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oprah: calling all you "oprah show" ultimate viewers out there. have you watched from the very beginning, had too many aha moments to count? has the show changed your life? go to oprah.com and tell us your story or about the ultimate viewer in your life. [applause] oprah: so brooke, paula, randy, and ali have all taken our no phone zone pledge. even though brooke is carpooling all the time, she says she's not gonna do the phone in the car. >> no, i'm not. oprah: not. so i thank you guys. and in the past 3 months, 63 celebrities have signed it along with almost 200,000 viewers. it's gonna be big. a movement across the country to get as many people as possible to join us to put an end to texting and talking on the phone while driving. tell your friends, tell your family, tell everybody you love. randy, have you signed yours? >> signed it. [laughter and applause] oprah: thank you. ali, thank

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nice shot out there, willis. nice shot out there, willis. well, the first person to ever receive a face transplant in america has finally completed all of the surgeries. >> connie culp has endured more than any of us could possibly imagine. she now has a new face and her life back. she talked about that journey with diane sawyer. >> reporter: this is connie culp as she used to be. a mom with a husband who pulled out a gun and shot her in the face. she was 40 years old. for the next four years she would live with no jaw, no nose, no nerve endings, and dozens of transplants. this is how she looked when her transplanted face was still new.

it had no feeling. she didn't know there was a tear on her cheek. flash forward one year later, connie culp is truly going home. you've changed since we last met. >> i can sneeze normal now. >> reporter: who knew you had to get used to having a nose. >> grab my face. >> reporter: there is still swelling around her jaw, which will go down, and the nerve endings are regrowing an inch a month. and she does muscle exercises to ensure she has a kiss and a smile. what do you love to smell now? >> i like smelling flowers. i like smelling david's hair after he gets a shower. doesn't it smell great? >> the best. >> reporter: the donor's family wants to stay anonymous so all connie knows is it was the face of a woman roughly her age. everybody has wondered, and you have wondered too, would you be yourself? would you be someone different? what do you see in your own expressions now? >> i think they've made me look

somewhat like i did before. because i have the high cheekbones. >> and your smile. >> yeah. they did a good job, didn't they? >> reporter: what about the man who did this to her? the first time we met, she startled us by saying -- >> i still love my husband. i can't talk about it. >> do you still love him? >> i always will. i mean, i have two kids to him. but you know what, i cannot be with him anymore. you have to be outside to look in to see what's happening. >> reporter: the sentence was just seven years. he's eligible for release in 2011. she has to take 20 pills a day to protect against rejection. dr. maria siemionow from the renowned cleveland clinic was her lead surgeon. >> the medical community has learned from connie one important lesson, that you have to be a very strong person.

>> reporter: and we remembered something she told us the first time we met. a heartbreaking story, how children would cower and call her a monster. the other day, we took her to the mall. no one looked. >> i never dreamed i'd have a nose. or a mouth. i mean, i had nothing. it is so great, what the doctors can do today. it's amazing. >> and when you wake up every morning, what's the first thing you think? >> what a great day it is. yee-haw. >> reporter: just another woman with a staggering story. and a message she still wants to send to everyone watching. when we last talked you said the tim mcgraw song was your favorite. >> oh, yeah. "live like you were dying." ♪ someday i hope you get the chance to live like you were dying ♪ ♪ live like you were dying

>> hard to believe, 30 surgeries later. they say there's still fears that the face could be rejected by the body. so she will always have to undergo biopsies to make sure. because it's happened with other people in the past where the face just didn't take, the body rejected it. >> she says, i don't care what religion anybody is, we all have a god and he's great. i'm lucky because a lot of people love me. incredible story. >> incredible attitude about it all too. coming up next, political developments that have wyclef jean singing. and bristol palin's nenenenc

take your picture, willis. welcome back, everybody. time for "the skinny." of course, sarah palin's been making all kinds of news this week. that nail-biter of a senate race in alaska. now bristol herself is making a little bit of news. apparently she is going on "dancing with the stars." while the official lineup is not

going to be announced until monday night at 8:00 on abc on "the batch more pad," apparen y apparently, there's confirmation this morning that bristol will be joining the show to show us all of her dance moves. the season begins september 20th. a lot of news with levi, all her battles, off again, on again, blah, blah, blah. we will see her again here on abc. >> eager to see that. >> i'm sure you are. >> also, to all the women he's loved before, julio iglesias, he has a message for them. he's taken. after 20 years of dating that woman, miranda, the mother of five of his kids, they finally decided to tie the not. they had a very private ceremony. they said they're of course very, very happy together. they've been together for a very long time. the kids were there. the ceremony was august 24th. of course he's sort of the eternally suave pop icon everybody knows and loves. off the market, ladies. he's 66, she's 44. which you think is big, but i don't think so.

>> that's not bad by hollywood standards. >> no. normal, right? >> looks pretty good. wyclef jean, some news, we know he made his big announcement he's going to run for president of haiti but the commissioner's office said no, you're not. he got denied out there. of course how do you get back? make a song about it. he released something yesterday. take a listen right here. ♪ >> if you don't know what they're saying, don't feel bad. it's in creole, not in english. but it does call prison for the cep, takes a dig at the electoral commission which denied his bid to run for president. he's venting a little anger there that his career will not be going political. >> sounds like a lot of his band mates are not surprised by this. a lot of them didn't support the presidential bid to begin with. now he's officially off. >> that's it, just singing the blues. >> remember that ad campaign i want to be like mike? you know who else is like mike? >> his baby boy. >> that's right. his son was out gambling in las

vegas. apparently he sends a tweet and the tweet says that i was a high-roller, i've been partying at hayes, which is a nightclub at the area hotel and casino city center. so he sends out this tweet, and immediately the world kind of says, wait a minute. you're only 19 years old. >> what's up with that? >> he's obviously too young to be gambling. he basically said that last night was stupid. 35k at hayes, total something like 50k for the whole day. so he's out on twitter bragging about what he'd done. now immediately these posts were removed. but a lot of people are saying, you know, michael, we have heard, has some problems with gambling, been an avid gambler since 1993 according to a lot of reports. some people said they had to cover $57,000 in gambling losses just off of michael. the big question is, is his son following him? >> 19. >> i'm sure it's hard when you have that much money and that much warm reception.

