making news in america this morning -- violent end. >> after more than 40 years of ruling with an iron fist, moammar gadhafi is dead. how the dictator begged for mercy in his final moments. and damning testimony. the prosecution rests their case against michael jackson's doctor. why their final witness could all but seal conrad murray's fate. and leap of faith. the firefighter who saved the little boy who was literally holding on for dear life. now, the two have been reunited. and good morning. i'm yunji de nies. >> and i'm rob nelson. we begin, now, with new details about the death of gadhafi.

this is the latest video from the scene. we have to warn you right now, it's a little graphic, as the libyan leader begs rebels not to kill him or his sons. >> that was to be but less than an hour later. gadhafi and one of his sons were dead. john hendren is joining us from washington this morning with the latest. good morning, john. >> reporter: good morning, yunji. good morning, rob. libyan's flamboyant former leader had been on the run for weeks. chased out of tripoli by nato forces and rebel bombs. the end came at the people who he claimed until the last, loved him. these are the final moments of moammar gadhafi's life. the libyan leader, the world's most-wanted man, is battered, dazed and visibly afraid. just months ago, gadhafi insisted these libyans, all libyans, adored him. >> they love me. all of the people love me. they love me all. >> but if they do love me -- >> they will die to protect me and my people. >> reporter: gadhafi's final hours began when revolutionary

fighters raided his last stronghold. the rebel leaders say the dictator was shot in the head and died on his way to the hospital, but there's conflicting accounts. this man, brandishing a trophy, gadhafi's golden gun, takes credit for the final shot. the shot heard arnold the world. >> this is a momentous day in the history of libya. the dark shadow of tyranny has been lifted. and with this enormous promise, the libyan people have a great responsibility. >> reporter: secretary of state, hillary clinton, hearing the news in kabul, reacted with surprise. >> wow. >> reporter: libya's prime minister was somber. we had been waiting for this moment for a long time, he said. brian flynn was just a teenager when he lost his brother on pan am flight 103. >> i've been dreaming about this day for 20 years. >> reporter: all 270 onboard, most of them americans, were killed. years later, gadhafi took responsibility. gadhafi's 42-year reign ended months ago. another dictator taken down by the arab spring.

now, for libya, the post-gadhafi era begins. rob and yunji? >> john, thank you. remarkable to see hillary clinton there reacting in such a natural way to the news on her blackberry. tell us about the white house. they wanted to wait until the dictator was 100% -- at least 100% dead. how do they actually do that? >> reporter: the first reports we got from the white house this morning, yunji, said they were not able to confirm any of these reports. by 10:00 a.m., the president got his intelligence briefing, they were 95% certain. then, intelligence reports continued to come in and they were even surer. but they weren't completely close to 100%, until they used facial recognition software, intelligence officials did, in order to compare current pictures with former pictures. and they say, that's as good as it's going to get. without dna, you can never be 100% sure. but they were satisfied. >> an amazing day, indeed. and you said, the big question is what happens next for libya as that country tries to build a

democracy. john hendren reporting for us this morning. thanks. as john mentioned, the pan am 103 family members are sharing the relief now that gadhafi is dead. judy avrid's husband, jerry, was a flight engineer and was onboard that flight, in the cockpit when the plane went down. she says gadhafi's death does bring a sense of closure. >> thank the lord that's over with. and i hope and pray for the people of libya they can have a new life. something good can come out of this. they can have some of the freedoms we have here in our wonderful country. >> judy avritt was left to raise two children by herself. now, they're grown and she is a grandmother of five. in the broader scope of american foreign policy. obama administration officials touting this, saying we take credit not just for this. but we've seen osama bin laden, and we've seen anwar al awlaki. just in this calendar year, america taking deep strikes at terror leaders and terror networks around the globe.

