Transcripts For WPVI This Week With George Stephanopoulos 20141228

Our special Holiday Edition of this week, a week we mark each year with our special Game Changers edition. There is a big developing story right announce and we want to get right to it. Thank you and good morning. Im dan harris in new york. We are tracking breaking news. Just nine months after malaysia air flight 370 disappeared, another passenger plane from an airline based in malaysia has vanished in that same part of the world. Flight 8501 was in the middle of what was supposed to be a short twohour flight from the indonesian city of surabaya to singapore when it disappeared from radar. More than 160 people were on board, including children. Abcs david kerley is tracking all of this. Good morning to you. Reporter it will be an agonizing night for families. It is now dark over the java sea where a handful of aircraft looked for this missing jetliner. This is the actual mane missing at this hour. People spent the afternoon looking for any sign of the jetliner which was carrying 161 people, mostly indonesians. Flight 8501 took off Early Saturday Morning heading for singapore. 42 minutes into the flight the jet runs into severe weather, thunderstorms and turbulence. The pilot asked to turn and to increase altitude significantly from 32,000 feet to 38,000 feet. The jet then jet disappears off radar. Call centers are set up for those wondering about the passengers which include 16 children and one infant with a crew of six. The a 32 was just 8 years old. Air asia is a low cost Startup Airline and has a good safety record, but the mystery is what happened to this aircraft and where it is this morning. The search has been called off now that its dark over the sea. President obama has been advised about the situation. Another mystery surrounding a south asian aircraft. Thank you. Lets bring in our aviation expert, Steve Ganyard who is a former marine corps fighter pilot. For many of us when were on planes and in that moment when we hit turbulence we all try to remember, at least i do that planes are built to withstand bad weather. Given that what could have possibly gone wrong here . Lots of things could have gone wrong, dan. I think were sort of grasping at straws. Why should a seemingly perfect good airplane drop out of the sky at 32,000 feet. I think the first thing we look at is weather and we see quite a bit of weather in the area. They were moving around to avoid some of the thunderstorms. We shouldnt get too pulled off on this idea that it was just weather. There may be other factors as the investigation goes on. The question on everybodys mind this morning is how is this happening again, in this age of high tech how have two planes simply disappeared from radar . Its really discouraging. If you think back in march when we lost the malaysian aircraft off the coast of australia, we think its off the coast of australia and we said never again should we lose an airplane. Here we are almost 24 hours into another missing aircraft. In this day and age, theres enough technology that we should never again lose an airplane. We should know right where it is right now and we ought to have ships and rescue aircraft out there right now. Just to be clear, every time a plane crashes, it does go off radar, but youre saying there should be more of an indication here than theres . Right. The fact that after a full day we werent able to find wreckage or any indication of this aircraft, it just says we have to improve the way we track airplanes and we shouldnt be able to lose them. Once we can find the area you look at the sea where this is, its a vast area of big ocean. Tlaets not theres not a lot out there so getting folks out there to look for that airplane is going to be tough. That said its a very shallow sea so its not like the coast of australia thats very deep water. So if we can get to the proximate area well have a good chance of recovering this aircraft, finding that black box that will tell you what truly happened to this aircraft. Perhaps this wont be as an enduring a mystery as mh 370 continues to be. Just one last quick question here. David mentioned that this is an airline with a good safety track record. What more do we know about this airline . It is. Its a startup. Its been around almost a decade. It flies the a 320 which is a terrific airline. No red flags popping up about this airline. No safety problems that you would say, oh, well thats to be expected. In this case very good airline, very good airplane a plane thats designed to fly around weather like this well trained pilots. It seems like this is a total mystery at this point, dan. We keep saying it is a mystery. Steve, thank you. A reminder were tracking the story all day long at abcnews. Com. Well have it very latest on world news tonight. Now though back to george and our special Game Changers edition of this week. And now a stunning year of politics at home. A year that saw republicans solidify the hold on capitol hill and set the stage for a president ial campaign thats drawing in big names and big money earlier than ever. Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl has been tracking it all. Reporter it was obviously a big year for republicans, but 2014 was an especially big year for republican women. Thanks to all of you we are heading to washington. And we are going to make them squeal reporter their biggest winner joni ernts, the first woman elected to the senate from i wau. I grew up castrating hogs. Reporter the first to launch a Campaign Like this. Washington is full of big spenders. Lets make them squeal. Reporter but she wasnt the only woman to make republican history. There was Shelley Moore in West Virginia. For the first time in the history of West Virginia we are sending a woman to the United States. Reporter in utah mia love became the first black republican woman elected to the house of representatives. In new york, the youngest woman ever elected to congress. When the 114th Congress Gets seated in january, there will be a Record Number of woman serving, 107 total, 20 in the senate and 87 in the house. Could you make the argument this was the year of the woman . Yes and no. There are more women in congress than before but incrementally the same same of women in the senate and the same women governors. Were seeing different kinds of women, women of color. And were seeing more powerful positions. Reporter the top of the Party Remains almost exclusively male. Theyre building up a bench of leaders, understanding that maybe at the very top levels of the party its predominantly male. They need to start cultivating new and fresh talent. Reporter the top of the Democrat Party on the other hand im back reporter 2014 was the hear Hillary Clinton solidified her standing as the presumptive democrat president ial nominee. Supporters under the banner ready for hillary set up a shadow campaign. We asked bill clinton about them in iowa. Theyre like energizer bin err bunnies. Theyre everywhere and ready to go. Theyre going to be disappointed if she doesnt run. Do you think theyll be disappointed . I will be not baited. I will not. I cannot be baited. Have we ever seen such a formidable frontrunner on the democrat side . Yes. Hillary clinton in 2008. The but this is not about nostalgia. There are other candidates out there that will pose a threat. Campaigns matter. Absolutely. But i still believe that she is the best positioned candidate in the field right now. Reporter but for mrs. Clinton, 2014 didnt go exactly as planned. What happened in 2008 was that hillarys canadasy got in front of any rationale for it. The danger is that thats happening again. You hear ready for hillary. Its like ready for what. Reporter her first big interview was with diane sawyer. If i run for president t the way i think about it is the two most important questions are will you run and can you win but whats your vision for america and can you lead us there. Reporter she seemed a little out of touch. You have no reason to remember but we came out the of the white house not only dead broke but in debt. Reporter while its true the clintons left the white house in debt because of legal bills, they quickly made millions. The next day she tried to clarify her remarks on good morning america. I fully appreciate how hard life is for so Many Americans today. Its an issue that ive worked on and cared about my entire adult life. Reporter the next round of headlines was about her huge speaking fees. 200,000 or more for a single speech. Over the summer mrs. Clinton found herself at odds with president obama on foreign policy, suggesting in an interview with the atlantic magazine that his failure to build up the Syrian Opposition led to the rise of isis. Soon she was clarifying her remarks again. We have disagreements as any partners and friends might very well have, but im proud that i served with him and for him. She wont be able to sit on the sidelines of national controversies if she really gets into the race and i think that will begin to erode some of that favorability she has been able to build up. She spent four and a half years off the Campaign Trial and i think she had to regain her political footing and i think she will start off 2015 knowing exactly where shes going and hopefully inspiring others to follow her. Reporter shes still the no doubt about it frontrunner but her most talked about potential challenger is another woman. Elizabeth warren is now the hottest ticket inside the democrat theetic theater. Theres no question there will be a movement to try to encourage her to run, and there will be a movement to encourage other democrats to get into the race. So this is not going to be a walk to the white house. Its going to be a very very challenging run to the white house. I asked her if she would consider running for president two years ago. Could we see you running for president in 2016 . I have five words for that. No, no, no no no. Absolutely not. Reporter her answer has changed. I am not running. She is now saying i am not running. Nobody is running right now. Right. Thats just a statement of fact. She only speaks in the president tense. So whats going on . She feels an incredible vacuum inside the democratic party. I think she feels an incredible volume vacuum in the country. People want someone whos fresh with new ideas, who will talk about the future fight for the middle class. Sounding familiar. Yeah, well you know i think its refreshing to have her voice not only in the leadership in the senate because shes part of the leadership now, but its refreshing to have her voice out there in the public sphere. What would it mean to have a democratic primary where you had an all out battle and the two that were battling were women . It would be good for america. Great for the country. Remember, the United