in new york city this is "nightline," march 18th, 2011. >> good evening, i'm terry moran. and, american blood and treasure is on the line anew tonight as president obama prepares to take military action against libya, with u.n. backing, and in cooperation with france, britain and others. despite this pressure, libyan leader moammar gadhafi continued his bloody assault on the opposition, using tanks and heavy artillery to bombard towns. so, what price is the u.s. prepared to pay in libya? once again, afternoon a decade of war, a president is sending american troops into harm's way. >> there is no decision i face as your commander in chief that i consider as carefully as the decision to ask our men and women to use military force. >> reporter: but barack obama has now opened another front in america's wars, libya. >> cease-fire must be implemented immediately. that means all attacks against civilians must stop. >> reporter: for nearly a month now, ordinary libyans have risen up to rid their land of the 42-year dictatorship of gadhafi. and after some initial soaring successes

in new york city, this is "nightline," march 8th, 2011. >> good evening, i'm terry moran. tonight, we're going to begin with personal finances. jobs are still scarce and tax day is on the horizon, so many americans are feeling added pressure to get their financial houses in order. and for the millions of people who buy her books and watch her on tv, that's where suze orman comes in. but lately,orman has reversed some of the key points of advice she used to give. tonight, she tells vicki mabrey why. >> look how tall you're are. you're a real man. >> reporter: deonte murphy and his mom wanted to thank suze orman for making their american dream come true. last time they met was seven years ago. >> do you get an allowance? >> yes. >> how much do you get? >> $10. >> reporter: a chance encounter on his 10th birthday, where suze taught them both about saving. >> what if i told you, if you put it in the bank, the bank will pay you to put it there. >> reporter: his mother cut back on hair and beauty treatments and had money deticketed to start a 529 college fund for her son. >> it'

in new york city, this is "nightline," march 2nd, 2011. >> good evening, i'm terry moran. and we begin tonight with another difficult chapter in the very public struggles of actor charlie sheen. last night, police removed his twin sons from his care after his estranged wife filed a restraining order against him. in an interview with abc earlier this week, sheen, one of four children himself, said he wasn't worried about his kids being negati negatively impacted by his lifestyle in all of this. i can say, hey, kids, your dad's a rock star, the actor said. here's andrea canning with the latest. >> reporter: police under court orders arrived at sheen's home last night to supervise the removal of the twins from his custody to hand over to their mother. surrounded by friends, sheen remained calm while authorities removed the boys from his home, as seen in this radar online video. we met the twins this past weekend when we spent the day with sheen and the children at his home in l.a. sheen introduced me to the women he says are like second mothers to his children. two women he c

in new york city, this is "nightline," march 30th, 2011. >> good evening, i'm terry moran. well, when americans watch reality tv, we aren't really looking for models of good behavior. but lately the bad behavior you see on some tv shows has sunk to a new level. in the old days, think 1993, mtv's "real world," a cast member could be expelled for getting physical. now it's almost as if the shows want the cast to brawl, scratch and scrum. but the question is, how is watching them fight each other affecting us? here's andrea canning. >> reporter: it's the disturbing brawl between two teenage girls caught on tape by their friends, looking on and even egging them on to keep fighting. what was it like being involved in that fight? >> i was upset, scared, shocked. >> reporter: the alleged attacker is janelle evans, the star of mtv's "teen mom." >> mom, shut up. >> reporter: in this video licensed by abc news, evans can be seen attacking her former friend who says the fight was all over janelle's ex-boyfriend. do you think the show indirectly perhaps led to this fight between the tw

i'm terry moran. we're going to begin with the revelation of a record of safety violations at america's nuclear plants. the united states is home to 104 reactors across 31 states. some of them located on fault lines. but nuclear regulatory commission safety records show more than 50 safety violations at u.s. nuclear plants from 2007 through 2011. and now there's a move on capitol hill to block licenses for new plants. here's pierre thomas with our report. >> reporter: this is the dresden nuclear power plant in illinois. located within 50 miles of the 9 million people who live in and around chicago. but less than two years ago, in 2009, the nuclear regulatory commission cited them for allowing unlicensed operators to work with radioactive control rods. the workers allowed three radioactive control rods to be moved out of the reactor core when they should not have been. worse, the workers initially ignored alarms. that wasn't the only problem at dresden. four years ago in 2007, nuclear material literall

terry moran will be here tomorrow night.

