 gs, which is like a small car crash, so essentially your brain actually starts falling apart. 10

and so sharyn alfonsi with the fact check tonight. >> reporter: are public employees really paid more than private employees? according to the latest government data, yes. the average government employee makes about $47,000 a year. private sector workers, $45,000. but that doesn't mean private sector workers always make less than their public counterparts. look what happens when you compare people with the exact same job. for example, a certified public accountant working for the local government will make about $64,000. for the federal government, $67,000. but that same cpa in the private sector will make more than $71,000. do public employees pay less for their health care? yes. the average public employee pays about $3,600 for health care. compared to $4,100 for construction workers or the $4,200 some in the service industry or retail would pay. what about retirement? do public employees also have better pension plans? yes. only 20% of the workers in the private sector have so-called traditional pension plans. compared to 79% in the public sector. and that is one of the big reasons

and we're doing a pretty good job of it. >> reporter: sharyn alfonsi, abc news, new york. >> this comesgo a doctor saying we feed kids rice cereal too much, that's a bad carbohydrate leading to obesity. lots of advice out there for what not to feed the kids. >> they did poll mothers. they asked mothers what their babies were eating at certain marks of life. a lot of time you think this research doesn't correspond with real kids. this was done with real kids. >> absolutely. this is the one year anniversary of when michelle obama launched her anti-obesity initiative. hopefully we're getting thinner and healthier. >>> how mary-kate and ashley olsen's younger sister is stepping out of their shadow. r shadow. younger sister is stepping out of their shadow. >>> welcome back, everybody. before last month's sundance film festival, elizabeth olsen was known as the younger sister of mary-kate and ashley olsen and now she's stepping out of their shadow. >> she looks exactly like the two of them. peter travers hosted abc's "popcorn" sat down to talk to her about her two hit films from sundance. >>

more from sharyn alfonsi. >> reporter: he was exceptional.l safety, number 22, a two-time super bowl champ. >> intercepted. >> reporter: some say dave duerson was also exceptionally smart and kind, which is why they were shocked when last week the 50-year-old killed himself with a gunshot to the chest. he sent a text message to his ex-wife hours before. >> and he told me he loved me very much, and he was truly sorry and that he loved the kids and that he felt -- he thinks there was something wrong with his brain on the left side and for me to please get it to the nfl. >> reporter: duerson asked his brain be examined for chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or cte, a degenerative disease often found in those with a history of concussion. >> football players are at a very high risk because they take, studies show, about a thousand hits to the head each fall, some at least 20gs, which is like a small car crash, so essentially your brain actually starts falling apart. 10 or 20 years later you start getting symptoms like memory problems and emotional

here's sharyn alfonsi with more. ♪ >> reporter: tell me where this idea came for.st i heard about it and i thought that might be in bad taste. then you play it and it's really eye-opening. >> we actually have been blessed over the past few years to be in partnership with mckinney, a national advertising agency that we're proud to say is headquarters in durham, north carolina. and mckinney brought the idea to us. >> reporter: walk us through the game, what happens. i played it and -- and i thought, how hard can this be and then it seemed at every turn something went wrong. is that what you're trying to get people to see, that it's just small things that put people in this situation? >> yeah. one of the key challenges to the game is to broaden our understanding of who the people are who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless and how easy it is for people who may even be working or recently laid off, but not chronically homeless to fall into these situations. so the choices that are depicted in the game are very real situations. we started off doing this game by

sharyn alfonsi, abc news, new york. >>> an alabama man is facing up to ten years in prison for poisoningthose trees are located in what's called toomer's corner on auburn university campus. tiger fans throw toilet paper in the oaks to celebrate big wins. school administrators say there is a slim chance those beloved trees will survive. >>> a tiny village in southern ecuador may hold a secret weapon in the battle of cancer and diabetes. the people are living long, healthy lives virtually untouched by those diseases. researchers say there could be a medical breakthrough in their dna. jeffrey kofman explains. >> reporter: at less than 4 feet tall, norman apollo is helping scientists identify a way to stop cancer and diabetes. when did i realize that i would not grow, he says? when i was in primary school. here in this remote region of southern ecuador, norman is one of 120 people with a rare syndrome called laron dwarfism. this doctor began studying them 25 years ago to see if he could help them. his findings just published include something unexpected and remarkable. >> i start noticing, s

and sharyn alfonsi is here with the story. >> reporter: this is a story with a happy ending.s worst nightmare. imagine you're being told you're pregnant with twins. but then being told that one or both of your babies might not make it. we want you to meet a mom who searched the country, high and low, for a way to save her babies. todd and laura think all their children are miracles. but the newest members of the family, twins berkeley and kensly, really are a miracle. >> it's a total miracle they're here and they're healthy. they're just great. they're beautiful. >> reporter: 14 weeks into her pregnancy, laura found out there was a problem. >> i still worried. you always worry, i think, as a mother. >> reporter: in twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, the baby's blood supplies become connected, allowing blood to circulate between the twins and allowing one twin to steal blood and nutrients from another. it only comes from twins sharing a placenta. and the consequences can be deadly. >> those were his exact words. do not google it. i got into the car and grabbed by blackberry an

that's sharyn alfonsi.ittle more about what's going on. >> reporter: i can add a few things. >> just a little bit there. >> all right. sheen's parents are now reportedly so worried about him, they're considering petitioning a court to give them power over how sheen spends his money. this after a 36-hour cocaine and alcohol binge, that ended with the star in the emergency room. >> i just got a call from the residence of charlie sheen. from his secretary. he's saying don't call 911. he was very, very intoxicated. also, apparently in a lot of pain. >> reporter: sheen's neighbor, dr. paul nassif, sheen's neighbor, made the 911 call moments before the star was rushed to the hospital last week. but he says he did not rush to sheen's home. >> the best thing to do in a situation like that, is call 911. again, it could have been his chest. it could be a heart issue. it would be some bad thing with his stomach. >> i think at that point, we were both thinking if charlie's in pain, you want to get him immediate attenti