>> of course. i don't know what the casinos say. if there's any place in the world security is insanely tight it's a casino. i wonder how a 19-year-old, they're always checking ids at the door, how he's able to work his way in there. hó

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for nighttime pain, make advil pm your #1 choice. rushing real liquid relief to ease you to sleep fast. here are some stories to watch today on abc news. backers of the tea party start arriving in washington today for their national convention. the movement is planning two days of rallies this weekend. the parents of missing 7-year-old kyron horman make an announcement in portland, oregon, this afternoon. they are planning a fund-raiser and events marking their son's

birthday. amazon ships its latest version of the kindle today. amazon took advance orders of the e-reader last month. it was a sell-out. finally this half hour, new orleans' rebirth. five years after katrina, there are signs of recovery along the gulf coast. >> there are also deep scars. >> there are also keep scars. we say good-bye to this half hour, we leave you with photographs from the abc news facebook special report "katrina, then and now." ♪ ♪

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singing suspect. ♪ >> the reality tv show contestant accused of terrorism. then, vision quest. the surgical solution to a common form of blindness. and, dynamic director. >> and the boy runs around like an idiot trying to figure out what's going on. >> filmmaker rob reiner hopes his new movie is a hit. it's friday, august 27th. >> from abc news, this is "world news now." >> i actually saw him in another interview recently, and he said, no matter where he goes to this day, people still call him meathead. he said, if he were to win the nobel prize, he would be fearful

the headline would still say, "heathead wins nobel prize." of course, from "all in the family." >> he'll never live that down. >> i love that show. everybody did. >> timeless. we are seeing some amazing new images this morning from deep underground in chile. just-released video shows the 33 trapped miners surprisingly upbeat. >> of course that is great news for the loved ones who are waiting anxiously above ground. jeffrey kofman reports now from chile. >> reporter: astonishing first images of those 33 chilean miners trapped by a cave-in more than three weeks ago. it's like nothing ever seen before. video of what it's like to be trapped half a mile underground. a mini camera was lowered into the mines through a bore hole by the chilean government, giving the world these pictures. giving the world these pictures. the grainy images not only allowed relatives of the trapped miners to see and hear from them, it also allowed the men to show doctors on the surface any

injuries they might have. the video broadcast across chile shows the trapped men in remarkably good spirits. at one point the miners are seen singing chile's national anthem and yelling, long live chile and long live the miners. the men have been trapped since august 5th. they've now been told their rescue could take a very long time. they may be stuck in these primitive conditions for three months or more while a 26-inch-wide rescue shaft is drilled to free them. >> the mine company says it is running out of money, though, to pay the trapped men's salaries and now it could go bankrupt. jeffrey kofman brings us more amazing pictures from underground later on "good morning america." overseas markets are mostly lower this morning as investors worry about the possibility of a double-dip recession. u.s. stocks fell thursday with the dow jones industrial average closed below 10,000 for the first time since early last month. federal reserve chairman ben bernanke is expected to address the recession fears today when

he speaks to a convention of bankers. police in canada have arrested three men accused in a terror plot. one suspect is a prominent doctor who once appeared on the canadian version of "american idol." >> so you hail from pakistan, eh? >> yes. >> how long have you been here? >> reporter: in reality, canadian "idol" contestant 6205 speaks without an accent and was born in montreal. ♪ ♪ when you become somebody else ♪ >> reporter: whoever this somebody is, he stunned the judges with his performance, and now the entire country with his profile. 28-year-old dr. khurram sher, who friends describe as a prankster, is today an alleged terrorist. from his former neighbors -- [ speaking foreign language ] >> reporter: i don't believe you, she says, i just don't

believe you. an avid hockey player, someone who friends call just an all around cool guy. >> i don't understand this. it doesn't make a lot of sense. >> have been on the ground for over three weeks now -- >> reporter: this is the same khurram sher once hailed in the house of commons as the best canadians aspire to be, because of his volunteer work in earthquake-torn pakistan. so how does a jokester become a suspected terrorist? >> the concept in islam of pakia. you are allowed, in fact, to dissimulate. to pretend you're something else in order to protect your role in the faith. >> reporter: what's also curious, two of the three suspects worked in hospitals. one of them, a caring technologist very focused on patient care, and did his work very well. experts say medicine ranks very high among the professions of captured jihadists. medicine and engineering. it's believed the third suspect

once took a course in electrical engineering in winnipeg but dropped out of school and out of sight until this week. >> our thanks to ctv reporter daniele hamamdjian rather police say the plot ranked from canada to iran, afghanistan, dubai and pakistan. president carter has successfully negotiated freedom for an american teacher imprisoned in north korea since january. mr. carter and aijalon gomes boarded a private jet this morning in north korea headed back here to the u.s. gomes was convicted of crossing into north korea illegally. but north korea's dictator granted gomes amnesty at mr. carter's request. the government is dropping corruption charges against the brother of rod blagojevich. prosecutors acknowledge their case against robert blagojevich is weak. but the former illinois governor is not so lucky. he will be facing a retrial in january on charges he tried to sell president obama's former senate seat. police here in new york do

not believe an attack on a cab driver points to any trend in anti-muslim violence. the injured cabbie says he was attacked with a knife because he's muslim. he appeared on the steps of new york city hall yesterday with mayor bloomberg. the stabbing suspect, a 21-year-old college student, remains in jail on hate crime charges. the suspect in a series of slashing attacks across three states is held without bond. elias abuelazam is charged with assault in a michigan case, but prosecutors in flint hope to file murder charges. as abc's todd ant reports. >> elias, why did you do it, sir? >> reporter: the suspect in a multi-state stabbing spree returned to the place where his deadly attacks began, flint, michigan. >> today i can announce to you we got the guy responsible for these crimes. and he is now where he belongs. in jail. >> reporter: 33-year-old elias abuelazam was arrested where he was trying to board a plane bound for israel. he's accused of stabbing 18 men, 4 in virginia and ohio. he assaulted 14 more victims in

michigan. five died. he was extradited from georgia and arraigned in michigan on a single count of assault with intent to commit murder. >> this is one of 14 incidents of murder and assault with intent to murder that has occurred in this county and our city. >> reporter: police say they still don't have a motive for the random attacks on mostly african-american men walking the streets. >> i've seen speculation in the last few weeks that anyone who would commit these crimes is sick. i believe he is not sick. he is evil. >> and he'll be given a complete physical exam, including psychiatric evaluation, tomorrow morning. >> reporter: an evaluation that may finally shed light on a chilling reign of terror that began this spring. >> he has been a menace to our community. he figuratively and literally has left a lot of scars on this community. >> reporter: prosecutors say homicide charges will be filed soon.

