Bank Forgives Dead Student's Loan

Six years after the death of Christopher Bryski, a 23-year-old student at Rutgers University, Key Bank has agreed to forgive his student loan. But Bryski's family is not stopping there: It's now fighting to change the laws in the hope of sparing others the trauma it endured as lenders continued to hound it for payment on its dead son's debts.

Christopher Bysksi died on July 16, 2006, after sustaining a traumatic brain injury in a fall that left him in a coma for two years.

Because his father had co-signed his student loan from Key Bank, he was obligated to continue to make payments under the terms of the private loan agreement. He paid more than $20,000 of the $50,000 debt, coming out of retirement to make the monthly payments, according to Ryan Bryski, 34, Christopher's brother.

But Ryan Bryski, an Air Force veteran, said various lenders continued to call the family and ask to speak to Christopher, despite the family informing them of, first, Christopher's vegetative state, and later, his death.

Bryski said the family lawyer sent "threatening letters" to two credit card companies to put an end to the continual postal mail, always addressed to Christopher, and phone calls requesting payment. Bryski said the credit card companies eventually forgave those debts. And Christopher's student loan from Sallie Mae was forgiven upon his death, according to the federal lender's policies.

But Key Bank, which held the private student loan, ignored requests to pardon the loan, Bryski said.

On April 18, the family started a petition on Change.org after the online petitioning platform contacted the Bryskis. With a petition signed by more than 81,000 individuals requesting to "discharge" the student loan debt, bank executives reached out to the family on April 23 and a settlement was reached on Wednesday, according to Megan Lubin, communications manager at Change.org. Change.org was also behind the petition that got Bank of America to cancel its proposed $5 debit card usage fee.

"My family is very grateful for Key Bank finally contacting us and doing the right thing," Bryski told ABC News. "It's just unfortunate it took eight years and 80,000 signatures to get their attention."

"First and foremost, we are so sorry for the tragic loss of Christopher Bryski," David Reavis, a spokesman for Key Bank, said in a statement.

The bank said that, by law, it could not comment on matters involving an individual client or clients, but that it "regularly and continually reviews its practices, policies and procedures to ensure they are aligned with best practices and a constantly changing environment.

"Going forward, we will evaluate any similar situation involving a deceased student with outstanding loans ' and we sincerely hope there are none ' on a case-by-case basis," the bank's statement read.

Though the family is relieved that its own ordeal has been resolved and a bill has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives proposing more transparency for families who co-sign loans, Bryski is still hoping for change in other areas of death and disability policies of financial service companies. The family has also set up a website to provide updates about some of these issues.

"I asked myself what my brother would do. If he had the opportunity to help other people even if it didn't help him, he absolutely would. He was always helping others," said Bryski. "It's unfortunate that we lost him so young."

Delta Monkeypox Scare: Bed Bugs?

The rash that prompted a two-hour quarantine of a Delta plane in Chicago Thursday may have been the work of bed bugs, not the monkeypox virus health officials feared.

The itchy passenger was Lise Sievers of Red Wing, Minn., a 50-year-old woman returning home from Uganda, where she was working to adopt two children. Sievers noticed the rash and told her mother, who got worried and called health officials in Indiana.

"It's just a case of bed bugs," Sievers told ABC News affiliate WLS after exiting the plane. "I think I'm going to empty a jar of bed bugs on my mom's bed tonight."

Other passengers aboard Flight 3163 feared the worst as officers wearing Hazmat suits studied the rash, sending photos to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters in Atlanta.

"They didn't tell us very much at all," one passenger told WLS, describing a scene that could have come from the movie "Contagion." "When they come on in masks and gloves, you think the worst."

Monkeypox is a rare and sometimes fatal disease similar to smallpox that occurs mostly in central and western Africa. It's contracted through contact with infected animals or their bodily fluids, and can spread among humans through fluids and contaminated clothes or bedding, according to the CDC.

The monkeypox rash consists of raised, fluid-filled bumps, and is usually accompanied by fever, headache and lymph node swelling. Bed bug bites, on the other hand, cause a swollen and red area that may or may not be itchy, without the other symptoms.

Sievers, who was sitting near the bathroom on the plane, recalled the worried looks from other passengers when it became clear she was the cause of the quarantine.

"You could see them thinking, 'Is it safe to use the bathroom?'" she told WLS.

After studying the rash and searching for other signs of infectious disease, health officials released Sievers and her fellow passengers.

"Medical staff at CDC and the Chicago Department of Public Health reviewed the case and, based on the patient's symptoms and photographs of the rash, it does not appear that the signs and symptoms are consistent with a monkeypox infection," the CDC said in a statement. "The ill passenger was advised to seek medical care and the rest of the passengers were released from the plane."

Dr. Donald Henderson, a professor of medicine and public health at the University of Pittsburgh and former director of the Office of Public Health Emergency Preparedness, said the quarantine was an unusual and unhelpful move.

"In the exceptional circumstance in which a passenger with a serious transmissible disease is discovered on a plane, the best course of action would be to explain to the passengers what the disease might be and to give them instructions to contact their physicians and to call a designated CDC emergency number should they develop any one of a number of symptoms," he said. "The worst thing that can be done is to spread alarm and concern, delay air travel, and publicly exercise an array of unnecessary emergency measures."

Dr. Martin Cetron, director of quarantine for the CDC, said health officials board planes to investigate possible infectious diseases upward of 40 times a month. The flights are usually delayed only a few minutes, and passengers might not even be aware of it. But two or three times a year there is a significant delay, like the one at Chicago Midway, he said.

After two agonizing hours on the tarmac, passengers were happy to learn that the rash was not the result of something more serious.

"Of course, you're relieved when they say it is just a case of bug bites," passenger Kayla Sanders told WLS.

Undeterred, Sievers plans to return to Uganda in a month to finalize the adoption of the two children.

ABC News affiliate WLS in Chicago contributed to this story.

Edwards Witness Feared Getting Shot

The first witness in the John Edwards trial ended nearly a week of testimony by breaking down on the stand and by telling the court today that the last time he spoke to Edwards he feared he was going to be shot.

Andrew Young has spent nearly four contentious days on the stand detailing how he helped Edwards hide his mistress Rielle Hunter in 2007 and 2008 while Edwards pursued the Democratic presidential nomination.

The cross examination has been grueling with Edwards' defense team depicting him as a greedy liar.

Young today described the last conversation he had with Edwards during a car ride on Aug. 18, 2008 in a wooded area.

By this time their friendship had been severely strained by the extraordinary efforts to keep the secret of Hunter's pregnancy.

During their conversation Young told Edwards, "If he wasn't going to tell the truth about what transpired, then I was going to tell the truth."

Young told Edwards that he had saved voicemails, text messages, emails, photographs as well as a sex video of Edwards and Hunter.

Young said that Edwards was sweaty and "at one point I was scared for my life."

"Did you think John Edwards was going to shoot you?" Lowell asked.

"Not personally," Young answered.

"You thought there was a gunman in the woods who was going to come and shoot you?" the lawyer asked.

"That thought did cross my mind," he answered.

"Were you afraid there was a gun or a tape recorder?" Lowell asked.

"Both occurred to me," Young replied.

Later, under the gentler questioning of prosecutor David Harbach Young got emotional when asked why he felt that it was okay that he used money donated to help hide Hunter for vacation trips for his children to Disneyland, Legoland and skiing in Aspen.

"For all the stress... put on my family. My wife, who is an amazing person," Young said as he lost his composure and began weeping. "Sorry, (she) managed to keep my kids very balanced."

Young was on the verge of tears again while describing how his relationship to Edwards changed from devotion to saving evidence against him.

"For several years working for Mr. and Mrs. Edwards was a true privilege. It was inspiring and exciting. ?. And that I was going to be part of something good," he said.

Young's voice broke and he became emotional as he continued, saying, "The things that happened since then were in direct contradiction to the man I knew back then and it's very hard for me to put those two men together."

Earlier today, Judge Catherine Eagles rejected a bid by Hunter's legal team to sharply restrict what the court and the public can hear about the sex tape she and Edwards made together.

Eagles said a decision could be reached later on testimony surrounding the tape The judge had earlier ruled that the video itself is inadmissible and will not be introduced during the trial.

Hunter, who was a videographer on Edwards' failed bid for the presidency in 2007, is expected to testify later in the trial.

Edwards is on trial for allegedly illegally using more than $900,000 in campaign donations to hide Hunter and her pregnancy. If convicted of the charge Edwards could be sentenced to as much as 30 years in prison.

His defense, however, says the money was used to hide the affair from Edwards' wife and was not related to his presidential campaign.

The defense has also depicted Young as a greedy liar who used the scandal for his own financial profit.

In today's testimony, Young conceded that he included as affair-related expenses trips with his family to Disneyland, Legoland, skiing in Aspen, and a trip to Mexico.

He also admitted spending $200,000 of the money to put in a pool at his home and wire it for audio.

