cap over the gushing well, after 84 days and millions of barrels spilled, as the end of this crisis finally in sight. good evening. i'm cynthia mcfadden. we begin tonight with the war on crime. in a new weapon already transforming investigative work. it's called familial dna and it allows investigator to trace suspects through the genetic fingerprints of family members. police in california credit the technology for the arrest last week of a serial killer suspect in a case dating back a quarter century. for now, just two states permit the use of this science. but as david wright reports, that, soon, may change. >> reporter: he's accused of the most brutal crimes, of molesting and murdering at least ten victims over a 25-year period. but he is now behind bars. because, authorities say, dna evidence ties him to the crime scenes. and for the first time ever in this country, the dna sample that first led police to his doorstep wasn't his, it was his son's. >> familial dna, it's called. >> it's called familial dna because it is the dna not of the ultimate suspect but of a very, very close relative. >> reporter: california and colorado are the only states that allow familial dna searches. the grim sleeper case is bound to change that. >> this is a landmark case. >> reporter: lonnie david franly jr. is now the poster suspect for the expansion of genetic crime fighting. >> this will change the way policing is done in the united states. >> mr. simpson, would you show your hands to the jury please? >> reporter: the lapd has come a long way since the people versus o.j. simpson 16 years ago. back then, the botched handling of dna evidence helped defense lawyers raise doubts about the blood tying simpson to the murder scene. simpson, of course, was acquitted. but the lab is now state of the art. if my dna ended up on that table, could i end up being a suspect? >> in theory, that's possible. >> reporter: today, the lapd gave us a tour of the facility where they made a crucial breakthrough in the grim sleeper case. remember, the familial search led them to suspect franklin but they had no dna sample of franklin on file until last monday when a police stakeout finally paid off. >> the detectives actually hand carried the eye tms in here. slice of pizza, fork, i think a napk napkin. total of eight different items they submitted to us. >> reporter: and that was enough? >> it turned out to be enough, yes. >> reporter: as any fan of the tv show "csi" can tell you, the technology is morally neutral. >> gentlemen that drop of blood was fresh when it hit the shirt. >> reporter: but the potential applications raise enormous ethical issues. >> the fact that california authorities caught the grim sleeper is great. unequivocally. but you can imagine lots of misuses of familial dna. >> reporter: there's the world imagined in the movie "gatica." >> in the not too distant future, our dna will determine everything about us. >> reporter: where the genetic database determines everything from where you can work to who you can matter. that's science fiction. but as of the grim sleeper, it's now science fact that a dna sample collected from one person can impla cat members of an entire family. >> there are certain families that are going to be looked at much more closely by the police than others. this raises specters that used to be associated with the eugenics movement, the science of better breeding. it's almost the idea of corruption of blood. >> reporter: there's also the fear that dna databases could be the ultimate in racial profiling. >> african-americans are represented in dna databases at a rate of about 4 to 1 to whites. that means that the families of african-american people in the database are going to be disproportionately placed under permanent genetic surveillance. i imagine there are lots of african-american families who will think that's racial discrimination pure and simple. >> it's not racial injustice when you catch somebody who just killed ten people. the people who are most happy about it are the families of the victims. which are all african-americans. >> reporter: proponents of the expanded use of dna point out it's not only helped implicate the guilty, it has also helped exonerate the innocent. >> we're here today, your honor, because we are convinced that he is not guilty. >> thank you! >> reporter: among them, eddie joe lloyd who served 17 lloyds in a michigan prison for a murder he didn't commit. but what about lilly haskil of oakland, arrested last year while attend a bay area protest of the iraq war and forced to give a sample of her dna? the very law that expanded california's dna database leading to the grim sleeper's arrest requires that anyone arrested for a felony give a dna sample. whether or not they're ever charged or convicted. and in haskil's case, the charges were dropped but that dna sample is still in the database. she and others, backed by the american civil liberties union, are now suing the state of california, hoping the enspanded database will be declared unconstitutional. california