[applause] >> thank you very much, cynthia. it is a great pleasure for me to be here, and i thank the league and the bar association and the criminal trial lawyers association for inviting me to do this. i am a neutral moderator. i have not endorsed any candidate in regard to this race, and you will hear from the candidates who will have an opportunity to answer the questions which i have formulated. i want to thank tony and julie for the hell they gave, along with other people in formulating the questions we have come up with. the questions in the long run are those that i have written and that i will put to each of the candidates. in regard to the ground rules, i would say each candidate will have two minutes to make an opening statement and then a closing statement. each candidate will have one minute to answer every question, and in addition to that, i have a number of intermittent questions, which are lightning round questions, that i will just throw in and ask for a yes or no answer, and then move on to the more fleshed o

in new york city, this is "nightline," november 29th, 2011. >> good evening, i'm cynthia mcfadden. tonight, on the island of aruba, the only suspect in the disappearance of a 35-year-old american woman was released after four months in jail. authorities on the island believe a man she met online, gary giordano, was involved in her disappearance. but as of tonight, there is still no body and no physical evidence. abc's matt gutman had exclusive access to giordano as he was released. >> reporter: it was the moment gary giordano had waited for for 116 days. the only suspect in the disappearance of robyn gardner. now, a free man. but even as he and his attorneys rolled out of the prison gates, they were swarmed by the media, blocking his car, peering inside. abc news was there as giordano arrived at this hotel. low cams angry taunts of "murder." tonight, his first night out of a bathroom-sized cell he shared with two others for 17 hours a day. his first unmonitored and emotional call home to his three sons. and an embrace. the attorneys that helped secure his release. but that freedom

so, cynthia, read the tea leaves. what do you see there? >> not only is obama's approval rating closest to jimmy carter's which republicans are ever fond of pointing out because they want him to repeat that trajectory. carter, of course, was a one-term president. but i think one of the most telling things was that you mentioned an episode far outside of carter's control which greatly affected his re-election chances, and that was the taking of hostages in iran. we have no idea what is going to happen with the euro and the european union. >> nothing good, though. >> exactly. >> it's a wonderful serendipity going on there. >> and that will greatly affect the economy here in the united states that is something outside forces that could have a big effect on obama's re-election chances, and perhaps bring his approval numbers back down again. >> should we say we found the real bin laden again. we killed the wrong guy, we got him again. let me go to john heilemann. you write these historical books now like teddy white did. when you look at the pat

in new york city, this is "nightline," november 17th, 2011. >> good evening, i'm cynthia mcfadden. we begin tonight with marriage and regret. the actress demi moore today announced she plans to divorce her much younger husband, ashton kutcher. they've been married six years. some marriages don't make it nearly that long. exhibit a, kim kardashian and her 72-day union. the authors of a new book say, don't be shocked. 30% of divorced women put on their white dress and march down the aisle even though they had a sinking feeling it wasn't going to work. the question tonight is, why do they do it? here's abc's andrea canning. >> reporter: it was billed at kim's fairy tale wedding. it cost a reported $10 million. a custom dress by vera wang. $15,000 wedding cake, six feet tale. and that multimillion dollar deal signed with e entertainment to make it a television spectacular not to be missed. >> you may be seated. >> reporter: but in the end, it all added up to a fizzled fairy tale that lasted just 72 days. was it a hoax? was it a scam? shockingly, kim says no. it was really just a big mi

cynthia bowers talks with one of them. he's wanted for bank robberies across southern california, but is he really the elderly man he appears to be? bill whitaker is on the case. and meet judge jimmie. he's a no nonsense judge who believes the real answer lies in giving young offenders a second chance. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with russ mitchell. >> mitchell: and good evening. as the thanksgiving weekend draws to a close, retailers are breathing a sigh of relief and adding up their sales. a record 226 million shoppers visited stores and web sites this weekend, an industry survey says. that's up 14 million from last year, and they spent a record $52.4 billion. tony guida has been taking the pulse of the american shopper. >> reporter: recession? what recession? americans are shopping and spending this holiday weekend like their pants are on fire. >> the deals are great this weekend. you just got to have the patience to stand in line and weave through the crowds. >> reporter: and the luck to

