statement and what he says is, despite the baseless defense he does believe that in fact jurors reached the right verdict based on the evidence. legal analysts say this all comes down to reasonable doubt. casey anthony began to cry as she heard the verdict. >> as to the charge of first- degree murder, we the jury find the defendant not guilty. >> she broke down hugging her defense team when it was all over. >> i'm happy for her and i want her to be able to grieve and grow and somehow get her life back together. >> it took a jury a little more than 10 hours to acquit anthony of the most serious charges of first-degree murder, manslaughter, and child abuse. then the unanimously decided they didn't want to talk to the media and explained their decision. >> folks lingered outside the courthouse for some time because this was not the outcome most of these people were expecting. when the verdicts were read,

there was an audible gasp. >> that is not right. >> customers at a restaurant near the courthouse had a similar reaction. >> i was just like astounded. i couldn't believe they could be that wrong. i couldn't believe those people could make that decision. >> defense built its case around the argument caylee's death was an accident and she drowned in the family's swimming pool. she tried to hammer away at the credibility. they painted her as a liar and a woman that didn't want to be a mother anymore. >> our evidence did not eliminate every reasonable doubt. >> the jury did convict anthony of lying to the police during the investigation. she'll be back in court thursday for sentencing. she faces a maximum of four years in prison, but could walk away a free woman if the judge rules time served. >> casey anthony's attorney says there are absolutely no winners in this because caylee is dead. now as far as her sentencing on thursday, most legal analysts

say that it is absolutely certain that she will walk free for time served and listen to this, they say that her attorneys could have asked that she be freed pending sentencing and if they had done that, she would be free right now. in orlando, florida, i'm karen brown, back to you. >> karen, florida does allow cameras in the courtroom, as you know, and that only contributed to the big media frenzy surrounding this case. we started to see scenes like this one from back on june 17. folks got into it outside the courthouse just trying to get some of the limited tickets that would let you get to the gallery. joining me now with more on the case, former prosecutor now turned defense attorney, jacob frankel. thanks for coming in. you have been on both sides in the courtroom. if you were a betting man, would you have won or lost? >> i wouldn't have bet. all of the discussion pretrial is just that. you don't get a chance to not only see the evidence that is going to come in during the case, but you also don't get a

chance to feel for how these witnesses are going to play. so i would not have bet on the case at all. >> after you did see it all go down, were you shocked by the verdict and how strong was the prosecution case? >> the prosecution case was built on circumstantial evidence and i believe this jury wanted to convict her because the offense, the whole scenario was heinous. the prosecution built it up, but ultimately the objective of the jury is to be dispassionate, to listen to all the evidence objectively and the only party in that courtroom that has an obligation is the prosecutor and that is to prove every element of every offense beyond a reasonable doubt. >> and obviously the jury did not think that he did that. the defense attorney's lashed out at the top of the show, basically talking about the cable tv talking heads and lawyers who basically convicted the woman a couple years ago before there was a trial.

don't they have a point? >> they do have a point. and at the same time, that's one of the reasons, the judge who tried this case was the senior judge in that district. so you had experienced judge. the jury was from the tampa area, so the judge did everything necessary to assure there could be as impartial of jury as possible. >> they were sequestered, they were kept apart as best they could. did the prosecution do the best they could or as a monday morning quarterback, could they have done things differently? >> without it being in the courtroom, it's hard to make the determination as to whether they did or did not make mistakes. you cannot make the decision about whether they made mistakes based on the verdict. experienced prosecutors know how to put in the best possible case. and you make adjustments during the case. know differently than you do as a defense attorney. the other thing that is important to realize is that

while the most serious offenses in this case resulted in acquittals, which whether people like it or not have to be respected, fact is, the jury did listen to evidence on which they felt she was in fact guilty. >> is it much tougher to convict serious crimes like murder when we are so used to seeing a lot of shows. we have dna, other things that make you know for a fact somebody did it. >> i think there's almost that expectation when you have a heinous crime or what appears to be a heinous crime. when you have the program such as csi and other police shows at the end of an hour, you find out who committed the offense and find out how long they're going to jail. so yes, it does change the calculus. but ultimately, that is very different in the real world. you had real people having to make a decision about somebody's life and all you can really hope for is that they take their charge to listen to the evidence seriously and

going back where we started, you agree or disagree with the outcome. the fact is, they heard the evidence. i think they have to respect their decision. >> we thank you very much for your insight. great stuff. we'll know for you. tonight on cbs, 48 hours will devote an entire show to this trial and you can see casey anthony judgment day tonight 8:00 right here on wusa9. our other big story, lesli johnson's fate on the county council. >> i'm scott broom in upper marlboro where convicted felon, lesli johnson announced her resignation today. a resignation that will not take effect until july 31. lesli johnson who pled guilty thursday to obstruction of justice released a written statement of resignation, saying she would stay in office until the end of the council summer session, not soon enough, said the council after emerging from it closed door meeting. glesktive immediately, district

