gear -- >> you can't ask this guy to go over the waterfall more than one time. extreme kayaking today, how do you top this? what's tomorrow? >> you're going to have to tune back in for round two. there's something in brazil that nobody's ever seen before that's pretty special. you'll have to give me a call. >> all right, lucas gilman, we'll do so. now we are here at the top of the hour. i'm brooke baldwin. a dramatic decision minutes away from will italy, also a high-profile trip to middle east, bank outrage hangover and snow in october? paula newton, i want to begin with you. we are about a half hour away from the decision being read in that italian courtroom. set the scene. tell me who you've seen. >> reporter: could i possibly express to you how tense it is right now? just a little while ago amanda knox left the prison where i am right now and is in the middle of a packed courtroom waiting to hear what will become the rest

of her life. she earlier had made this emotional plea to say, look, i am innocent, i did not murder, i did not rape, i did not steal. i was not even there. i spoke to an italian parliamentarian who visited with her in this prison today. said she was serene, calm, singing religious songs. but most important, brooke, she said that she felt within hours she would be out of this prison and on a plane back home to seattle. brooke? >> just to confirm because we have these two judges, six laypeople, jurors, all together that's eight. if the decision is split, it ultimately then goes to who, the defense to break the tie? >> reporter: there cannot be a split decision. if you know they're coming back now, we expect the verdict within minutes here, that means it will be a majority decision. >> i see. >> reporter: that means they will never tell anyone how much of a majority. that's all that's needed. there's no unanimous verdict. if they're coming back with a verdict, most likely -- it would be very rare in legal history

for this to happen -- they he have a ruling in hand on this appeal. >> paula newton, we'll check in again. defense secretary leon panetta had pretty strong words regarding israel's increased isolation in the region. barbara starr has details. >> brooke, leon panetta is traveling to israel, egypt. today in israel meeting with leaders and palestinian authority leaders, not that typical to hear a u.s. defense chief wade right into the middle east peace process, but leon panetta did it with very interesting words for israel. have a listen. >> it's pretty clear that at this dramatic time in the middle east when there have been so many changes that it is not a good situation for israel to become increasingly isolated. and that's what's happening, and i think for the security of that

region it's really important that we do everything possible to try to help them reestablish relations with countries like turkey and with egypt. >> israel isolated. that's wh what the u.s. defense secretary says. we'll see if the israelis feel the same way after this series of meetings with panetta. and some very delicate diplomacy ahead. the u.s. is sticking to its position. it wants israel and the palestinians to talk peace. it wants them to negotiate through that quarterette, the u.s., russia, the u.n. and european union. the u.s. position is there's a way ahead and everybody needs to join up. >> barbara, thank you. by the way, cnn's erin burnett interviewed leon panetta for her new show, "out front," debuts tonight 7:00 p.m. eastern. next, alison kosik live at the new york stock exchange. alison, lots of furious bank customers vowing to divorce bank of america last week.

i got myriad tweets over this one, over the $5 a month debit card fees. now we're hearing that the bank, alison, will probably make money from all of this. how is that? >> exactly. you know, yeah, we may be the ones who are all out raged about this, but it may be bank of america that's the last one laughing because the reality is that bank of america could wind p up being the one to make lots of money if customers switch over to using credit cards instead of debit cards. you know, we're all threatening to leave bank of america, but the reality is, analysts say it's really a pain in the butt to go ahead and change banks. many people aren't going to bother because you have to change your direct deposit, automatic payments, get new checks. it's a big hassle. what analysts say is people will all just switch to credit cards. so if you wind up carrying a balance from month to month, you'll pay finance charges right to b of a and maybe a late charge here and there. so what will wind up happening is they'll probably be more than

that $5 atm fee. i'm talking about the fees with your credit cards that you'd be racking up, this is of course depending upon your balance. that's what i mean when i say bank of america may be the last one laughing with all of this if the outrage winds up making everyone use credit cards. >> speaking of bank of america, the shares took a hit today. is it at all relate thod news? >> it's not related, but this is definitely not leaving bank of america laughing. shares dropped below $6 today, right now down more than 7%, below $6 for the first time it's been this low since the financial crisis of 2009. bank of america shares, brooke, have lost more than half their value this year. all because of these ongoing worry bz the recession and talk that greece may run out of money. remember, b of a is real sensitive to economic slowdown because it's the nation's biggest bank. no laughing matter for shareholders today. >> alison, thank you very much. next, chad myers.