and our thanks to cynthia. as if tv stardom isn't enough, sofia has two movies coming out this holiday season. >>> and just ahead, we shift gears, as new sexual harassment accusations emerge against the front-runner of the republican presidential field. ♪ all righty. oh, oh. you are a little biscuit. i'm carol. uh, we should skedaddle 'cause it's girls' night. so...okay. oh, wow. you got a skinny-dipping scene after the duel, right? well, i -- shh, shh, shh. show. don't tell. [ male announcer ] your favorite movies right when you want them. just a little -- okay. oh, wow. [ male announcer ] watch unlimited tv episodes and movies instantly through your game console or other devices, all for only 8 bucks a month from netflix. [ carol ] this could turn me into a history buff. all for only 8 bucks a month from netflix. confidence. available in color. depend for women is now peach. looks and fits like underwear. same great protection. depend. good morning. great day. no, no, i just paid my car insurance bill -- ou

let me go to cynthia on this one. cynthia, we all heard the same thing. this is classic. i'm not denigrating him, but he is interesting to try to keep track of, herman cain. did he or did he not admit or agree to taking a lie detector test? it's hard to parse his sentence. >> excellent question! it's much like the answer he gave not long ago on abortion. where he said he's pro-life, but it's up to the individual. at first he said, i would absolutely take a lie detector test! and then he said, only if there were a good reason for me to do so. well, i can't imagine that there would be a better reason for him to do so than now. let me also say that i was struck by the tone of his response. i was expecting a much more pointed, perhaps more emotional complete denial of these charges from a man who says he's innocent. i'm thinking of men i know. if they were charged -- if a woman came forward in the middle of a presidential campaign, a woman they had never seen before, never laid hands on, and made charges that are very damaging and very troubling, it seems to me that most men

cynthia, gracias por estar con nosotros. >>gracias a ti por invitarme, feliz de estar aquÍ en tu programa. >>nosotros mÁs. hablaremos, porque ya falta poco para que la novela en la que estÁs termine. ¿cÓmo se siente? >>es como despedirte de ti misma, de lo que has sido por lo menos seis o siete meses... te sientes extraÑas en las primeras semanas cuando terminas de grabar, porque, obviamente, sigues hablando como el personaje, la gente te sigue llamando como ese personaje en la calle, y tambiÉn es el proceso de desprenderte de la forma de hablar, de gesticular, de todo; abandonar lo que fuiste para luego volver a ser tÚ. >>¿quÉ haces en tu limitado tiempo libre? >>me gusta ir a los karaokes. >>¡no! ¿tÚ cantas? >>no sÉ si canto, yo creo que entono. [risas] por lo menos no paso vergÜenzas, creo yo. [risas] y me gusta tambiÉn leer, escuchar mÚsica, leer todas las cosas que pueda... >>cynthia, para un segundito, ¡para, para! ¿quÉ cantas en el karaoke? ¿quÉ canciones te escuchamos cantar? >>ay, josÉ, me pon

in new york city this is "nightline," november 29th, 2011. >> good evening, i'm cynthia mcfadden. tonight, on the island of aruba, the only suspect in the disappearance of a 35-year-old american woman was released after four months in jail. authorities on the island believe a man she met online gary giordano was involved in her disappearance. but as of tonight, there is still no body and no physical evidence. abc's matt gutman had exclusive access to giordano as he was released. >> reporter: it was the moment gary giordano had waited for for 116 days. the only suspect in the disappearance of robyn gardner. now, a free man. but even as he and his attorneys rolled out of the prison gates, they were swarmed by the media, blocking his car, peering inside. abc news was there as giordano arrived at this hotel. low cams angry taunts of "murder." tonight, his first night out of a bathroom-sized cell he shared with two others for 17 hours a day. his first unmonitored and emotional call home to his three sons. and an embrace. the attorneys that helped secure his release. but that freedom co

