From saturday night live to funny or die, a local comedy in the trump era. Last night i solved afghanistan. Solved first the nightline 5. Endless shrimp is back at red lobster. We went allout to bring you even more incredible shrimp and new flavors. Like new Nashville Hot shrimp drizzled with sweet amber honey. And new grilled mediterranean shrimp finished with a savory blend of green onions, tomatoes and herbs. Feeling hungry yet . Good, because theres plenty more. Garlic shrimp scampi and other classics you love. As much as you want, however you want them. Endless shrimp wont be here long so good evening. Thank you for joining us. Tonight the disturbing story of a veterinarian and a doctor who fell in love and allegedly plotted to hire a hitman to kill their exes. Police say it all unfold nld olive garden. Well hear from a doctor behind bars, the audio diaries of his former lover, and the cops who orchestrated the sting operation. Heres abcs matt gutman. I never wanted to hurt anyone. I hate the idea they think im a monster. Reporter monster, not a word Valerie Mcdaniel easily friends would use to describe her. Valerie was an amazing human being. She had a light within her. Reporter and an alleged murder for hire plot about the last thing they thought shed ever be involved in. I wanted to take time and tell my story from the beginning. Try not to judge me. Reporter these audio diaries a window into a life unraveling. By all accounts, everything seemed picture perfect. A loving mother living in river oaks, an affluent neighborhood in houston, a condo in this fancy high rise. And running a thriving veterinary clinic. She was so successful and so beautiful and funny and intelligent. Reporter but privately, valeries struggling to rebuild from a failed marriage. She did not feel loved. Reporter until, that is, she meets this man, leon jacob, a brash doctor eight years her junior. I was lonely. And he kept me company. He listened to me. He was everything i needed. Reporter in her words, valerie fell deeply in love. Leon can be charming and disarming, just ask him. It seems like youre a svengali, with a flick of a finger making this woman fall madly in love with you. Without sounding like a pompous ass, i can only describe it as, ive always understood women really well and theyve always liked me. Reporter but its the back end of some of leons relationships that have been problematic. His first marriage ended in divorce, followed by charges of aggravated stalking and intimidation. Attempted cyber harassment is what i pled guilty to. She went a little overboard with her complaints about about me. Reporter but his romantic troubles continued. The police were called to the scene of an alleged fight he had with a woman he was dating named megan back in january. According to the Police Report you busted her lip. Okay, thats true you put a hand on her. I never put a hand on her. Subsequently that charge was dropped because there was no evidence. Reporter cops charge leon was stalking her. Exgirlfriend says that he hides in the bushes and waits outside her workplace. They caught you loitering outside her office, she says in the bushes she says that. You can claim a lot of things, right . You can say, you know, superman came and took toe am krypton for the weekend, doesnt make it true. Reporter megans gone but the stalking charge lingers. A felony conviction could keep him from ever getting his medical license. According to prosecutors, the way hes going to eliminate that problem is by eliminating her. Reporter investigators say thats what leads leon to this guy, a former Army Sergeant and purple heart recipient who calls himself zach. These days zach is bringing new meaning to the term soldier of fortune. Cops say zach promises to take care of leons problem for a price. 5,000 in cash, two cartier watches, and a laptop. But according to investigators, zach takes the money and runs without ever firing a single shot. Eventually the cops find out about the alleged plot and zach ends up working with them. Zach tells us that mr. Jacob has hired him to kill the victim in this case. Reporter prosecutors say that with police secretly listening in, zach calls and informs leon hes outsourced the job. They have zach call leon and say, hey, i got a guy, hes going to do the hit for us. Reporter but that new guy is actually an undercover cop named javier. Weve been asked now to show his face. I was shocked that leon wanted two people killed. And that his girlfriend, valerie, would also be involved. Reporter his girlfriend, valerie. The vet and new love in his life. And that second person they allegedly want whacked . Her exhusband, mack. At that point they decide to meet at olive garden. They were sitting at this table . Yes. Reporter at this very table the vet, valerie. Leon, and zach and youve yes, sir posing as a contract killer. Cops say hee onmade his target clear. He told me on more than one occasions that his survival is more important than hers. Reporter as leon and zach take a cigarette