attorney general jerry brown will be defending the new law. >> there is in our society a e presumption of innocence. does this infringe on that? >> no more than taking your finger prints. the first thing, they get your finger prints. that's a fact. >> reporter: dna reveals much more about me than my fingerprint. it may reveal my predisposition to diseases, my genetic history. it's not at all clear the full dna fingerprint may not be stored in ways that will come back to haunt us. >> reporter: what would be wrong with tossing that sample when the ca is tossed out? >> why not give back finger prints? take them out of the fbi file? we don't do that. >> reporter: you understand why liberals are upset with this position? >> i don't know that they are. the people voteded for it and i'm hoping courts will uphold it. >> reporter: right now, the strongest argument jerry brown can make in court is that without this technology, a suspected serial killer would still be out there, preying on innocent lives. i'm david wright for "nightline" in los angeles. >> interesting science and a debate sure to continue. when we come back, we'll turn to one of the world's biggest stars who talks about her new movie and being a mommy. it's my exclusive interview with angelina jolie. let's go. come on. hurry up. 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[ woman announcing ] new beneful incredibites. another healthful, flavorful beneful. thanks for your help. we turn now to the world of entertainment and a star who at 35 has not only won the oscar but worldwide attention. angelina jolie. she says she never wanted to be a bond girl but she did want to play james bond and now she has her chance in her new spy thriller "salt." it's jam packed with action, much of it taking place in washington, d.c. which is where i sat down with her for exclusive "nightline" interview. she is one of the world's most dazzling movie stars. you might also think of her as the mother of six. or a glob trotting humanitarian. but pity the soul who forgets that angelina jolie is also -- a little bit dangerous. have you ever in real life ever made a fist and punched somebody? >> i have. >> you have? >> i was young. i was -- you know, teenaged. it was a very, very brief fight. we exchange a blow and then we talked -- it's such an awkward -- real fighting can be very awkward in real life and not cool at all. >> in her new movie "salt" she's anything but awkward. she stars as a cia agent who may or may not be a russian spy. >> so the name of the russian agent is salt. >> my name is evelyn salt. >> then you are a russian spy. >> with russian spies very much in the news, the movie seems especially topical. the current headlines, are they going to help the movie, do you think? >> it's bizarre, isn't it? it's been so bizarre for us. two hats. part of me feels as a citizen of a country, you thif, i don't want anything to affect our new positive relationship with russia. the other part of me is somebody who is in a film, thinks, my god, what timing. >> her timing has to be perfect as she launches herself off buildings, down elevator shafts and even on to the roof of a moving truck. are the stunts as dangerous as they look? >> because i have six children, i would never do something that could kill me but there were things that could have broken my arm or broken my leg or that kind a thing. >> so you'll take a measured dang danger? >> i will, yeah. >> did you get hurt? >> not on the trucks. i got hurt in the most ridiculous way. i went -- so embarrassing, but it was -- i had to kind of come into a door shooting and i came in sideways shooting and rolled on the ground and i ended up rolling right into a desk. and i smashed -- i cut my head open so they sent me to the hospital to get checked before i could return. i returned that day with a big bandage on my head that they're going to have to paint out. i tried to do -- i said, i can do my fight scene, i'm ready. a few minutes in, they said, you're really not fighting very well, you should go home. >> you certainly don't fight like a girl. >> i'm fine to get dirty and tough with the best of them, you know? but i'm also just mommy and goofy mommy so, you know. >> so what about goofy mommy? is it a film the kids are going to see? >> at some point. >> not right now though. i read somewhere that pax had seen a clip somewhere, very confused by it. >> yeah, he didn't like it. even though i said, it's fine, mommy wins. it's fine. >> it's that role, as mommy to brad pitt's daddy that they seems to relish most. what's morning like at the jolie-pitt household? do you cook? >> he's better at making eggs and bacon than i am. try but i think everybody prefer's dads eggs and bacon. we just try to coral them. we've put new gates up because the twins were going everywhere. so we've had to put extra gates in the kitchen. and we have drawers in the kitchen full of toys. but now we pride ourselves in the fact that we got it, we got this. >> do you feel you've got it down? >> yeah, we got the juice, the