employees will report directly to the council administrator. >> so she is now stripped of a car, a cell phone, and a staff, but it does appear leslie johnson will be staying in office until at least the end of the month. >> that was scott broom reporting. zach johnson pled guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit extortion last january. he is due to be sentenced in september. an appeals court says they can't force loughner for taking drugs. he was accused of going on that shooting rampage. he killed six people, wounded 13 others, including congresswoman gabrielle giffords. a district judge said doctors in missouri where loughner is being held could drug him since he had become a danger to himself. one of the other victims in that shooting went back to work today. 65-year-old ron barber was shot in the cheek and in the thigh. he works in congresswoman giffords office. the u.s. senate back in

session today after foregoing the traditional july 4 recess. they are working to reach a deal on that debt ceiling. senators are also weighing a resolution on u.s. involvement in libya. >> senator barbra took some time off the hill to announce a plan to help local veterans get and keep their jobs. the federal grant comes from the department of labor and it will help fund the weigh station employment program in frederick. a lot of work to be done in arlington. two days after some violent storms ripped through northern virginia. dominion power is bringing in the heavy equipment trying to help remove some of the fallen trees in north arlington. at the height of the damage, more than 7,000 customers were in the dark. tonight that number is down to less than a thousand. so anny, any storms out there for us tonight? >> not in the d.c. metro area, derek, but if you look out to the east around ocean city, you have some showers out there. but overall, lots of sunshine.

it's going to be a nice night. here's a look at the doppler radar where it's quiet in the immediate dc metro area and the beltway. but look out toward the ocean, we have some showers. right now temperatures in the upper 80s in downtown. 87 in martinsburg. 90 in leesburg. so tonight what can you expect? go outside and have dinner if you want. partly cloudy and mild. and winds will be light. i'll let you know when i come back how you can see the international space station passing through our night sky later tonight. >> thank you anny. the weather could play a big role in the final launch of the space shuttle. a look ahead still out there. first, escalator problems not confined to the metro. a look at where those problems turned deadly. that's up next.

one person is dead and 28 others injured after an escalator incident in beijing. it happened at an exit near the zoo and so far investigators are just saying that escalator malfunctioned. they aren't giving us any other details. the escalator at the metro are back up and running. one of the three of them have been out of service for months as part of the on going modernization project. this morning the other two were broken for hours as well and well, you can see the climb

folks had to make. we checked in with the metro this afternoon about the status of the elevator repairs and as of 6:40 p.m., 512 of the 588 escalators were operating. 76 are down. they're being worked on and 50 are part of long-term projects, the other 26 are daily service calls. still to come, anny is back with a look at the forecast for the rest of the week. and the summer may be sizzling, but are you willing to pay for that sizzle in your frying pan? the news is not good. that's up next.

breaking news now out of fairfax county where it's good news. all the lanes of i-66 are finally back open again. as you probably know, if you live out that way, the westbound lanes were closed for hours this afternoon. a truck carrying hay caught fire between route 123 and route 50. those lanes opened back up just in the last 20 minutes. back now with a consumer alert that could change your breakfast plans. you'll need to bring home more bacon to bring home some bacon. pork belly price is up $230 and they could go as high as $150. quoting one analyst saying that could bring bacon prices to $6 a pound in the next few months. the space shuttle atlantis is due to lift off friday

morning. nasa expressed concerns that the final flight of the shuttle program may not get going as planned. emily schmidt explains. >> kennedy space center is marking time and making history with its final countdown of nasa's space shuttle program. >> we are delighted to be here after a very -- we are happy to be here in florida. >> friday the four member atlantis crew lifts off for 12 days in space. the last of 135 space shuttle missions. so far, all is a go. >> all of our preparations have been completed or are in work and working no issues at this time. >> but florida skies can be fickle and nasa said there may be a weather induced problem that would force a weekend launch. >> primary concern for launch will be showers and thunderstorms developing along the sea breeze as it forms on friday and with that, we have a 60% chance of weather prohibiting launch. >> the crew will take

equipment to the international space station, including an iphone to help with experiments. social media is coming into play, too. >> it's an honor to be able to go there. >> brent is one of 150 twitter users nasa randomly selected to watch the liftoff up close. >> i'll be closer than any other human being except the astronauts. >> he'll share the view via tweets. short messages that will document the beginning of the end of the shuttle's long tradition in space. in washington, emily schmidt. 9news now. >> we have a note that kristin fisher comes from a family of astronauts. she is heading for florida and her live reports will get started thursday at 5:00 p.m. nasa is counting on commercial companies to start bidding on contracts to serve as the international space station and that will also open the door for well, just about any of us who has the money to get into space. >> we want to make space accessible to everyone. i mean that's a revolutionary

