making news in america this morning -- >> the violent end. after more than 40 years of ruling with an iron fist, moammar gadhafi is dead. how the dictator begged for mercy in hi final moments. and damning testimony. the prosecution rests their case against michael jackson's doctor. why they're 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 life. now, they 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 of the scene. it's a little graphic, as the libyan leader begs rebels not to kill him or his sons. >> that was not 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 leader had been on the run for weeks. the end came at the people who he claim 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. >> i 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 dictator was shot in the head and died on his way to the hospital, but there's confli conflicticonflic conflicting accounts. this man takes credit for the final shot. the shot heard arnold the world. >> this is a momentous day in the history of libya. the dark tyranny has been lifted. and with this enormous promise, the libyan people have a great responsibility. >> reporter: secretary of state, hillary clinton, hitting 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 dreams 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 rein egn ende months ago. now, for libya, the post-gadhafi era begins. rob and yunji? >> it's remarkable to see hillary clinton responding to that 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 reports. by 10:00 a.m., the president got his intelligence briefing, they were 95% certain. then, intelligence reports continue to come in and they were even sure. but they weren't completely close to 100%, until they used facial recognition software, intelligence officials did, to compare current pictures with former pictures. 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 begins to build a democracy. thanks. as john mentioned, the pan am 103 family members are sharing the relief now that gadhafi is dead. judy e verts husband was 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. they can have some of the freedoms we have here in our wonderful country. >> reporter: judy avrid 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 wef seen osama bin laden, and 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 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 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 as very poor. only 40% believe the president's plans will significantly improve the nation's job market. 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 country 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 to use in the future. a lawmaker in ohio is trying to ban private individuals from owning exotic animals. this proposal 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 some of the highest number of injuries and deaths caused by them. two earthquakes have rattled the san francisco area, on the same day that californians conducted an earthquake drill. the biggest of the quakes was centered in berkeley. some in south texas also got a 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 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. 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. coming up, a look at the growing gap between the rich and poor in america. >> stunning number there's. and then, a new biography on apple's steve jobs revealed why he put off surgery that could have extended his life. and all the highlights from baseball's world series coming up. to steal from you. they can open up an account in your name and go on a serious spending spree. do you have cufflinks? mm-hmm. gold ones? [ male announcer ] not on our watch. we're lifelock. go to lifelock.com and learn how our patented billion point database can help protect you. call 1-800-lifelock today. lifelock. relentlessly protecting your identity. call 1-800-lifelock today. the best approach to food is to keep it whole for better nutrition. that's what they do with great grains cereal. they steam and bake the actual whole grain while the other guy's flake is more processed.

mmm. great grains. the whole whole grain cereal. i took some steep risks in my teens. i'd never ride without one now. and since my doctor prescribed lipitor, i won't go without it for my high cholesterol and my risk of heart attack. why kid myself? diet and exercise weren't lowering my cholesterol enough. now i'm eating healthier, exercising more, taking lipitor. numbers don't lie. my cholesterol's stayed down. lipitor is fda approved to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in patients who have heart disease or risk factors for heart disease. it's backed by over 19 years of research. [ female announcer ] lipitor is not for everyone, including people with liver problems and women who are nursing, pregnant or may become pregnant. you need simple blood tests to check for liver problems. tell your doctor if you are taking other medications,

or if you have any muscle pain or weakness. this may be a sign of a rare but serious side effect. [ man ] still love that wind in my face! talk to your doctor. don't kid yourself about the risk of heart attack and stroke. if lipitor's been working for you, stay with it. lipitor may be available for as little as $4 a month with the lipitor co-pay card. terms and conditions apply. learn more at lipitorforyou.com. welcome back, everybody. time for a check of market activity starting overseas. tokyo's nikkei average was off just 3 points today.

hong kong's hang seng is up 41. a 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 snats 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 not an agreement this week. when we come back, how being traded might have saved the life of an nfl football player. and this morning, the twitter feud between a rock star and pop news, that's being fought 140 characters at a time. ♪ ...harvested the same... ♪

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 on to the

rocks. and at least one of them was a total loss, as winds top 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 expected weather-related 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 that murray gave michael jackson so much propofol that the drug was still flowing into his body even after his heart had stopped abc's diana alvear has more. good morning, diana. >> reporter: 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 conrad murray. 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 jury 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 farm logical 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 in jackson's bedroom. the judge allowed it into into the record. 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 isaacson. it also details jobs' well-known use of lsd. isaacson says jobs delayed having surgery for pan creedic 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." 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, the will be out for this season. staying with sports, here adnan virk of espn 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 st. louis. bottom of the seventh. no score. runners on the corners. and alex 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. 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 safe. and raffial 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. first, derek stepan, finding marian gaborik for the goal. gaborik's fourth of the season. the rangers up 1-0. still in the first, flames down 2-1. finding mark giordano. that was on the p.p. we go to overtime. five seconds to go. ryan mcdonagh rebound. and he'll mac 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. 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 tiny toilets. and it's eco-friendly. and it's clean. 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.

i took some steep risks in my teens. i'd never ride without one now. and since my doctor prescribed lipitor, i won't go without it for my high cholesterol and my risk of heart attack. why kid myself? diet and exercise weren't lowering my cholesterol enough. now i'm eating healthier, exercising more, taking lipitor. numbers don't lie. my cholesterol's stayed down. lipitor is fda approved to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in patients who have heart disease or risk factors for heart disease. it's backed by over 19 years of research. [ female announcer ] lipitor is not for everyone, including people with liver problems and women who are nursing, pregnant or may become pregnant. you need simple blood tests to check for liver problems. tell your doctor if you are taking other medications, or if you have any muscle pain or weakness. this may be a sign of a rare but serious side effect. [ man ] still love that wind in my face! talk to your doctor. don't kid yourself about the risk of heart attack and stroke. if lipitor's been working for you, stay with it. lipitor may be available for as little as $4 a month with the lipitor co-pay card. terms and conditions apply. learn more at lipitorforyou.com.

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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 the morgue, 40 minutes late. she said she didn't know where to go. and she tweeted apologies. >> lohan was told to try again today. this time, she has to be there at 7:00, an hour earlier. a nasty feud has broken out between adam levine and fox news. levine tweeted, dear fox news, don't play our music on your channel again. >> and the anchors fired back on

twitter. they said, dear, adam levine, don't make crappy blanking music. levine is taking the high road. he has not answered back. twitter wars, so nasty. take it easy. like the song says. come conservative groups are freezing out a new ben & jerry's ice cream flavor, called schweddy 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. 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 that made the catch of a lifetime to save a little bit boy. an amazing story here. "america this morning" continues after the break. "america this morning" continues after the break. don't go far. was tough. the problem? right here. i couldn't breathe... i couldn't sleep and mornings? rough. 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! we've combined conditioner with a weightless nutri-oil treatment. to give 3x the internal nourishing power of our regular conditioner. new dove daily treatment conditioner. make friends with your hair.

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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. of >> it's 1:00 a.m. when the fire devastated 24

apartments in boston. juddis lost her home and almost lost her grandson. as the fire blazed she held him outside the third story window with nothing below. nothing but the arms of lieutenant. >> please don't let him miss a catch. he fell into the officer's arm. >> right into the arm of this 22 year veteran. >> see smiling and happy. >> firefighters rescue 15 people that night. what you could say about such bravery? >> i said thank you. >> that's right. >> and ben says he's no hero. he was just doing his job. though he admits 22 years on the job, he he never had to make a catch like that. then only a catch like that could earn a hug