terry moran, abc news. >>> and when we return, the megamillion dilemma. if your coworker didn't kick into the office pool that day and you hit the jack pot, should you share? and you hit the jack pot, should row share? for strong bones, i take calcium. but my doctor told me that most calcium supplements... aren't absorbed properly unless taken with food. he recommended citracal. it's different -- it's calcium citrate, soit can be absorbed ith or without food. citracal. you have frequent heartburn, right ? yeah, it flares up a few days a week. well, we're the two active ingredients in zegerid otc. i'm omeprazole, the leading prescription heartburn medicine. and i'm sodium bicarbonate. i protect him from stomach acid so he can get to work. look, guys, i've already tried a lot of stuff. wow. with zegerid otc, you get 24-hour relief. so, this is goodbye heartburn ? gone. finito. zegerid otc. two ingredients... ...one mission. heartburn solved. have nutritional gaps? even some who take vitamins. but with more key nutrients than one-a-day essential, centrum fil

terry moran covers the court for us and has questioned those protesters himself. >> reporter: their protestsre so cruel and outrageous that the question for many americans is simple. how can this be legal? today, the supreme court answered. "speech is powerful," chief justice john roberts wrote in the court's opinion. "it can stir people to action, move them to tears of both joy and sorrow and, as it did here, inflict great pain. we cannot react to that pain by punishing the speaker." the court held that because the protests deal with public issues, gays in the military, war in iraq, they are protected under the constitution. "we do not stifle public debate," roberts wrote. >> this is the kind of case that is going to have an influence for generations. it is the supreme court standing up and giving constitutional protection to extremely unpopular speech. it's really what the first amendment is all about. >> reporter: today's ruling was a sharp disappointment to the family of lance corporal matthew synder, who was killed in iraq and whose funeral was picketed. >> we found out today that we ca

terry moran covers the court for us. >> reporter: it's taken ten long years, but christine kwapnoski has finally made it to the supreme court of the united states. >> and here i'm rocking the whole company and i'm doing it for myself. i'm doing it for every woman who is afraid to do it for herself. >> reporter: christine is one of the lead plaintiffs in the case against walmart, and she's accusing the company of discriminating against her and against perhaps as many as 1.5 million other women, former and current employees. it was an old boy culture, she says, and an old boy network for pay and promotions. >> i asked about why the males were making more money, and it was basically i was told they had a family to support. at the time i was a single mom with two kids. >> reporter: other allegations in the case, some local managers held business meetings at hooters restaurants, and women were referred to as little janie qs by some senior management, but is all that, if it's true, really typical for all women working at walmart? that's what the supreme court will try to answer in this cas

i'm terry moran. as mt. obama tonight sought to make the case for the u.s. in libya, the fire raged on. raining fire on moammar gadhafi's hometown of sirte. alex what can you tell us about what is happening there? >> reporter: good evening. it's early morning here in benghazi. the rebels have been aible to push it front back to the edge of town, almost 350 miles away to the hometown of gadhafi, sirte. every step along the way, you see a rag tag group of soldiers pushing west. >> at some point, they are going to meet the military and heavy weapons. they prepared if that? >> reporter: they are already seeing that. they come up to the line there is little coordination. there is little communication. cell phones don't work. there are no radios. it's clear they are full of passion. they are willing to die for the cause. it's evident they have not gotten this far without the air strikes. >> all right. stay safe there. >>> we turn to the president's speech itself. hanging over the peach were the shadows of other wars and other presidencies. president obama wanted t