we're talking philipsburg, p.a., some other areas of the northeast, are experiencing something i can't even articulate. s-s-s- -- >> yes. you're almost there. >> snow! >> all weekend long. >> what? what? >> this weekend in parts of pennsylvania, west virginia was, if you don't like the weather, wait five minutes it will change. the sun was out, eight minutes later it was snowing, then it was raining, the sun came back out and it was snowing again. in fact, davis, west virginia, picked p eed up five inches of. what does it mean/. >> i have no words. >> it means that we are back in la nina, back in the same pattern as last year. now the weather patterns in the pacific are the same and so expect a very similar winter to what we had last year. what's going on now? 6 to 12 inches of snow above 7,000 feet. here's california in the sierra, because we now have two separate

storms, one in the east and one in the west. the one in the west will put down -- honestly, you could have skied the entire season in parts of the sierra, all the way through summer there was enough snow especially on top of the mountain to still ski. now it's all changed other to rain, but it's cold enough and -- i was watching that race in dover over the weekend, everybody complaining about the cold. it was raining a little bit. they said, the next thing it will be is snow. they didn't know how close they were to being right. >> little did they know. speaking of pictures, i know you've been watching black smoke, that chemical plant fire. let's go to that, we're keeping a close eye, black smoke billowing from this plant in texas. this thing has been going on a little over a couple of hours. this is watchux ahatchy, new details. plus, we are waiting for the decision in the amanda knox murder conviction. live pictures in and out of the

courtroom. we'll bring it to you live here on cnn as soon as it comes in. stay with us.

we begin with a stunning image over this town in texas, massive plumes of black smoke near this plant. this thing has been really burning a little over a couple of hours. this is in waxahachie, texas, about 30 miles south of dallas. traffic has pretty much all but stopped on the roads and rails surrounding this facility. also we've learned an elementary school and college in the area have been evacuated. also, a detention hearing is being held this hour for rez juan fer douse, the 26-year-old u.s. citizen who is accused of plotting attacks on the pentagon

and u.s. capitol using the model airplanes. investigators say he he planned to use large remote-controlled model aircraft to use c-4 explosives. he was arrested last week and a federal grand jury indicted the massachusetts man thursday. the emergency room doctor in the michael jackson death trial says dr. conrad murray did not tell her he had given propofol to the pop star. dr. richelle cooper pronounced jackson dead at ucla medical center and cooper says murray says jackson's cardiac arrest came after he gave him two doses of lorazepam but says he didn't ever mention propofol. >> i was told he was given lorazepam through an i.v. and then was given a second dose. >> were you ever told at any point in time about any medications by conrad murray other than the lorazepam? >> no. >> dr. cooper also testified jackson was clinically dead when he arrived and he did not have a

pulse. the u.s. supreme court, back in session today. this year's term began with a tribute to justice scalia, starting his 25th year on the nation's highest court. chief justice john roberts read a statement noting scalia had been nominated in 1986 in, quote, the place hadn't been the same since. dick cheney lining up with the obama administration on a couple of topics. he appeared over the weekend here on cnn. the former vice president says he agrees with the decision to take out an american-born muslim cleric with a drone strike. he called the killing justified. hed the ending of the military don't ask, don't tell policy. >> i think the decision that's been made to allow gays serve openly in the military is the right thing to do. >> dick cheney was not entirely full of compliments in that interview with candy crowley. he said the administration

