[ cheers and applause ] this is "nightline." >> tonight, two police officers shot after a legal gun sale that was caught on camera. responsible? question -- >> tonight the potentially game-changing case triumphs and outrage on both sides of the heated gun control controversy. inside homeland. saving the world can seamstressful on the hit show. important! >> what is wrong with her? >> how far-fetched is it really? tonight with the new season ramping up, emmy-winning costars clair dance and mandy petankin getting real with the real news. fighting for his life. former nba player lamar odom in a las vegas hospital, his estranged wife khloe kardashian at his bedside, as new details emerge about what happened after he was found unconscious in a

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who has the plan for jobs? jeb. tax cuts for the middle class. eliminates special loopholes. an explosion in growth and new jobs. jeb: cut taxes. grow america. right to rise usa is responsible for the content of this message. good evening. with gun control front and center at last night's democratic presidential debate, it's clear there's no issue more pressing for many americans. tonight we're taking a close look at two controversial cases that could have major implications. the first starting with the

legal gun sale that led to life-changing consequences for two police officers. they were cops shot in the line of duty. >> when did you realize that you didn't have a left eye? >> i felt a lump in my cheek. and i'd asked someone if that was my eye. >> reporter: the mental damage perhaps even more severe. >> felt like i didn't deserve to live anymore. and actually considered committing suicide. >> reporter: and for a brief moment, their crusade for justice as the unlikely center of the gun control movement raging across the country. >> ryan norberg, graham coonish, versus badger guns, inc. >> reporter: the question, could a gun store be liable for legally selling a gun later used to commit a crime? you're watching the security camera. the man jacob collins is buying the gun for julius burton, who at the time was 18 and too young to buy a handgun. >> they're what are called straw

purchases meaning where one person is buying it for somebody else. >> reporter: it's a common way guns make their way into the underground market. a month later, burden gets into an altercation with two milwaukee police officers. caught here on tape. he uses the gun to shoot them both in the head. for years laws have hinders victims of gun crimes from suing gun dealers. >> what made this case different, there was a lot evidence that the guy at the gun shop should have known this wasn't a legitimate purchase. >> reporter: miraculously, they both survived. brian norberg and graham coonich sue the gun dealer badger guns for nenlgth, claiming the store clerk should have recognized the telltale sigig of a straw purchase. >> badger guns did not do the job it was required to do when it made that sale. if badger guns had done its job on may 2nd then brian and graham

would not have been shot on june 9th. >> reporter: the lawsuit claimed badger guns approved the sale despite a number of irregularities, including collins checking the "no" box when answering if he was the buyer, then crossing it out and checking "yes." the clerk admitted there was confusion. >> he did have trouble with the written word and the forms. >> reporter: but lawyers for the gun store argued there was no intent to do wrong. >> to believe this you have to believe that my clients cooked up a plan, a plan to unlawfully sell firearms. >> reporter: and the store clerk denied that was his intention. >> the last thing we want to do is put a gun in somebody's hands that has -- that's going to commit a crime, that's going to use it for the wrong purpose. >> the gun collins purchased for you at badger guns was the gun that you used to shoot officers norberg and coonich, is that right? >> as i remember, yeah. >> reporter: after deliberating

the gun store had been negligent. >> was such negligence of badger guns a cause of the injuries? the jury answered this question, yes. >> reporter: brett heaton juarez was the jury federal. >> the strongest piece of evidence for me was the testimony from the owners and sales clerk that they didn't have policies and procedures. by law they were required to follow these steps and they didn't. >> reporter: experts say this case was unusually strong for the plaintiff. in part because this was not the first time badger had sold a weapon used in the commission of a crime. milwaukee authorities say that between 2006 and 2009, more than 1,800 firearms from badger guns were used ib crimes. >> got a store with a bad track record, you got victims who are police officers, and you have a phony sale. all three of those things come together. if that can't win, nothing will win.