>>> good evening, i'm terry moran. simple rule of modern eating. fatty foods in huge portions are bad for you. you're about to enter a dietary twilight zone. the name of the restaurant? the heart attack grill. they bring a sort of comedy to serving up recipes that have been favorites for generations. beyond the comedy are come very real health concerns. >> reporter: in a country where calis are posted on the menu, and the white house has a vegetable garden, sometimes the reality looks more like this. this monument to greasy gluttonny is called the heart attack grill. it's located in chandler, arizona, a suburb of phoenix. >> we have full sugar mexican coke. >> reporter: every customer must wear a hospital gown. they're waited on by scantily clad nurses. the single, double, triple, or quadruple bypass burger. and they do have fries. called flatliner fries. fried in lard. and those are unlimited. to wash it all down, how about a butter fat shake? the restaurant has become a bit of a national sensation. >> i'm up another few inches. who needs these pa

terry moran, abc news. >> really incredible. matter what you think of gun control, interesting number here, in the 30 years since james brady was shot, an estimated 2.8 million people have been killed or injured with guns in the united states. >> that is staggering. that says the whole story right there. when he went yesterday, brady himself had on a bracelet with gabby giffords' name on it. 30 years later -- we just went through this terrible tragedy in tucson. an issue today as much as then. >> well, coming up, we do have some information on a sexual harassment suit involving a tv crime fighter. you don't want to miss this. it comes to a close. necessity settled. we have the juicy details. >>> oprah has an offer for the donald. all coming up next in your "skinny." ♪ skinny so skinny >>> time now for your "skinny." we've got juicy stories today. >> yes, indeed. >> starting out with a fellow that's been in the news for not-so-great behavior, especially for a married guy. he is david boreanaz is who we're talking about. he has a

abc's terry moran with more on the ruling and the reaction. >> their protests are so outrageous and soquestion for many americans is simple. how can this be legal?today, tt answered. speech is powerful, chief justice john roberts wrote in the court's opinion. it can stir people to action, move them to tears of both joy and sorrow and as it did here, inflict great pain. we cannot react to that pain by punishing the speaker. the court held that wit because protests deal with public issues, gays in the military, wars in iraq, they are protected under the constitution. we do not style public debate. >> it is the supreme court standing up and giving constitutional protection to extremely unpopular speech. >> it was a sharp disappointment to the family of lance corporal schneider who was killed in iraq and whose funeral was picket. >> we found out today that we can no longer bury our dead in in country with dignity. >> reporter: but the protesters do now have a license to continue their activities which as we found out they carry on with a reckless glee. ♪ ♪ for your sins, no shame, you're g

. >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," march 23rd, 2011. >> good ooepin ievening, i'm te moran. and tonight, we remember elizabeth taylor, who died today at 79. and we're lucky we can call on a colleague of ours that knew taylor as a subject and friend. barbara walters is here with us. you interviewed elizabeth five times. reaction to her death is really breathtaking out there. on tv news, all the way out to twitter. really touched something deep in the country, across the generations, too. why? what was it about her that captured or imagination and held it for so long? >> reporter: well, i did interview her five times, but i also considered elizabeth taylor a friend and many people don't realize this, she had four children, ten grandchildren and four great-grandchildren and she loved them dearly, so, i would like to say that my heart and sympathies go out to her family tonight. but to your question. everything she did was larger than life. she was the most beautiful child star. she w

." >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," march 3rd, 2011. >> good evening, i'm bill weir. the statistic is staggering. if you know six teenage girls in this country, odds are, at least one of them is pregnant. america has a rate twice as high as the uk, three times higher than canada. in recent years, reality tv shows devoted to the hardship of teen mother hood became such hit, their subjects receive magazine cover fame. with a look at the mothers of unplanned consequences, here's juju chang. >> reporter: move over jamie lynn spears and bristol palin. teen moms are popping up everywhere. lifetime's "the pregnancy pact." >> we have to get pregnant together. >> reporter: the fox hit "glee." "the secret life of an american teenager." but the most famous pregnant teens in the spotlight are without a doubt the stars of "teen mom" which chronicles the highs and often lows of teenage girls, dealing with the fallout of babies, baby daddies and vocal grandparents. >> he's my child, not yours. >>

>> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran and cynthia mcfadden in new york city and bill weir in japan, this is "nightline," march 15th, 2011. >> and good evening from the atsugi naval air station. it is wednesday afternoon here in japan. we're waiting to board that flight to the "uss ronald reagan," the massive u.s. aircraft carrier off the coast of tsunami-ravaged japan. more on that in a moment. first, the most pressing news, the fear of nuclear fallout from that ravaged fukushima daiichi power plant, where last night another explosion and fire prompted the prime minister to take to the national airwaves with this warning. "the leaked radiation level is now rather high and there is a high chance for further leakage from now on." and for the first time tonight, the japanese confirm that all three containment warms in the shattered reactor have been damaged, which means radiation leakage is almost certain. inside the plant, 75 0 technicians were told to lead, and only 50 remained, staying behind to try to get the reactor back under control to avoid a cherno

. >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran and cynthia mcfadden in new york city and bill weir in japan, this is "nightline," march 16th, 2011. >> good evening, i'm cynthia mcfadden. tonight, a special broadcast on what today became an acute nuclear emergency in japan. with three reactors melting down, a fuel fire in a fourth and spent fuel rods exposed to the air. one official told abc news, quote, it would be hard to describe how alarming this is right now. and, as a small group of remaining workers battle to cool the molten rods at the reactor's core, nuclear scientists voiced alarm, as well. there is grave concern that if the containment walls around the plants fail, a dense radioactive cloud might be spewed into the air and be carried by wind and weather to large population centers in japan. the news prompted expatriates and japanese alike to crowd airports and roads looking for ways out. many left sendai, north of the damaged nuclear plant. abc news' clarissa ward reports from osaka japan, about 360 miles southwest of the plant. >> reporter: we've come

>> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadened and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," march 4th, 2011. >> good evening. despite what "the godfather" taught us, most self-respecting mobsters hope all their sons find a legitimate line of work. but one chicago hitman had no such parental instrict. he pulls his son into the mob and it cost him. for the first time ever, you're about to hear from the most important mafia turn coat in recent history. the man at the center of what the fbi called operation family secrets. a few nights a month, patrons pile into this trendy phoenix restaurant with no idea that the man making their pizza is a member of one of the most notorious crime families in america. >> stone oven here. >> reporter: his name is frank calabrese jr. and his father frank sr. is serving multiple life sentences for killing 13 people while stealing and loan sharking millions as a made man in the outfit, a chicago mob notorious since the days of al capone. did he have a signature? >> yeah. when he was killing, he wanted to make

. >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," march 24th, 2011. >> good evening, i'm bill weir. there are indications there could be more huge and potentially bloody uprising in yemen and syria tomorrow, but as for the current revolution in libya, tonight brought news that the u.s. will hand over command to nato to enforce that no-fly sewn. but questions remain. what is the american role going forward. with gadhafi's air force now sm smoldering, what do we do now? martha rad dad went looking for answers with an exclusive interview for tonight's "target libya" report. >> reporter: the man asleep here, miles above the mediterranean sea, is general carter ham. he, and most of his staff, passed out upright, somewhere off the libyan coast. we're in an osprey, the marine corps craft that's part helicopter, part airplane. it's not comfortable. but the commander of all forces deployed for operation odyssey dawn catches a nap wherever he is. ham is taking me to the u.s. battleships here on his first

. >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," march 25th, 2011. >> good evening, i'm bill weir. the tiniest speck of inhaled plutonium can bring lung cancer, experts tell us, which is why tonight's news from japan is more tire than any since the mop administer quake and tsunami there. authorities suspect a large crack has formed in the core container of a reactor at fukushima. meaning that highly radioactive material, uranium and plutonium, is exposed and potentially spreading through air and water. here now is david wright with the latest. >> reporter: this was the news everyone here has been dreading for two weeks now, since the nuclear crisis began. a suspected breach of the reactor core. today, the prime minister himself called the situation grave and serious. "we need to be extremely vigila vigilant," he said, adding darkly, "this is not a time for optimism." >> think of the little dutch boy putting his finger in this crack and this crack. suddenly, a huge crack begins to open up. >> re