toyota's safety record is under much scrutiny this morning after the latest recall. the automaker is recalling more than 1 million corolla and matrix models. the cars from model years 2005 to 2008 are being recalled because of complaints about engines that stall. numerous accidents are linked to the problem. passengers aboard a jet blue flight say their landing in sacramento was a little rough. and they didn't notice anything unusual. but when alarm bells went off and crew members told everyone to get out on those inflatable slides, that's because four of the jet's tires blew out and then caught fire. 15 people were hurt, and at least 5 taken to the hospital. now here is a look at your friday weather. another wet day for the southeast and gulf coasts. thunderstorms from new orleans and tallahassee to atlanta and charlotte. flooding around tampa and miami. thunderstorms across new mexico and arizona. rain from salt lake city to cheyenne. >> 65 in seattle. 84 in sacramento. 95 in colorado springs.

80s from kansas city and the twin cities to detroit. 79 here in new york. 83 in baltimore. 91 in miami. a neighborhood on chicago's south side is taking cover from an all-out air assault. >> thousands of starlings have stormed the bridgeport neighborhood for the second straight year. their weapon of choice, well, pretty obvious. streets, cars and even people have been a direct hit from the onslaught of bird droppings. to make it worse, the birds squawk all night. >> there is some good news, though. the birds will head south as it gets colder. the bad news, experts say they will probably be back next year. >> grab your umbrellas out there. >> an alfred hitchcock movie, isn't it? one good thing, mayor daley moved out of the bridgeport neighborhood a few years ago. so he won't have to deal with the starlings. >> good for him. we'll be back with more right after this. hoveround power chair?

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a 2-year-old boy is lucky to be alive after his heart and lungs started shutting down while at a toy store. owen stark was rushed to a st. louis hospital where he received an artificial lung. the procedure was such a success the doctors don't believe he'll need a lung transplant. it's not clear what exactly went wrong with owen, but you can bet he will get another trip to that toy store very soon. something you could call an eye-opening breakthrough. scientists have created synthetic corneas for the eye. >> the technology that could give back normal eyesight to millions while giving them a new outlook on life. here's andrea canning with how it works. >> reporter: for people who see the world like this every day, a breakthrough. until now, there was little hope for the 10 million people who suffer from corneal blindness. caused by infection, injury, and genetics.

the best option, a corneal transplant. hard to get with a shortage of donors and requiring a lifetime of drugs to fend off rejection. now doctors have opened a whole new door. an artificial cornea made of human collagen. almost like a contact lens sewn into your eye. it actually coaxes the cornea to regrow natural cells and nerves, restoring sight. >> it does not appear that there are downsides. because none of our patients showed any signs of rejection. >> reporter: it's just one of many recent breakthroughs. this year, doctors were able to grow corneas by using patients' own stem cells. this cincinnati boy, born without irises, could only see in black and white. until doctors implanted a silicone iris implant that allowed him to see vivid colors. >> good. good that i could see colors i was supposed to see. >> reporter: a tiny telescope implant allowed this man, suffering from macular degeneration, to see for the first time in years. >> i think this should give great hope to people with

blindness. >> reporter: potentially making this the decade when millions will finally see like this. andrea canning, abc news, new york. >> using the collagen they eliminate the need for cornea donors which they say were always in short supply. this could be huge for a lot of people. >> it certainly could be. in sweden when they tested this out, they're saying they took ten patients in one eye, after two years no one had any problems. it could be a huge advancement for about 5 million americans who have this problem. coming up, meathead from "all in the family" has gone very far in hollywood to say the least. >> now director rob reiner has plenty to say about his new film. that's n

welcome back, everybody.

legendary film director rob reiner's new movie called "flipped" is a coming of age tale of young love from two very different viewpoints. >> i cannot wait to see this one. peter traverse, "rolling stone" critic and host of abc news "popcorn" talked to reiner about his new movie. >> rob reiner, welcome to the show. >> thanks for having me. >> you have done a movie called "flipped." >> yes, i have. >> and rather than my trying to explain that to the world and what "flipped" is i'd rather that you did it. can you set that up? >> well, it's basically a love story about two 12 going on 13-year-olds, a time in life when -- >> puberty. >> puberty, when you are most confused and the powerful feelings are taking over. >> i've never gotten over that. >> i don't think we ever do. i don't think we ever do. i think we run around our whole lives trying to figure out what goes on with the opposite sex because that's the first time

when you're kind of awakened to it all and going what the heck is this? anyway, takes place in the late '50s, early '60s, very much like "stand by me." almost like a companion to "stand by me." in that one we looked at the bonds of friendship, in this one we look at the first feelings of love and what it means to fall in love for the first time. so it's about that. >> now we go back and forth in the movie from the point of view of the boy and the girl. >> right, right. and i think that that's one of the things that got me so hooked on the book and so fascinated. because i thought, well, in the film, i don't know if this could translate because supposedly we're going to show the boy's point of view, then show the exact same thing from the girl's point of view. but when i made the film i kept going back to the fact that i was fascinated by how interested i was to find out what her take on it was. what was her perspective? and i think we continue our entire lives trying to understand the other side. and we spend our whole lives trying to understand what women

are about, and hopefully they're spending their time trying to figure us out. >> i don't think so. >> you don't? you think they know? >> i think whatever they figured out -- >> they know. >> they already have moved past. >> that's true. >> we're trying to be -- >> no, i think you're exactly right. because i make the same movie over and over again. the same romantic picture. whether it's "the sure thing," "when harry met sally," now "flipped." it's always about a girl -- >> it is. >> -- who knows what she wants, she's emotionally mature and developed, and the boy runs around like an idiot trying to >> hi, harry. >> i thought it was you. >> it is. >> when you do something then like "when harry met sally," and again these lines become famous, especially your mom. >> i'll have what she's having. >> beside your mom's line in that movie, and did you have to prompt her to be in that movie? >> no, actually my mother -- i said to my mom -- billy crystal came up with that line.