>> as you noted, there really will be a power vacuum now. there could be loyalists to gadhafi and that regime. and who knows what happens next? the big challenge is keeping that country out of a severe civil war. >> that's starts today. and president obama is failing on the domestic front. last night, the senate shot down his plan to give state and local governments $35 billion to avoid layoffs of teachers, police officers and firefighters. republicans called it a temporary sugar high for the economy that would do nothing in the long run. and looks like the president is losing the public, too. a new poll shows seven in ten americans believe the country is headed in the wrong direction. and 43% describe the economy asd very poor. only 40% believe the president's plans will significantly improve the nation's job market. unfortunately, that low expectation will be an obstacle to recovery, as well. there's a new controversy over government loans for green technology.

the company that got $500 million of federal money for an electric car is now making them in finland. the company called fisker says all of the money for its car was spent on american engineering and design. but that no u.s. plant could build it. fisker has bought an old gm plant in delaware to use in the future. in other news this morning, a lawmaker in ohio is trying to ban private individuals from owning exotic animals. this proposal, of course, comes after the tragic death of nearly 50 animals in zanesville earlier this week. ohio has some of the nation's weakest restrictions of exotic pets. and has among the highest number of injuries and deaths caused by them. two earthquakes have rattled the san francisco area, ironically on the same day that californians conducted an earthquake drill. the biggest of the quakes was centered in berkeley. it was a 4.0. south texas also got an unexpected jolt. it was struck by a rare record-breaking 4.8 quake. no injuries or major damages were reported in either quake. and get your boots out,

folks. looks like the northern part of the country is in for a cold, wet winter. government forecasters released their latest outlook, calling for more than usual snowfall from the northwest to the great lakes and ohio. they're also warning that warmer and drier conditions will make the drought in the south even worse. >> those pictures are just stunning. i live down there, obviously. a lot of need for rain. >> for rain. right. looking out for this morning's weather from around the nation. rain out west from portland and seattle and spokane. lingering showers around pittsburgh, buffalo and syracuse. cooler but not as windy along the east coast. sunny and dry across the south, from the carolinas all the way to california. >> 78 in sacramento. 92 in phoenix. near 60 in seattle. 67 in salt lake city. and 73 in albuquerque. mostly 50s from fargo to indianapolis. kansas city gets up to 66. dallas 78. new orleans, 75. 62 in atlanta. 59 here in new york. and 64 in beantown. and coming up, a look at the

growing gap between the rich and poor in america. >> stunning numbers there. and then, a new biography oo apple's steve jobs revealed why he put off surgery that could er have extended his life.a anl the highlights from game two of basebabababababababl hey, your high speed internet here, at home... ...and on the go... ...with some really big news. it's b-i-g -- big. high speed internet from at&t at home... ...includes wi-fi access on the go. woo-hoo! [ together ] it's an unbelievable deal. well, gotta go. but wait -- there's more... [ female announcer ] go to the website below today and get high speed internet

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welcome back, everybody. time for a check of market activity starting overseas. tokyo's nikkei average was off just three points today. hong kong's hang seng is up 41. in london, the ftse opened lower. and on wall street, the dow gained 37 points yesterday. meanwhile, the nasdaq index lost five. the income gap in this country is widening. more than half of all u.s. workers last year earned less than $27,000. and even though the population is growing, the number of americans with jobs fell. at the same time, the number of people making $1 million or more soared by more than 18%. >> so, the wall street protesters will be listening to that news this morning. also today, federal reserve chairman ben bernanke, says he would like to see more stimulus for the struggling economy. but now, it's up to congress. briefing senate democrats

yesterday, he reportedly told them the fed has now done all it can. afterwards one senator said, the fed will send congress some proposals on housing next week. supporters said alabama's new tough immigration law would create farm jobs for americans. but so far, it's not working. most of the american citizens who would have taken the jobs have quit after just one day. they say the work is too hard and not worth the money. supporters of the law say that will change. it's just a matter of time. and pro basketball is in danger now of fouling out. 30 hours of talks over the last 3 days this week came to nothing. the players say they've made concessions. but the owners won't budge. nba commissioner david stern has threatened to scrap all games through christmas if there's no agreement this week. when we come back, how being traded might have saved the life of an nfl football player. and also this morning, the twitter feud between a rock star and fox news, that's being fought 140 characters at a time.