In addition, Lowell got Young to estimate that he was paid a couple hundred thousand dollars for a book about Edwards and Hunter and that he sold the rights for a movie for another couple hundred thousand dollars.

Lowell cited a passage in Young's book in which Young said that if people didn't know the whole story he feared they would think he was a "cold blooded schemer who is motivated by greed or ego or the desire for power."

"Isn't that exactly what you are," Lowell asked Young.

"No," he answered.

Religious Faithfuls Lack Logic, Study Implies

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A rare and controversial study merging science and faith suggests that analytic thinking, a process that favors reason over intuition, promotes religious disbelief.

Canadian researchers used math puzzles and 'priming,' a technique that plants subtle suggestions in pictures and text, to persuade more than 650 believers and non-believers to think analytically. They then used surveys to probe religious beliefs, from faith in God to the power of prayer.

'If you can get people to engage in analytic thinking, whether it's by looking at pictures or showing them difficult-to-read text, analytic thinking promotes religious disbelief,' said Will Gervais, a PhD student in psychology at the University of British Columbia and lead author of the study published today in the journal Science. 'This indicates that analytic thinking is one of many factors affecting people's religious beliefs.'

In the first of five tests, people who solved a math problem analytically rather than arriving at the intuitive answer were more likely to report religious disbelief. For example: A bat and a ball cost $1.10 in total. The bat costs $1.00 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost? The intuitive answer is $0.10; the analytic answer is $0.05.

In the second test, subjects were randomly assigned to look at one of four images. Those who viewed Rodin's 'The Thinker,' which was previously found to prime analytic thinking, reported having weaker religious beliefs. The third and fourth tests used words like 'think,' 'reason,' and 'rational' to prime analytic thinking, which was also linked to religious disbelief.

In the fifth test, 91 people who rated their religious beliefs on a survey in a hard-to-read font were more likely to report religious disbelief than 91 subjects given the same questions in an easy-to-read font. The difference in font is a subtler way to prime analytic thinking, Gervais said.

'If people find something hard to process, it engages analytic thinking,' he said. 'It's a neat manipulation.'

Intuitive thinking, a mental shortcut that bypasses reason, is linked to stronger religious beliefs.

'It's largely intuitive processes that let people form religious beliefs,' said Gervais. 'If you're surrounded by a lot of other religious people publically demonstrating their faith, you're more likely to develop those beliefs.'

The study does little to calm the culture clash between science and religion.

'Religion versus science; believers versus atheists; our evidence doesn't say much about those debates,' said Gervais. 'But it sheds light on one cognitive factor that may influence where people stand on those debates.

It also challenges the notion that religious beliefs are set in stone.

'People have this impression that they're really core, central beliefs that don't change. But we know people's religious beliefs can vary across situations and across their lifespan,' Gervais said.

But devout believers may be shocked to hear their faith can wax and wane with tricky tests.

'I suppose some people might find it surprising,' Gervais said, 'that really subtle experimental manipulations might be able to temporarily alter religious beliefs.'

Family Holds Out Hope for Missing Mom

A preliminary custody hearing for the three children of missing Florida mother Vilet Torrez will be held today, marking the next step in determining whether the children will be returned to the custody of their father, who has been called a person of interest in his wife's disappearance.

Vilet Torrez, 38, was reported missing on April 2 after her children had spent the weekend with her estranged husband. The missing mom had recently separated from Cid Torrez, her husband of 15 years, with whom she'd had years of marital problems, her family said. The woman's car and belongings were found in her driveway.

The couple's three children, Vilet, 12, Cid Jr., 7, and Marcus, 4, were taken from Cid Torrez's custody and placed in the care of their maternal grandparents after an anonymous April 5 call alleged Torrez had a gun and wanted to "end it all."

Torrez's lawyer, Richard Della Fera, told ABCNews.com his client denies the allegation and any involvement in his wife's disappearance.

"He had nothing to do with her disappearance, and we welcome the investigation because we're confident it's going to exonerate him," Della Fera said, adding that he believed Vilet Torrez's family never liked Cid and always believed she married "below herself."

A judge is expected to rule on the custody of the Torrez children on May 10.

Tania Rues, public information officer for the Miramar Police Department, said authorities are thoroughly investigating all possible angles.

"[Vilet Torrez] did not leave on her own free will, and we believe foul play is suspected," Rues said. She declined to name other possible angles or people who had been questioned but said Cid Torrez had fully cooperated.

Vilet Torrez had dinner plans with a male friend on March 30, Cid Torrez told ABCNews.com shortly after her disappearance. Torrez said his wife had a new boyfriend whom he had met and had been "around" since she was reported missing. The missing mother's siblings said they hadn't heard of a new boyfriend in Torrez's life and said Cid Torrez had a history of being "jealous" to the point they worried about their sister's safety.

"We had been fearing for her life for about a year already," her brother, Javier Blanco, told ABCNews.com. "Her family had been warning her, friends, marriage counselors. We were all urging her to get out, and she was [finally] transitioning her life."

Blanco said his sister's estranged husband hadn't slept over at the family home in months.

"The one day he decides to sleep over, I can assure you it was a surprise to her, she was missing," he said.

Police executed a search warrant on the home, where Blanco said Torrez continues to reside. The Miramar Police Department declined to comment on what, if anything, was found.

Torrez's sister, Nayiva Blanco, 36, said she was having difficulty coming to terms with the idea that anyone would want to harm her "friendly, outgoing" sister.

"Who would hate her? Who would try to get rid of her?" she said. "All Vilet ever did was help people. She had lots of friends. I just don't understand."

Report: Secret Service Agents Partied with Strippers, Hookers in El Salvador

A group of Secret Service agents allegedly visited a strip club and paid for sexual favors during an advance trip to El Salvador just days before President Obama's official visit there in March 2011, an unnamed source told CBS Seattle affiliate KIRO-TV.

The Secret Service acknowledged Thursday it is investigating the claim, which comes days after the agency fired eight agents for their meetings with prostitutes in Colombia ahead of a presidential visit. "The recent investigation in Cartagena has generated several news stories that contain allegations by mostly unnamed sources," Secret Service spokesman Max Milien told ABC News. "Any information that is brought to our attention that can be assessed as credible will be followed up on in an appropriate manner."

According to the report, a U.S. government subcontractor who "worked extensively with the Secret Service advance team" saw a majority of the group of about a dozen Secret Service agents and a few U.S. military specialists who were on the trip get "wasted" at the strip club in San Salvador before paying to enter a VIP area and receive sexual favors.

At least two of the agents brought escorts, who may or may not have been strip club employees, into their hotel rooms during the trip, according to the report. The source claims he attempted to dissuade the agents, but that they boasted that they "did this all the time" and "not to worry about it."

The new report adds to the allegations of misconduct against Secret Service agents, after a scandal erupted around Secret Service agents' meetings with prostitutes during a trip earlier this month to Cartagena, Colombia ahead of President Obama's arrival there for an international summit.

This week, the Secret Service announced that it had dealt with all 12 agents and supervisors implicated in the Cartagena scandal, with eight losing their jobs over their involvement in the ordeal.

During a trip to Brazil Tuesday, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta apologized for an incident in 2011 when three Marine guards allegedly fought with a prostitute in a car and then allegedly tossed her out of their moving car, injuring her. Two Marines were demoted and a U.S. embassy employee was removed from his post in connection with the incident. A State Department spokeswoman denied the woman was thrown from the car, and said she was injured when she tried to get back into the car.

At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said that if the Cartagena scandal had been part of a pattern, "that would be a surprise to me."

The new allegations were reported Thursday by KIRO's Chris Halsne, who recently returned from a trip to El Salvador, where he interviewed the source. Halsne said he initially heard the allegations from the same source last year while he was covering a separate story in El Salvador. Halsne said he planned to name the names of the agents allegedly involved.

He also interviewed the owner of the strip club, who claimed that Secret Service agents were at his club on at least three consecutive nights, and that his club has hosted U.S. Embassy employees, DEA agents and FBI agents when they are in town. The club owner denied, however, that he allows prostitution in his establishment. Prostitution is legal in El Salvador and Colombia.

In a statement, the DEA said it was aware of "news reports mentioning Drug Enforcement Administration agents in El Salvador" but unaware of any allegations of misconduct. "Any information that can be assessed as credible will be followed up in an appropriate manner and immediately."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Vilet Torrez: Family Holds Out Hope for Missing Mom's Return

A preliminary custody hearing for the three children of missing Florida mother Vilet Torrez will be held today, marking the next step in determining whether the children will be returned to the custody of their father, who has been called a person of interest in his wife's disappearance.

Vilet Torrez, 38, was reported missing on April 2 after her children had spent the weekend with her estranged husband. The missing mom had recently separated from Cid Torrez, her husband of 15 years, with whom she'd had years of marital problems, her family said. The woman's car and belongings were found in her driveway.

The couple's three children, Vilet, 12, Cid Jr., 7, and Marcus, 4, were taken from Cid Torrez's custody and placed in the care of their maternal grandparents after an anonymous April 5 call alleged Torrez had a gun and wanted to "end it all."