we knew we had a great scene where meg ryan is faking an orgasm. billy came up with the popper, which is "i'll have what she's having." i said, we need an older woman in the deli, my mother, perfect for it. she had done other bits. i called her up, mom, we've got this thing in the deli, you have this line. we think we have a funny scene, and if your line doesn't top it, i might have to cut it. i just want to let you know. she said, that's all right, i don't care, spend the day with my son, go to katz's deli, have a hot dog. i'll be fine. then it turns out that line becomes one of the most famous -- 100 top most memorable lines in all of movie history. in afi they have that 100 most memorable lines. i just love the fact that you've got marlon brando, "i could have been a contender," clark gable, "frankly, my dear, i don't give a damn," then estelle reiner basically with those people. i get a kick out of it. >> it's as it should be. >> i'll have what she's having. >> we always end our show with a

song. >> okay. >> the guest always does something -- it could be a song that your movie clip reminds you of. you could go back and sing "those were the days." but a need a little bit of a song. ♪ what's your name, is it mary or sue ♪ ♪ what's your name, do i stand a chance with you ♪ ♪ it's so hard to find a person ♪ >> anyway, that's it. >> what an incredible career he's had. two of my favorites, "stand by me" and "a few good men." >> you can't handle the truth! >> one of my favorites. >> and when you think this is like a legacy. so rarely do you see a father like carl reiner who was a director go on to have a son who is just as talented in his own right. >> a family dynasty, love it. >> i never knew that he was behind castle rock entertainment. if you don't think you like carl reiner movies you probably do. "princess bride," "a few good men."

he's had his hand in incredible love stories. >> huge successes. >> this movie "flipped" is getting mediocre reviews but the kids are getting great reviews. but ordinary manual brushes can leave up to 50% of plaque behind. that's why you want an oral-b power brush. inspired by dental tools, for that dentist-smooth, clean feeling every day. hd 3

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"world news now" delivers your "morning papers." >> i think a lot of people would say that they're a little addicted to the internet. >> just a little, yeah. >> this guy was a little bit nuts, though. he says that it had gotten so bad, from the moment he woke up to the moment he went to sleep, all he was doing was something on the internet. he said dates with his wife, he would actually leave to go to the bathroom to get on the internet. >> that's a little sad. >> he decided he was going to kick the habit and this is what he has come up with. this comedian by the name of mark malkoff says he is going to hole up in his tiny bathroom for five days to kick the internet. 34 years old. he says he's going to be on september 12th posting a video of his bathroom. it's on mydamnchannel.com. we're allowed to say that

because it's the name of the website. he's living in a cramped apartment but he says he wants to memorize the location of every country in the world, learn how to knit, write a love letter to his wife, learn how to play "every rose has a thorn" on his guitar. >> do you think it's publicity or do you think this guy is legit? >> i'm sure it is for publicity. >> it's friday, folks. get to the polka! ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

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calm down. that's the message from new york's mayor after a suspected hate crime attack. then, beware of bullies. >> parents really need to be hypervigilant here. >> life-saving advice as kids return to school. and, artistic touch. the visionary who put down his paint brush and picked up an ipad. it's friday, august 27th. >> from abc news, this is "world news now." >> i recognize that good-looking young man. >> did you really? this guy's doing really cool work on the ipad. it's amazing what that machine does. he's an incredible painter, now all that talent on the ipad. really good. >> so that's some special app we can all get?

>> oh, yeah. >> we need to see the finished product, see if he can capture the charm in the picture. >> i was a difficult subject. so he did do good work. >> good morning and thanks for being with us on this friday. i'm vinita nair. >> i'm rob nelson. the muslim cab driver stabbed this week has appeared on the steps of new york city hall with the mayor. >> police say the attack was an isolated incident. understandably it has made many muslim americans very anxious. jeremy hubbard reports. >> reporter: it is the knife attack that has cut deep into a national debate over faith and fear. >> please do not kill me. i work very hard. >> reporter: ahmed sharif, who's driven a cab for 15 years, slashed across the head, neck and shoulders. >> it should never have happened. violence and being disrespectful to each other is not part of why america was formed. >> reporter: the suspect, 21-year-old michael enright, has a baffling profile. an honors film school student, he volunteers with a church

group that promotes peace and understanding. the only clue to possible bias, war journals on him at the time of his arrest. diaries he filled out during a recent trip to afghanistan. where he made a college film about u.s. troops serving there. those journals, police say, talked about afghans who were ungrateful for the american military presence in their country. still, the attack some muslims are certain was fueled by what they call fearmongering over the islamic cultural center and mosque planned on this site near ground zero. there are three flash points cited by muslims across the country where the rage is evident. a radical church in gainesville, florida, gaining worldwide attention for its plan to mark september 11th by burning hundreds of copies of the koran. the mosque in madera, california, vandalized three times in a week. and murfreesboro, tennessee, where hundreds filled city hall, openly hostile over plans for a mega mosque that some locals fear will breed terrorists. an abc news poll showed nearly half of americans hold an

unfavorable opinion of islam. believing the religion encouraged violence. one other note about the suspected stabber that muddies the water even further. the peace group he volunteered with, they support putting the islamic center down near ground zero. the suspect is charged with attempted murder as a hate crime. jeremy hubbard, abc news, new york. there is new video this morning of those trapped miners in chile, and the images are surprising. the men appear quite cheerful as they wave to family members above ground. these are the clearest pictures yet of the miners. they are passing time by playing dominos and other games. the company has bad news. it cannot afford to pay the miners' salaries and it could now go bankrupt. former president jimmy carter is on his way back to the u.s. this morning with the boston man who was granted amnesty by north korea. carter helped secure the release of aijalon gomes, who had been in prison since january. gomes had been teaching english