. >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," november 16th, 2011. >> good evening. we begin tonight with a major development in a child abuse scandal that continues to grow. yet another mother has come forward, saying her son was adopted by the now disgraced former penn state coach, jerry sandusky. she says sandusky used the children's charity he set up and ran to gain access to her son and others. sandusky is charged with 40 counts of molestation and abuse. here's abc's jim avila. >> it was unnatural from the beginning. >> reporter: she knows jerry sandusky all too well. debra long shares a child with him. hers by birth, his first as a foster child and at age 18, adopted as an adult. after a relationship that began when matt was just 10 years old. >> when it first started, you could see that he was, like, excited to see jerry show up. and as it progressed, it got to the point where he would look out the window, see jerry pull in and hide behind a bedroom door. >> reporter: matt has said pu

. >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," november 10th, 2011. >> good evening, i'm terry moran. it's the kind of extreme decision that, if we are lucky, we never face. to risk an irreversible medical procedure in hopes of repairing a chronic health problem and starting life anew. the woman you are about to meet, now 39 years old, came to believe that her weight problems would kill her before she got to see her children marry. so, she took the leap. here's abc's matt gutman with her story. >> reporter: for holly, the breaking point came when her 10-year-old son payton couldn't get his arms around her for a hug. when we first met her last october, holly was more than 200 pounds overweight. she could barely walk, much less keep up with payton, her 11-year-old son tyler and her husband, barry. >> i want to take them to disney and go on rides. i just want to have more energy. i want to keep up with people my age. >> reporter: for as long as she could remember, holly had been fat. >> i've bee

i'm cynthia mcfadden. today, as so many of us gathered around the family table to share food and laughter, we thought it fitting to remember that on the other side of the world, there are 116,000 mostly young americans serving in iraq and afghanistan, whose families are celebrating another holiday without them. as two wars that have told now for more than a decade wind down, they fight on. abc's senior white house correspondent jake tapper and "nightline" producer ely brown traveled to afghanistan to spend time with them. >> reporter: we're headed to the tip of the spear. to a remote base in mountainous northeast afghanistan. pakistan is right there. that mountain, under the clouds. this is the northern-most forward operating base. how does that feel? >> differences between you and the enemy, but still. >> reporter: it's morning at forward operating base bostick. the men and women of the 227 infantry the wolfhounds, prepare for their day. >> start off with role call. >> reporter: whatever the pending plans

abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," november 10th, 2011. >> good evening, i'm terry moran. it's the kind of extreme decision that, if we are lucky, we never face. to risk an irreversible medical procedure in hopes of repairing a chronic health problem and starting life anew. the woman you are about to meet, now 39 years old, came to believe that her weight problems would kill her before she got to see her children marry. so, she took the leap. here's abc's matt gutman with her story. >> reporter: for holly, the breaking point came when her 10-year-old son payton couldn't get his arms around her for a hug. when we first met her last october, holly was more than 200 pounds overweight. she could barely walk, much less keep up with payton, her 11-year-old son tyler and her husband, barry. >> i want to take them to disney and go on rides. i just want to have more energy. i want to keep up with people my age. >> reporter: for as long as she could remember, holly had been fat. >> i've been fighting with weight since i was 6 years old.