Torrez's lawyer, Richard Della Fera, told ABCNews.com his client denies the allegation and any involvement in his wife's disappearance.

"He had nothing to do with her disappearance, and we welcome the investigation because we're confident it's going to exonerate him," Della Fera said, adding that he believed Vilet Torrez's family never liked Cid and always believed she married "below herself."

A judge is expected to rule on the custody of the Torrez children on May 10.

Tania Rues, public information officer for the Miramar Police Department, said authorities are thoroughly investigating all possible angles.

"[Vilet Torrez] did not leave on her own free will, and we believe foul play is suspected," Rues said. She declined to name other possible angles or people who had been questioned but said Cid Torrez had fully cooperated.

Vilet Torrez had dinner plans with a male friend on March 30, Cid Torrez told ABCNews.com shortly after her disappearance. Torrez said his wife had a new boyfriend whom he had met and had been "around" since she was reported missing. The missing mother's siblings said they hadn't heard of a new boyfriend in Torrez's life and said Cid Torrez had a history of being "jealous" to the point they worried about their sister's safety.

"We had been fearing for her life for about a year already," her brother, Javier Blanco, told ABCNews.com. "Her family had been warning her, friends, marriage counselors. We were all urging her to get out, and she was [finally] transitioning her life."

Blanco said his sister's estranged husband hadn't slept over at the family home in months.

"The one day he decides to sleep over, I can assure you it was a surprise to her, she was missing," he said.

Police executed a search warrant on the home, where Blanco said Torrez continues to reside. The Miramar Police Department declined to comment on what, if anything, was found.

Torrez's sister, Nayiva Blanco, 36, said she was having difficulty coming to terms with the idea that anyone would want to harm her "friendly, outgoing" sister.

"Who would hate her? Who would try to get rid of her?" she said. "All Vilet ever did was help people. She had lots of friends. I just don't understand."

FBI: 'No Specific Threat' One Year After Bin Laden Killing

American law enforcement agencies say they have "no credible information" of a terror attack in the United States tied to next week's one year anniversary of the May 2 raid that killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

Even so, in an advisory issued late Wednesday and obtained by ABC News, FBI and Homeland Security officials warned of "renewed efforts to target Western aviation."  

European law enforcement officials said stepped up security was being planned at major airports and transportation hubs over the next several days.

"While there is no credible threat, there is much preparation based on the common sense consideration of the date," said one intelligence official.   Officials told ABC News there are several uncorroborated threats against U.S. interests, including some on the internet, that are being investigated but so far have low credibility.

"We assess that such threats are almost certainly aspirational and are not indicative of actual plotting," the law enforcement advisory said.

The killing of bin Laden by U.S. Navy SEALs led to numerous calls for attacks on the United States to avenge the terror leader's death.

The law enforcement advisory acknowledged al Qaeda would regard an attack on the U.S. "as a symbolic victory that would  help reassert the group's global relevance following the major leadership losses and operational setbacks it has suffered over the past year."

American law enforcement officials tell ABC News they regard the al Qaeda affiliates in Yemen and Somalia as the most likely to be able to carry out an attack on the United States.

The Yemen-based group known as al Qaeda of the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has attempted two attacks against U.S.-bound aircraft, according to the FBI, and "represents an enduring threat to the West."

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Warlord Convicted for S.L. Atrocities

After a five year trial that included grisly testimony from victims who were missing limbs, former colleagues and even fashion supermodel Naomi Campbell, African warlord Charles Taylor was convicted today for his role in the atrocities committed in Sierra Leone including mass murder, sexual slavery and the use of child soldiers.

Taylor was found guilty by the U.N.-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone on all 11 charges for "aiding and abetting" crimes against the people of the African nation committed by militant groups in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

WATCH: Celebrities Mixed Up in Blood Diamond Case

Peter Andersen, a spokesperson for the Special Court of Sierra Leone where Taylor was tried, told ABC News the conviction was not a full victory for the prosecution, who hoped Taylor would be found guilty of being part of a "joint criminal enterprise" and having a direct hand in the atrocities as "superior leader" of the groups who committed them. Still, Andersen said today's ruling -- the first against an African head of state -- was important to the people of Sierra Leone.

"It's why we're here, trying to redress some of the crimes that were committed in Sierra Leone a decade ago," Andersen said. "I don't know if you can talk about closure, especially with people who have had their limbs hacked off, but at least you can talk about some steps towards reconciliation and at least attempt to put the past behind them and look towards the future."

The original indictment filed against Taylor detailed specific crimes conducted by Taylor's subordinates including "conscripting or enlisting children under the age of 15 years into armed forces or groups" and multiple instances of mass rape and sexual abuse. Taylor's defense had argued that though the atrocities certainly did take place, there was only circumstantial evidence linking Taylor directly to the acts.

While already a landmark case for international court, Taylor's trial captured international headlines after two high-profile celebrities became involved.

Supermodel Naomi Campbell was subpoenaed by the court following an ABC News report about allegations that Taylor had given her uncut "blood diamonds" on a trip to South Africa.

When asked about the diamonds in April 2010, Campbell denied she received any diamonds and then punched the camera in a producer's hand when pressed for details. But when she took the stand for the criminal court, Campbell admitted she had received a gift of "small dirty-looking stones." Campbell said that she gave the stones to an official with a South African children's charity who planned to sell them and then donate the money to the charity.

Hollywood actress Mia Farrow, who ate breakfast with Campbell the morning during the trip to South Africa, also testified that Campbell had indeed received the diamonds.

Taylor is scheduled to be sentenced next month, but both sides are likely to appeal the ruling, Andersen said.

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Mad Cow Disease Found in U.S. Bovine

The Department of Agriculture today confirmed a case of mad cow disease found in a dairy cow in central California.

In a press briefing today, John Clifford, the USDA's chief veterinary officer, said the cow's meat did not enter the food supply and the carcass will be destroyed.

The animal was found at a rendering facility run by Baker Commodities in Hanford, Calif. The disease was discovered when the company selected the cow for random sampling, Baker Commodities executive vice president Dennis Luckey told The Associated Press.

The Agriculture Department confirmed today that the cow is the fourth discovered in the United States to test positive for the disease, but stressed that consumers were not at risk because the animal was not bound for the food supply.

"There is really no concern for alarm here with regards to this animal," Clifford said. "Both human health and animal health are protected with regards to this issue."

Government officials were quick to reassure the public that the finding posed no threat to humans.

"The beef and dairy in the American food supply is safe and USDA remains confident in the health of U.S. cattle," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement. "The systems and safeguards in place to protect animal and human health worked as planned to identify this case quickly, and will ensure that it presents no risk to the food supply or to human health. USDA has no reason to believe that any other U.S. animals are currently affected, but we will remain vigilant and committed to the safeguards in place."

The Food and Drug Administration pledged to "work with the USDA to fully investigate the feed supply as part of the epidemiological investigation." And the USDA said in a statement that milk does not transmit mad cow disease.

This is the fourth case of mad cow disease in the U.S. cattle supply since December 2003. The first U.S. BSE case was in 2003, found in a Washington state dairy cow that had been slaughtered. The second case was found in June 2005 in a cow in Texas, and the third was found in a cow in Alabama in 2006.

The case today was discovered as part of the USDA's regular surveillance program of U.S. cattle. No other cases have been reported yet, and Dr. William Schaffner, chair of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University, said it's unlikely that more cows will be infected.

"Mad cow occurs in animals as it does in humans -- rarely and sporadically. At this point, I would not expect there to be another cow to be found," he said.

Mad cow disease, otherwise known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, affects the brain and spine of an animal. Those body parts are kept out of grocery stores and restaurants and have no contact with the meat that does make its way to consumers. Eating contaminated meat can cause Cruetzfeld Jakob (vCJD) disease in humans.

While many diseases are caused by bacteria and viruses, mad cow disease is caused by a transmissible protein called a prion, according to the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While the function of these proteins in nature is unknown, what is known is that they act on the human nervous system to cause rapid brain degeneration.

Obama: College Debt 'Not Something I Read About in Briefing Book'

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Police Hopeful in Madeleine McCann Case

Investigators still searching for Madeleine McCann, the British toddler who went missing from a Portuguese holiday rental home five years ago this week, say they believe the girl is still alive and they now have the "best opportunity" yet to solve the case.

McCann was 3 years old when she vanished on vacation with her parents Kate and Gerry McCann and twin siblings in the Algarve region of Portugal. The girl's parents say they found Madeleine missing after having left the children in the home unsupervised while having dinner less than 500 feet away.

"[We are] seeking to bring closure to the case," Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood told the BBC. Detectives for the first time since the investigation into McCann's disappearance, dubbed Operation Grange by U.K. police, say that as a result of evidence uncovered during their latest review they now believe there is a possibility Madeleine is still alive and are appealing for direct information as to her whereabouts.

Police didn't specify what clues led them to believe the girl may still be still alive.