in south korea and was accused of illegally entering north korea from china. carter and gomes arrive in boston later today. police have arrested three men in canada on terrorism charges. among the suspects the 28-year-old doctor who appeared on "canadian idol" in 2008. he sang a version of the avril lavigne song "complicated." the two other suspects made a brief appearance in court on thursday. police say they arrested the men to stop them from sending the money to terror groups in afghanistan. a disclosure by a former top republican strategist that he's gay is getting mixed reaction frs both gay rights groups and republicans. >> but the news is shaking up the debate over same-sex marriage. karen traverse is in washington with more. >> reporter: a key political strategist for george w. bush says he disagrees with the former president on a hot-button social issue and also makes a personal revelation. ken mehlman is not a household name but he now may be one of the most prominent voices in the

evolving debate over same-sex marriage. mehlman served as the campaign manager for president bush's 2004 re-election. he later served as chairman of the republican national committee. this week he said he recently came to the conclusion that he is gay. the veteran political strategist said he decided to speak out publicly because he is now working to overturn california's law against same-sex marriage. just five years ago, he was promoting a different view. >> president strongly believes that marriage in this country ought to be between a man and a woman. >> reporter: one of the ways president bush rallied voters to the polls in 2004 was through anti-gay marriage referenda in key states and a proposed constitutional amendment. >> we stand for marriage and family. >> reporter: mehlman told abc news he does not regret being part of the bush campaign and the fight over same-sex marriage did not decide the 2004 election. public opinion on this issue has moved quickly. a cnn poll this month found americans support same-sex

marriage by a six-point margin. a significant shift from just four years ago when the public opposed it by 22 points. even former vice president dick cheney and first lady laura bush have spoken out recently in favor of same-sex marriage. president obama has said he opposes it. next month, mehlman will host a pro-gay marriage event with fellow republicans. a former bush spokesperson, john mccain's campaign manager, and vice president cheney's daughter mary. rob and vinita? federal investigators say they have found positive samples of salmonella that link two iowa farms to the widespread egg recall. tests show the bacteria was present in chicken feed used by both farms. investigators now want to know if other egg farms were using the contaminated feed. so far, as many as 1,300 cases of salmonella poisoning are tied to tainted eggs. the western part of the nation has been taking a pounding from the elements this summer. people are struggling there to cope with everything from triple digit heat to drenching rain, hurricane-strength winds and

even raging wiltd wildfires. don guevara has the story. >> reporter: a burst of wind from a surprise storm snapped this power pole like a twig, sending live wires onto a bus filled with anxious passengers. >> it sounded like bombs going off. i thought we got electrocuted. there's lightning. there was a monsoon. >> reporter: winds from an arizona monsoon took a bite out of the side of the mayo clinic near phoenix. in tucson, another monster storm ripped a tree from its roots. toppling it onto a rec center. winds are fueling the largest burning fire in the nation in idaho, more than 300,000 acres scorching for nearly a week. in california, flames dance from mountaintops north of los angeles. at one point, threatening homes nearby. >> i have two employees that live down there. they're both evacuated at this time. >> reporter: firefighters are battling flames and heat, which has reached triple digits. delaying trains from los angeles to san francisco. for those of us who have to be outside, we just have to deal

with the heat. but there are those in search of relief. >> it's so hot out here, the water's so cool. it's really nice. >> reporter: from pools to waves. relief at the beach can be dangerous. >> it's really crazy. the rip tide was really strong. the waves were huge. >> reporter: still, everyone wants to stay cool. don guevara, abc news, los angeles. now here is a look at your friday forecast. thunderstorms in the west from phoenix to albuquerque and from cheyenne to salt lake city. thunderstorms from the carolinas to florida. flooding downpours around tampa and miami. wet also along the gulf coast into new orleans. >> cooler in partsof t 65 in seatt 70 in portl fargo 90. minneapolis 86. and the windy city 83. mostly 70s in the northeast. 88 in atlanta. 91 in miami. well, it took a pig to bring home the bacon in a big way at this year's kentucky state fair. >> a blue ribbon ham sold for a record, get this, $1.6 million at an annual auction yesterday.

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welcome back. this sunday marks the fifth anniversary of hurricane katrina. many remember the haunting images of the city destroyed like it was yesterday. >> five years ago, bob woodruff met families whose homes were overcome by those floodwaters. he returned to the crescent city to see how they rebuilt. >> reporter: the floodwaters trapped people in their homes. >> we got up on the roof, all the way to the roof. and water came behind us. >> reporter: they raced to attics and rooftops to escape, pleading for help. >> my mother's house just

disintegrated. >> hopefully kept them dry and hopefully saved them. >> reporter: rescuers saved some of the desperate but not all. >> hello. >> reporter: we found harry prior and his neighbor michael knight. this your neighborhood? >> yeah. >> reporter: paddling house to house, searching for their marooned neighbors. >> see that hole there on the rooftop? cut them out of the roofs. some of them jammed in there. >> reporter: knight was born and raised in the lower ninth ward. when everyone else fled, he stayed and saved more than 400 of their neighbors. surviving on water and meals dropped down from coast guard helicopters, knight and a few friends lived on his rooftop. so we went looking for knight this week, not knowing where he'd be. we found him back in his neighborhood where we met him five years ago. how does it feel to stand here in the same spot five years later? >> glad to be here. >> glad to be here? >> yeah. >> reporter: so many have left. >> so many died. >> reporter: today, much of the

lower ninth is frozen in time. abandoned homes. many still displaying the spray painted markings left by search teams. about 15,000 people lived here before katrina. today, fewer than 3,500 have returned. still, there are glimmers of hope. the flood wall has been rebuilt higher and stronger and some new homes now pepper the landscape. about 50 of them constructed with money from actor brad pitt's foundation. and watching a young girl race for the school bus, it's hard not to smile. knight built a new home right next door to the old one. and he's replaced all his chickens that he lost in the storm. >> i was the last one to leave, and i'm the first one back. >> reporter: nothing could drive him away. not even what happened five years ago. sadly, michael really is an exception because this house is really much more typical. people have lost their homes, have been destroyed. those that do want to come back, they can't afford to rebuild. others are still afraid there's going to be another hurricane