it was so perfect, cynthia, we had launched on our brothers. we stayed there for the next 3 hours, and closed the cafe. sara said this brother sister thing is huge and no one writes about it, no one talks about it, the affect our brothers and sisters has on us. this is your next book, this is what you need to write. are you kidding me, i could never write anything so personal, never. that is how it started. when you >> when you were working on this, friends, you would talk about my relationship with my difficult older brother, what happened? what doors opened up, what did you learn about what people carry around about their siblings? >> it is huge. so many share this. it is like the asian flu. the first year of trying to work on this, i couldn't do it, so i approached it like a reporter. i was dancing around what it was really about, which is the red hot emotions between the 2 of us and where it had come from. i spent a year reporting, interviewing every expert, i flew the london, and the importance of relationships and psychoanalysis. >> did y

cynthia bowers has more. >> what do i hear? >> mitt romney handed out sandwiches in nashua after receiving the endorsement of one of new hampshire's most popular politician, u.s. senator kelly ayotte. >> there's one person in this field who is prepared to lead the united states of america, and this is mitt romney. >> reporter: romney hopes to improve on his silver medal finishes here and in iowa in 2008. >> i said from the very beginning that we intend to play in iowa, that i want to do very well there. >> reporter: six romney rivals shared the stage in a des moines church saturday for a forum on religious values. >> every person's soul, there is a hole that can only be filled by the lord jesus christ. >> the first and foremost unit of government in this nation is the family, and the family is defined as one man, one woman, no other definition will do. >> i didn't just propose things or i just don't have ideas. >> former u.s. senator rick santorum, who has visited all 99 counties in iowa pushed his agenda to voters. >> as the f

. >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," november 1st, 2011. >> good evening, i'm bill weir. thanks for checking in tonight. >>> in the genre films, hiring a hitman means a trip to a bar on the wrong side of town, a briefcase and a photograph. works almost every time. but real life is a little bit messier and paying to have someone killed is a transaction rife with all kinds of complications. cops are called, money is stolen, gunmen miss. tonight, the story of three failed murder attempts and one incredibly complex marriage. here's abc's john donvan for our series, "crime and punishment." >> reporter: the disturbing math of yet another murder for hire plot. one innocent-seeming address in houston. one well-heeled socialite who lived there, yvonne stern. and an unbelievable three times gunmen have tried to kill her. >> an unusual number of people are involved in this murder for hire. >> this is the second accused hit man to go to trial. >> now he'll tried on attempted capital murder char

anyway, thank you, cynthia. thank you, david. >> up next, cain's loss may be newt's gain but jon stewart has an interesting take on that phenomenon, and that's ahead in the sideshow. that's ahead. you're watching "hardball," only on msnbc. ♪ our machines help identify early stages of cancer, and it's something that we're extremely proud of. you see someone who is saved because of this technology, you know that the things that you do in your life matter. if i did have an opportunity to meet a cancer survivor, i'm sure i could take something positive away from that. [ jocelyn ] my name is jocelyn. and i'm a cancer survivor. [ woman ] i had cancer. i have no evidence of disease now. [ woman #2 ] i would love to meet the people that made the machines. i had such an amazing group of doctors and nurses, it would just make such a complete picture of why i'm sitting here today. ♪ [ man ] from the moment we walk in the front door, just to see me -- not as a cancer patient, but as a person that had been helped by thei

. >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," november 1st, 2011. >> good evening, i'm bill weir. thanks for checking in tonight. in the genre films, hiring a hitman means a briefcase and a photograph, works almost every time. but real life is a little bit messier and paying to have someone killed is a transaction rife with all kinds of complications. cops are called, money is stolen, gunmen miss. tonight, the story of three famed murder attempts and one incredibly complex marriage. here's abc's john donvan for our series, "crime and punishment." >> reporter: the disturbing math of yet another murder for hire plot. yvonne stern and unbelievable, three times, is gun mn have tried to kill her. >> unusual amount of people are involved. >> this is the second accused hitman to go to trial. >> reporter: the first, february 2010, the house was sprayed with bullets. she wa't at home. the second time, april, 2010, she and her family were home, this time, the shooter missed. the family moved out of th