then terry moran hosts "nightline." >> from jersey shore to teen moms and housewives. there is a steady bout of fighting and is it turning us into violent junk keys? and land lord a decade of monster quakes, why it is so hard to tell where the you can see >> closed captioning brought to >> closed captioning brought to >>> a soldier from pleasanton has been killed serving in afghanistan. he was on his way to a military airport on tuesday when an apparent road side bomb exploded. the pleasanton weekly says he was a licensed massage therapist before enlisting in the army as a medical technician. he was due to be discharged next year. >>> former state controller steve wesley is facing scrutiny for his close ex connections to president obama and how he may have used them. that relationship is being questioned because of millions of dollars in government loan guarantees. mark matthews tonight with a look at the investigation done by abc's brian ross and the center for public integrity. >> when the president came to san francisco last october he went to steve wesley's house f

." >> i'm terry moran. coming up next on "nightline" a stunning look at a lit knee of violations at american nuclear plants. is there one in your backyard? and we have 39-year-old tea party rock star marco rubio in his first national tv interview since being elected to the senate. >> closed captioning brought to >> closed captioning brought to >>> fish and game shot and killed a mountain lion found outside a redwood city home this morning. the female was spotted by a neighbor who called police. officers turned out in force going door-to-door. once they found the animal, officers decided it was impossible to get a clear shot using a tranquilizer gun. because of a threat to the public, fish and game said there was no choice but to kill the mountain lion. >> all i could see was the face coming between a couple of slats in the fence. >> it ran a few feet after it was shot and it was flashing a bit and it expired. >> the animal was taken away by fish and game for further examination. >>> there have been numerous

." >> i'm terry moran. coming up next on "nightline" the financial guru joins us with four tips for turning an economic crossroads into a window of opportunity. and some swear by the hcg diet, but can imitating mary! hey! wow, you look great! thanks! it's this new wish yourself thin program. i just wish it and it happens. it's probably those fiber one bars you're eating. i know they help me stick to my diet. the bars are 90 calories and the fiber helps you feel full. 90 calories and high fiber. so that's why this diet thing is working. but it's weird because my wish for lorenzo came true. [ male announcer ] fiber one 90 calorie bars. hungry no. results yes. >> closed captioning brought to >> closed captioning brought to >>> the richmond city council has ended a meeting to deal with the budget crisis. they vote toady claire a fiscal emergency and -- to declare a fiscal emergency to put a tax increase on the june ballot. half of the money will go toward restoring services to the poor and the rest will go to p

and terry moran is here with all the drama today. terry? >> reporter: it was a fascinating and dramatic day at the court, diane. this is a case about seeking justice, about how our law should deal with claims of sex discrimination at the biggest company in the world. and some of the different ways men and women look at the world seem to play out on the court itself. on the plaza of the supreme court, a few protesters gathered, while inside, the highest court in the land, some of the women of walmart, the plaintiffs here, watched from the gallery. on the bench for the first time in a gender discrimination case, three women justices sat to hear their plea. and all three tore into the case. justice ruth bader ginsburg, who more than any other lawyer in america advanced the cause of women's rights before she became a judge, grilled walmart's lawyers about revealing internal statistics. "the company gets reports month after month," she said, "showing that women are passed over for promotion and there is a pay gap. isn't there some responsibility

." >> i'm terry moran. coming up next on "neat line" we visit the heart attack grill. it is a restaurant that boasts its food could kill you. but can you really eat yourself to death? and inside the scandal at mpr. what really happened there? and the man behind the mary! hey! wow, you look great! thanks! it's this new wish yourself thin program. i just wish it and it happens. it's probably those fiber one bars you're eating. i know they help me stick to my diet. the bars are 90 calories and the fiber helps you feel full. 90 calories and high fiber. so that's why this diet thing is working. but it's weird because my wish for lorenzo came true. [ male announcer ] fiber one 90 calorie bars. hungry no. results yes. >> closed captioning brought to >> closed captioning brought to >>> protesters erupt in the state capital. the wisconsin senate voted to strip nearly all collective bargaining rights. >> they called them cowards as they rushed to take it without debate. they explain how it was done to keep it from passing. >> the wisconsin senate republicansy flekt tiffly did an