"I am satisfied that the systems and processes that we are bringing to this set of circumstances will give us the best opportunity to find those investigative opportunities that we can then present to our colleagues in Portugal," Redwood said.

Investigators released an age progression image of Maddy as her ninth birthday approaches on May 12.The image was created in close collaboration with the family, according to a statement from the U.K.'s Metropolitan police.

British police today called on Portugal to reopen the case, saying they have close to 200 leads that could help find the missing girl alive. But in Portugal there is much less support for reopening the investigation, and the McCann's own Portuguese lawyer says it is hard to find people who sympathize with the couple.

"Everyone believes I am defending a father and mother that killed the daughter and got rid of the corpse," the McCann's Portuguese lawyer Isabel Duarte said.

With 28 detectives and seven civilian support staff, the Operation Grange team is handling the massive trove of reports and documents on the case. Hundreds of reported sightings of Maddy have come in since she disappeared, but they have all led nowhere.

"Our initial estimates in terms of the amount of material we are facing is that it will be somewhere in the region of 40,000 pieces of information," Redwood said. "There is, ultimately, a process of us turning every single piece of paper over and interpreting and analyzing what is contained within them."

After Maddy's reported disappearance on May 3, 2007, the Polícia Judiciária, the Portuguese investigative police, initially decided that the girl had been abducted, but soon stated that they hypothesized that she died in the rented house.

An Algarve resident named Robert Murat was named a suspect on May 17, 2007. In September of 2007 Kate and Gerry McCann were also named as suspects in the mystery surrounding what happened to their daughter, but they were cleared, along with Murat, in July of 2008.

Intense international attention has been drawn to the case, primarily because of the actions of the McCanns at the time and their subsequent use of the media to bring focus on the case. Investigators in Portugal have been criticized for their slow response and delay in their analysis of forensic evidence.

British Prime Minister David Cameron established a new inquiry into Maddy's disappearance last May after Kate and Gerry McCann pled for a U.K. police review of the case. To date the investigation has cost U.K. taxpayers an estimated cost $3.2 million.

"It's taken pressure off us I have to say, knowing the police are actually reviewing everything. It's a huge step for us," Gerry McCann told the BBC.

Badger Girls Tragedy: Father Speaks of Grief, Launches Fund

The father of Lily, Sarah and Grace Badger, the three girls who died last year in a Christmas Day fire in their Connecticut home, has spoken publicly for the first time of his grief, his daughters and his glimmers of something positive coming from their deaths by drawing attention to a new fund he has launched in their memory.

The nation awoke to the news Dec. 25 that the three young girls had been killed along with their grandparents in their Stamford home. Investigators say hot fireplace embers -- cleaned out of the fireplace because the girls worried about Santa, and discarded in the back of the house -- sparked the blaze.

"There probably has not been a worse Christmas Day in the city of Stamford," Stamford Mayor Michael Pavia said.

The girls' mother, advertising executive Madonna Badger, and her boyfriend, Michael Borcina, the contractor on the house, were the only survivors. Madonna Badger is said still to be in deep isolated mourning.

Matthew Badger, the father of the three girls, has decided to turn the grief from his loss into something positive, and has launched the Lily, Sarah Grace Fund, which will offer money to elementary school teachers who incorporate the use of art -- a passion his daughters shared -- into their teaching. He hopes to draw attention to what will become a living monument to his girls.

Click here to learn more about the Lily, Sarah Grace Fund

Speaking publically for the first time since their deaths, Badger recalled his last days with 9-year-old Lily and 7-year-old twins Sarah and Gracie, and discussed his feelings at the time of the tragedy.

"I was with them for an entire week in my apartment," Badger said, smiling when he thinks back. "It was dancing. We had our own Christmas tree and that photograph was when we had opened our presents they were all very happy."

Badger said he often studies a snapshot from that final day with Lily, Sarah and Gracie, a day meant to be just one of so many more. He said that after the fire, he struggled to understand why this could happen to his girls.

"It was very difficult to see ' Why did this happen? I mean, it doesn't make any sense. And I'd just seen them the day before," Badger told ABC News. "The experience ' of memories about their lives has been one of ' tears. And every time I open up my computer and look at pictures of them, I am moved."

In the interview with ABC's Claire Shipman for "Good Morning America," Badger discussed how he has channeled his grief and memories of his girls into something tangible for others.

"It's really hard," he said. "People treat their grief in different ways. Either they head straight into the wind [or] some people hide behind a rock.

"I had a very hard time making sense of what life was," he continued. "The instinct of a father for me was that I needed to love my children ' and that love I channeled into the creation of the Lily Sarah Grace Fund. I need to try and make them have made a mark on the planet, and not have just died in vain."

Badger said he was especially inspired by New York public school teacher Amie Schindel, who sent his daughter, Gracie, skipping to school each day. Schindel told ABC News of her fond memories of the girl.

"I remember having her like it was yesterday. She just kind of shined," Schindel said.

Badger enlisted the help of kindred spirit Charles Best, whose innovative program, DonorsChoose.org, allows people to give money directly to schools.

"Many of the teacher requests are about incorporating art into science, or into math, or into English, and really making art a part of everybody's education," Best says.

Badger hopes that through the fund he is able to help others, but also keep his daughters' memory alive.

"Ultimately, [my] healing will be when [I] walk into a classroom in the fall, and see one of those classes that is being funded by this monument that I've created for my children", he said.

"And if we are able to do that, than Lily, Sarah and Grace have done it. They've done it. It's beautiful. It's absolutely beautiful."

Murdoch and Son Testify in Inquiry

Rupert Murdoch and his son James are appearing before a British inquiry about press standards less than a year after being questioned at a parliamentary special committee over evidence of phone hacking at the defunct tabloid News of the World.

The widening hacking scandal rocked the media and police in a country where Murdoch owns many of the largest newspapers. James Murdoch is appearing first today and Rupert Murdoch is scheduled to appear Wednesday and Thursday morning if necessary, the Guardian reported.

According to Hugh Tomlinson of the Queen's Council, the now defunct News of the World allegedly hacked the phones of 4,791 people, from stars to crime victims, to get juicy stories -- all with the encouragement of top editors at the paper and aided by some in the police force.

Murdoch is also expected to be grilled over allegations of impropriety at his other newspapers.

In February 2012, five employees of British newspaper, The Sun, were arrested for allegededly making payments to public officials. Four former and current Sun journalists were held in January, the BBC reported.

The Leveson inquiry, initiated by British Prime Minister David Cameron following the phone-hacking scandal, has heard from more than 100 witnesses since evidence hearings began in November, the Guardian reported.

Rupert Murdoch made a rare apology in British newspapers last year before echoing the sentiment at a parliamentary hearing. The Murdochs appeared before a parliamentary committee last year for the first time, during which the elder Murdoch was attacked with a shaving cream pie.

The elder Murdoch is a man "who meets power with power" and is not going to leave News Corp. willingly, biographer Michael Wolff told Bloomberg News. Wolff's book, "The Man Who Owns the News: Inside the Secret World of Rupert Murdoch," was published in 2008.

The Murdoch name has been synonymous with News Corp. even before it was incorporated in 1979. Rupert Murdoch, the only son of Sir Keith Murdoch, took over his father's newspaper publishing business, News Limited, after the elder Murdoch passed away in 1952.

The Murdoch family and embattled News Corp. still own FOX News Channel, The Wall Street Journal, and publisher Harper Collins, among other assets.

Dying Mom Begs for Compassionate Use of Trial Drug

Social media proved to be one powerful tool for a mother dying of breast cancer and desperate to get a drug that has yet to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

In a self-made video, Darlene Gant lies in her bed, too weak to sit up. She holds a letter to her son. Beside her are several others: a letter for her son's 12th birthday, two more for his high school and college graduations, another for his wedding day. Gant is writing these letters now, because she is dying and believes she won't be around for the milestones.

Gant, 46, posted the video on YouTube as an attempt to plead with the FDA to allow her to use a trial drug known as pertuzumab under compassionate use. The FDA is expected to approve the drug, developed by Genentech, on June 8. But Gant doesn't expect to live that long.

"In the meantime, no one is eligible for compassionate use, including me, so, although I don't put everything into pertuzumab, it could stabilize me and help save my life and extend my time here on the earth with my 11-year-old son and my family," Gant said in the video.

In the YouTube video, Gant initially took aim at the FDA for prohibiting the medication, but she soon realized that FDA had given the green light. It was Genentech Inc. that initially refused her the drug.

Gant, of the Tampa Bay area, said she and family members sent in several requests to obtain the drug before the expected approval date, but the company refused. In the video, she implored viewers to write to Genentech to request the drug for compassionate use.

Days after posting the YouTube video, South San Francisco-based Genentech agreed to provide the unapproved drug to Darlene for compassionate use. A spokeswoman for the biotechnology corporation said it is now working with Gant's doctors to provide the drug to her.