States is ranked 95th in the world i wouldnt disagree with that by the way. We were ranked 95th in terms of females in office. We have a long way to go. Reporter a long way to go but getting there. Jonathan karl, abc news, washington. To those new threats from overseas from russian president Vladimir Putin aggressive and unpredictable and from the terrorist group isis who threatens the security of the west. Heres martha raddatz. Reporter this was a year the country veered from crises to crises. The malaysian flight shot down. Reporter from the reemergence of a cold war adversary bent on asserting its super power to the emergence of a new and brutal terror group bent on destruction. They have rampaged across cities and villages killing innocent unarmed civilians. Reporter brutality aimed not only at iraqis and syrians. The fighting has just bye gung. Reporter but americans and the west. Isis grew from the remnants of al qaeda in iraq quickly evolving to one of the worst terrorist organizations of all time. They have the capability over time to pose a significant threat to us. Reporter despite initial reluctance by the white house to get dragged back into another middle east conflict the president expanded air strikes from iraq into syria. Pounding isis targets relentless relentlessly, something we witnessed first hand aboard the ussh. W. Bush. The deck of the Aircraft Carrier is busy any time but during this air campaign it has been especially intense. The air campaign has held them off in certain areas, but the iraqis certainly havent been able to take much territory back. The momentum has been stopped. The key will be can we turn it around. Thats dependent on iraqi forces and other forces in the region being able to hold them. Reporter as complex and nontraditional a threat as isis poses the cold war a deadly tug of war. Reporter 2014 brought back an all too familiar foe. Confrontations with mig fighter jets glimpses are submarines off the shores of europe echos of the cold war that began in spectacular fashion. Russian president Vladimir Putin, forbes most powerful man, was ready to shake up the american dominated world order, and he sat down with george. Youve put so much into these olympics going back to 2007. So i wonder now, how do you define success in sochi, and is your personal honor and reputation at stake . No, no. You see, i want it to be a success for this nation. Reporter but putins olympics were plagued with controversy, construction, billions over budget and a backlash at russians antigay law, banning homosexual propaganda. Gay athletes feared persecution. President obama in a direct challenge appointed high profile gay athletes to lead the u. S. Delegation. What do you say to americans who see russia and you not only as a rival but unfriendly adversary. Between major countries there are always Common Grounds and points of contention. I think history will remember those olympics as the launching pad of the transformation of Vladimir Putin. Russias attempt to assert itself on the International Scene and then what follows puts a really, i think, dark color on that event. Reporter what followed is putins hard line response to the uprising in neighboring ukraine, the country erupting into violence as russian backed separatists tried to seize control. Russia expanding its empire an exes crimea. The United States slapped sanctions on russia. It does not have to be this way. This is a choice that russia and president putin in particular has made. Reporter in july a malaysian passenger jet over ukraine is accidently blasted out of the sky by separatists reportedly using a russian supplied missile, killing the nearly 300 passengers on board. The responsibility there is in moscow no question about it. Reporter putins resurgence is taking a heavy toll at home as the russian ruble loses more than half its value and food prices rise more than 25 . Despite these economic hardships, putins approval religion ratings remain high over 80 . His power is singular. Theres not a great deal of opposition, whether in the streets or other institutions of power. Its all him. Reporter but 2014 did see the dismantling of one cold war relic. After decades of antagonism the president reestablished relations with communist cuba. Today america chooses to cut loose the shackles of the past. Reporter despite that thaw, the new threats that emerged throughout the year are far from resolved. Martha raddatz, abc news washington. Much more ahead on this special edition of this week. The goalie who took the world by storm. Were talking to tim howard next. Remember all that ice water dumped on everyone from celebrities to president s that unforgettable story. Plus regulars on their Game Changers of 2014. The ferguson protestors are my Game Changers for this year. They changed the National Conversation about Police Accountability and raised important issues about whether or not the military should be sending reference to local government. Robin williams. In his life he made us laugh and cry and in his death he shined a light on depression and Mental Illness and hopefully all of us can do something about it. Push your enterprise and you can move the world. But to get from the old way to the new youll need the right it infrastructure. From a partner who knows how to make your enterprise more agile, borderless and secure. Hp helps business move on all the possibilities of today. And stay ready