there are now more people on food stamps than ever before. nearly 48 million americans, that is 15% of the population. another stat layoffs last month hit a 16-month high affecting industries like drug companies and retailers that have largely avoided layoffs. numbers like that are forcing washington to put a laser focus back on job creation. scott goldberg joins us with details on this special day for the president. reporter: good morning. president obama will spend his 50th birthday here in washington after a quick fund-raising trip to chicago last night but there is not much to celebrate as he now turns his attention to the economy and jobs. at a fund-raising bash celebrating his 50th birthday in chicago, the president who sound so beleaguered during the debt ceiling debate was back in campaign trail mode. when i said change we can believe in, not change we can believe in tomorrow. reporter: he said he s turning his focus back and plans to take a bus tour to talk a
check out these new numbers. there are now more people on food stamps than ever before. nearly 48 million americans, that is 15% of the population. another stat layoffs last month hit a 16-month high affecting industries like drug companies and retailers that have largely avoided layoffs. numbers like that are forcing washington to put a laser focus back on job creation. scott goldberg joins us with details on this special day for the president. reporter: good morning. president obama will spend his 50th birthday here in washington after a quick fund-raising trip to chicago last night but there is not much to celebrate as he now turns his attention to the economy and jobs. at a fund-raising bash celebrating his 50th birthday in chicago, the president who sound so beleaguered during the debt ceiling debate was back in campaign trail mode. when i said change we can believe in, not change we can believe in tomorrow. reporter: he said he s turning his focus back and pla
capitan. but man, is it worth the view. announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is nightline, august 3rd, 2011. good evening, i m bill weir. and we begin tonight with what could be a break in one of the most intriguing cold cases in our country s history in the early 70s, a hijacker calling himself d.b. cooper jumped from a flight and disappeared in the woods of the pacific northwest. his fate remained unknown. his true identity a mystery, that is, perhaps, until now. thanks to this exclusive interview with abc s pierre thomas. i m certain he was my uncle, lynn doyle cooper. reporter: this woman has reignited the investigation into the only unsolved hijacking in u.s. hihiory. her name is marla cooper. and she says her uncle is the infamous hijacker,.b. cooper. this is not an alias, you believe that your uncle was d.b. cooper. yes, i do. reporter: the identity of d.b. cooper has be
how the man building a subway is serenading the city this morning. how he does it this way right here in times square. and the summer wind he is called the second avenue sinatra. gary russo, he s going to serenade you this morning. just listen a little more take your hand and walk with me whoa.our hand and walk with he does a pretty good neil diamond, too. we ll have that later but we have that big exclusive we want to get to. who was behind that infamous hijacking almost 40 years ago may finally be solved. d.b. cooper. what a story it was. he hijacked a plane, parachuted out of the back. now the fbi has this photo. it was given to them by the woman who says she was d.b. cooper s niece. abc s pierre thomas has the first interview with her and joins us from oklahoma city. good morning, pierre. reporter: hi, george. the fbi is reigniting a cold case that has haunted the bureau for years and this morning we have the exclusive story from the woman who believes s
happened when they almost died and then returned. good evening tonight. the heat across america is claiming more and more casualties. at least 100 people have died and, as we said, emergency rooms are overrun with people reeling and seeking help. 165 million americans across 18 states are under the crushing dome of heat and humidity. temperatures topping 110 degrees. and all told, 2,700 heat records were smashed in july and still more are being broken in august. abc s abbie boudreau is in dallas tonight, where it topped 100 degrees for the 32nd day in a row, and she tells us, young athletes are in special danger. reporter: heat this intense sends 6,000 people a year to emergency rooms across the country. young people are especially at risk. the cdc calling heat illness during practice and competitions a leading cause of death and didibility among high school athletes. just this week, two football players in georgia died from excessive heat exposure, including 16-year-old