should reverse criticism. a former cia contractor who went to prison in pakistan was arrest nd colorado over the weekend. witnesses say raymond davis got into a fist fight with a man over a parking shot in this shopping center near denver. this picture is from earlier this year, around the same time davis was released from prison in pakistan. he was charged with killing two men when he worked there as a cia contractor. davis said he acted in self-defense. i want to take you back to that massive warehouse fire we're keeping a close eye on here in waxahachie, texas. the roads, rails around the area virtually empty. we mentioned the elementary school and college in the area have been evacuated and the smoke continues, thick black smoke billows. dave barry is with the texas environmental agency. dave is joining me on the phone. dave, if you can, clearly this is still burning multiple hours in, can you just tell me what it

is that's so highly flammable inside these warehouse warehous? >> well, there's a number of chemicals that the facility has as a part of its inventory, though the largest chemical in terms of the volume is -- when the environmental protection agency was made aware of the fire late this morning, a decision was made to support local emergency responders by sending a federal on-scene coordinator as well as contracting staff with air monitoring equipment to the scene of the fire. that team arrived about 90 minutes ago and are in the process of setting up their equipment at strategic locations around the fire so that, in time, we can provide some realtime air quality data to local officials to support them in their decision making efforts. >> now, dave, let me jump in. i don't know how long you've

been at the epa, but i've never seen a warehouse chemical fire of this magnitude. have you? >> i have not actually seen the fire in person because i'm not there. >> have you seen the pictures? you got a tv nearby? >> i have seen some video, but i have nothing to compare it to. the agency has responded to a number of chemical warehouse fires in the region over the years, but i cannot compare this to others because i don't have a reference by which i can do that. >> so let me ask you, if you live -- i don't know -- in the area, perhaps even miles away and i know there was an elementary school, a college, and you start inhaling this stuff, what happens? >> we would advise any residents in the area that have concerns about the smoke or their proximity to it to confer with local officials and listen to the instructions given by local emergency responders and follow those instructions. >> i know you're not sitting in front of a tv, but i'm just sort

of looking at some of the pictures we're getting in from our affiliate out of dallas. it looked like there was a bit of sludge or water. just made me think to ask, how do you keep this from contaminating the soil, the grass, spreading into the groundwater? how do you contain this thing? >> one of the efforts, in addition to air quality monitoring, is to monitor the quality of water runoff, the suppression water, that's used to fight the fire. in time, samples will be taken to determine if there's any contamination of soils or nearby streams that may have received some of this runoff. so in addition to air quality, water quality is also a concern that the environmental protection agency takes seriously. >> dave bary, thank you for calling in. we'll keep an eye on this story. we also obviously want to know what started it. we dent know that yet either. thank you so much. coming up, amanda knox waiting as her final appeal for

freedom is declined. will she be flying home soon or be spending many more years behind bars? we'll go live to perugia, a tense scene described by our correspondent on the ground. also this -- >> another thing about christie, we've got to say it, i mean, his weight. >> is governor chris christie too fat to be president? everyone seems to be weighing in on this, even though he's not even in the race yet. but a battle of the bulge may not actually be his biggest problem. we'll explain, next. hold on a s. progresso... i love your new loaded potato with bacon. that's what we like to hear. where was i? oh right... our rich & hearty soups.. people love the thick cut carrots... we do too! where was i? progresso. right, our new rich & heart soups... [ ring, ring ] progresso... switch our phone service? [ ring, ring ] [ ring, ring ] ...no, i think we're pretty happy with our phones. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup.

let's pop back up those live pictures there outside the courtroom in perugia, italy, as

we're literally minutes away from ultimately hearing the fate, the decision to be read by the jury and these two judges in this case, this appeal process with regard to amanda knox, 24 years of age, american college student abroad four years ago when everything sort of began. the kercher family, meredith kercher, the young woman from london who was violently sexually assaulted and murdered, and it is her murder for which amanda knox and raphael le sollecito in addition to one other man have been convicted in her murder. i want to bring in senior legal analyst jeff toobin. jeff, from what i understand, we know that this jury and these judges are not split. that is why we know they're coming out to read this decision. but this thing could go one of multiple ways, right? this isn't just a matter of she walks free or she's in prison for life. >> no. i mean, this just underlines that we are dealing with a