"Genentech is committed to a fair and impartial evaluation of each request for access to our investigational medicines, and takes these requests very seriously," company spokeswoman Krysta Pellegrino said. "Appropriate decisions regarding potential access to investigational or unapproved medicines can only be made after in-depth discussions between Genentech clinical teams and the person's qualified treating doctor."

While treatments and medications, particularly for compassionate use, are highly individualized and decided on a case-by-case basis, Lisa Gualtieri, assistant professor of online consumer health and social media and health at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, said that social media is becoming a new way to communicate about health and medicine.

"Darlene Gant made a very emotional plea for herself 'and all the other mothers ' passing on our final words,'" Gualtieri said. "There may have been other ways she could have gone about her appeal, but it worked. The drug company responded. Drug companies are themselves increasingly using social media, and I hope they use it as a mechanism for more open communication with patients and their families in much the same way many businesses have done: to listen, to respond, and to monitor sentiment."

Dr. Richard Pazdur, director of the FDA's Office of Oncology Drug Products, explained in a blog Friday that the FDA must work directly with the companies and patients' physicians to decide whether a person is an appropriate candidate for a drug under compassionate use. Costs, interference with drug development and company policy tend to be the reasons pharmaceutical companies deny a patient a drug for compassionate use.

"Drug companies ... don't want a death attributed to their new drug," said Art Caplan, professor of ethics at University of Pennsylvania. "They may not have any idea how much drug to use and they often have a very limited supply on hand, which they hope to use in testing the drug not for one person's last desperate gasp at a bit more life."

Etan Patz: Search Ending With No Evidence of Boy

The latest chapter in the 33-year search for Etan Patz -- the digging up of a basement in NYC's SoHo District -- has ended with no human remains, no "aha" moment, and only a few reeds of possible evidence in the hundreds of pounds of debris now packed into dumpsters.

The bits of material -- some human hair, but not blonde hair like that of the young boy who vanished on his way to school, and a possible blood-stained bit of cinder block -- are being sent to the FBI forensic lab in Quantico, Va.

And today, according to authorities, will be a day for winding down the operation on Prince Street.

After the day's digging at around 3 p.m. Sunday, authorities met with the Patz family to inform them of the outcome of the search. They were told what had been found, and what, significantly, had not been found: human remains or other clear evidence that their son had been inside that basement prior to his disappearance.

Patz was 6 at the time he disappeared on the morning of May 25, 1979, soon after leaving his parents' apartment at 113 Prince St., the first time he was to walk to the school bus stop by himself. The boy's 1979 disappearance sparked a citywide search that decades later led authorities back to handyman Othniel Miller's small basement workshop, this time to excavate it after cadaver dogs detected the smell of human remains.

The possible evidence was discovered in the basement that was once used as a kids' play area, which doubled as the workspace of retired handyman Othniel Miller, now 75. Miller, according to authorities, was seen with Patz the night before he disappeared.

"The FBI has been here to investigate the case," Stephaine Miller, Othniel Miller's daughter, said. "He cooperated with them and went to the site and he doesn't have anything to do with it."

Miller has not been named a suspect in the Patz disappearance, but he has been questioned.

"Mr. Miller denies involvement with what has happened to this beautiful young boy," his attorney, Michael Farkas, said. "Mr. Miller has been cooperating with this investigation for over 30 years."

He added, "Just as we recently witnessed in the Treyvon Martin case, people with access to unconfirmed information about the Etan Patz investigation have leaked those secrets to the news media for their own inappropriate purposes. Random bits of uncorroborated information and supposition, the types of which law enforcement hopes will lead to actual competent evidence, serve no purpose in the public domain other than to skew public opinion and malign unfortunate individuals who cannot effectively respond."

Since the boy's 1979 disappearance, a man named Jose Ramos, who is a convicted child molester, has been considered the prime suspect, although he has denied any connection.

Etan Patz disappearance without a trace and was one of the first major missing child cases to receive national attention. Although he was never found, the images of the boy were never forgotten. The boy's parents never changed their phone number, and told ABC News two years ago that they never moved, in the hopes that one day their boy would come home.

"We didn't know what had happened to him, so, of course, the thought in the backs of our minds was always that we should be here for him," father Stanley Patz said on "20/20."

Zimmerman Released on $150K Bond

George Zimmerman walked calmly out Florida jail at midnight Monday after posting $150,000 bond as he awaits trial for the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

Zimmerman left the John E. Polk Correctional Facility (JEPCF) at the Seminole County Sheriff's Office accompanied by a man ABC News identified as his possible bail bondsman. The 28-year-old former neighborhood watch volunteer posted bond and was fitted with an electronic monitoring device prior to release, according to a statement from the Seminole County Sheriff's Office. He and the man accompanying him were seen getting into white BMW sport utility vehicle.

The GPS device, which can give immediate identification of an offender's whereabouts anywhere in the US, at any given time, according to a statement from the Seminole County Sheriff's Office, a possible hint that the defense's request that he be allowed to wait out the trial out of Florida may have been granted.

Zimmerman, who has been charged with second degree murder, was wearing a brown jacket and jeans, and seemed to be carrying his personal items in a brown paper bag, as he walked to a waiting car. The half dozen or so journalists staking out the jail round the clock over the weekend for the moment of his release were caught somewhat off guard.

On Saturday his attorney Mark O'Mara left the jail saying his client may be in jail through the middle of the week, adding, and "The logistics, that's a lot of money to come up with. $150,000 is a lot of collateral. It's not a family of much means, obviously, we all know that from the bond hearing itself, so it's tough. We're still working on it."

At a bond hearing on Friday morning Judge Kenneth Lester set bail at $150,000. The prosecution had argued that Zimmerman should be denied bail entirely or that it should be set at $1 million.

Zimmerman is being held on charges of second-degree murder for the Feb. 26 shooting of Martin, 17, which could carry a life sentence if he is convicted.

George Zimmerman stunned a Florida court Friday by taking the stand and apologizing to the parents of Trayvon Martin, who were sitting in the courtroom during Zimmerman's bond hearing.

"I am sorry for the loss of your son. I did not know how old he was. I thought he was a little bit younger than I am. I did not know if he was armed or not," Zimmerman said addressing Martin's family directly.

Zimmerman told police the night he shot and killed Martin that he acted in self-defense after Martin punched him and pounced on him. Zimmerman told police that Martin then bashed his head into the concrete sidewalk during the altercation that took place in the tidy middle-class development of the Retreat at Twin Lakes in Sanford, Fla.

John Edwards Pitted Against Aide

They were once partners in a lie so spectacular it could have altered the course of a presidential election.

John Edwards, a contender for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, and Andrew Young, a once-close personal and political aide to the candidate, allegedly conspired together in an elaborate and expensive scheme to hide Rielle Hunter, Edwards' pregnant mistress, in the midst of the primary campaign.

So devoted was Young, a married man with three children of his own, that he savaged his own future by falsely claiming paternity of Hunter's child, issuing a public statement designed to throw the political press corps off the scent of the scandal. Young says the ruse was Edwards' idea.

'And the most crazy thing about it is,' Young told ABC News 20/20, 'is that it did work.'

That assessment, of course, allows for a generous definition of success.

Edwards continued his campaign but voters in Iowa and New Hampshire rejected his message and turned the primary race into a two-person race between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

By the time Edwards suspended his campaign in late January 2008, Young was in hiding in California with his family and Rielle Hunter, who gave birth to a baby girl in Santa Barbara a month later. Edwards continued to deny he was the father until finally acknowledging paternity in early 2010

Now, as Edwards' criminal trial is set to begin today in federal court in Greensboro, N.C., Young is poised to be the key witness for the prosecution that aims to prove Edwards illegally conspired with Young and others to use hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal campaign cash to hide Hunter.

Young, who has an immunity deal with prosecutors, has been accused by the defense of siphoning off thousands of dollars of that cash and spending it on himself.

And because both Edwards, 58, and Young, 46, have a history of lying about the events leading up to the trial, the stage is set for some dramatic courtroom moments.

'I think John Edwards' own lawyers are going to have to attack John Edwards,' said Dan Abrams, legal analyst for ABC News. 'They're going to have to talk about John Edwards as a flawed man and a flawed human being who made some big mistakes.'

Similarly, the government will ' in some measure ' have to go after Young, its most important witness, in order to blunt the impact of what is sure to be an aggressive assault by the defense on Young's credibility.

'This is the guy that publicly claimed that the baby was his,' Abrams said. 'That makes [Young] an absolutely crucial witness in connection with this case. The defense team is going to go after him.

'They're going to go after his credibility. Why he's saying this, why he's doing this; and how effective the defense is in cross examining Andrew Young could make or break this case.'

Obama: Student Loan Rate Hike Would Be 'Tremendous Blow'

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Etan Patz: How the Case Was Reopened

When Cy Vance was running for Manhattan District Attorney, he and his opponents were approached by Stan Patz, the father of missing child Etan Patz, and asked to re-open the case, help the family get closure and bring to justice the person who kidnapped and murdered the 6-year-old boy in 1979.