break, cops say the undercover javier and valerie are left alone to discuss intended target number two. Valeries ex, mack. She said, i have no other choice, hes going to take my baby from me. And he finally gets her to say that she does in fact want him to be killed. Reporter Police Spring into action, immediately reaching out to valeries exhusband, mack, to tip him off. Weve recreated the scene to show how the cops enlisted mack to stage his own death. They do a series of pictures of him dead. Reporter he agrees to pose for photos like these, complete with a bullet wound to his head. Megan also agrees to assist in the sting, staging her own set of pictures, like these, to make it look like shed been kidnapped. Leon kept using the word disappear, or he would say, i want her gone, i want her to go away forever. And i took that to understand that he wanted her dead. Reporter the cops are now ready to take their next step. Informing leon and valerie that mack has been killed. Javier fill posing as that hitman. I begin to tell valerie and leon that mack was gone. That it was done. Leon gives me the cash, and i count out 1,800. Reporter later that same day, javier says he informs leon that the other job is done too. Megan is now a memory. So at that point, we close body cases. But we decided we wanted to go an extra step. So that extra step was the death notice. Reporter a death notice. Now thats what cops call it when they have to notify next of kin that a loved one has passed. So now its these Police Officers who have to give a performance. Can we talk to you, please . Yeah, come in, whats going on . Reporter its all being recorded as potential evidence on police body cameras. Im afraid we have some bad news. Your exhusbands been found. It looks like it turns out to be a fatality. Looks like it might have been robbery gone wrong. Sorry to have to tell you. Have you heard from him recently . I heard from him last night. Reporter soon enough leon emerges from the bedroom. Her exhusbands been found tonight. Oh my god. It looks like it might have been a robbery gone wrong. Oh my [ bleep ]. Wanted to see if anybody knows anything or no. Might be able to help us . Reporter listen carefully to what leon says next. Cops say its sounding like hes establishing his whereabouts. Weve been here all night. We were here all day with their daughter, watching movies. Reporter now Police Believe they have enough evidence to end the masquerade. All right, ill tell you well need you to come with us and oh, so i guess ill stay. Okay, what, right now were going to read you your rights. Me . Both of you are being arrested for solicitation of capital murder. Solicitation of murder. Reporter theres another surprise in store for valle. As shes being hauled off to jail, someones waiting outside her front door. Its her exhusband, mack, back from the dead, waiting to take custody of their young daughter. I wonder what was going through her mind at that moment. That she handed her over to the man she tried to murder. Both of you are being arrested. Reporter the two are charged with allegedly hiring a hitman to kill both their exes. Nothing to state, your honor. No judge, thank you. Reporter four days later valerie released on a 50,000 bond. But just two weeks later, she took her own life. I didnt wake up one day and just say, hey, i want to kill my exhusband. Things just gradually happened. Reporter valeries former lover, leon jacob, has been sitting in the Harris County jail for almost seven months. Hes awaiting trial on charges of stalking and solicitation of murder. When i sat down with him, he wouldnt talk about the details of his case. But denied any wrongdoing. I am innocent of these charges. I still maintain that throughout. Did you hold yourself responsible for her suicide . No. That was a decision she made on her own. She had so much pressure on her, and i wasnt there to help support her. Reporter prominent defense attorney george parnum is representing leon. Do you know of any recordingings . Reporter he gave us a preview of defense strategy, accusing police of entrapment. They were active players in this whole solicitation of capital murder. Reporter leons in this pick pickle, according to parnum, because of valerie. Valerie was extremely instrumental in a fact situation that lands my client in jail, behind bars. Reporter but leon says his feelings for valerie havent changed. And i did love her. I still do. Very, very much. Reporter he has pleaded not guilty to all charges. But if convicted, leon jacob could face life in prison. He is scheduled to go to trial in december. For nightline, im matt gutman in houston. And next, is the president funny . What professional comedians are saying about comedy in the trump era. The mercedesbenz gle can help protect you from the unpredictable. And the distracted. Its cameras, radar and sensors can help prevent just about any surprise. Well, almost. Lease the gle350 for 609 a month at your local mercedesbenz dealer. Mercedesbenz. The best or nothing. When youre