. >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," november 1st, 2011. >> good evening, i'm bill weir. thanks for checking in tonight. in the genre films, hiring a hitman means a briefcase and a photograph, works almost every time. but real life is a little bit messier and paying to have someone killed is a transaction rife with all kinds of complications. cops are called, money is stolen, gunmen miss. tonight, the story of three famed murder attempts and one incredibly complex marriage. here's abc's john donvan for our series, "crime and punishment." >> reporter: the disturbing math of yet another murder for hire plot. yvonne stern and unbelievable, three times, is gun mn have tried to kill her. >> unusual amount of people are involved. >> this is the second accused hitman to go to trial. >> reporter: the first, february 2010, the house was sprayed with bullets. she wasn't at home. the second time, april, 2010, she and her family were home, this time, the shooter missed. the family moved out of

i'm cynthia mcfadden. today, as so many of us gathered around the family table to share food and laughter we thought it fitting to remember that on the other side of the world, there are 116,000 mostly young americans serving in iraq and afghanistan, whose families are celebrating another holiday without them. as two wars that have told now for more than a decade wind down, they fight on. abc's senior white house correspondent jake tapper and "nightline" producer ely brown traveled to afghanistan to spend time with them. >> reporter: we're headed to the tip of the spear. to a remote base in mountainous northeast afghanistan. pakistan is right there. that mountain under the clouds. this is the northern-most forward operating base. how does that feel? >> differences between you and the enemy, but still. >> reporter: it's morning at forward operating base bostick. the men and women of the 227 infantry the wolfhounds prepare for their day. >> start off with role call. >> reporter: whatever the pending plans fo

cynthia stone is here. she is captain of the port. i would say that that is a vitally important part of our community. no question about it. next, mayor quam, of oakland. congratulations to you, mayor, for your current operation. also, oakland has been involved in a number of different activities. the oakland hills fire was a local disaster that i am sure we remember with regret. myself, i walked on the freeway when the embarcadero went down. i was on channel 7 at the time. it is a strange feeling to walk on a freeway that has just collapsed, let me tell you. the mayor of san francisco is here to contribute his portion to what san francisco will be doing if an event happens this significant and dangerous. the question that i think most of us would like to know, what is the most significant project that this city, and the cities around us, can do, and participate in, in case of another disaster, natural or otherwise. >> thank you for having me here today. i would like to say congratulations and thank you to all those in uniform for you

. >> captain st militaryowe, already had a major -- captain cynthia stowe, the military has always had a major role in your area. what would be the role for your group in terms of significant preparation? >> thank you, it is an honor to be part of this esteemed panel with our elected officials, so i appreciate the opportunity to be here. it is appropriate for the operational commander on the bay and the water, that connects all of the county, that we take part in this conversation. the most important issue for us following a major disaster, of course, is live-saving. we are on the water. our members are 4,000 strong. life-saving in the water is our first responsibility. but the reality is the waterway provides that lifeline to commerce. it is that piece that needs to come back and function as soon as possible so that we can use resources to help individuals affected by the disaster, as well as provide fuel to keep our refineries running, keep flames in the air, keep the river, good, and services. it is a dual function. the primary focus is a lifesaving, and then at reconstitution and r

. >> you'll hear from big brother john next but first here is cynthia mcfadden after what you'll see at abc 2 news at 11. >>> coming up on nightline, a missing florida mother vanishes hours after an appearance on the peps court. tonight, the latest. >>> plus, iraq veterans dancing with the stars finalist j. r. martinez, his dramatic untold story coming up on nightline, right after abc 2 news at 11. >>> thanks a lot, cynthia. you know it's a quick turnaround for the ravens. they have another home game coming up on thanksgiving night. >> yeah, it's the 49ers against the ravens but john versus jim. big brother versus little brother, first time ever, usually mondays an off day but not this week. all about brotherly love coming up thursday night. coach was raised around football and he thinks you should bring your son and daughter into your work. >> bring your kids around. let them be a part of what you're doing, take them to work. it's really meaningful to be along with your mom and be around them and be a part of what they're doing and i think that's something our parents did for us so