Vance made a commitment to Patz: if he was elected he would re-examine the case. He did so shortly after he was elected, meeting multiple times with Patz and former federal prosecutor Stu Grabois, who had devoted much of his career to the Patz case.

In January 2010 the case took on new life. Dormant since the former Manhattan DA, Robert Morgenthau, opted not to present evidence against one suspect to a grand jury, it got a fresh look by a team of prosecutors and an FBI agent assigned to it. Old interviews were reconsidered, old evidence re-examined, and a fresh round of interviews with subjects of the original investigation began.

The probers soon returned to the brick and concrete basement at 127B Prince Street, a few doors down from where Etan Patz disappeared May 25 1979, a space that appeared to never have been searched. It was also where the lives of the prime suspect of Grabois's investigation, Jose Ramos, and Othniel Miller, a carpenter and handyman who used the basement as a workshop, intersected.

Ramos was already in prison, serving 20 years for raping two boys in Pennsylvania. Miller had never been really subjected to a significant investigation. Miller's basement workshop floor was re-concreted around the time of Patz disappearance, but it was never thoroughly searched let alone dug up. One reason, investigators recall, was that the boy's mom, Julie Patz, described Miller, now 75, as "a family friend."

The Patz's have not returned calls by ABC News to discuss the reinvigorated investigation and have posted a notice at their home asking the media to respect their privacy . And Ramos, it seems, had a key to Miller's workshop, frequented it, and appears to have performed some odd jobs for Miller, sources say. Miller, who has been charged with no crime in connection with the Patz case, is alleged by multiple sources to have seen Patz the night before he disappeared and to have given the boy a dollar.

The 1979 disappearance sparked a massive citywide search, but now the FBI and New York City police have brought the case right back to the block where Patz stepped out of his family's home at 113 Prince Street in his fluorescent sneakers and airline pilot's cap to head the two blocks to his school bus stop alone for the first time.

Federal agents and New York City police began Thursday to tear up the concrete floor of the basement at 127 Prince St. By Saturday much of the digging had been done, and chunks of concrete large and small had been lifted up and out.

Prosecutors began focusing on the Prince Street basement room following a positive hit by NYPD and FBI cadaver dogs.

Special odor-absorbing pads were placed in the room, capturing the scent of human remains -- even decades old -- that police cadaver dogs were able to detect. The pads were sent down to the dogs in Virginia, and when a dog there got a positive hit, a dog was brought into the basement, sources said.

Investigators then twice interviewed Miller before obtaining a warrant and beginning the dig.

Patz Probe: Handyman Says He's Innocent

A lawyer for the handyman Othniel Miller whose basement workshop is the focal point of a new investigation into the Etan Patz case today denied he had anything to do with the little boy's disappearance more than three decades ago.

"Mr. Miller did not do this," Michael Farkas, the attorney for Miller, told reporters outside the Brooklyn building where Miller lives.

"Mr. Miller denies involvement with what happened to this beautiful young boy and he's going to remain cooperative to the extent that's reasonably possible given this investigation," Farkas said.

Patz, who was 6, disappeared on the morning of May 25, 1979, soon after leaving his parents' apartment at 113 Prince St., the first time he was to walk to the school bus stop by himself.

Authorities today began the first full day of digging in the Manhattan basement at 127 Prince St. for new evidence, following the startling discovery that the missing child may never have made it off his own New York City block.

Patz's 1979 disappearance sparked a massive city-wide search 33 years ago, but now the FBI and New York City police believe they may find evidence in what was then a handyman's basement workshop just steps away from where the boy was last seen.

The small basement room at the center of the investigation belonged to Miller, now 75, and was also frequented by the case's longtime prime suspect Jose Ramos.

Federal agents and New York City police began Thursday to tear up the concrete floor of the basement and the excavation was in full swing today and by mid afternoon the basement "was all in pieces," said FBI Special Agent Tim Flannelly .

Between 30 and 40 cops and FBI special agents hauled the parts of basement up and into bins. Later the material will be sifted and sorted.

NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly described the methodical way investigators were digging in the basement, using workers from New York's ConEd power company to assist with jack hammering.

The room, he said, was divided into four sections with concrete being removed from one section before digging commences in the next section. He said it was "a very controlled and precise digging operation, actually started with the back wall."

Prosecutors reopened the cold case two years ago and began focusing on the Prince Street basement room following an interview with Miller.

That interview prompted the FBI and NYPD to put special odor-absorbing pads in the room for four days. When those pads were presented to cadaver dogs, they signaled the odor of human remains. The dogs were then brought to the basement where they again indicated the scent of human remains.

Investigators then interviewed Miller again before obtaining a warrant and beginning the dig.

Kelly said an array of new technology unavailable to law enforcement in 1979 including x-rays and black lights are being used in the investigation.

The new investigation is also reexamining the decades old assumption that Patz was abducted by convicted pedophile Jose Ramos. Ramos, now in prison for an unrelated case, was never charged with Patz's abduction.

The preparations for the search included mapping the basement, making sketches, taking photographs and other procedures for collecting evidence.

According to sources, the area of the basement where the dog picked up the scent appears to be one that had been resurfaced with fresh concrete at or shortly after the time of Patz's disappearance.

6 Terrorists Who Keep Coming Back to Life

Omar Hammami, the Alabama-born rapping jihadist also known as Abu Mansoor al-Amriki, has died and come back to life yet again. The latest resurrection is at least the third reboot for the 27-year-old, who has acted as a mouthpiece for al-Shabaab, the Somali branch of Al Qaeda, since arriving in Somalia in 2006.

Hammami was first reported killed while fighting in Somalia in early March 2011. The next month he came back from the dead in style and with a beat, releasing two a cappella English raps -- to little critical acclaim -- in which he begs for martyrdom. As part of al-Amriki's attempt to recruit Western youth for jihad, he has released a half-dozen rap tracks on the internet since 2009.

In July 2011, he was rumored to have been killed by a Predator drone, but later resurfaced.

In March 2012, Hammami released a video in which he said he feared for his life at the hands of his Shabaab comrades.

"To whomever it may reach from the Muslims, from Abu [Mansoor] al-Amriki, I record this message today because I feel that my life may be endangered by [al-Shabaab] due to some differences that occurred between us regarding matters of the Shariah [Islamic law] and matters of the strategy," Hammami says in the video.

Via its official Twitter account, Shabaab expressed surprise at Hammami's fears, denied he was endangered and said he still enjoyed all the "privileges of brotherhood.

Within weeks, however, rumors surfaced that Amriki had been executed by al Shabaab, a casualty of recent doctrinal infighting. Somali media reported, and Western media repeated, a scenario in which Amriki was beheaded on the orders of a powerful rival on April 4.

Two weeks later, local Somalia media was reporting that Amriki had been sighted alive and well.

It's hardly the first time a famous terrorist has been declared dead, only to reappear alive and well. Here are some other notorious terrorists who keep coming back to life.

ABC News' Matthew Cole, Mark Schone and Jason Ryan contributed to this report.

MORE COVERAGE

• American Jihadi Comes Back To Life and Makes Music

More Secret Service Agents Resign

Three more Secret Service officials have resigned in connection with the Colombia prostitution scandal.

That makes a total of six agents who have left their jobs since the news broke that some members of the agency paid prostitutes while in Colombia in advance of President Obama's trip to Cartagena for the Summit of the Americas.

"In addition to the previously announced personnel actions, three additional employees have chosen to resign," Secret Service Assistant Director Paul S. Morrissey said in a statement. "As a result of the ongoing investigation in Cartagena, a twelfth employee has been implicated. He has been placed on administrative leave and his security clearance has been temporarily suspended pending the outcome of the investigation."

"One of the employees involved has been cleared of serious misconduct, but will face appropriate administrative action," Morrissey said. "At this point, five employees continue to be on administrative leave and their security clearances remain suspended pending the outcome of this investigation."

This afternoon, the president received an in-person briefing from Mark Sullivan, director of the Secret Service, in the Oval Office on the agency's ongoing investigation, a senior administration official tells ABC News.

The identities of two supervisors who lost their jobs were reported on Thursday, and another agent was leaving the agency voluntarily. The Washington Post reported that one of the supervisors, David Chaney, joked about Sarah Palin on his Facebook page during the 2008 campaign.

The other ousted supervisor, Greg Stokes, an agent in the K-9 unit, plans to come forward early next week to publicly challenge his dismissal from the Secret Service, a source tells ABC News.

White House press secretary Jay Carney said at his briefing with the press on Friday that he was not "in a position to answer questions" about whether the prostitutes came into contact with confidential information. He also said he's "not prepared to address" whether Sullivan's oversight has been insufficient.

Reports of the Secret Service and members of the military cavorting with prostitutes in Colombia broke around the same time that photos of American soldiers posing with the corpses and body parts of Afghan insurgents surfaced.

"It is preposterous to politicize the Secret Service, to politicize the behavior of the terrible conduct of some soldiers in Afghanistan in a war that's been going on for 10 years," Carney said. "On the face of it, it's a ridiculous assertion that trivializes both the very serious nature of the endeavor that our military is engaged in in Afghanistan and the very serious nature, both of the work that the Secret Service does, the apolitical nature of the institution."