and a flood. and it's been five years now since this all began. people have gone away to find new states or cities in new neighborhoods. it's very unlikely they're going to come back. bob woodruff, abc news, new orleans. >> one of the icons of katrina's destruction. but the good news, 80% of new orleans residents are back. that's a promising figure five years out. >> of course there's going to be so many marches and ceremonies. the mayor said this is to celebrate the spirit of determination and resilience, reminding people how far they've really come. >> absolutely. >> we want to remind folks, 12:30 p.m., you can watch abc news facebook special report called "katrina five years later." it will be simulcast on abcnews.com. which is our network's digital channel, abc news now, and abc news facebook page. >> a lot of progress to report on for sure. an unusual new medium for a talented artist. >> as i discover he found a virtual way to make new creations on his ipad. see how it worksksksksksksksksks

welcome back. the ipad has really simplified how we can see modern art forms like movies and tv. >> i met one artist who took the new technology and made it his canvas for the traditional art, painting. for artist david casson, the goal, simply put, is to keep it real. >> realism for me is about truth. the paintings are my way of documenting my time here. and trying to see it as accurately as possible and as honestly as possible is really important to me. >> reporter: at just 33 years old, casson has become a prominent new york artist and has traveled around the world to teach his craft. his success is largely because of his stunningly realistic paintings. they're so life-like and nuanced, it's hard to believe they're actually paintings. >> sometimes when people see

them, 90% of the people who see my paintings think they're photographs. >> it's meant as a compliment, of course, but casson says actual photographs lack the texture and emotion of his paintings. >> until it's the end of your 100 hours you spent with this person painting them, you've talked with them throughout the process, you know who they are, you've captured the nuances of their expression and their emotion. they're pretty much -- they're not a mile away, and they're not blurry. they're right next to you and you're shaking their hand. so it's really understanding who they are. >> and skrchlt casson is now taking that understanding straight to an iconic piece of 21st century technology, the ipad. helping pioneer a new trend in the art world, casson every now and then trades in his paint brush for just his finger. using an application called brushes to take his work from the canvas to the computer screen. >> i couldn't imagine having this ten years ago. it's like a portable color sketch book.

i see people getting cards on the subway because they saw a painting with it. >> some people are using it to present their artwork and to present almost like a portfolio of who they are. there's another wave of people that i think are like david who have been using every new media that comes out. >> casson cannot actually sell the images he creates on the ipad. the device is more of a way to showcase his other work, perfect his technique, and experiment with a new trend. >> i was number five in line to get it actually, to get the ipad. because i had been drinking a little bit in the city and noticed there was a line and i was like, oh, i'll jump on line. >> digital technology's a growing trend because young art students today have grown up being surrounded by this. this is part of their -- who they are, what they do. it's a huge means of communication. so it's very natural to think that, going forward, that will be the -- that digital technology will be incorporated into how they think and express themselves artistically.

>> reporter: casson, who once used his unemployment benefits to further his art training, got his break several years ago when a new york gallery owner spotted some of his work in casson's backpack. >> we found him, very gifted young drawing and painting student, and we've watched him evolve over the years. >> reporter: casson's latest evolution is a true reflection of these high-tech times. >> if da vinci was around today, he'd definitely be using the ipad to create things. he'd be using the latest cameras. he'd be trying to find holographic cameras to see how a model can sit for him longer or something. he would be a total tech geek like me. >> reporter: a geek who produces some pretty impressive work. no matter how difficult the subject. >> not a bad job. incredible. it's all on the ipad, his finger making those images. it's incredible. he can paint, then he transfers that talent onto the ipad. here's a look here. not too bad. a little angry, which i think i

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finally this half hour, what parents are doing to protect their kids from bullies at school and at home. >> with the help of the internet, the reach of the schoolyard bullies certainly has grown. but what happens when your child ends up to be the bully? michael marusarz has that story. >> reporter: cases of terrorized teens and tweens topped national headlines this school year. 15-year-old phoebe prince committed suicide in january, the apparent victim of relentless bullying. >> a little boy just caught on

fire, and he jumped into the swimming pool. >> reporter: michael brewer nearly died after bullies lit him on fire in florida. >> how do you describe that kind of pain? >> agony. >> reporter: two-thirds of his body burned. the american academy of pediatrics says 26% of 10, 11, and 12-year-olds are involved in bullying. either as victims or bullies. but if you factor in bystanders, 77% of third graders are in the bully circle. but could you tell if your child is a bully? >> i know a lot of the students try and tell their parents or try and tell an administrator or teacher, and they aren't heard. >> reporter: at a bully prevention summit in washington, d.c. this summer, students and school officials brainstormed solutions. >> i think some people just see it as teasing each other as friends. some people don't know when it really hurts. >> reporter: the most effective arsenal against bullies may lie at home. >> parents should be alerted to these behaviors in their home. >> reporter: the american

academy of pediatrics urges parents and caretakers to monitor their children for impulsive behavior, aggressive attitudes, and lack of empathy toward siblings. all traditional bully tendencies. experts concede signs are often not so obvious. cyber bullying has created an atmosphere where bullies can remain anonymous, attacking through texting and social media sites. >> parents really need to be hypervigilant here. really need to not hesitate about intervening. >> reporter: as 55 million students return to class in the coming weeks, bullies will be back too. mike marusarz, abc news, new york. >> when you think about it also, just generationally, the term bullying has evolved so much. when we were in school it meant someone said something mean to you, maybe they knock over your books. >> i got stuffed in the locker, normal stuff. now it's a whole different level which is kind of scary. >> i had song written about me. it wasn't a nice period. i'm not sharing that, but i think it's hard for parenth@h@h@

anticipation. the chairman of the federal reserve addresses bankers today. can we expect a new economic action plan? then, cyber attack. the invisible high-tech threat to the defense department. why it's so serious. a face transplant patient's remarkable recovery and amazing attitude. it's friday, august 27th. >> from abc news, this is "world news now." >> only two face transplants in the history of the country, this woman's one of them. it's an incredible story. >> diane sawyer has followed this woman. we saw her on "good morning america" i want to say almost a year ago. now to see the difference, it really is dramatic. you want to make sure you see that story. >> incredible progress.