completely different legal system than the one many of us are familiar with. first of all, there's a jury. there are no juries in american appeals. appeals in the united states are done entirely to judges. also, the options as you point out are very different. the sentence of 25 years could be affirmed. it could be increased. it could be reduced. or it could be eliminated altogether and amanda knox could go free. those kind of variations, again, are not at the discretion of the jury, are not usually part of an appeal in an american courtroom. but italy has its own rules. >> jeff toobin, stick around. we have just learned that that decision will be read in 25 minutes from now. so we will be talking to our correspondents there on the ground. jeff toobin as well. i'll also be joined by i sh a sachet from cnn international. i do want to move around for now. presidential politics. let's talk about the apparent decline of one candidate's appeal and corresponding rise of another's. a man who by the way isn't even

a candidate at all yet. two republicans chris christie and rick perry, perry has p s m stumbled and now this new controversy involving some leasleas leased property in texas. christie is a party favorite except for one minor thing -- he still maintains he's not saying if he's going to run or not. rich gailen, let's talk this one out here. i know you're a republican strategist, worked for dan quale and newt gingrich. pretend you're with rick perry's team, this whole hunting camp thing comes out. how bad is it really? >> i don't think it's bad at all. if there had been a pattern of behavior that would lead any rational person to think that perry was somehow -- had racist attitudes, it would be a big deal. you know, austin, texas, is one of the most liberal towns in america, and the austin-american

staitsman, the local newspaper, has great writers, reporters, they've held on to their talent, but it's reflective of the community it serves. it's a very liberal newspaper. if they thought that perry was racist, he would have been hounded out of office ten years ago. so i don't think there's -- it's p embarrassing and the kind of things that happen, brooke, to campaigns that are sort of in a slump. this is the sort of thing that piles on. but i think it will pass. >> rich galen, let's talk the chris christie factor. is he in or is he not? i was talking to our guys in the political unit. they say, look, he really just has this week to decide. perhaps it's just a conversation he has to have between he and his wife. does it hurt the field by his delaying and really, though, is he too late? would this be too late for him? >> well, we'll know if he were to get in, we'll know if it's too late. i think it is. on the technical side, we've got filing deadlines coming up. there's the legal things you've got to get done, the forms that have to be tile filed. that can get done, but it will

cause a flurry of things to hatch. more importantly, though, is the fact that a governor of a state, even new jersey, even though it's in the shadow of the center of the universe there up in new york, the fact is that governors don't know a lot about other things other than being governor of their state, and if you don't believe me, go back and review some of the tape of perry and his performance in these debates. it's not because they're stupid or ignorant. it's just that there's a big country in this case west of the delaware water gap, and a big world outside of that. >> speaking of big, i did have a little conversation with craig crawford last week. he mentioned the whole weight thing, and i just want to read -- i'm sure you read the "new york times" op-ed overt weekend from frank bruni. this was just he was juxtaposing someone of a larger size -- >> who used to be a food critic i want to mention. >> take a look at this. he says, quote, someone can be a flawless steward of his or her physique and wonten lunatic in

all else. ever been to hollywood? does it matter, rich? does weight matter? >> no. the perfect candidate comes along every 2,000 or so years and this doesn't happen to be the year. when barack obama -- you may remember -- is black, couldn't happen, couldn't get elected, ronald reagan was divorced. couldn't possibly get elected. john kennedy was catholic, couldn't possibly get elected. these rt sorts of things that people like me and craig, who is a great friend, focus on when we sort of start resume nate rumin the pluses and minuses. if christie gets in before the other candidates fall in, i think -- the fact that he's rather heavyset will be something that jay leno and david letterman will laugh about, but thii think most peop

will say, we got it. >> leave it to late night. i guesses we should be hearing from chris christie any day now. weeble watching for that any day. any minute though, now, to amanda knox. her appeal will be decided. we're expecting that at any minute. we'll bring it to you live right here on cnn. every time a local business opens its doors or creates another laptop bag or hires another employee, it's not just good for business. it's good for the entire community.