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welcome back, this friday. high winds are finally dying down across the upper midwest. but it's already much too late for some unlucky boat owners. several boats at milwaukee yacht club were tossed onto the rocks. and at least one of them was a total loss, as winds topped 60 miles per hour. now, for a look at your morning road conditions at the start of your weekend. an easy ride across most of the nation, with the exception of i-5, which is wet from seattle to portland. and slick on parts of i-80 and 90, in western new york and pennsylvania. >> if you're flying today, expect the friendliest of skies. no weather-related armt airport delays on the horizon. >> that's nice. turning to the michael jackson case. the final prosecution witness is expected to return to the stand this afternoon, after slamming conrad murray for a second-straight day. >> that's right. the anesthesia expert suggested

murray gave michael jackson so ; much propofol that the drug was still flowing into his body even after his heart had stopped beating. abc's diana alvear has more. good morning, diana. >> reporter: rob and yunji, good morning. it seems prosecutors saved the best witness for last because he ripped apart conrad murray's defense. >> solemnly state -- >> reporter: the final witness for the prosecution could be the most damaging to dr. conrad murray. anesthesiologist, steve shafer said there was no reason murray shouldn't have noticed that michael jackson was in distress. >> he would have seen the slow breathing and the compromise in the flow of air into michael jackson's lungs. and he could easily have just turned off the propofol infusion. and there would have been no injury to michael jackson. >> reporter: shafer said, based on murray's own explanation, jackson must have died while receiving that last dose of propofol. >> if the infusion had stopped while he was still alive, the

levels would have fallen very quickly. and he would not have suffered the arrest. >> reporter: almost as soon as he took the stand, shafer ripped into his colleague's actions. in particular, his regular use of propofol to put jackson to sleep. >> in pharmacological never-never land here -- >> reporter: shafer showed the court a video that showed the proper use of propofol, in a surgical setting, where the patient was never left alone. the defense argued that prosecutors tampered with the evidence when they pulled the handle of an unused bottle of propofol found in jackson's bedroom. the judge allowed it entered into the record. rob? yunji? thank you, diana. we're getting an inside look at the late steve jobs, thanks to a newly authorized biography just hitting shelves. the book is by walter isaacson. and he says jobs gave up christianity at the age of 13 when he saw starving children on the cover of a magazine. it also details jobs' well-known use of lsd.

isaacson also says jobs delayed having surgery for pancreatic cancer for nine months because he wanted to try alternative therapies first. isaacson will have more on his new book in an interview monday morning on "good morning america." nfl running back jerome harrison may not have been happy to be traded from the lions to the eagles. but actually, the move may have saved his life. doctors found a brain tumor during a required physical. espn says harrison is being treated and his long-term prognosis is good. although, he will be out for this season. staying with sports, here adnan virk at espn news with highlights of game two of the world series. >> good morning. a rangers-themed sports update for you this morning. beginning with the texas rangers in game two of the world series in st. louis. bottom of the seventh. no score. runners on the corners. two away. and alexei agano in for cody louis.

and craig delivers again. base hit, for the first run of the game. the dugout fired up for good reason. top of the ninth. rangers on second and third. and josh hamilton. struggling with a sac fly to right off of arthur rhodes. where we're going, we don't need roads. ian kinsler scores to tie it up. next batter, michael young. that's a sac fly. rangers up 2-1. bottom of the ninth. feliz in for the save. and rafael furcal, flying out to right to end the game. the texas rangers come back in the ninth to win it, 2-1. we have ourselves a series. sticking with the rangers. new york rangers, heading north of the border, calgary to take on the flames. early in the first period, derek stepan, finding marian gaborik for the goal. gaborik's fourth of the season. the rangers are up 1-0. still in the first, flames down 2-1. injure jarome iginla finding mark giordano. that was on the p.p. we go to overtime. five seconds to go.

ryan mcdonagh rebound. and he'll knock it in for the game-winning goal. take another look as dan girardi knocks it off the boards. and mcdonough finds the net. the rangers prevail. 3-2, in overtime, as calgary falls to 2-4, on the season. you're up to date for now. and don't forget, for all your highlights, join us for "the highlight express," on espn news. well, public bathrooms can be quite a nightmare. but that's definitely not the case at one chicago museum. >> huh-uh. the field museum just won the 2011 best bathroom competition, scoring big points for its family-friendly nature. there's a big tot area in there with fittingly tiny toilets. and it's eco-friendly. and most importantly, it is cleaned, get this, every hour. look at that place. it's like a palace. >> very nice. >> and there's the throne. coming up next "the pulse." stay with us. i'd race down that hill without a helmet.

