i'm terry moran. it's one of the most astonishing aviation disasters in modern history. air france flight 447 from brazil to paris vanished three hours into the fight, 228 people were lost, flying aboard a state-of-the-art jet so foolproof it was called unstallable. so what went so catastrophically wrong? here's elizabeth vargas with a special "nightline" investigation. >> reporter: it is may 31, 2009. air france flight 447 prepares to depart rio de janeiro. 7:30 p.m., takeoff. it is it a routine 11-hour flight across the atlantic. the plane is filled with vacationers, businessmen, and families. destination? paris. 8:30 p.m., passengers settle in. there is no sign that one of the biggest mysteries in modern aif of yaigs aviation is about to unfold. among the passengers is ethna walls, an irish medical student and riverdance star on holiday in rio. ethna's sister is kathryn. >> her last text was saying she was getting on the flight. she'd had a brilliant holiday. >> reporter: ethna is on board with 215 other passengers, knowing their lives are in the hands of the men in t

i'm terry moran. what a day at the supreme court. epic decision, this is it. as the justices voted 5-4 to epihold president obama's controversial health care plan. this stunning ruling sent shock waves, mandate that requires americans to buy health insurance or pay a penalty or tax. under the law, millions of americans unable to afford for obtain insurance will also be extended coverage. i was outside the court here in d.c. to bring you this up close and personal look at the historic ruling. >> early this morning, the mood at the supreme court was festive. almost whacky. but the most piece of legislation this century, people relieved to have a decision. >> we need solutions that will give us the health care we need and deserve. >> then, just after 10, word of the ruling began trickling out. tea party activists were ecstatic because the first word was that the individual mandate t hart of the law, had been struck down. >> we have breaking news here on the fox news channel, the individual mandate has been ruled unconstitutional. >> two and a half blocks away, fi

i'm terry moran. exclusive report on a breaking investigation. it focuses on the very emotional subject of childhood vaccines. we bring you a stunning revelation that's raising an alarming question, about just how much parents should trust in the effectiveness of the shots their kids get. here is abc's jim avila for tonight's "nightline" investigates. >> it may not feel like it to little eve da lin ski, but her mother is just trying to do the right thing. >> julie's daughter just turned a year old. that means it's time to get the latest round of shots recommended by the federal government. vaccines that protect against 16 pretty bad, even deadly diseases. julie heard a lot of unfounded talk from friends about whether vaccines like these might do more harm than good. >> few seconds of crying, then she gets past it. >> scientists have repeatedly debunked widely publicized concerns that childhood vaccines cause autism. but the controversy scared a lot of parents. the lars thing public health officials need is a self induced vaccine crisis. but tonig

. >>> good evening, i'm terry moran and what we're about to show you is not your typical weight loss transformation. a hyper fit personal trainer who decides to stop working out and gain over 70 pounds. all in a bid to better understand the struggles of his overweight clients, though he started chowing down on cook questions and cake and went from chiseled to chubby to downright obese and discovered his great weight experiment had consequences way beyond the physical. >> reporter: drew manning had the body of a greek god. a medical technician by day, personal trainer in his spare time. he could breathe through four sets of 15 pull-ups. but six months later he was so out of shape a flight of stairs got him winded. he could bearly muster three pull-ups. >> it feels like i have cement pulling me down. >> reporter: so what happened? manning had been one of those trainers who liked kicking his clients' butt. >> i would take someone who hadn't worked out and probably their whole life and put them through the same workouts i do. he puked after 30 minutes and i was just like just push throug

terry moran, abc news, the supreme court. >>> terry moran doing a fantastic job on the story.he middle of a very close re-election race. experts say it also gives republicans a rallying point as we head toward november. the gop is worried about the impact on small business, and mitt romney called the health overhaul bad law. >> it is time for us to move forward to implement and where necessary improve on this law. >> what the court did not do on its last day in session, i will do on my first day if elected president of the united states. and that is i will act to repeal obamacare. >> now a major conservative group americans for prosperity announced a $9 million campaign against the health care plan. they pointed out on world news, 52% of americans don't approve of this new law. >> that's why some of us feel now the democrats are going to take this head wind a little bit and try to resell this to the american republic. because it has been unpopular they have not done since it got passed. here is the chance here is the good it can do. mitt romney had strong word if he become eas