. >> cynthia was convicted to first degree murder and sentenced to life without parole. what makes her situation unique is that prior to killing her husband, she worked as a prisons correction officer. >> a lost people will look at a woman in prison. they want to find an excuse. they want to say there's got to have been some provocation, some reason why she did such a terrible thing. in my case, that is not the case. my husband did not abuse me. he did not deserve what i did to him. we had been married 22 1/2 years and he was a good man. but my husband was clinically depressed pep was not an easy man to live with at that time. he was hard to please. >> when cynthia became involved with another man, she shot her husband and made it look like suicide. >> i wish i could go back. there's no way you can say sorry for something like that, no matter how sorry you are, you can't say i'm sorry because it's just so insufficient. there's nothing that can ever fix it or make it right again. >> despite the fact that cynthia will probably never leave this prison, at 46, she's found a

cynthia, does he have to win out there to win? is it really win or lose for him? >> in iowa i don't think anybody really expects mitt romney to win in iowa. he's not conservative enough for the david who -- >> why does he want to start his race with a possible loss then? >> it doesn't hurt him at all. it pays he's showing attention to social conservatives. he doesn't want to start off as looking like i'm ignoring you, i don't need you. if he places second, it gives him a little momentum. >> you're right there. how far badly does he have to do in iowa to really hurt him? suppose he pulls a fourth out there, john? >> i think that actually once they've decided to go in, i think they raise the bar very high towards actually having to win. look, i think that you are the front-runner in the race, you have sat out on the iowa sidelines the entire year and have kind of tried to convey to people you're not going to compete there. now at the last minute you decide because the field is split among the social conservatives that you have a chance to win that state, win new ham

there you see it, cynthia, things getting better or aren't they? it's so simple, the voters like it getting better. they keep the guy. >> well, even if obama is trending down, 8.7% is still historically a very high unemployment rate. so, yes, he can argue things are getting better, but -- >> what do you think? he needs to get down to convince us he's on a downward, blue skies perspective? >> well, heaven knows something under 8% would help him a lot, but that's not going to happen. >> you're right. it's about the future. >> 8.2% would look good right now. >> 8% would look great. voters have to have confidence that he's moving the country in the right direction so they don't want to change -- >> his policies are working, not just good luck, that we've survived this recession or depression, but his policies are working because they want those policies to continue. >> exactly. >> i'm selling too much here. it is about the future, people do vote on what they want. does he have to be a really successful guy to get reelected? >> well, look, i think this

don't remember is that the fire hoses were trained on children, some as young as 9 years old, so one of cynthia's subjects was a 9-year-old then who spent a week in jail, and it's a gripping book published by peachtree press, and we're very much looking forward to next spring. >> we've been talking with sanford levinson, a professor at university of texas about his book "constitutional faith." thank you, professor. >> oh, thank you. >> booktv talked with julia about her book, "tales for little rebels," and the interview was conducted at the university of texas as part of booktv's college series. >> we are here at the university of texas in austin talking with professors who are also author, and now we are joined by julia mickenberg, co-editor of this book, "tales of little rebels: a collection of children's literature." what are these tales for little rebels? >> what are these tales for little rebels? well, my co-editor and i, phil nell, we tried to find a balance of pieces that would represent works of literature created for children by representatives of radical movements throughout the 20th ce

we have these commissioners with us, and we also have victor pacheco, and i am cynthia goldstein, executive director. the senior building inspector is here, and we are joined by legislative affairs staff and the zoning administrator. at this time, mr. pacheco, we will go over the board meeting guidelines and conduct the swearing-in. secretary pacheco: the board requests that you turn off all phones and pagers and so they do not disturb the proceedings. please carry on conversations in a hallway. the board rules for presentation are as follows each have seven minutes to present their cases and three minutes or rebuttals. people affiliated with these parties must include their comments within the seven or three-minute period. members of the public were not affiliated with the public -- with the parties have up to three minutes each to address the board and no rebuttals. to assist the board in the accurate preparation of minutes, members of the public who wish to speak on the item or oust but not required to submit a speaker card or a business card when you come up to speak. speaker cards and