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or tried something really wild? why not? it's all possible in the nation of why not. royal caribbean's floating nation where you're free to do anything you want. which may be nothing at all. royal caribbean international. visit royalcaribbean.com today. and welcome back. it is time for "the pulse," the stories that you will be talking about on this friday. there's more drama surrounding, who else? lindsay lohan. >> just a day after the actress was hammered, pun intended, by a judge for violating her probation, she showed up for her first day of community service at a morgue, 40 minutes late. lohan's rep said she didn't know where to go. and she later tweeted an apology. >> lohan was told to try again

today. this time, she has to be there at 7:00, an hour earlier. a nasty twitter feud has broken out between adam levine and fox news. levine tweeted, dear fox news, don't play our music on your evil blanking channel ever again. thank you. >> and anchors fired back on twitter. they said, dear, adam levine, don't make crappy blanking music. so far, levine is taking the high road. he has not answered back. twitter wars, so nasty. take it easy. like the song says. come on, guys. come conservative groups are freezing out a new ben & jerry' balls. it's made of vanilla ice cream and chocolate malt balls. rob is getting too much of a kick out of this. it's one of the most popular editions ever. it was inspired by a "saturday night live" skit. it featured alec baldwin as a

baker named pete shweddy that makes holiday balls. some groups say that's not cool. and they put the heat on supermarkets to take it out of the freezer. >> what flavor was that? what's the name of it? so nervous. >> oh, my goodness. >> i'm not saying that. for some of you, your local news is coming up next. >> for everyone else, we'll be right back with the hero firefighter who made the catch of a lifetime to save a little boy. an amazing story here. "america this morning" continues after the break. don't go far. i tried tissues and neti pot thingy and even more tissues then i said enough! and i found the solution. [ female announcer ] drug-free breathe right nasal strips. i put it on and...wow! instant relief. i breathed better...slept better felt better. [ female announcer ] take the breathe right challenge and breathe better or your money back. [ man ] come on! it's your right to breathe right!

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next, cleanup and get out. protesters brace for a possible confrontation after oakland issues an eviction notice to demonstrators. not rain, but tons of water. overnight accident flooded a san francisco street. nothing like that. we'll have a lot of sun and warming trend. i'll tell you how hot it is going to get this weekend. and finally from us this morning, the veteran firefighters who raced to a burning apartment building in

boston say they have never made so many rescues at a single fire before. >> and for one of boston's bravest, it was the catch of a lifetime, literally. here's abc's john berman with the story. >> reporter: look at that face. did you catch that smile? firefighter glenn mcgilvray caught that, and oh, so much more. it was 1:00 a.m. monday, when a 6-alarm fire devastated 24 apartments in boston. judith lamb lost her home and almost lost her grandson, 6-year-old xavier. as the fire blazed, she held him outside her third-story window with nothing below, nothing but the arms of lieutenant glenn mcgilvray. >> i knew she wasn't going to be able to hold him forever. >> god, don't let this man miss the catch. please don't let him miss the catch. and he fell right into the officer's arm right there. >> reporter: right into the arms of this 22-year veteran. >> it's good to see him smiling and happy. >> reporter: firefighters rescued 15 people that night. what can you say about such

bravery? >> i said thank you. >> that's right. you're most welcome, pal. >> reporter: glenn says he's no hero. he was just doing his job, though, he admits, 22 years on the job, he's never had to make a catch like that. but then, only a catch like that could earn a hug like this. john berman, abc news, new york. >> he may not be a hero. but that little boy's mom, he's a hero. that's what's making news in a hero. that's what's making news in americh@ closed captioning by closed captioning services,inc . good morning. protesters with occupy oakland were told last night they can't stay here any more no camping allows. however, they