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we are minutes away from hearing a decision which will be read inside this courtroom, live pictures inside the courtroom. in fact, we've just learned that the prosecutors have arrived, handshaking, some flashes going off. we do know that all families are present. we have learned that the

decision will be read in about 15 minutes from now. keep in mind the jury and these two judges have been deliberating for the better part of 10, 11, 12 hours here in this case today, in italy, and it's just after 9:30 p.m. there in perugia. we'll take you down to the ground in just a moment here. just to set it up, knox could go free, she could go back to prison for a stiffer sentence. today is the day, the culmination of four years of denials by knox and her co-defendant. cnn's drew griffin shows us how knox got to this point. >> reporter: american amanda knox was intent on spending her junior year of college studying abroad, an adventure of sorts, which would land the 20-year-old in the picturesque italian town of perugia. it was late summer 2007. knox had moved in this house with three other girls, one british-born meredith kercher. knox settled in, took classes at

the local university, got a part-time job and even found a new boyfriend, 23-year-old rafafaele sole cheat foe. the adventure soon became a nightmare. the night of november 1, 2007, knox's roommate meredith kercher was sexually assaulted, throat slashed and left for dead in the home the girls shared. as police searched for clues, knox originally told them she had spent the night at her boyfriend's place. but just four days later, november 5, 2007, amanda knox changed her story. after hours of interrogation, knox confessed to being in the home the night kercher died, adding that her boss, a kong lease immigrant, was there as well. kercher was killed, according to one theory, after refusing to take part in a group sex game. november 6, 2007, amanda and her boyfriend were arrested. so was lamumba, but he had a

solid alibi and was released. the case became a media sensation across europe and in seattle, knox's hometown. the tabloids labeling her foxy knoxy. november 19, 2007, police identify yet another suspect, 20-year-old rudy guede, an immigrant from the ivory coast who appeared to be on the run. he was caught in germany the next day, one month later he was charged with kercher's murder. october 2008, guede was found guilty, sentenced to 30 years. had his lawyers would get it down to 16 years on appeal. he had claimed amanda knox and her former lover were with him, but their trial wouldn't begin until january 16, 2009. throughout, both insisted they were innocent. the court didn't believe them. on december 5, 2009, knox and raffaele sollecito were convicted of killing and

sexually assaulting meredith kercher. knox got 26 years in prison. sollecito slightly less. november 2010, knox and sollecito begin the long road to appeal, all the while remaining in jail and defiant. drew griffin, cnn. >> let's go live now to perugia to becky anderson, just outside the courtroom. becky, how much longer do they have to wait? when will this decision be read? >> reporter: something like ten minutes from now. we were expecting it just about now. we were told just about 30 minutes ago it would be some 15 minutes delayed. it will have to come soon. the decision on this appeal, everybody is now in the room as you rightly said, the prosecutors were the last to file in. it's been a constant stream of people going into the courthouse. let me just show you where that is, right here, right behind me. there's been a constant stream of people going in over the last half hour or so. the kercher family were the last

to arrive before the prosecutors, the two prosecutors. i called out to lyle kercher, meredith's brother -- lest we fr forget there was a victim in all of this. she was brutally raped and murdered -- i said, how do you feel? he said nervous. the family looked really, really emotional and very tired. some didn't expect the kerchers could be in this courthouse today when this decision was handed down. it will be handed down within the next few minutes. the knox family are there. their lawyers are there. we haven't seen sollecito, her former boyfriend, or amanda knox yet in the courthouse, but earlier on they were driven past what is -- let me show you -- a crowd of people. i mean, as far as the eye can see. i can see people way up here, most of the streets absolutely packed. you can see the media are here as are many, many, many people from what is a medieval city, the city of perugia here in

central italy, which has really been thrown apart by this case since 2007. i was talking to many people today. they said they just want this case to be over. will it be over today? well, there are pretty much three choices, brooke, at this stage. the jury who have been out now for about 11 hours who will deliver this decision, the presiding judge who's part of that jury, will deliver this decision shortly, the verdict, the conviction of murder, will either be overturned, in which case amanda knox and her former boyfriend could be out of jail immine imminently. they'll be taken back, have to pick up their things and do the their paperwork. amanda knox could be back in the states within hours, effectively. possibly by tomorrow. the verdict could be upheld, which means they simply go back to prison and that is where they stay. the prosecution actually looking to extend their stay in prison. a lot of people i've spoken to today say that the likelihood -- and this is just speculation.