for everything that is still to come. These Little Angels build in softness. And these Little Angels build in strength. And that little angel says weeeeeeeee 60 more sheets than charmin. Everything you want and the value you love. Angel soft. Whats that . oh wow hello, humans. Focus on me focus on the guard. Dont tell anyone what youve seen in here. Have you seen whats in there . They have intel. This is where it all changes. Theres a secret in every ricola drop. Chruterchraft but what does it do . [upbeat music] row for long lasting relief. Ricola herb cough drops with chruterchraft. Riiiicoooolaaa [vet] two yearly physicals down. Martha and mildred are good to go. Heres your invoice, ladies. A few stops later, and it looks like big ollie is on the mend. It might not seem that glamorous having an old pickup truck for an office. Or filling your days looking down the south end of a heifer but. I wouldnt have it any other way. Lo ok at that, i had my best month ever. And earned a shiny new office upgrade. I run on quickbooks. Thats how i own it. Will soccer star tim howard try for the world cup when hes about to hit 40 and the inspiring story behind the ice bucket challenge. Were back in 90 seconds. With aches, fever and chills theres no such thing as a little flu. So why treat it like its a little cold . Theres something that works differently than overthecounter remedies. Attack the flu virus at its source with prescription tamiflu. And call your doctor right away. Tamiflu is fda approved to treat the flu in people 2 weeks and older whose flu symptoms started within the last two days. Before taking tamiflu tell your doctor if youre pregnant, nursing, have Serious Health conditions, or take other medicines. If you develop an allergic reaction, a severe rash, or signs of unusual behavior stop taking tamiflu and call your doctor immediately. Children and adolescents in particular may be at an increased risk of seizures confusion or abnormal behavior. The most common side effects are mild to moderate nausea and vomiting. Ask your doctor about tamiflu and attack the flu virus at its source. My game changer is the ray rice elevator video. It was september 8th and it started a National Conversation on such an important topic not only in the National Football league but the country. My game changer is the awesome awful story about sexual assaults on campus have brought attention to crimes and thats what they are. Were back now with the Game Changers of 2014. Wait as a tough year for football and some graphic incidents of Domestic Violence that cast a shadow over the season. For the sports that the rest of the world calls football 2014 may have been americas best year. Goalie tim howard was the biggest reason. Paula faris has his story. Reporter it may be the most popular and lucrative sport in the United States but footballs biggest hits lately have been off the field. Crises at every level. The scandal widening this evening scandal rocks the nfl. It took the video to make everyone aware of just how awful it was. Reporter from the nfl all the way to high school. The hazing scandal. Reporter yet the other football, were talking soccer and its popularity growing faster than any other american sport, fueled in part by the success of the u. S. Mens National Team and their performance at the world cup led by their fearless goalkeeper. Tim howard again reporter the game captured every corner of america as the u. S. Entered unchartered waters never before making it this far in backtoback world cups. There was a highlight reel of brazil, one moment what was it . The score against ghana. Reporter just 29 seconds into the first game the teams captain, clinton dempsey, making history. Its the earliest usa goal ever in world cup history. Reporter and igniting a legion of american pandemonium. For me that started the ride. Reporter that ride anchored by tim howard named this years u. S. Soccer male athlete of the year. Your epic performance, 16 saves, a world cup record. Whats going through your mind during that game . Nothing. Everything is the same you know. Slows down a little bit. Its all in good rhythm. I wish i could do it every week and save more ball every week. Reporter americans became obsessed with their new hero the tattoos, that beard. After all those saves, 1. 8 million mentions on twitter, even a call from the president. I just wanted to call and say you guys did us proud. Thank you very much. How nervous were you before the phone call . He seemed like all americans to be genuinely enthralled and immersed in the passion of the world cup. I think so many people were just so inspired by your performance in that last game even though the u. S. Team lost. All the memes that were coming out, hundreds of them. There was the brick wall, the secretary of defense. What were some of your favorites . Probably where i was catching scooby do. There was actually a hashtag. Hashtag things tim could save. One was bamby. Could you sai bamby . I would try my best. Reporter the National Team giving a boost to an already surging youth interest. This isnt a passing fad. This is something that millions of americans are buying into and its continuing to grow. Tim howard was the ultimate role model in a year that needed that. There are a bunch of kids from your native new jersey that dressed up as tim howard for halloween. I saw that yeah. Obviously the beard gave it away. Yeah, yeah. Soccer