was quick to say other dealers need to take notice. >> they have a responsibility to make sure that individuals who cannot legally possess guns do not get their hands on guns. >> reporter: but it remains to be seen whether this case will actually set new precedent. >> those who are looking for fundamental change where victims of gun violence are going to win lawsuits against gun shops and manufacturers shouldn't count on this case. think would still need a fundamental change in the law, which i don't think is happening any time soon. >> reporter: the verdict announced yesterday touted as a major victory by advocates for gun reform is far from a final victory. badger lawyers are expected to appeal. and the battle over gun safety contntues to be frontntnd center in the national conversation. >> i'm a big second amendment person, believe me, the biggest. >> reporter: from campaign stops around the country -- >> if you go someplace where people can shoot you, you're probably going to get shot. >> reporter: to last night's democratic debate in las vegas --

that we lose 90 people a day from gun violence. >> reporter: here, gun violence took a back seatto this issue of liability. >> sandy and lonny phillips are here from colorado. >> reporter: martin o'mally introding a couple who took on that fight head-on and lost. >> they were slapped with $200,000 in court fees because of the way that the nra gets its way in our congress and we take a back seat. >> from the moment we got the news, our lives turned upsidede down.. and they've never righted. they've never come back to a norm. >> reporter: sandy and lonny phillips lost their 24-year-old daughter jessica when james holmes unleashed a hail of bullets in a darkened movie theater in aurora, colorado in 2012. >> they left a five-inch hole in my daughter's face. a five-inch hole. daughter. that's what these bullets do to human flesh. >> reporter: last year the

phillips sued the companies that supplied holmes with his deadly ammunition and protective body armor. >> it should bother everyone in our country that somebody, anybody, can go online and buy 4,000 rounds of steel-jacketed ammo without any i.d., without any background check. >> reporter: but a judge in denver not only dismissed their case, but made them responsible for covering the online gun dealer's legal fees. >> the judge thought that it was more of a political lawsuit than it was a public health and safety lawsuit. and we're l lt to -- with that burden. >> reporter: the philips' financial future is uncertain. but their mission couldn't be clearer. emldened to fight on by the verdict in milwaukee, and the fact that at the address where badger guns and ammo once stood now sits another gun store, brew city shooters supply, still open

guns. next, clair dance and mandy patenkin take us inside "homeland." secrets of the new season. plus new details about what may have landed former l.a. lakers star lamar odom in the hospital clinging to life tonight. it takes a lot of work... to run thiness. but i really love it. i'm on the move all day long... and sometimes, i just don't eat the way i should. so i drink boost to get the nutrition n at i'm missing. boost complete nutritional drink has 26 essential vitamins and minerals, including calcium and vitamin d to support strong bones and 10 grams of proteinto help maintain muscle. all with a great taste. i don't plan on slowing down any time soon.

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"heland" costars clair dance and mandy patinkin have a hit show and the image to prove it. even when it's pretend saving the world can be exhausting. as the flew season ramps up

affairs correspondent martha raddatz talking family life and politics onscreen and off. >> the world is about to end and we're standing around talking! >> reporter: her meltdowns on "homeland" are epic >> no, david, that chart is very important! it is very meaningful! >> what is wrong with her? >> reporter: claire danes is carrie matheson, the cia of a certificate trying to keep america safe while struguging with bipipar disorder. >> thank god. my green pen is dry! i' asked, four, five, six times for a new one but there's no understanding! >> reporter: to danes' surprise, things seem to be looking up for season. >> carrie has morphed into a happy person. >> impossible. >> yeah.. pigs a a flying. she's just, you know, fully surrendered to domesticity and

having a great time with it -- for about five minutes. i personally, the person playing her, a little relief at some point. it's --eah. i don't know if she'lllver get it, though. reporter: the show's fifth season was filmed almost entirely in germany, and danes told me she was eager for it to wrap up so she could be back to her own domesticity. she has a nearly 3-year-old son with actor husband hugh dancecy. >> i get to fall into my domestic bliss. i have one,e, clair, i have one, i want to get back to it. >> a little closer relationship to your child? >> yes. i look forward to kicking back in new york and hanging on the playground. >> reporter: danes is no stranger to intense roles. >> why are you like this? >> reporter: her portrayal of teen angst in "my so-called life" earned her a golden globe. >> wow. i thought it woululbe good to be natural and spontataous.

but t at wasn't a really good idea. >> reporter: and she was just 17 when she starred opposite leonardo dicaprio in "romeo and juliet." >> saint dozen not leave. >> reporter: as carrie matheson, danes has won two emmys and nominated for two more, her "homeland" costarar mandy patinkin, who plays cia official saul bear ren sen. >> i'm trying to do good work. >> you're not. you're being naive and stupid. something you never were before. >> i want to ask you about your relationship with mandy patinkin. you are the longest survivors on the show together. you're literally -- >> literally, yeah. i love mandy so deeply. i'm really annoyed w wve been antagonists, estranged from each other. i miss him. >> you want to get back together? >> i want more screen time with my genius friend.