abc's terry moran is at the court right now.t the supreme court and this is it. this is the stunning opinion, when it came down, it hit this crowd like a wave, and in it, chief justice john roberts joins the court's liberals and upholds virtually the entirety of the obama health care plan. but he does it in a way no one expected. what chief justice roberts in the controlling opinion says, if congress can't mandate, can't command that americans buy health insurance, but congress can -- the government can tax you differently if you don't buy it. the practical difference is nothing. >> at the end of the day, the obama health care law goes into effect. all of those provisions in it. insurers can't deny you coverage for pre-existing conditions. women pay the same as men for health insurance. kids can stay on their parents' insurance until the age of 26. all of that will go into effect because of this surprising decision. it was 5-4. justice anthony scalia, writing a security councilful dissent, the obama health care program lives for

this in just a moment as our team stands by to bring you the whole picture starting with abc's terry moran on what the court decided today. the one man whose vote surprised a lot of people. terry? >> reporter: that's right, diane. the opinion came as a shock. chief justice john roberts joined the court's liberals and saved the presidents healthcare plan by, in effect, rewriting it. thousands waited for the decision outside the court this morning. then came word the health-care law had been upheld by a five to four vote. [ cheers and boos ] chief justice roberts with a clever bit of legal jujitsu ruled that while congress cannot simply force americans to buy health insurance, there is something they can do, they can tax americans more if they don't buy insurance, and that's what this law does. and so with that, virtually the entire obama health care law was saved. roberts wrote, "because the constitution permits such a tax, it is not our role to forbid it, or pass upon its wisdom or fairness." the conservatives' dissent was bitter and scornful, justice kennedy reading from the bench and cal

i'm terry moran. nothing like a high-octane car chase down narrow city streets in a crime drama approximate. in the movies innocent bystanders seem to escape in the nick of time. but the harsh reality is these high-speed pursuits kill over 300 americans every year, and abc's david wright comes to us from the car-chase capital of the country -- california. >> reporter: the thrill of the chase, an adrenaline rush, so much so that movies like this are little more than vehicles for the vehicles. in other movies the car chase is what makes the drama that much more dramatic. who could forget pop eye doil racing through brooklyn in the french connection, possibly the most famous police car chase of all. in real life, that high-speed drama happens almost every day on america's roads. today in dallas, police chased a big rig truck down a texas freeway, tossing spikes in its path to force it off the road. last week, a toddler was bounced out the window of a careening suv. mir akerous lousily. the child survived

i'm terry moran. wow! the scene was set tonight niagara falls. tonight after months of intense preparation and 27 years of anticipation, nic wallenda's quest to honor his family's legacy kicked off. bill weir is at niagara falls where it all unfolded tonight. bill. >> what an incredible night, greets again from here at niagara falls. i was lucky enough to have one of the best seats in the house for tonight's old school, knuckle whitening megastunt standing right here as nic wallenda, this 33-year-old said to all of us, thanks for all your help. i'll see you on the other side and stepped off on to the wire. it's been sthad the journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step. well, this is what the first step looks like on a journey into the daredevil mind. >> it's unbelievable view. you know, i'm so blessed to be in the position i am. to be the first person in the world to be right here. >> sure, the walk isn't that far, only about four football fields long, but in thrill seeking as in real estate, location is everything. and despite the adrenali

. >>> good evening, i'm terry moran. every year, more than 200,000 americans undergo weight loss surgery. for most, the procedure is life-saving, literally. but this kind of surgery works dramatic changes to the body and it can cause many unexpected effects. today, a new study suggests a startling link between gastric bypass and increased odds of alcohol addiction. so are patients getting thin only to become alcoholic? here's abc's deborah roberts. >> reporter: youtube is full of confessions of people who dropped weight from gastric bypass surgery and then found themselves drinking heavily. >> i'd start and pour myself a glass of wine, finish it, and then more. >> when i woke up, i was still pretty drunk. >> you have to have an addictive personality to really become a morbidly obese person. >> reporter: singer wilson was drinking up to ten martinis a day. >> i was getting drunk very fast and i was getting sober very fast. and it was frightening. it was frightening. >> reporter: andrew kahn knows that feeling, after his b