thing. we're like bar tenders. we're like waiters. shoes going on. somebody brushing their teeth. and somebody put that down. and stop screaming. no, you have to wear that jacket, i can't find the pink one. please just go out the door. so -- but it's -- we still, i think are able to do it because we manage to have a great laugh, you know? we do it together and we find fun in it and because of that, it doesn't matter if you don't get sleep, you know, it's -- it's an honor to take care of them. >> is six enough? >> there's no plans at the moment for more. but we always talk about it. we're always open. we never want to have too many children where we feel we're not able to really take care of them all and so we do consider that. and we consider the ages they are and how, you know, they balance each other. right now, it's just a beautiful balance. >> you also have been quoted as saying if the kids wanted the two of you to get married, you'd get married. >> i think it would be hard to say no to the kids. >> they don't seem to care? >> they're very aware that nothing's missing so -- >> is he the love of your life? or do you not think there is one love in the life? >> he makes me feel that there is, yeah, yeah. he's of course the love of my life, yeah. >> do you see growing old together? >> of course. we wouldn't have -- we wouldn't have six children if we weren't absolutely sure of that. >> her own parents split when she was only a toddler and her relationship with her father, actor jon voight, has been famously troubled. you've talked very candidly over the years about the estrangement from your father. >> yeah, i mean, i think, you know, i think the difficulty in our relationship has been it's been so public. so i think it's best to not go into detail about where we're at now, what we speak about, but that we are -- but that we do speak and we do -- we are trying to know each other. and, you know, have a relationship. >> it was reported that brad was behind the effort. true? >> no. >> no? >> he's of course supportive. >> but this was your decision. >> this was my decision, yeah, absolutely. >> we haven't seen each other since the death of your mother and actually since the death of my mother, and as time has gone by now, what do you hold tight that she taught you that -- >> oh, i don't want to cry. you know, she's just -- she was just a very, very loving person. she was completely full of love and kindness. and it's the legacy that she left, you know, she didn't become a great actress. she didn't become somebody anybody knew. she didn't do anything other than love her children and raise them with so much care. and so she's taught me a lot about the importance of that. of just being -- just every day kindness. and i think it's the most important thing about being a mom. just letting the kids know how much they make you happy, you know, is the great gift to give them. other than the discipline is important and all this is important, their schooling and -- all that very important. but the most important thing is to let them know what a joy they are for you and what a pleasure it is to be their mother. >> open the door, about two feet. we're going to gas her. >> her character in salt however is an orphan, forced to fend for herself and sort out good from evil. her methods violent. i had this funny sense that maybe under the right circumstances you could actually do -- take the bad guys down. what do you think? >> i'd certainly try. if i had my chance. there are a few bad people out there that if i was left alone in a room with, i'd be tempted. >> want to name any names? >> joseph coning. >> that's interesting. >> i hate him. >> joseph coning is the u gunden rebel leader who has forced tens of thousands of children to fight in his army. her anger be a visceral reminder of just how tough she can be when she's fighting for a cause. >> when there is something, when i have to protect something in my life or i've decided there's something i have to accomplish, i do, i do kind of push to the end and i don't take no very well. >> do you think you're seen as a tough girl? >> in some way, i suppose, or i wouldn't be able to do the film. as i said if it came down to something i had to do, i would believe in what i'm fighting for and i'm not afraid. >> not afraid indeed. "salt" opens in theaters on july 23rd. it will have you on the edge of your seat. when we come back, we'll turn to breaking news in the gulf, where tonight bp attached a new cap to its broken oilwell. so will this finally stop the gushing? anything. patience, son. ah! [ female announcer ] sometimes, you can get so much out of so little. woohoo! [ female announcer ] especially when it comes to charmin ultra soft. its ultra soft design is soft and absorbent. it has so much absorbency, you can use 7 sheets versus 28 of the leading value brand. so your family can get more out of less. mom's never gonna believe this one. [ female announcer ] charmin ultra soft. enjoy the go. they're fishermen, they're shrimpers, they're laborers, they're deckhands, they're