jersey and the beard. Youre like a role model, an International Sensation but the beard is part of it. What did you think of that . I thought it was cool. I hope they dont get attached because its going to eventually go. It is . When . I dont know. Reporter that beard now pasht of a valuable image. The world cup and tims performance of the world cup has driven the popularity of soccer. Its now a great marketing platform for brands in america. In terms of advertisers, how many now . Im sure youre courting quite a few after that performance. Ive always tried to pick and choose my sponsors. Its never been just about money. I think you want to associate you should anyway associate yourself with Good Companies who do positive things i think in the community, who match what youre all about, you know. Ive been able to do that, thankfully thankfully. Youve left a lot of money on the table . Absolutely. It cant rule my life. Reporter hes opened up about how surreal this stardom has been in his new memoir the keeper. You gave an interview one time and said im blessed to be living a dream. Yet if it all went away tomorrow, i know i would still have peace. How do you have that peace . Through my faith, through my relationship with jesus christ. Soccer is awesome, its a gift but its also a job. I think people soon forget that. To be out there every day and to stay relatively injuryfree is a blessing blessing. One day that will come to an end, whether thats today or four years from now. Ill have peace with it. All the ladies will want to know, are you single . Yes, very much single. What are you looking for in a significant other . Right now im probably not. Im focused on work. Thats been my undying passion for me. My children those are my priorities. Reporter also down the road the next world cup, 2018 in russia. How do you think youll be different in four years when the next world cup comes . Ill be older. My husbands will be much more unforgiving. Youll be 40. Oh, my god, i know. Sorry. Thats okay. If all goes well it will be the end for me and ill be looking forward to what comes next. This group in 2014 inspired me to want to go to 2018 because the group was just amazing. The ride that we went on was incredible and i want to be a part of that again. So the goal is 2018 world cup and ride off into the sunset. Hit the beach for a long time. Reporter for this week, im paula faris, abc news memphis. And now the unforgettable story of pete freight teas. You may not know his name but you know what he inspired. That viral video craze that had america shrieking and shivering and giving like never before. The ice bucket helped a paralyzing disease. John donvan looks back at how it all began and what it really means. Reporter remember this . Yes, of course you do. There was a time this year when new videos like this were hitting the internet every few seconds. If you werent in one of these yourself, then you saw a whole lot of them. You saw news teams doing it. And athletes. And showbiz types. And one guy who was a president once. If you wondered how this caught on so big and so fast then you need to know about this guy. Freight teas is swinging the bat with an awful lot of confidence. Reporter pete freight teas whose own thing was baseball a game he played phenomenally well, as he did a lot of other sports. Let his mom and dad tell you that. He was all of two years old when he put him on skates. The second he hit the ice he never stopped and eventually became captain of his High School Hockey team. He was a great football player, a better hockey player but baseball he was playing it like a contact sport. Reporter in terms of contact, between bat and ball pete had long stretches of batting 400. Thats a grand slam home run for peter freight ees reporter now we get to irony about all of that. All of this bucket stuff was meant to raise funds for research into the disease known as als, also known as lou gehrigs disease named for the great yankee ball player who died of it. So pete played ball and then the irony, pete got als also. Thats why now the wheelchair and the other apparatus, its to compensate for the rapid loss of the use of his limbs since 2012 something that frankly, his mom was sure medicine must have found on answer for since lou gehrig. I figured in 75 years something happened. Weve put people on the moon. I assumed some progress has been made. Okay, whats the treatment. Theres no treatment. Reporter thats what happens with Rare Diseases which als is not enough people get it to track Significant Research funding. Thats the part that pete decided to try to change. He was ready, sat, told us the vision and said what an opportunity weve been given to change the world. He said these are his words six hours after diagnosis. He said im going to get this disease in front of tlan tlopists like bill gates. Reporter he and a friend from new york had seen occasional fund rising efforts who were throwing ice water at other things for good causes. After passing ideas back and forth, pete staged this massive bucket challenge in downtown boston. Three, two, one, jump them reporter and that so many people at once so many buckets, is the one that caught a wave in boston and its key idea make a donation in 24 hours or take the ice water. Well, the chained reaction started. Pardon the pun but it was like a waterfall. It was amazing, stew pen does incredible. That was week one. Then when it