close to the people you love, does psoriasis ever get in the way of a touching moment . If you have moderate to severe psoriasis, you can embrace the chance of completely clear skin with taltz. Taltz is proven to give you a chance at completely clear skin. With taltz, up to 90 of patients had a significant improvement of their psoriasis plaques. In fact, 4 out of 10 even achieved completely clear skin. Do not use if you are allergic to taltz. Before starting you should be checked for tuberculosis. Taltz may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. Tell your doctor if you are being treated for an infection or have symptoms. Or if you have received a vaccine or plan to. Inflammatory bowel disease can happen with taltz. Including worsening of symptoms. Serious allergic reactions can occur. Nows your chance at completely clear skin. Just ask your doctor about taltz. Nobut their nutritional needs comp vremain instinctual. D, thats why theres purina one true instinct. Nutrientdense, proteinrich, real meat number one. This is a different breed of natural nutrition. Purina one, true instinct. I wineverver wash my hair again now, i fuel it pantene is the first shampoo and conditioner system with active prov nutrient blends that fuel 100 stronger hair. Because strong is beautiful. There was a time when comedy was about taking a break from lifes worries. Now more and more its about taking a stand. In the trump era, comedians are hitting politics hard. Abcs nick watt is with top comics who say their work is needed now more than ever. Ted cruz got caught liking porn on twitter. Reporter and this is how funny or die dealt with the allegation. How am i supposed to explain to my family that ted cruz might watch my videos . Reporter actual porn stars ridiculing him. On behalf of all porn stars, i just want to say gross. Reporter the brains behind it . Est while obama speechwriter flexing his political pecs at funny or die. We made sure not only is it funny but what is the political angle . Ted cruz thinks victims of rape and incest shouldnt be able to hit an abortion. We had a staffer who accidentally hit the wrong button. Comedians are the philosophers of the times right now. Last night i solved afghanistan. Solved and the emmy goes to reporter alec baldwin won an emmy for his snl portrayal of the president. I suppose i should say at long last, mr. President , here is your emmy. Reporter he never won for the apprentice. Vents his snl anger on twitter. Nine months into an objectively tumultuous trump administration, comedy is still grappling with exactly what to do here. How to do it. We wish that we could just make fart jokes, that would be nice. But this is not a moment for that. Reporter Kathy Griffin went too far, holding trumps severed head for a photo. She lost a lot of work. While the president himself retweets gifs of him hitting hillary with a golf ball. This president is so unlike what youre supposed to be as the head of a country. Reporter joy behar talked about trump on the view. He pardoned an immigrant hater basher, sheriff arpaio. Reporter and wrote a book about him. There is so much grist for the comedy mill. Having said that, its a little scary at the same time. And comedy sometimes is at its best when theres a little fear involved. Reporter funny or die just opened a d. C. Office. Theyre beefing up politics and hes the gate. I dress like im from d. C. So its kind of, you know basically Banana Republic outlet mall sheep. David sticks out Walking Around the office. Im glad you noticed. Reporter he did the jokes for obama like the anger translator at the 2015 Correspondents Dinner. Rising seas or violent storms you got mosquitos sweating people on the train, stinking it up reporter hes written a funny, selfdeprecating book, thanks obama and my hopy changy white house years. I didnt want to write about the inner circle because i was not in the inner circle. His first term he didnt know who he was. He definitely didnt know hoy was. Reporter now he makes funny videos. Give it up for the trump family we feel it legitimizes the content we make. Like, why do people care about this so much . David can rattle off boom, boom, boom. I think we are revealing who trump is, even faster than hes revealing himself. Reporter but does all this really make any difference whatsoever . Take it away, ellens video doctoring. He referred to my hands, if theres small, Something Else must be small. I guarantee you theres no problem, i guarantee you. The hands annoy him. Also the thing that seems to get to him is any joke that implies that someone has more power or is more respected than he is. Snl did a joke about president bannon. Hey, donald. Thats enough fun for tonight. Can i have my desk back . Yes, of course, mr. President , ill go sit at my desk. I think that really was one of the reasons that trump turned on him. Reporter he first met the fod folks when president bowl did the collaboration between two friends. Some of the episodes have probably been better. The one with bradley