change, but it's incredibly exciting and it brings space the possibility of space travel to all americans, which is fantastic. >> people used to say look, it would be impossible to build your own spaceship and your own spaceship company and take people to space. and you know, that's the kind of challenge i love to prove them wrong. >> british businessman says his company is hoping to take tourists into space in the next 18 months. he is one of three companies trying to make space travel as routine as boarding an airplane. probably won't be as cheap, though. so far, in word on what it will cost to be a tourist in space. so do you think space travel is about to become more common even though the space shuttle is going away? if you had the cash, would you buy yourself a ticket? no charge to weigh in with mcginty's mail bag. that address, mailbag@wusa9.com. all right anny. let's talk about the space shuttle and the weather and the space station and all of that. >> the international space station can see it tonight flying across the night sky

from here at 9:12 to 9:21. we're going to see some clouds. so it might be fun to look at. bring the kids outside. 9:12 to 9:21 p.m. here's a look at live doppler 9,000hd where it is lots of sunshine, dry out here in dc. we have a few lone showers and thunderstorms toward the beach. right now around the bethany beach area, you see some blobs of green. those are little showers and cells. now temperature wise, we're going to be nice tonight. it's around 88 degrees in downtown. leesburg 90 degrees. manassas 88. winchester 88 degrees. hagerstown 87 degrees. now this unsettled summer-like pattern does continue. dry and mild tonight. wednesday increasing humidity. late afternoon showers, thunderstorms are possible. thursday looks very similar. now future cast shows us late tonight, maybe a light scattered showers to the south of us that will continue overnight into tomorrow as well. wednesday morning, well mostly cloudy to partly cloudy

conditions, and the river picking up a little light shower or so and then looks like we have a chance for some scattered showers and thunderstorms tomorrow late afternoon and during the evening hours for the entire area. so we'll have to keep our eyes to the sky. the good news is, they aren't expected to be severe. tonight, partly cloudy and mild. low 67 to 75 degrees. winds are going to be light. now tomorrow morning as you're leaving for work, partly to mostly cloudy and mild. slight chance of showers mainly to the south. pack an umbrella just in case. temperatures 60s and 70s. tomorrow afternoon, better chance for some scattered showers and thunderstorms late afternoon, early evening and then warming up to near 90. south winds at 5 to 10. we'll feel the increase in humidity. so around 89 for downtown. leesburg. 93. martinsburg 92. comperland 90. fredericksburg, you're warming up to 91 degrees. thursday is a repeat of

wednesday. scattered showers and thunderstorms. on friday, shower or thunderstorm. temperatures in the upper 80s and then get a burst of heat. at this point, we're on track to seal that heat monday and tuesday. chance of showers and storms all week. >> this is typical. >> very typical. thank you. we'll be back. we want to hear what you think. send your e-mails to mcginty's mail bag. the address, mailbag@wusa9.com. 9news now will be right back.

and don't forget, 9news now is here for you weekday mornings before you head out the door. get all the news, weather, and traffic you need to get things started at 4:25 a.m. in the mail bag tonight, the casey anthony verdict. a jury of her peers found her not guilty this afternoon and for most of you on the facebook page, there was shock and then there was outrage. seth says casey anthony is a sick woman and did not deserve to get off that easy. how can she walk out of that courtroom knowing she murdered her child. she is guilty and knows it. casey you are a soulless person. but at times cooler heads did prevail. if i was on the jury and believe me, i'm glad i wasn't, would have been hard to convict her for murder or abuse, but

she is guilty of lying. can't get the death penalty for that, but she will probably go to jail for as long as the sentencing will allow. caylee is still the victim and that is very sad. >> and then we have this that says it's a shame when mike vick can go to jail for dog fighting and a woman can kill her child and go scott free. this case reminds me of the oj trial and just like back then, folks are outraged because they know the person is guilty. prosecutors will tell you, it's not about what you know, it's about what you can prove. while i'm betting those jurors wanted to do justice for caylee because all of us did, they knew their job was to put their emotions aside and come to a verdict based on the evidence present. despite everybody outside the courthouse and on the internet and on cable, calling for the woman's head. to my mind, this is a great thing about our judicial system, which few of us ever appreciate until perhaps it's one of us that everybody knows

is guilty. our address is mailbag@wusa9.com. that st our report. i'll be back here tonight at 11:00 and tonight, we are working on your sniffles. you think your allergies are only bad in the spring? you might want to think again. why all that sneezing is lasting longer than it used to. that's tonight at 11:00. don't forget, you can log on any time to wusa9.com. have a great evening. we'll see you a bit later. bye bye.

this is "entertainment tonight," the most-watched entertainment news magazine in the world. >> the casey anthony verdict. >> not guilty. >> i'm absolutely shocked by this verdict. >> from kelly cuoco to kim kardashian, what the stars are tweeting today as the mother of two walks and the talk dissolves to tears. >> from blue to beige, kate's 15 dresses and talk of a baby. >> we could see a royal heir by april of next year. >> plus, the other royal wedding. the cake, the first dance, and how the new princess compares to her mother-in-law grace kelly. plus, gweneth paltrow's sexy new poses as she goes through her hairdos.