Went National im saying, my god this is what it feels like to be in the middle of a viral ice storm. Reporter so thats how it all began. Heres a man who is unable to move his arms and yet his reach has become huge. He wanted bill gates to be involved. Well, look at this. He wanted word out about als. Well, look again. Now, there were some criticisms not unreasonable that giving people the option not to donate and do this instead was giving them an excuse not to give and that people in the videos were making this more about themselves than the cause. But at the Als Foundation they have no problem with what pete has helped them set off. The awareness level of als just went through the charts went off the roof. It actually gave the name als, it gave it a credibility that was different than it previously had. Prior to the ice bucket challenge, most people if you said als, they would not have been able to tell you anything about it. Reporter one other impact is how this made pete and his own family feel. Theres a reason that hes not appearing in this story talking himself. I cannot thank all who have participated thus far enough. Reporter this man who spread the story so far and wide can no longer speak. We are hoping to keep the momentum going. Im doing this in honor of pete freight ees. Pete freight teas. Reporter again to his parents to say what its meant to them that so many people got on board. The power, the joy, the hope that came through on those videos back to pete number one, and ourselves and anybody, oh, we absolutely felt it. Its almost like you got a visual were with you from every person do it. Thank you gratitude. It doesnt go to the soul as much as i want it to to tell people what this means to us. When i say us i dont just mean john nancy, i dont just mean the freight teas family. I mean the als community. The head doctors in this field have said to us over and over again, this is it. When the treatment is found and the cure is found, it will go back to august 2014 as the Tipping Point in the trajectory of this disease. And your son. And it was pete freight ees. Reporter for this week, john donvan, abc news boston. Up next on our special edition of this week, how did those heroic doctors and nurses beat the odds against ebola . And more of this week regulars with their Game Changers. My game changer of the year is the American Voter who in his or her wisdom elected republicans to take control of the senate and much of the government at the federal and state level as well there by ending the obama era and laying the ground work perhaps for 2016. My issue is pope francis. On issues of women and gays and whether our pets are going to make it to the soft pearly gates, for that reason hes the game changer. [ male announcer ] fedex® has solutions to enable Global Commerce that can help your company grow steadily and quickly. Thank you for coming. mandarin great job. mandarin cut it out. See you tomorrow. Push your enterprise and you can move the world. But to get from the old way to the new youll need the right it infrastructure. From a partner who knows how to make your enterprise more agile, borderless and secure. Hp helps business move on all the possibilities of today. And stay ready for everything that is still to come. Coming up legalizing marijuana, is the Counter Culture going mainstream and at what cost . Oh, wow uh huh, yeah. I dont know my credit score. You dont know your credit score . I dont know my credit score. Thats really important. I mean i dont know my credit score. Dont you want to buy a house. Like, ever . You should probably check out credit karma, its free. Credit . Karma . Free . So, thats. How much . Thats how much its free. Credit karma really free credit scores. No credit card needed. Whats that . oh wow hello, humans. Focus on me focus on the guard. Dont tell anyone what youve seen in here. Have you seen whats in there . They have intel. This is where it all changes. These Little Angels build in softness. And these Little Angels build in strength. And that little angel says weeeeeeeee 60 more sheets than charmin. Everything you want and the value you love. Angel soft. Inside every ricola drop theres a magic herb blend. The swiss call it chruterchraft. [electronic music} for powerful cough relief with a liquid menthol center that calms your cough. Ricola extra strength riiiicoooolaaaa my game changer for 2014 is asian pugh. She won the mccar they are genius award by getting rights for Domestic Workers and nannies which is the first time thats happened in the history of the country. My game changer is taylor swift for two reasons. Shes teaching the Younger Generation that you can be a lady, and shes teaching song writers and musicians that they can control their future. Back now with a story of a remarkable year for marijuana. After the story cleared the way for legal pot industry in the United States, we take a look at how its working and whats next for an experiment stirring up all kinds of debate. You want to get high man . Is that a joint, man . Reporter remember cheap and chong, those hapless stoners from the era of up in smoke . 