we know absolutely nothing about what the jury has decided -- that the verdict will be upheld or reduced, partially upheld, which effectively means they could still be found guilty of interfearing with a case and of defamation. their sentences could be reduced. >> so, becky, forgive me for interrupting. from what i'm hearing, there are multiple options for these two. four minutes now away from when the decision should be read. we'll get a quick break in and go back live to perugia on the fate of amanda knox, next. hee's the idea...

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perugia courtroom. >> reporter: indeed. let's take you inside the courtroom. let's show you the pictures as they play out, as we await this ruling. looking at the scene, the courtroom is packed. that is amanda knox herself as she awaits this major decision that, brooke, as you and i have been discussing ultimately will shape the future course of her life. >> we were watching as she was walking in, and she appeared to be breathing very deeply, as i'm sure anyone would be knowing your life is hanging on the line. >> indeed. >> jeff toobin joins me from new york, our cnn senior legal analyst. jeff toobin, i just want your first reaction to this scene, a very tense, emotional scene inside this perugian courtroom. >> i think it's important to keep in mind that we are in a very different legal system. earlier when the camera was pulled back, we could see behind the judge a crucifix, you certainly wouldn't see a religious symbol in the united

states. is but it's a different system, the appeals process is different. we have a jury making an appellate decision, with wide discretion, increase the sentence, lower it, eliminate the sentence. it's slower than the united states, but it's a lot more freewheeling. so it's a very uncertain situation right now. >> and to be precise, this isn't a verdict that the jury is handing down. this is a decision because this is an appeal. so this isn't a guilt/innocence or guilt/not guilt. this is a multiple-option, could be anything from life in prison, what the prosecutors were pushing for recently, all the way to her perhaps hours from now flying home. and anything in between. >> that's true, which you can see why she looks a little tense. it would be unnatural not to be, given those sorts of stakes. i think what a lot of people forget about this case is that there's one person already in prison, mr. guede, who there's

an overwhelming case against, dna, blood, fingerprints, all sorts of evidence against him. the real issue in this case is, are amanda knox and her boyfriend co-conspirators? somehow also involved? there's no mystery here, i think, about who killed ms. kercher. the question is, did amanda knox and raffaele sollecito help him do that? and we'll see what the jury says in a few minutes. >> jeff, it's isha here. i want you to break something down for our viewers, struck by the fact that this panel of jurors has six laypeople and two judges, i'm sure. help us understand the role the judges will take in the decision making process. >> they are jurors, as i understand it. they are jurors like the rest of them. obviously, you would think, that their views would carry a lot of weight with their fellow jurors, but this is just another example -- you know, in an

american jury we pick people because they are not familiar with the case, they are not familiar with the legal system, they are representatives of the community, italian system is different. they pick people who are experts in the law, not in this particular case but two of the jurors are experts. >> jeff, stand by. i just want to speak to these pictures. it's this profile image here of amanda knox. i don't know if you've seen, but she appears to be wiping her face, perhaps wiping away tears. we know she was choking up a bit earlier this morning when with she really gave her own defense essentially pleading for her own life. of course, there is a victim in all of this, meredith kercher. her family is there inside as well. they want justice here in this case. i want to bring in anne bremner, a criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor, also a spokeswoman for friends of amanda. anne, have you been in touch at all with the family in the last few hours? what can you share with regard to how the family is feeling today? >> well, i have been and our

