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20/20
Air Date: Friday, April 08, 2005
Time Slot: 10:00 PM-11:00 PM EST on ABC
Episode Title: "N/A"
[NOTE: The following article is a press release issued by the aforementioned network and/or company. Any errors, typos, etc. are attributed to the original author. The release is reproduced solely for the dissemination of the enclosed information.]

THE DRAMATIC STORY OF A WOMAN WHO CHEATED DEATH AT THE HANDS OF HER EXTRANGED HUSBAND THREE TIMES, ON ABC NEWS' "20/20," FRIDAY, APRIL 8

Also: * JuJu Chang Reports on the Latest Fad Crash Diet; * Rosie O'Donnell and Kelli O'Donnell Speak Candidly to Barbara Walters About Their Relationship, Raising Kids and Their Cruise for Gay Families; * John Stossel's "Give Me a Break" - Should Employers Tell Employees What They Can Do Off-Hours?

ABC News correspondent Don Dahler reports on the dramatic story of Amy Rezos, a woman who cheated death three times at the hands of her estranged husband, first when he savagely beat her and, when that failed, shot her twice in the head, and then when he tried to hire a hit man from prison to finish the job. Miraculously Amy Rezos survived and is now leading a crusade as a domestic violence victims' rights advocate. "I don't think he ever will give up. I'll never feel safe, like I'm free from him," says Amy. The dramatic story airs on"20/20" FRIDAY, APRIL 8 (10:00-11:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network.

And: Crash diets may be a way to jump-start weight loss and gain fast results, but do they really work? Diet guru Ann Louise Gittleman's newest fad diet, called "The Fast Track One Day Detox Diet," claims that you can lose anywhere from three to eight pounds in just one day. "It can be done safely if you've got a lot of toxic fluid build up, and many individuals, because of all the allergic-producing foods that they've been eating, can actually be stockpiling anywhere from 5 to 10 pounds of toxic fluids," says Gittleman. Toxic or not, nutrition experts say those pounds are just water and that crash diets are a bad idea, temporary fixes at best. "This is very gimmicky, and I think there is a lot of pseudo-science in the book. I think it preys on people's desperation," says Dr. David Katz, an expert on nutrition from Yale Medical School.

With the help of four willing individuals from the New York Daily News, "20/20" puts this latest crash diet to the test: Recently-named Editor in Chief Michael Cooke ("I once had a Canadian lumberjack physique and I want it back") says he has put on 10 pounds since he started his new job two months ago; rookie reporter Veronika works the overnight shift and wants to lose 15 pounds; and Kevin and Joe, buddies who work in advertising sales, believe they can help motivate each other to lose weight.

Potential dieters take warning: The one day diet is actually 11 days - seven days of strict dieting (lots of fruits and leafy vegetables and sprinkling it all with some flaxseed and powdered psyllium husks), a one-day miracle juice (which is mostly unsweetened cranberry juice) fast and then three more days of dieting. No caffeine, no dairy, no wheat, no sugar and no alcohol. Will the pounds melt off like magic? ABC News Correspondent JuJu Chang reports.

Also: In their first in-depth sit-down interview together, Rosie O'Donnell and her partner, Kelli O'Donnell, talk candidly to Barbara Walters about their marriage being nullified, raising their four kids ("we have totally different parenting skills," says Rosie), whether their kids miss not having a father, and their cruise for gay families. Rosie also addresses her blog, in which she once described as "the unedited ranting of a fat 42-year-old menopausal ex-talk show host, married mother of four." "My rage comes from the fact that humans can and must do better," O'Donnell tells Walters. "The blog comes from the point of trying to give back to people who have given me so much, to inspire people who maybe are depressed or fat or, you know, feel lost or that they are stupid." (Please note: this report was originally scheduled to air on Friday, April 1, but was rescheduled due to coverage of the Pope.)

Plus: Two years ago Howard Weyers, the owner of Weyco health care benefits company in Michigan, implemented a new and controversial smoking policy - employees either needed to quit smoking in 15 months or they would be fired. Of the 24 smokers at the company, 20 quit. This controversial policy led many people to say "give me a break" - that an employer should not be able to fire an employee based on what that person does in his/her free time. Weyers says he's not playing God, he's just helping people become healthy. He has even hired an in-house private trainer and stocked the cafeteria vendig machine with alternatives to junk food. "I want to be a good influence on my employees. What's wrong with being healthy?," says Weyers. John Stossel say "Give Me a Break" to those complaining.

"20/20" is anchored by Elizabeth Vargas and John Stossel. David Sloan is executive producer.

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