cooper. Everybody loved bradley, good for him. I assume youve tried to get trump on between two friends . Its a badge of honor and a badge none of us would feel good about putting on him. Reporter most coastal comedians are leftleaning. Who voted for trump . Youd not find a lot of takers. Reporter some argue some of this comedy is counterproductive to their cause. Humanizing him. Fallon ruffling candidate trumps hair for fun. Or spicy yucking it up on kimmel. This is obviously a hard job. And, i mean it turned out to be kind of funny in a lot of ways. Was it for you. Funny . Reporter but is president trump, who declined to attend the Correspondents Dinner this year, is he actually funny . Hes pretty funny. Just the way he sort of, you know lumbers around. Hes kind of physically funny. And of course the hair is hilarious. Yes, i hate to admit it, yes. I believe you, we have talked about that. I think he knows what hes doing. I do too. I dont think hes funny. I think he has a sense of dropping. I could have said, mitt, drop to your knees, hed drop to his knees. Its about asserting power. Like in high school, what theyre really doing is bullying. You should have seen this guy, i dont know what i said, i dont remember reporter unintentionally funny. The health systiste nambia h system is increasingly insufficient. Reporter namibia doesnt exist. This is really uruguay. Thats part of the issue for comedians this these days. Its a good moment but a difficult moment for the same reason. You have the press secretary at the white house hiding behind a bush to avoid taking questions. Bring the bushes out, guys. I dont know where you go, its hard to exaggerate that. Reporter for that matter, this. Crowd was massive. This goes all the way down here. All the way down. This was a massive crowd. Reporter im nick watt for nightline in los angeles. Well be right back. dog mmm. This new beneful grain free is so healthy. Oh farmraised chicken mmm. Thats some really good chicken. I dont think ive ever tasted chicken like this. What . Here come the accents. Blueberries and pumpkin. Wow. That was my favorite bite so far. Not even kidding. I mean that was. Oh spinach mmm. Thats like three super foods. Pretty, uh, well. Super. 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Like garlic shrimp scampi, and other classics you love. As much as you want, however you want them. But hurry, endless shrimp wont be here long. Theres work to be done. As much as you want, however you want them. Its not going to be easy but theres grit inside of you. And if you need extra motivation the grad fund at Strayer University can help push you forward. Because up to your last year of classes could be on us. Thats right. On us. Today is the day. Strayer university. Lets get it, america. At ikea, we believe that for every busy day there should be a cozy dream bedroom. That you can find the comfort youre looking for at a price youve been waiting for. That the cost of a good nights sleep shouldnt keep you up at night. And we believe. That cozy should never be costly. That cozy should throughout history, the one meal when we come together, break bread, share our day and connect as a family. [ bloop, clicking ] and connect, as a family. Just, uh one second voice guy. [ bloop ] huh . Hey . I paused it. Bam, family time. So how is everyone . Find your awesome with xfinity xfi and change the way you wifi. Thanks for watching abc news. As always, were online at abcnews. Com and our Nightline Facebook page. Thanks for the company, america. Have a great weekend. You know, it isnt every day that people win huge amounts of money on this show, but lately, it sure feels that way. Stick around. Its time to play who wants to be a millionaire. [dramatic music] [cheers and applause] hey, everybody, welcome to what could be a very, very special day here at millionaire. Why . Because were in the middle of an incredible game with this guy. From los angeles, california, please welcome back patrick friel. [cheers and applause] hi, chris. Welcome back. Its good to be back. High School Teacher from los angeles who walks in here with all three lifelines. Yes. And just 5 questions away from 1 million. [cheers and applause] youre at 30,000, already a large chunk of change. Were at a very pivotal part of the game. But 30,000s a lot. It is. You could do a lot. You couldnew car. I mean, what would you do with this . Well, so heres the thing. I dont drive. At all . At all. Ive never driven a car in my life. I live in los angeles, and theres this perception that everyone in la drives, but yeah, everyone does. I know this to be a fact. Well, but im right here and im real. [laughter] youre a unicorn is what you are. Yeah, Something Like that. So, uh, no, i dont think i would buy a car, but i certainly do enjoy travel. I actually just got back from a yearround trip around the world, which i paid for mostly with savings. So if i win a nice chunk of change here, i could retroactively pay for that
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