group has been in the last few days but not in the last exactly few hours. i mean, this has been so horrific for them. i mean, i feel like it's deja vu all over again watching this expected verdict and then of course the verdict from the courtroom, the trial, where she was convicted. there was so much tension. of course a different case today with the independent review of forensic evidence. i think everybody is cautiously optimistic. there's been so many twists and turns in this case and so many thirngs that have happened that are unexpected, everyone is understandably very, very tense, especially amanda knox. >> in talking to the family in the last couple of days, i mean, how has amanda been? what has she been say sing to t family? >> she's been very somber, reflective, very serious. she prepared her own remarks that she deliered this morning where she was very direct and appropriate, i think, under the circumstances, and passionate about her innocence.

she also spent time in thought at church with a priest, as did her mom and others. so this is it. i mean, this is the time where either she's going to be spending the rest of her life conceivably in prison, if the prosecutor gets his way, or she could be flying home to seattle. >> anne, one more question, speaking of seattle, i know we have live pictures from within a hotel there in the city of just different people -- >> yes. >> there they are, just different people gathered around to watch this decision along with us. i mean, this has been, what, a tremendous roller coaster for everyone there. >> well, it is. i know they were all there overnight, people stayed up all night. i stopped by there at 4:30 this morning and some folks were having breakfast that had been up all night. they were very happy with amanda's remarks. there's a lot of support for amanda knox. we have worked really hard for four years supporting her innocence. it's a very tense moment here in seattle, too.

>> we're moments away from the decision being read. anne bremner, stay with us. isha, to you. >> let's go back to the scene outside that courtroom in perugia, italy, where we are of course moments away from the decision. becky anderson is standing by outside that courtroom. becky, i'd imagine the tension through the roof right now as people know we're moments away from a decision in all of this. >> reporter: yeah, absolutely. the tension is palpable out here. i mean, these streets were fairly empty for most of the day, a lot of media around. we didn't have the sort of inquisitive audience there is here now. people from all over perugia just here to find out what is going to happen in the next few minutes. just before we hear from the presiding judge, just want our viewers to have a sense what they might be listening out for. we will translate what the presiding judge helmand says. he'll be speaking in italian, of course, we'll be translating it for you live on cnn. listen up for two key numbers. if there's an acquittal in all of this, you will hear him use

the number, we understand at least, article 530. if the decision here on appeal is to uphold the conviction of murder, you will hear the number 533. so listen up for 530, that will be an acquittal, 533 suggests that the convictions will be upheld. excuse me. i'm losing my voice. the slight sort of difficulty comes if we get delivered a decision which is partially overturned, which effectively means that they not necessarily seem to have murdered or sexually you assaulted meredith kercher but maybe interfering with the crime scene, defamation, a number of things, which may mean their sentences are reduced. i repeat, 530 means effectively there's been an acquittal, 533 means these murder convictions will have been upheld. amanda knox is in the room as

you know, the prosecutors there, the kercher family there, as are the knoxes and their lawyers. it's pretty quiet out here at the moment. we're just waiting on what is happening in the room just behind me here, of course, as we get the decision, we will bring it straight to you here on cnn. you're going to hear it as it's simulcast out of there. >> becky, one of the big talking points from this day of course has been amanda knox's personal statement she made hours ago in near-perfect italian in which she said, i did not kill i did not rape i did not steal. i was not there. talk to me about how people there on the streets have been reacting to such powerful, emotional words. >> reporter: this all started about 9:30 local time. sollecito spoke first. >> becky, forgive me for interrupting. this is about to get going. let's listen in live. the decision about to be read in the fate of amanda knox.

>> translator: on behalf of the italian people, and the court of perugia, after having examined section 605 of the procedural code, partially overturns the judgment for december 2009. in relation to knox amanda and sollecito raffaele that have appealed. the prosecutor states knox amanda is guilty of defamation with exclusion of aggravating circumstance in this criminal code. and with aggravating

circumstance of the article 98. it condemned to three years of custodial sentence and have -- she has to pay legal costand re expenses and accessories. acquitted of offense charges a, b, c, d and e, yes, because the fight did happen.

so we have overturned. silence, please. silence, please. we have 90 days to deliver the reasoning.