Chaney reportedly once posted on Facebook a photo of himself on the job behind Palin during the 2008 campaign and wrote next to it, "I was really checking her out, if you know what i mean?"

Palin, always quick to fire back, used the friendly atmosphere on Fox News to rib the ex-agent ' and criticize President Obama, too.

"Well, this agent, who was kind of ridiculous there in posting pictures and comments about checking someone out ' well, check this out, bodyguard. You're fired," Palin said on Greta Van Susteren's show Thursday night. "And I hope his wife kicks his ocoli and sends him to the doghouse, as long as he's not eating the dog, along with his former boss."

Chaney's Facebook posting was reported by The Washington Post, which said the 48-year-old Secret Service veteran is married and has an adult son.

"It's our ultimate position that nothing they may or may not have done in Colombia negatively impacted the efficiency of their mission," the agents' lawyer, Lawrence Berger, told the paper. "Nothing that has been reported to have been done has impacted negatively their mission or the president's visit."

Berger told ABC News that he thinks a person in the Secret Service is violating privacy rules by leaking the agents' names to the media. A police officer outside Chaney's home in Ashburg, Va., said Thursday night that the family wouldn't be speaking.

Republicans have expressed concern that the operation in Colombia could have endangered President Obama, but they've also tried to tie him to the mismanagement of the agency as they simultaneously grill officials at the General Services Administration over a separate spending scandal in Las Vegas. House Speaker John Boehner's office circulated an AP story on Thursday that noted that both scandals, plus a controversy involving American soldiers posing with suicide bombers' bodies in Afghanistan, are obstructing Obama's agenda.

Two top House Republicans, Darrell Issa and Peter King, have led the charge in investigating the Secret Service agents' behavior.

New Photo Shows Cuts on George Zimmerman's Head

A new photograph obtained exclusively by ABC News showing the bloodied back of George Zimmerman's head, which was apparently taken three minutes after he shot and killed Trayvon Martin, gives possible credence to his claim that Martin had bashed his head against the concrete as Zimmerman fought for his life.

Click here to view the image. Warning: graphic content.

The revelation comes as his attorney and prosecutors prepare for Zimmerman's bail hearing today, which could result in his being released from a Florida jail. Zimmerman, 28, is being held on charges of second-degree murder for the Feb. 26 shooting of Martin, 17, which could carry a life sentence if he is convicted.

The exclusive image shows blood trickling down the back of Zimmerman's head from two cuts. It also shows a possible contusion forming on the crown of his head. The original police report that night notes that the back of Zimmerman's head was wet, and that he was bleeding from the nose and head.

Zimmerman told police that night that he shot and killed the teenager in self-defense after Martin punched him and pounced on him. Zimmerman told police that Martin then bashed his head into the concrete sidewalk during the altercation that took place in the tidy middle-class development of the Retreat at Twin Lakes in Sanford, Fla.

Zimmerman was treated at the scene by paramedics, then cuffed and driven in a police cruiser to the Sanford police station. He was questioned for hours and later released. In police surveillance video obtained last month by ABC News, Zimmerman's wounds are not apparent, and there were no bandages on his head.

Zimmerman was not admitted to a hospital or given stitches the night of the incident.

The person who took the photograph of a bloodied Zimmerman, asking not to be identified, told ABC News exclusively that they did not see the scuffle that night, but did hear it. The person recalled seeing Martin's prostrate body on the wet grass and said the gunpowder burns on Martin's gray hoodie were clearly visible.

The photographer said that after the shooting, Zimmerman asked the photographer to call his wife. When the photographer asked him what to say, Zimmerman blurted out, "Man, just tell her I shot someone."

Investigators have seen the photo.

Martin family attorney Benjamin Crump is skeptical.

"How bad could it have been if they didn't take him to the hospital [and] didn't stitch him up," he said in a statement to ABC News in response to the image. "The special prosecutor has seen all the evidence and still believes George Zimmerman murdered Trayvon Martin."

Zimmerman's attorney, Mark O'Mara, said his client has spent enough time behind bars.

"He needs to get out. He should not be in jail," O'Mara said. "I want him out because I need him out. He wants to get out. His family wants it out. It should happen."

If Zimmerman is released, his attorney said, he has a number of potential safe houses prepared. In the meantime O'Mara says the former altar boy, who has become America's highest-profile defendant, has been reading the Bible while in protective custody.

In a bail hearing in Florida, the burden of proof to deny bail, even in a second-degree murder trial, is higher than needed to seek a conviction in a trial.

"They would have to prove that the presumption of guilt is great, and that the proof is evident," O'Mara said.

In the capias -- similar to a warrant -- filed against Zimmerman last week, Special Prosecutor Angela Corey and her team set bail at "none."

In order to avoid a reduction in bail to a set monetary sum, Corey's team would have to prove its case essentially, something legal experts say is unlikely at this point in the legal process.

Zimmerman attorney O'Mara said he doubts the prosecutor will reveal its case before the trial.

Senators Trying to Keep up Pressure on Joseph Kony

On the eve of the Kony 2012 national 'day of action,' senators want you to know they haven't forgotten about the campaign to find Uganda's Joseph Kony.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry, D-Mass.,  today introduced legislation to expand the existing Department of State Rewards Program for Kony.

'Information is a powerful tool and with these authorities, we can help bring brutal and dangerous fugitives to justice,' Kerry said in a statement. 'These kinds of programs promote tips and leads that lead to arrests and hobble the movement of international criminals. It sends a message to brutal thugs like Kony that their days are numbered and they can only hide out for so long.'

The Kerry legislation would expand existing authority to allow the State Department to publicize and pay rewards for information leading to the arrest and conviction of individuals engaged in transnational organized crime, or foreign nationals wanted by any international criminal tribunal for war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide.

At a press conference Thursday Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., a cosponsor of the legislation, expressed confidence that the Department of Defense is having some luck in narrowing down where Joseph Kony is hiding. He added that an expanded rewards program would offer an incentive to people to leave the Lord's Resistance Army and 'provide critical, recent intelligence about their movements, their practices and Kony's whereabouts.'

A group of senators, hoping to whip up a little Internet frenzy like the original Kony 12 campaign video did, came out with their own video today.  The seven-minute video focuses on  the Senate's efforts to support the removal of Joseph Kony and his top lieutenants in the Lord's Resistance Army from the battlefield in central Africa and is aimed at the young Americans who have become part of the Kony 2012 movement in the last month.

'The timing here is deliberate,' said Coons. ' It's an effort to communicate back to millions of people around the world to say that we, the United States Senate, hear you, we are listening, we are acting and we are hopeful that everyone that has been interested in and concerned about the issues raised by the Lord Resistance Army, Joseph Kony and the efforts to bring him to justice.'

'We're going to do it,' Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) said, 'We're going to bring it to a close. And it's now, everyone's talking about it, assuming we can do, we've got kids from all over America joining in and saying you've got to get this guy Joseph Kony, and we're going to do it.'

Last month a group of 33 senators introduced a resolution condemning 'the crimes against humanity' committed by Joseph Kony and the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). The co-sponsors are now up to 43 Senators, they say.

The resolution calls for 'supporting ongoing international efforts to remove Kony from the battlefield,' and calls for the U.S. 'to continue to enhance its mobility, intelligence and logistical support of regional forces now pursuing the LRA.'

So far there has been no movement on the legislation in the Senate, although they hope that the resolution will make it onto the Senate floor for consideration sometime soon.

The senators also announced that the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs will hold a hearing on Joseph Kony and the Lord's Resistance Army on Tuesday, April 24 at 10:00.

Secret Service Agents in Colombian Sex Scandal Identified

Two Secret Service supervisors being pushed out of the agency amid a sex scandal surrounding a presidential trip to Colombia were identified by U.S. media outlets.

David Randall Chaney, 48, a supervisor in the Secret Service's international programs division, was the agent pushed to retire Wednesday, The Washington Post reported.

The other agent identified, initially by The Washington Post and CBS News, was Greg Stokes, an assistant special agent in charge of the K-9 division who has been notified that the agency wants to discharge him, though he may fight the effort.

A third Secret Service worker, a lower-level official who has not been publicly identified, is resigning.

Lawrence Berger, the general counsel for the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, told ABC News he is representing Chaney and Stokes but would not confirm their involvement in the Colombia events.

Berger believes someone in the Secret Service, but not the organization itself, has access to sensitive information and is violating privacy statutes by releasing the agents' names.

He added that the men involved in the controversy are getting a raw deal because they are being tried by the media and court of public opinion.

News crews gathered Thursday night at Chaney's home in Ashburn, Va., where a police officer said the family would not speak and said people who stepped on the property would be charged with trespassing.

The identities of the two agents surfaced after ABC News learned some of the prostitutes who allegedly met with Secret Service agents in Colombia have been interviewed by investigators, but U.S. officials are still searching for others.