40 years later, they finally arrived. Tommy chong on abcs dancing with the stars, talk about a game changer. An icon of the counterculture, dancing the cha cha on one of americas most popular mainstream shows. Doesnt he look like the most interesting man in the world . Most interesting stoner. Reporter americas war on drugs is not over yet. Weve seen state after state surrender on the issue of cannabis. Have we reached the Tipping Point . I think we have. The polls consistently show that half or more of the people who oppose the legalization of marijuana think its unevidentable. Reporter its now legal in 23 states nearly half the country. Four states are experimenting with full legalization. And now for the First Time Ever congress has rolled back the war on drugs through a spending bill which, while its squashed d. C. s hopes for a full legalization, enact a hands off approach. The times, they are achanging. Public enemy number one is drug abuse. Reporter from nixon on down to reag drug budget totals almost 8 billion. Reporter the war an drugs is costly. Weve got a problem in this country. Too many people use drugs. Reporter by the time obama took office, the Drug Enforcement budget had doubled again, more than 15 billion a year. So the idea that marijuana has now been legal in colorado for a full year with no major disasters is a big development. I didnt support the initiative, but you cant argue with the will of the voters. Reporter colorado officials have been true to their word embracing the challenge of implementing a policy many of them disagreed with. Lets be smart about how we handle it, lets legalize it tax it, and make sure that people are held responsible for the responsible use of it. Reporter one year in Violent Crime rates are down. Teen marijuana rates have actually dropped. Highway fatalities are at record lows. And colorado has the Fastest Growing economy in the country. What have the tax revenues been like in colorado . More than expected. Its going to add up clearly to hundreds of millions of dollars quickly per year. Reporter to be sure, not everyone is a believer. Todays marijuana is not your wood stock weed of the 60s. Its five to six times greater in strength and potentsy. When you have is a disconnect between the parents that might have smoked it a couple times in college and were fine and todays marijuana which is stronger than it used to be. Reporter stronger and Health Officials worry easier for young people to get their hands on. Any time you legalize a strug it increases access. Brain developments is rapidly occurring well into our late 20s. The latest study shows that regular use when youre an add leps ent is associated with a six to eight point reduction in iq. Reporter there is a chance that the courts or the candidates will roll it all back, but that seems less likely now. From Chris Christie in New Hampshire if you were president , how would you treat marijuana . Probably not well. Reporter to Hillary Clinton on cnn, the debate seems to have shifted to just say no to a qualified maybe. States are the laboratories of democracy. We have at least two states that are experimenting with that right now. I want to wait and see what the evidence is. Reporter contrast that with bill clinton and his famous answer to the pot question a generation ago. When i was in england i experiment with marijuana a time or two and i didnt like it. I didnt inhale and never tried it again. Reporter the last two president s flatly admitted they tried it long ago. President obama telling the new yorker this year he sees marijuana as a vice a bad habit like cigarettes and alcohol. Prohibition for marijuana wont end with a 21st amendment. But make no mistake, it is already ending. In 2004 tommy chong was in federal prison for selling bongs. A decade later, he almost made the finals of dancing with the stars. I was going to turn the mirror ball into a mirror bong. Reporter pop culture, embrace it. The counterculture. For this week, david wright abc news, new york. Well be back with dr. Richard besser on the mission of those doctors, nurses and troops battling the ebola break and more from our Game Changers. My game changer of the year is netflix and their wonderful streaming tv shows that enable bing watching. Thanks for wasting so much of my time, netflix. My game changer of the year for 2014 is the koch brothers. After 2012 they came back with a bucket load of money. Much to my sha grin, it worked. Are. When the World Health Organization first declared an Ebola Outbreak in march, little did anyone know that the real crises in three small west african countries would create panic here in america. Nine months later the hype scare is over here but in the heart of the hot zone, the fight against a deadly disease continues. Dr. Richard besser reports on the heros waging that battle. Reporter its a virus so dangerous that just to walk among patients takes elaborate precautions. Any gap in the protective gear can be the difference between life and death. Theres not one speck of my body thats exposed. Reporter isolation wards in liberia with dazed patients manned by overwhelmed care givers. Do you worry working here that you could get ebola . Sometimes its scary but you have to help out. Reporter outside in bustling monrovia, a poorly conceived attempt at quarantine. Theyve been in this compound for seven days . Yeah. 8 days. Reporter with fences bashed wire, even string. This is the line and the idea is that the germs will stay on that side of the line . Yeah. Theres no cure for ebola. The disease spreads through touching body fluids. Care givers like family members, medical workers and those who bury the bodies are most at risk. I have to say that there are