>> knox, amanda, is free. the sentence the knox family and 24-year-old amanda knox had been hoping they would hear. that hope has become a reality. cheers, tears, we saw amanda

knox followed by her father kurt knox followed by raffaele sollecito being held up and walked out of this courtroom. victory for the knox family. let's go straight to outside the courtroom to becky anderson. becky, i know you didn't see the images from outside, but i can only imagine it is a tremendous scene now where you are. >> reporter: yeah. an audible gasp when that was delivered. in fact, we were calling out as we heard it in our ear so people here could hear it. partially overturned. do remember she was acquitted on all charges except on defamation. that was the charge she defame ed labumba when she said he was involved and they weren't. what i think i heard was the sentence for that would be three years. of course, they served already

that amount of time. one assumes at this point she is free. she will go back to prison, as far as i understand it. i'm just keeping my eye on who is coming out of the courthouse behind me. i'll give that you shot, actually. we already had some people leaving. they will all come out of this door momentarily. she will go back to prison. amanda knox will go back to prison this evening simply to pick up her things and fill out some paperwork. her american passport had expired since she had been in prison here, convicted of the murder of meredith kercher who was sexually assaulted and murdered in 2007. tonight we found out knox has been acquitted on all charges aside from defamation. she will have to pay the monies he asked for in civil court and

will have to pay the charges in court. let's not forget there was and is a victim here of meredith kercher who was sexually assaulted and murdered in 2007. >> can we zoom into that door? >> am i hears boos, becky? >> why? who is this? >> that, i believe, was sollecito's lawyer who just walked out of the courthouse.

a lot of boos going on from the crowd here. it's divided here the opinion in perugia. what everybody will say they want this case over and done. with they don't want this besmirching the name of this medieval city any more. keep the camera trained on the door there. momentarily people will begin to come out of the room. i'm just going to make sure we are up-to-date on what is going on here. >> it sounded as though they were chanting "victoria, victoria," "victory, victory." what is the sense in regard to the fate of amanda knox? it's been talked about, written about has it been mixed, the reception? >> it's been very mixed. let's watch the door. it has been extremely mixed. i see matthew chance, our correspondent in the courthouse.

we'll get him soon as he makes it around a mob of media here. yes, it's been extremely mixed. certainly, there was not a lot of sympathy for amanda knox in 2007 and in 2009. after two independent investigators looked into the key dna evidence and found it was contestable, that it didn't stand up in court, the last couple of months has been more sympathy for knox than there had been in the past. let's bring in matthew chance who had been in the courtroom. talk us through what you saw and heard. >> i'm a little out of breath running up the steps. absolutely incredible emotional scenes inside that courthouse. the tension as we were awaiting for amanda knox and rafafaele sollecito to arrive was incredible. i never experienced anything like that. it was amazing. when that verdict came down, acquittal on all charges except

for the defamation charge, it was astonishing. amanda knox's parents so euphoric. there were whoops and chants. amanda knox herself totally broke down. she was very tense when she went in. when she heard she was walking away -- what do you mean? i thought something was telling me something else. >> if you can train the camera on the door and matt will continue to talk to me about the atmosphere in the courtroom just moments ago. the kerchers there. what was their reaction? >> stark contrast. while there is celebration going on in one end of the courtroom, just in front of me was meredith kercher's sister stephanie, her mother arlene. when they heard the new that

amanda knox was walking free, they were upset. arlene was looking forward, saying nothing. the sister was in tears. you must remember all the time they believed that amanda knox and raffaele sollecito were guilty in the killing of meredith kercher, the daughter and the sister. they had been saying they wanted that jury to uphold that initial verdict. it didn't happen. >> we are going to throw it back to the studio at this stage while we find out what is going on over there. there's an awful lot of noise at this point. as we know, amanda knox will walk free. she is free to go back to the states. >> i'm told they are chanting "shame, shame." becky anderson, thank you so ch