good morning, everybody, i'm rob nelson. >> i'm vinita nair. with fears of a double-dip recession, people from wall street to main street will be paying attention to the federal reserve chairman today. >> ben bernanke addresses bankers following a week of one bad economic report after another. karen traverse has the latest from washington. good morning, karen. >> reporter: good morning, rob and vinita. in volatile economic times, when the chairman of the fed speaks, people pay attention. traders on wall street did not react very positively to some encouraging news about unemployment. the labor department says claims for jobless benefits fell for the first time in a month. but the national unemployment rate is still 9.5%. but investors paid attention to the bigger picture. the dow jones industrials fell 74 points. it opens today below 10,000 for the first time in two months over fears of a sputtering economy. fed chairman ben bernanke's major speech friday may address the stalled recovery and

predictions of a double-dip recession. >> well, i wish i could say it was going to be right around the corner but i think this is going to be a very unique and painful recovery. >> reporter: analysts say bernanke must do what he can to boost confidence. a recent poll showed that 56% of americans disapproved of the president's handling of the economy. the top republican in the house says the president's economic team should get fired. >> listen, this cannot continue. i've had enough. >> the president's doing everything that we think is appropriate to continue moving the economy in the right direction. >> reporter: that comes after back-to-back bad reports on housing this week, including the 27% drop in sales of pre-owned homes. >> i don't think we've ever seen a drop of this magnitude. >> reporter: for americans the economy is a pocketbook issue. for politicians in washington it is a pivotal political issue. and the november elections are getting closer and closer. economists are looking for a call to action from bernanke today.

we are seeing the clearest pictures yet of those miners trapped deep underground in chile. in video just released the miners appeared in good spirits, waving and even laughing. that's good news to experts who are worried of course about the psychological impact of long-term confinement. also, a setback to report. the mine company says it cannot afford to pay the men and will likely go bankrupt. the pentagon is looking for a few good men and women in its war on computer hackers. pierre thomas reports the perfect group for this cyber force may not even be old enough to vote. >> reporter: right now the nation is under attack. not from tanks or missiles but an invisible assault with the u.s. being hit on all sides. >> we're being scanned millions of times a day. there are attempted intrusions that happen thousands of times a day. >> reporter: william lynn is the 56-year-old deputy secretary of defense. he is the man who has to worry about those 1,000 hack attempts a day. beyond the millions spent fighting this new war, the

government is increasingly pinning its hopes on unlikely recruits. meet the baby-faced warriors. the green berets in this new age war. america needs an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 young people skilled in hacking, a national competition was recently launched aimed at finding them. the targets, teenagers, some as young as 16. michael coppola won the first hacking competition by infiltrating the competition's computers and upping his score. >> i'm told you've got skills. >> what can i say. young people have interest in technology. they have the passion. >> have they already started to recruit you? >> the navy tried to recruit me but i didn't make a decision. >> have you ever snuck around systems you're not supposed to be in? >> no comment. >> reporter: already hackers have tried to steal battlefield war plans, access secret weapons designs, and what is now being called the worst breach of military computers ever. hackers were able to compromise classified information from the command overseeing u.s. war operation ins iraq and

afghanistan. >> it was an important moment. it i think changed our understanding of the threat. >> reporter: the u.s. wants to act fast. the chinese have already amassed a force of young hackers and some at this very moment are preparing the war force for the 21st century. pierre thomas, abc news, washington. an american teacher jailed in north korea since january is free this morning thanks to former president jimmy carter. mr. carter negotiated a special pardon for aijalon gomes. he was facing eight years of hard labor on charges he entered north korea illegally. instead, though, gomes is on a private jet this morning heading back home to boston. city leaders here in new york are trying to ease tensions in the debate over that planned islamic center near ground zero. >> but the stabbing of a muslim cab driver this week has touched off a fresh round of fears about these kind of attacks. t.j. winick has the very latest. >> reporter: good morning, rob and vinita. the cabbie has driven here in new york for 15 years and says he still loves the city despite

tuesday's brutal attack. at city hall, new york mayor michael bloomberg dismissed suggestions that the planned construction of an islamic community center two blocks from ground zero was behind the stabbing of a muslim cab driver. >> whether it was related to anything or not, it was disgraceful. everybody should feel safe on the streets. >> reporter: bloomberg stood shoulder to shoulder with ahmed sharif, a cabbie stabbed by a passenger five times after answering yes to the question, are you a muslim? >> i see the knife and i close my eyes. >> reporter: police have charged the alleged stabber, 21-year-old michael enright, with a hate crime. enright is an amateur filmmaker and honors student who recently returned from shooting a documentary in afghanistan. he also volunteers with a church-affiliated group dedicated to promoting peace and understanding. >> i don't believe that he has any underlying hatred, animosity, towards islam or muslims in general. >> reporter: some fear the

stabbing is no isolated incident. this past weekend, there were opposing rallies over the center in lower manhattan. in gainesville, florida, a church is planning on marking september 11th by burning the koran. in tennessee, neighbors have been hostile about construction that's just begun on a mega mosque. >> the level of anti-muslim sentiment is at an all-time high. >> reporter: police say enright faces charges of assault and attempted murder. hurricane danielle is now packing 110-mile-an-hour winds as it inches closer to bermuda. it is now a category 3 hurricane and it's expected to brush bermuda by tomorrow. tropical storm earl is forecast to become a hurricane in the next 24 hours. earl is on track to pass near puerto rico. there is a chance it could hit the east coast. here's the rest of the forecast this morning. thunderstorms from new orleans to miami, up to the carolinas. flooding from tampa to miami. stormy also in new mexico and much of arizona. rain in utah, wyoming, and idaho.

warming up in the midwest. mild in the northeast. >> 76 in boston. 79 in new york. 83 in baltimore. 90s from dallas to miami. mostly 80s across the midwest. 102 in phoenix. 92 in salt lake city. 95 in colorado springs. well, this was an excruciating end to an on-air battle of the sexes. >> a radio personality in meridian, mississippi, agreed to have his chest waxed. that's after an argument with his co-host over who exactly endures more pain, men or women. it looks like scott stevens got his answer the hard way. >> i wonder if he yelled "kelly clarkson." >> stevens agreed to undergo the waxing if listeners donated enough canned goods to fill a large box. he says he may never be the same again but a local food kitchen is much better off. there is no question here. we endure way more pain. >> this is true. i'm fine with the fur. we'll be right back with more after this. [ female announcer ] fact.