few things that ive done in medicine that are as nerve racking as going into this place. Reporter at the epicenter of the outbreak liberia, guinea, and sierra leone, heros have stepped in putting their own lives at risk to save others. You are first going to enter the suspect section and i will show you a few patients that are suspect. Reporter dr. Jerry brown, a liberiaen surgeon took me inside where more than 60 patients were being treated. Its one of the most hopeful things ive seen here in liberia is the type of care and the way he dealt with the paeshlts. Theres one patient in there who said to dr. Brown, he said youre god. You gave me life. Dr. Brown said no no im not god. Reporter dr. Phil ip ireland wasnt even taking care of ebola patients but contracted ebola while working in the emergency room. Did you think you were going to die. When i went into shock i said, wow, if i dont get an iv with fluids, im going to die. Tell me about that moment when you walked out of the hospital. I felt like i walked out of the jaws of death. Reporter like other survivors, dr. Ireland went back to work to save his neighbors. Locals were joined by volunteers and charities from around the globe to help build makeshift hospitals, teach decontamination methods, and treat the sick. My job in the ebola unit or in the Isolation Unit was to make sure that doctors were suited up properly in their personal protective gear. Those are critical jobs. Very critical. And i felt the weight of that i can tell you. Reporter missionaries Nancy Writebol and dr. Kent brantley were the First Americans to contract the disease while, windowing for samaritans purse and s. I. M. I was taking care of sick people before they had been isolated. Its a scary time. We have healthcare workers getting sick and that scares healthcare workers who might otherwise want to respond. Reporter that fear then spread to the u. S. The first case of the deadly disease diagnosed on u. S. Soil a major American City on high alert. Reporter thomas eric duncans diagnosis was at first missed and it sent a city into panic. His family put into quarantine. After his death, two nurses who treated him became the next patients. At some point there was a breach in protocol and that broach in protocol resulted in this infection. Reporter texas presbyterian nurses became patients in the same isolation rooms where they had worked and were transferred to facilities better equipped to deal with infectious disease, both surviving, perhaps in part thanks to the plasma donated by dr. Brantley. The care that ive received from so many people. We didnt get into this profession to be safe. We got into this profession to serve humanity to try and cure disease and those are not safe endeavors. At the request of the lieben government, were going to establish a command center in liberia to support efforts across the region. Reporter it became clear the only hope of keeping ebola away from here send help them. This is the Langley Air Force base, the first u. S. Military team to take part in operation assistance. I got the call and we had 72 hours to get it together. This was taking place at a time when all across america people were afraid of ebola. There was anxiety, certainly. The world didnt know how bad this was. The average person going out the door, those 34 members, theyre going through their mind about what does this mean to me and what is my real risk going to be. Reporter the mission, train workers so liberiaen and volunteers can get treatment if they get sick. You were the first group of airmen to go into the hot zone . Initially i was a little anxious of course. Its something new, something i havent done before, but i was really excited to be able to complete the mipgsssion and help another country. And it wasnt just any other country for you . No sir. My dad is from the ivory coast and i have family thats in liberia as well. So it was really good to know that what i was doing was going to help people that i loved as well. Time magazine just named ebola responders people of the year. How does that feel . Very, very humbling. There are so many people out there right now, doctors, nurses various individuals who are contributing to this fight. Do you feel like a hero . I wouldnt say hero but im very proud of what our team accomplished. Reporter Game Changers all. Doctors, nurses americans, africans holding fear at bay. Holding a virus back. You never know exactly what youre going to find until you step off that plane. And yet, no one flinched. They went out and they executed it perfectly. You should have seen the smiles on their faces when they came back. They were very proud of what they had done. Reporter for this week, im dr. Richard besser abc news, new york. Thanks to all of you for sharing part of your sunday with us today and all year long. Before we go another big thank you. To everyone here behind the scenes who bring you this week every week. We leave you with a performance from the United States army band. Have a happy, safe and blessed new year. Touchdown the season end today unfulfilled. This will be the most painful defeat of the chip kelly era. Three losses in a relieve the eagles on the outside of playoff also. Leaving more questions than answers. Its gutwrenching. Things changed for the worse. How will chip kelly respond to adversity. What does it mean today as the prepare for their finale against their divisional rivals