people who work in restaurants... these are the people of the gulf coast who need our help. i'm darryl willis. i oversee bp's claims process on the gulf coast. bp has got to make things right and that's why we're here. part of that responsibility is letting you know what we're doing to make it right. we're replacing the lost income for fishermen, small businessmen and others who aren't able to work until the spill is cleaned up. our claims line is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. people can call or go online and 900 people are here to help them file their claims and get their checks. working with the government, we're already paying tens of thousands of claims. we've agreed to create a $20 billion claims fund, administered independently, and it's at no cost to taxpayers. i was born and raised in louisiana. i volunteered for this assignment because this is my home. i'll be here in the gulf as long as it takes to make this right. progress is saving tax payers millions of dollars, with the help of visa digital currency. which lets troy reiners, manager of nebraska's child support payment center, put money into pre-paid visa accounts for just a penny... instead of mailing out checks for 59 cents each. now that's progress. visa. currency of progress. r help. visa. returning now to the gulf, where earlier tonight bp installed a new ceiling cap atop its broken well. nearly three months after this environmental catastrophe began. now the question become, can the contraption handle the massive pressure? will the gushing finally stop? steve osunsami is in the gulf tonight as testing begins. >> reporter: cynthia, it now seems entirely possible bp could have this oil leak contained as early as tomorrow. certainly, we've seen this type of optimism before. but this time, even the underwater pictures look especially convincing. this was the image as bp engineers lowered their new 30-foot high cap over that leaking oil pipe 5,000 feet below. for the first type since the explosion that sent the oil gushing into the gulf, the cloud, of crude that usually fill this underwater picture were brought under control. tonight, they're trying to contain their excitement but there was this tweet this evening from bp to check out bp live oil feed on ocean sbl entire vention 3 rov 2. >> what i hope to see is a test that is very robust. that potentially show us that this containment cap can contain the pressure of the oil coming up through the wellbore. that will give us a lot more assurance that the wellbore is intact and there's no leakage. >> reporter: scientists say if it work the new cap will work like a giant fire hydrant on top of the oil pipe. it's taken bp several tries because no one has attempted this at such incredible depths a mile down. >> you see, there's a learning curve. personally, i think it is scandalous that two months ago they could have done this capping operation but they didn't do the basic science. >> reporter: bp is hoping the cap is strong enough to handle the methane gas that, at least depths, is frozen solid and makes the work difficult and dangerous. >> the original explosion that caused the whole crisis is in part due to methane, solid methane, which got into the pipe, turned into a gas, soared up the pipe, and then exploded, killing 11 workers. so many of the problems could be traced to methane. >> reporter: the president a louisiana parish with oil at his shores told me he worries people will forget there's a problem here once the oil stops gushing. he remembers katrina, when the problem appeared solved, the help went away. and there's a chance that the shrimp and oyster beds that are the livelihoods here might not bounce back next year. >> the oil's out there. and if they stop it tomorrow, which i hope they do, i think we're going to be fighting this oil for a year or two, maybe not in the volume we're fighting it now, that might go away in six months, but there's so many oil out there that we see, plus what's below the surface. >> reporter: he and others are demanding bp spend more hiring only locals to clean the oil. they want more emergency funds up front to help fishermen who can't pay their bills because they can't work. >> where am i going to go? who do i need to talk to to pay my electric bill for this month? my water bill? instead, no, i'm going to be two months behind now. it's disgusting. >> reporter: they're going to be fighting this for sometime. for "nightline," i'm steve osunsami in burris, louisiana. >> let's hope the cap works. even if it does, still so much anguish. steve osunsami reporting. we'll be right back. first, here's jimmy kimmel with what's coming up next on abc. jimmy. >> tonight, tom cruise will be here to cook and kill me in spectacular fashion. we have music from sublime with rome. and this week in unnecessary censorship. ♪ hey bets, can i borrow a quarter? sure, still not dry? i'm trying to shrink them. i lost weight and now some clothes are too big. how did you do it? simple stuff. eating right and i switched to whole grain.