signature drama patinkin says this affection is not just offscreen but is really what the show is all about. >> i've always felt "home land" for me, for solve bearrensen, is about hope and optimism. he's a man who will never quit, never die, he will kp fight the gift he feelss the human spirit embodied in carrie matheson. >> reporter: a veteran of stage and screen, patinkin's iconic roles started a long time ago. who could forget enigo montoya in "the princess pride"? >> my name is enigo montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die. >> spectacular. >> reporter: this place far away from hollywood in upstate new york is surrounded by woods and water. it's where patinkin has lived over think years with his wife, writer and actress katherine agreeddy

from his emomoonally wrenching reality-based series. >> it's exhausting. i don't know how guys like yourselves and anderson cooper, every day. do these stories that are all about terrorism, fear, terror. man's inhumanity to man. killing people. >> reporter: patinkin, the writers and droursproducers, pay very close attention to real-worldld events which we have seenn up close, from nuclear agreements in iran, to isis in iraq. the show prides itself on making viewers think about both sides of conflict, although patinkin has strong views about foreign policy, opening up to us about his views in a surprising way. >> i hope there's something people learn from "homeland." i hope there's something being taught about when n don't listen, what happens. about when we act on our own arrogance and thinking that we're right, what happens. people make mistakes.

fathers mothers people make mistakes holding to their own thinking they're alone honor their mistakes everybody makes >> reporter: this song from "into the woods" points out thaha even mythihil heroes can have flawaw >> you killed my son. in beirut. >> reporter: like solve and carrie on "homeland." >>re we inhuman to human beings? we, the united states, represented by carrie matheson, solve berensen, are we the enemies? who's the enemy? >> reporter: man's inhumanity to man is highlighted in the new season's location, berlin. >> datatbreach. in berlin. >> shut it down, shut it down, shut it down! >> reporter: berlin, especially relevant as the syrian refugee crisis exploded in germany and throughout europe. >> you were there shooting during the beginning of the mass migrant crisis. >> yes, absolutely.

i mean, om. aaonth later, it's happening to us in very realtime. >> that's a mistake. >> reporter: but as for what's coming next this season? patinkin is as tight-lipped as his cia character would be. >> he's back in the game and the stuff starts hitting the fan right away. then everything gets woven into a web of endless varieties of which i can't really tell you ry much. >> this isuch a g gat description ofofothing. > yeah, i canan tell you anything. >> you've tolde nothing. >> i might as well be a presidential candidate or a president. >> reporter: martha raddatz for "nightline" in new york. and next, lamar odom's demons took a back seat to his love on "khloe and lamar." now khloe kardashian there with him at the hospital tonight. what we're learning as he fights

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finally tonight, heartbreaking nene details abobo what happened at that nevada brothel before former nba champ lamar odom was found unconscious and unresponsive by two of the women at what's called the love ranch. here's abc's linsey davis. >> 911, where is your emergency? >> we need an ambulance. >> reporter: tonight we're hearing the desperate call to authorities for the first time. an employee of a state-licensed odom's life. i need you to hurry, p pase, because he's got -- blood coming out of his nose, white stuff coming out of his mouth, they can't get mill to wake up, he's

almost not breathing. >> reporter: the two-time nba champion lamar odom on life support in this las vegas hospital. >> the male had been using cocaine. they also informed dispatch he'd used up to 10 tabs of sexuaua performance enhancerer supplemes. >> reporter: odom found unconscious and unresponsive yesterday at the love ranch. brothel owner dennis huff said he was told by one of his employoes lamar was troubled by a call. >> he did get a call. it seemed to bother him a bit, the girl said. something about him being on the kardashian show. and not liking the way he looked or something they sasa. it upsese him. but, you knowow the girlsorked him through it and an hour later he was drinking his cognac and having a great time and forgot all about it. >> reporter: odom appeared on "keeping up with the kardashians." his relationship with khloe playing out for millions to see. their marriage trouble also fodder for the reality show. >> it's not fair that like this

anyone has to go through.h. >> reporter: khloeiled for vorce in 2013. e two kept in touch. khloe often appearing concerned for his well-being. >> i've been trying to call him, his phone's been off for three week sxwlrts lamar is surrounded by people who care about him. khloe rushing to his side along with her mother and sister kim kardashian and kobe bryant and reverend jesse jackson. shaquille o'neal sending a tweet #myhearthurts. magic johnson tweeting, i've been praying all morning for my good friend that god will bless him to pull through. for "nightline," i'm linsey davis in new york. >> thank you for watching abc news. tune into "good morning america" tomorrow. and as always we're online 24/7 on "nightline" facebook page and