The investigation is going full tilt, with the eight remaining Secret Service officials facing lie detector tests. More resignations are expected in the coming days as the probe goes forward, according to congressional leaders.

White House press secretary Jay Carney said Thursday that the investigation is "moving with some speed," but he wouldn't say when it is expected to be done.

President Obama is getting regular updates, but he hasn't spoken recently with the Secret Service director, Carney said.

Carney said no staff members involved with the White House West Wing or the president's office were involved.

Meanwhile, the Colombian prostitute who sparked a fight with Secret Service agents that led to the scandal now has a more public identity. The New York Daily News Thursday published four photos of a 24-year-old mother who the paper said is the escort.

The night that the agents met the prostitutes, Secret Service officials booked a party space at a hotel in Cartagena, Colombia, before going out to night clubs, hotel sources told ABC News today -- though the Secret Service said it has found no evidence the men booked a room for a party.

The men drank whiskey at a brothel, bragged about working for Obama, and brought women from the club back to their hotel after picking up more escorts, sources said.

ABC News' Pierre Thomas, John Santucci and Reena Ninan contributed to this report.

Cruise Line to Investigate Ignored Distress Call

Princess Cruises is conducting an internal investigation after the captain of one of its ships reportedly ignored a passenger's report of a distress signal and continued on course, rather than coming to the rescue of a stranded Panamanian fishing vessel.

Two of the fishing boat's three crew members later died of dehydration, one day after the encounter with the cruise ship.

Adrian "Santi" Vasquez, 18, set out on a fishing trip Feb. 24, 2012, with two 16-year-old friends, Oropeces Betancourt and Fernando Osario. The trip turned deadly when the trio discovered that the outboard motor on their small fishing vessel, "The Fifty Cent," would not start, leaving them stranded in the middle of the ocean. The three Panamanian fishermen drifted at sea for more than two weeks, hungry, hot, and dehydrated, before they spotted the Star Princess cruise ship and started desperately signaling for a rescue.

"It was a really big, white ship. I was waving a red T-shirt, and Fernando was waving a bright orange life jacket over his head, Vasquez, the crew's sole survivor, said in an interview with panama-guide.com. "For a minute it looked like they were going to turn to come for us, but then they just went on their way."

Meanwhile, Judy Meredith of Bend, Ore., and Jeff Gilligan of Portland, Ore., were bird watching on the deck of the Star Princess with Jim Dowdall of Dublin, Ireland, when they spotted the Fifty Cent far off the ship's starboard side.

Equipped for bird watching, the group was armed with high-power binoculars, or spotting scopes, and cameras fitted with telephoto lenses, all of which gave them a good view of the fishing boat in the distance.

"I saw a young man in the front of the boat waving his shirt up and down. Big motions, up over his head and down to the floor, waving it vigorously. Frantically I would say," Meredith told "Good Morning America."

"That signal told me that they were in trouble. They were trying everything they could to get our attention."

Meredith said they told someone at a desk they wanted to call the bridge and be sure they checked on the boat. She said the man at the desk made a call, then came back out and looked through their spotting scopes at the boat, then went back inside.

"Nothing happened," she told "GMA." "The ship didn't slow down. It didn't seem to change course. And so I went back in and asked what the captain was going to do. And he said he didn't know."

Not pacified by the encounter, Meredith returned to her room where she wrote down the ship's coordinates and sent an email to U.S Coast Guard in hopes that they would take action.

More Gas Price Cuts Likely Soon

Morning Business Memo

Here's the news every driver wants to read. Gas prices appear to have peaked and are likely to head lower in the coming weeks. Gasoline futures have dropped four days in a row, falling more than 6 percent from their peak late last month. The U.S. Energy Department reported a slight decline in pump prices in the past couple of weeks, but deeper price cuts are probably coming. When futures fall, retail prices often take a few weeks to drop.

The response to Spain's bond auction this morning was swift. U.S. stock futures and global market averages rose after the sale went fairly well. There was solid demand from investors as Spain sold more than $3 billion of 10-year bonds. The yield of more than 5.7 percent was higher than the previous auction earlier this month, but below the 6 percent mark reached late last month. The higher the yield, the greater the perceived risk of non-payment. The rate on German 10-year bonds is less than 1.8 percent. Markets are still nervous about Spain and the possibility of another European bailout.

Just when things were going so well for the car industry, two serious problems could force production cuts. There's a shortage of a plastic resin used to make fuel lines and other parts. An explosion last month knocked out a plant in Germany that makes the substance. That could cause auto assembly plants to slow down in a few weeks. And if sales of cars and trucks continue to grow, the industry could run short of parts later this year because there aren't enough factories to make them

It was another dreadful quarter for cellphone manufacturer Nokia. The Finnish company reported a 1st quarter loss of $1.2 billion. Nokia is facing strong competition from Apple's iPhone and a range of Android smartphones.

American Airlines is moving ahead with plans to slash its workforce and cut costs. AMR Corp. announced plans to eliminated 1,200 nonunion jobs as it cuts costs while under bankruptcy protection. The airline said in February it aimed to cut 13,000 union pilots, flight attendants and ground workers.

Secret Service Pre-Planned Party at Colombian Hotel

Hotel Caribe

ABC News' Reena Ninan, Christine Romo and Mary Bruce Report:

CARTAGENA, Colombia ' Secret Service officials planning a wild night of fun in Colombia did some of their own advanced work last week, booking a party space at the Hotel Caribe before heading out to the night clubs, hotel sources tell ABC News exclusively.

As first reported by ABC, the men went to the 'Pley Club' brothel, where they drank expensive whiskey and bragged that they worked for President Obama. The men were also serviced by prostitutes at the club.

But the night didn't end there. The men brought women from the Pley Club back to the hotel and also picked up additional escorts from other clubs and venues around town, sources tell ABC News.

Eleven officials were involved and, according to Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who was briefed on the misconduct by Secret Service, 'twenty or twenty-one women foreign nationals were brought to the hotel.'

ABC has learned that, when booking the party space, the men told hotel staff that they anticipated roughly 30 people.

The following morning there was reportedly a dispute between one of the women and an official over the amount of money she was owed for spending the night. A quarrel ensued and the authorities were ultimately called.

The officials' misconduct in Cartagena last week, ahead of the president's visit for the Summit of the Americas, has already forced three agents out of their positions.

The Secret Service announced Wednesday that one supervisor was allowed to retire while another was 'proposed for removal for cause.' A third, non-supervisory employee resigned. The remaining eight Secret Service personnel allegedly involved remain on administrative leave.

The Secret Service has also widened their investigation of the officials to include possible drug use during their partying in Cartagena, ABC News confirmed.

Secret Service Scandal Roils DC

A prostitution scandal involving the Secret Service has grown in scope, with the disclosure that U.S. agents and military personnel had been with at least 20 women in hotel rooms before President Barack Obama arrived in Colombia for a summit with Latin American leaders.

Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan, facing questions on Capitol Hill about whether the escapades could have jeopardized the president's security, said he had referred the matter to an independent government investigator.

Sullivan said the 11 Secret Service agents and 10 military personnel under investigation were telling different stories about who the women were. Sullivan has dispatched more investigators to Colombia to interview the women, said Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee.

"Some are admitting (the women) were prostitutes, others are saying they're not, they're just women they met at the hotel bar," King said in a telephone interview. Sullivan said none of the women, who had to surrender their IDs at the hotel, were minors. "But prostitutes or not, to be bringing a foreign national back into a secure zone is a problem."

Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the ranking Republican on the Homeland Security Committee, said Tuesday that "20 or 21 women foreign nationals" were brought to the hotel. Eleven of the Americans involved were Secret Service, she said, and "allegedly Marines were involved with the rest."

King said it appeared the agency actually had "really lucked out." If the women were working for a terrorist organization or some other anti-American group, King said, they could have had access to information about the president's whereabouts or security protocols while in the agents' rooms.

"This could have been disastrous," King said.

The growing scandal has become an election-year embarrassment for Obama, who has said he would be angry if the allegations proved to be true. The White House said Obama had confidence in the Secret Service chief.

"Director Sullivan acted quickly in response to this incident and is overseeing an investigation as we speak into the matter," White House press secretary Jay Carney said.

Last Thursday, 11 Secret Service agents were recalled to the U.S. from Colombia and placed on administrative leave after a night of partying that allegedly ended with at least some bringing prostitutes back to their hotel. On Monday, the agency announced that it also had revoked the agents' security clearance.

At least 10 U.S. military personnel staying at the same hotel were also being investigated for their role in the alleged misconduct.

Two U.S. military officials said they include five Army Green Berets. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity about an investigation that is still under way.

One of the officials said the group also includes two Navy Explosive Ordinance Disposal technicians, two Marine dog handlers and an Air Force airman. The Special Forces Green Berets were working with Colombia's counterterrorist teams, the official said.

The agents and servicemen were in Colombia setting up security ahead of Obama's three-day trip to the port city of Cartagena for a summit attended by about 30 other world leaders.