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nice shot out there, willis. well, the first person to ever receive a face transplant in america has finally completed all of the surgeries. >> connie culp has endured more than any of us could possibly imagine. she now has a new face and her life back. she talked about that journey with diane sawyer. >> reporter: this is connie culp as she used to be. a mom with a husband who pulled out a gun and shot her in the face. she was 40 years old. for the next four years she would live with no jaw, no nose, no nerve endings, and dozens of transplants. this is how she looked when her transplanted face was still new. it had no feeling.

she didn't know there was a tear on her cheek. flash forward one year later, connie culp is truly going home. you've changed since we last met. >> i can sneeze normal now. >> reporter: who knew you had to get used to having a nose. >> grab my face. >> reporter: there is still swelling around her jaw, which will go down, and the nerve endings are regrowing an inch a month. and she does muscle exercises to ensure she has a kiss and a smile. what do you love to smell now? >> i like smelling flowers. i like smelling david's hair after he gets a shower. doesn't it smell great? >> the best. >> reporter: the donor's family wants to stay anonymous so all connie knows is it was the face of a woman roughly her age. everybody has wondered, and you have wondered too, would you be yourself? would you be someone different? what do you see in your own expressions now?

>> i think they've made me look somewhat like i did before. because i have the high cheekbones. >> and your smile. >> yeah. they did a good job, didn't they? >> reporter: what about the man who did this to her? the first time we met, she startled us by saying -- >> i still love my husband. i can't talk about it. >> do you still love him? >> i always will. i mean, i have two kids to him. but you know what, i cannot be with him anymore. you have to be outside to look in to see what's happening. >> reporter: the sentence was just seven years. he's eligible for release in 2011. she has to take 20 pills a day to protect against rejection. dr. maria siemionow from the renowned cleveland clinic was her lead surgeon. >> the medical community has learned from connie one important lesson, that you have to be a very strong person. >> reporter: and we remembered something she told us the first

time we met. a heartbreaking story, how children would cower and call her a monster. the other day, we took her to the mall. no one looked. >> i never dreamed i'd have a nose. or a mouth. i mean, i had nothing. it is so great, what the doctors can do today. it's amazing. >> and when you wake up every morning, what's the first thing you think? >> what a great day it is. yee-haw. >> reporter: just another woman with a staggering story. and a message she still wants to send to everyone watching. when we last talked you said the tim mcgraw song was your favorite. >> oh, yeah. "live like you were dying." ♪ someday i hope you get the chance to live like you were dying ♪ ♪ live like you were dying

>> hard to believe, 30 surgeries later. they say there's still fears that the face could be rejected by the body. so she will always have to undergo biopsies to make sure. because it's happened with other people in the past where the face just didn't take, the body rejected it. >> she gafs a great quote. she says, i don't care what religion anybody is. we all have a god, and he's great. i'm lucky because a lot of people love me. incredible story. >> incredible attitude about it all too. coming

no one's trying to take your picture, willis. welcome back, everybody. time for "the skinny." of course, sarah palin's been making all kinds of news this week. that nail-biter of a senate race in alaska. now bristol herself is making a little bit of news. apparently she is going on "dancing with the stars." while the official lineup is not

going to be announced until monday night at 8:00 on abc on "the bachelor pad," apparently, there's confirmation this morning that bristol will be joining the show to show us all of her dance moves. the season begins september 20th. a lot of news with levi, all her battles, off again, on again, blah, blah, blah. we will see her again here on abc. >> eager to see that. >> i'm sure you are. >> also, to all the women he's loved before, julio iglesias, he has a message for them. he's taken. after 20 years of dating that woman, miranda, the mother of five of his kids, they finally decided sto tie the knot. they had a very private ceremony. they said they're of course very, very happy together. they've been together for a very long time. the kids were there. the ceremony was august 24th. of course he's sort of the eternally suave pop icon everybody knows and loves. off the market, ladies. he's 66, she's 44. which you think is big, but i don't think so. >> that's not bad by hollywood

standards. >> no. normal, right? >> looks pretty good. wyclef jean, some news, we know he made his big announcement he's going to run for president of haiti but the commissioner's office said no, you're not. he got denied out there. of course how do you get back? make a song about it. he released something yesterday. take a listen right here. ♪ >> if you don't know what they're saying, don't feel bad. it's in creole, not in english. but the song is called "prison for the cep," takes a dig at the electoral commission which denied his bid to run for president. he's venting a little anger there that his career will not be going political. >> sounds like a lot of his band mates are not surprised by this. a lot of them didn't support the presidential bid to begin with. now he's officially off. >> that's it, just singing the blues. >> remember that ad campaign i want to be like mike? you know who else is like mike?

>> his baby boy. >> that's right. his son was out gambling in las vegas. apparently he sends a tweet and the tweet says that i was a high-roller, i've been partying at hayes, which is a nightclub at the area hotel and casino city center. so he sends out this tweet, and immediately the world kind of says, wait a minute. you're only 19 years old. >> what's up with that? >> he's obviously too young to be gambling. he basically said that last night was stupid. 35k at hayes, total something like 50k for the whole day. so he's out on twitter bragging about what he'd done. now immediately these posts were removed. but a lot of people are saying, you know, michael, we have heard, has some problems with gambling, been an avid gambler since 1993 according to a lot of reports. some people said they had to cover $57,000 in gambling losses just off of michael. the big question is, is his son following him? >> 19. >> i'm sure it's hard when you have that much money and that much warm reception.

>> of course. i don't know what the casinos say. if there's any place in the world security is insanely tight it's a casino. i wonder how a 19-year-old, they're always checking ids at the door, how he's able to work his way in there. ♪ wanna be like mike like mike hó

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for nighttime pain, make advil pm your #1 choice. rushing real liquid relief to ease you to sleep fast. here are some stories to watch today on abc news. backers of the tea party start arriving in washington today for their national convention. the movement is planning two days of rallies this weekend. the parents of missing 7-year-old kyron horman make an announcement in portland, oregon, this afternoon. they are planning a fund-raiser

and events marking their son's birthday. amazon ships its latest version of the kindle today. amazon took advance orders of the e-reader last month. it was a sell-out. finally this half hour, new orleans' rebirth. five years after katrina, there are signs of recovery along the gulf coast. >> there are also deep scars. as we say good-bye tore this half hour, we'll leave you with photographs from the abc news facebook special report, "katrina, then and now." ♪ ♪

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