but first here is terry moran with a backyard party. in the black forest... [ thunder crashes ] [ engine revs, tires screech ] ...where things aren't always what they seem... because thrills hide in the shadows... just waiting at every turn. verbolten -- a new multi-launch coaster coming to busch gardens. brave the black forest. there it is ! there it is ! where ? where ? it's getting away ! where is it ? it's gone. we'll find it. any day can be an adventure. that's why we got a subaru. love wherever the road takes you. wow, there it is. forget about climbing the himalayas. this russian man jumped. he has his a wing suit on. he took a leap from about 25,000 feet up. while he got to the grunted as 90 seconds the rest of his crew it took them three days. >> how do you know it works. those guys are converted a basic jumpers. >> good for him. i can't even jump off of the curb. >> another push not nearly as extreme check out the weather blogs. 80 degrees tomorrow and we look for the possibility of an afternoon showers and thunderstorms. we d

i'm terry moran. more than 72 hour hs of video are up loaded to youtube every minute. over 3 billion hour hs of video are watched every minute. lot of that seems to be pranks and dangerous stunts performed by teens gleefully avoiding that warning don't try this at home. why do they do all that and why are there so many copy cats. here is abc's john donovan. >> reporter: kids doing stunts has always been with us, but some of it very dangerous stuff indeed. but never has there been so much video of it, showing them actually doing it and making it easier for others to copy it. >> here we go! >> get ready, curtesy of youtube, mouth full of cinnamon, open wide, here it goes, and here's the brown smoke, cinnamon cloud. this time it was just the other day it was a celebrity that's 15-year-old macy williams, game of thrones, so macy joins a long line of teens and preteens can't resist, the cinnamon challenge, swallow o spoon full in under 60 seconds, nobody can. this kid did, whoever was there egging him on, couldn't believe it. you have another step forward, social media, cop

. >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," june 1st, 2012. >> good evening, i'm cynthia mcfadden. tonight, are those super-sized drinks really responsible for the escalating obesity epidemic? new york city's major michael bloomberg seems to think at least in part they are. this week, he proposed a city-wide ban on sodas and juleses over 16 ounces. and while those sweet drinks do contain a shocking amount of sugar, many opponents are drawing a battle line between big government and big soda. abc's john donvan takes us inside the sugar war. >> hey, mayor mccheese. >> reporter: mayor mccheese versus mayor bloomberg. yeah, that's what we had today. mccheese, of course, the one-time official of mcdonald land in those old tv commercials. bloomberg, of course, the real-time mayor of new york city. where the city has just proposed a law that will bar restaurants and other food service businesses from selling soft drinks in cups that are larger than 16 ounces. >> all we're doing here is saying, if

. >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," june 20th, 2012. >> good evening, i'm bill weir. and ladies and gentlemen, start your air conditioners. man, you didn't need a calendar to tell you today marks the first official day of summer. and if today is any indication, it's going to be a scorcher. the heat index soared past 100 degrees in cities across the northeast. stepping out the front door felt more like stepping into an on oven. and it's not over yet. here's abc's ginger zee with the latest. >> reporter: the relentless wild fires in colorado fueled by low humidity, high winds, and this week, record-breaking heat. that heat shifted east today and picked up a whole lot of humidity along the way. the sudden sizzle brought near record-breaking temperatures up and down the east coast, just in time for the official start of summer. here's how it all goes down. stick with me here. a little science. a ridge of high pressure ahead of a cold front brings more sunshine, compresses the air and o

. >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," may 31st, 2012. >> good evening, i'm bill weir. john edwards may be a liar, adulterer and per rye ya, but thanks to a hung north carolina jury, he is not a criminal. those jurors never saw the once golden politician on the stand, never heard from the mistress who had his baby or the benefactors who gave him all that money allegedly used to cover the whole sordid miss. the trial ground to a halt, and tonight, john edwards walked, and talked, and abc's bob woodruff was there. >> reporter: today, john edwards walked out of a court a free man. it took nine days of deliberations and a wrenching false start, but a jury found him not guilty on one count, but they could not agree on the five others. so, the judge declared a mistrial. >> while i do not believe i did anything illegal, i did an awful, awful lot that was wrong. >> reporter: the verdict, as full of drama as the trial itself, leaves open the possibility of edwards being retried. but that seems

. >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," june 27th, 2012. >> good evening, i'm bill weir. well, there was valium in the '60s, prozac in the '90s, and now the growing mother's little helper of choice is adderall, normally used to help kids with attention deficit disorder. desperate to find more energy and focus under the content comma demands, they raid their kid's prescription bottles. with the details of what comes next, here's abc's dan harris. >> reporter: this is the story of how one day, a mother of four on a quiet block in minneapolis made an impulsive decision, one that took this mom to darker places than she ever imagined possible. >> i grew up in a house where my mom was very neat and everything was really clean and beautiful dinners every night and that didn't come naturally for me. >> reporter: drowning in the daily drudgery of dinner, dishes and laundry, betsy degree was thrown was seemed like a lifeline. one of her children was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder and