terry moran, abc news, new york. >>> just days after an air traffic controller in washington admittedt another controversy in the skies. in central florida an air traffic supervisor has now been suspended after a southwest airlines jet and a small plane flew too close to each other. faa investigators say the suspended supervisor had asked that southwest crew for help in looking for a private plane that had been out of radio contact for about an hour. the faa says the planes were dangerously close but will not say just how close they really were. >>> also, the fbi is trying to figure out how a bullet hole got in the fuselage of a us airways plane. a pilot noticed the hole monday during a preflight inspection at the charlotte, north carolina, airport. the boeing 737 had just arrived on a flight from philly. that hole never penetrated, though, the cabin of the plane. weird. >> can you imagine? >> airline news. the last couple of weeks. >> that's what's going on. hopefully, the pilots are looking out for that sort of thing. >>> turning to libya where a major debate is unfolding this morni

terry moran, abc news, new york. >> let's look at your weather for today. chillier in the northeast. expect some snow in the upper midwest and parts of the rockies. in the northwest, snow in the mountains, rain in the lower elevations. >> and those in the south will want to be outside enjoying ideal temperatures in the mid to high 70s. bundle up in the northeast where readings will plunge into the 20s in some areas. >>> it was a big day in duluth, minnesota. i suppose it always is -- >> always a big day. >> it's a happening spot, especially when you get a bunch of high school kids together with a bunch of toothpicks. >> now that is a party. it was the 18th annual toothpick bridge contest. the kids created their own structures with toothpicks and put them to the test to see how strong they were. >> that's pretty cool. we're told one actually held 150 pounds. it's used as an engineering lesson. well, of course, that's good for them. i remember doing that. it's fun stuff. >> the toothpick -- this is before you were entertained by the ipad. all toothpicks for m

i wish we could simply introduce you sometimes to the debates that go on at abc news between terry moran and jake tapper. i read the daily beast and the drudge.drune i can see a complete quilt of screens on the air and i could see what is going on and we collect in and out all day. >> do you have a favorite website? you mentioned to the daily beast. >> , i checked in with each of them. i check in with the new york times website. >> do you eat during the course of the day? [laughter] >> copiously. >> let me ask you questions about ethics in journalism. the wikileaks story -- if you're the editor of the new york times and you had the chance to get hundreds or thousands of the interesting, even fascinating but top-secret cables from the u.s. government, what would you do? would you put them on the air? >> each of us has our of star we steer by. we reported on them. that was a way of putting them on the air. ? but that was after the york times broke the story. >> yes, we would have done what he did. it was said that people trust sad revolutionaries and you have to somewhat less than the cont

here's terry moran. >> reporter: they don't make them like elizabeth taylor anymore. in the movie "cleopatra." she was paid $1 million for the role. an unheard of sum at the t and she was worth every dime because -- well because she was cleopatra. our cleopatra. our image of eternrnrnrn different i

. >> reporter: terry moran's kids never had a drop of alcohol at home and won't, he says, until theynk it's okay, i can just go and hang out with my friends and drink. i see it all the time. >> reporter: the argument for allowing drinking at home goes like this. first it's better to have kids learn their tolerance in a caring environment at home, not a bar. second, making alcohol accessible makes it less taboo. >> some parents may say you are not allowed to do this ever. we are not talking about it, trying it. >> reporter: first thing on your mind -- >> i want to try it. why can't i? what is it that they don't want me to find out about? >> reporter: the down side, some experts say exposing teens to alcohol only increases the chances of binge drinking, even alcoholism later on. many experts say the research is inconclusive at best. >> i don't think there is a right answer, but if you ask me which i think is better, i think it's really, really important for parents to teach their kids to drink responsibly. >> reporter: it is a personal decision that we found very few parents want to ta