. >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," june 7th, 2012. >> good evening, i'm bill weir. maybe you'd never fall for it, but imagine your mom or grandma, getting a call from a person who knows their name, address, social security number and demands they pay down a debt they don't remember owing or else. in that case, it's not hard to understand how a fake debt scam has stung hundreds of thousands of americans and raked in over $5 million, but tonight, abc's brian ross investigates. >> i am the guy who is going to end your life. >> reporter: it was calls like this one in the middle of the night -- >> if you refuse to answer the door to me, i guarantee you, i will wake up every neighbor in your entire [ bleep ] building. >> reporter: and this one, full of racist, profane threats. >> go [ bleep ] back to africa or some [ bleep ]. >> reporter: and many, many others that led to the new laws and crackdowns designed to end such outrageous tactics. >> why don't you just go jump in front of a tra

. >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," june 8th, 2012. >> good evening, i'm cynthia mcfadden. tonight, controversy is swirling around a country singing contestant on "america's got talent" who claimed that he was injured by a grenade while fighting in afghanistan. but the army says his war story never happened and while he may have talent, he now has an awful lot of explaining to do. tonight, our new abc news colleague amy robach brings us the latest. we're delighted to welcome her to "nightline" for the very first time. ♪ if tomorrow never comes >> reporter: it was a dramatic fall from grace. from instant reality star -- >> wow! how does it feel, man? >> amazing. >> reporter: to ashame and confused. >> it's the truth that i truly think is real. >> reporter: it was just earlier this week when sergeant timothy poe was all smiles. >> i am doing well, thank you. >> reporter: winning the hearts of americans by telling his touching tale. a wounded soldier left with an audible scar. >> i ha

. >>> here's terry moran with. >>> coming up on night line a historic decision. the decision to uphold that controversial health care law. plus one man's crusade for justice. coming up on night line right after abc 2 news at 11:00. [ male announcer ] millions of dollars for new schools and teachers... thousands of new good paying jobs... all without raising taxes. that's what a world-class resort casino at national harbor would mean for maryland. but it won't be built unless lawmakers give us the right to vote on it this november. call 1-800-492-7122 and tell your delegate and state senator to vote "yes" on national harbor... one of the biggest new job projects in the country. >>> he is a former marine on a mission. he wants to rock and roll all day and party all night. >> he needs your vote to winds up backstage with his favorite rock and roll band. dressed up for a job interview but he already has one. >> i'm a lawyer. i'm married and i have two children. >> come on, chris, let it out. >> i am a huge kiss fan. >> playing rock music like i had never heard before

. >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with ter terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," june 13th, 2012. >> good evening, i'm cynthia mcfadden. we begin with crime. it's been said that all is fair in love and war, but when you come across a murder for hire plot, wrapped inside a murder for hire plot, all belts are off. after one woman landed in prison for hiring a hitman to take out her boyfriend's wife, she's now being accused of ordering another hit. this time, on her former boyfriend. here's "20/20" co-anchor chris cuomo for our series "crime and punishment." >> reporter: this woman is the mistress who pleaded guilty or the hiring a hitman to kill her lover's wife. now, in a new twist, michelle gaiser is also accused of taking out a hit on that lover. from behind the bars of her jail cell. >> michelle gaiser, from her jail cell, has plotted yet another murder. she has solicited an inmate to murder jeffrey stern for $20,000. >> reporter: the allegation comes from the attorney for jeffrey stern. he read from an intercepted let

." >> i'm terry moran. coming up next on "light --" nightline" a mystery in the skies. a plane took of on with hundreds on board. the clues investigators found buried under the sea and what they think really happened in those terrifying final moments in this special edition of >>> a hacker has broken into two of the busiest sites on the internet. 1.5 million pass words from e harmony and 6.5 million stolen from linked in, a professional networking site. >> linked in is based in mountain view where tonight they are scrambling to protect their millions of users. it is not just pass words that are now at risk keep in mind. leslie brinkley has the latest on the real security breech. >> absolutely, dan. if you linked in, your pass word may have been linked out, stolen. and it is a grave on-line security breech. >> a russian hacker claims to have stolen 6.5 million pass words from linked in, the business social networking site. on-line linked in confirms that some of the pass words that were compromised cory spondz to you -- corresponds to linked in accounts. >> they should h