abc's legal expert dan abrams will be here to give us the big picture in just a moment. but first, our steve osunsami takes us through the dramatic events of the past 24 hours. >> reporter: troy davis' supporters are still anguished today that their screams for mercy went unanswered. that a man they believe is innocent was killed. and nervous police officers called for reinforcement. >> i think it's tragic that the police officer died but i think it's even more tragic that this man who could be innocent was executed. >> reporter: davis admitted he was there that day in 1989 when someone was trying to steal beer from a homeless man in savannah. offduty police officer mark macphail tried to break up the fight and was shot and killed. overnight, davis declined a sedative and in clear mind, just moment before he was executed, he looked into the eyes of macphail's family and swore he didn't do it. >> to the macphail family he said, of course, "i did not personally kill your son, father and brother." >> reporter: here's the issue -- davis was convicted with no murder weapon, n

supreme court decision and the city of rancho palace estates versus abrams that ruled in these types of lawsuits, t-mobile is not permitted under law of obtaining any monetary damages from the city or any attorneys' fees from the city. and neighbors are willing to pay for the experteds and there are no compelling reason to settle the case and bill sanders can go on at length about the abrams case and there are no compelling policy reasons to settle. claudia wilkins is an intelligent, thoughtful judge with a track record and a willingness to stand up for very powerful vested interests. and perhaps most important of all, the neighbors who have shown up today are unanimous in not wanting the city to settle this case, and of course, you are ultimately the elected representative of these folks. thanks for your time. and please vote to deny these settlement. thank you. supervisor kim: is there any other public comment? we had a motion to convene into closed session and we can do that without opposition. we are asking all members of the public to exit the room at this time. thank you so muc

. >>> we're going to bring in legal analyst, dan abrams, for this. as you heard in elizabeth's report, amanda's father thinks the statement that amanda will deliver on monday will be helpful. she's going to do it in italian. how important is this on monday? >> i think it's going to be powerful. it's going to be emotional. she's going to be humble. she's going to plead for her life. and in tend, i don't think it e's really going to matter. these judges and jurors say they're going to come to a quick deliberation. what does that mean? it means they've probably given each other a pretty good sense of where they're going to go with this. and her own statement probably isn't going to matter. it could hurt her if she said something wrong. if she seems callous. i can't imagine that would happen. so, in the end, despite the fact that it's going to be a theatrical and emotional moment in that courtroom, i don't think it will have a big impact on the case. >> and she will deliver it in italian, showing respect to the court. >> i'm sure it would be easier for h

i want to bring in abc's legal analyst dan abrams. dan, always good to see you. you and i were talking, what was most striking is what he didn't hear from him. >> reporter: that's right. he clearly ensured he wouldn't answer any question about exactly what happened there. his lawyers have told him, the last thing we need is another statement on the record where they can later find discrepancies compared to accounts that you give at a later time. >> and as jeffrey just pointed out, he's no longer running for president of france. but what does the pending civil case have to do with him running down the road? >> reporter: he's going to have to eventually answer some of these questions, in all likelihood. and even if he says that there was nothing done that was illegal or legally improper, it's still going to be this sort of ugly details that could hurt him politically. so, i think that's going to be a big concern for him, is balancing saying the right thing legally and knowing that a lot of that is going to be made public. >> the details we didn't hear today we will

and dan abrams will be here. >> she could be free by the end of the month. the prosecutors could still appeal. a lot happening in that case right now. -i love this card. -with the bankamericard cash rewards credit card, we earn more cash back for the things we buy most. it's 1% cash back everywhere, every time. 2% on groceries. 3% on gas. automatically. no hoops to jump through. that's 1% cash back on oscar. ...tony. oscar! 2% back on whatever she'll eat. 3% back on filling up this baby. [ male announcer ] now get 1-2-3 percent cash back. it's that simple. [ male announcer ] apply online or at a bank of america near you. we're talking 3% back on gas. [ male announcer ] there are snacks. and there are better snacks. quaker chewy, 25% less sugar than the leading sweet snacks, no high fructose corn syrup and the goodness of whole grains. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ vo: a breakfast worth waking up for. enjoy the sausage, egg and cheese croissan'wich today. only at burger king. ♪ ♪ introducing hershey's air delight. experience new light and airy, melty bubbles. made from pure, delic

let's bring in our legal analyst, dan abrams. >> you saw the optimism, there, dan, of deanna knox. you said this is hard to read. you're seeing more signs that amanda may not go free. >> she's got a decent shot that she may go free but there's a lot of factors here. first, the prosecutors asking for a stiffer sentence, life in prison. they're saying there is other evidence in addition to the dna. remember, the supreme court, the highest court of italy could still hear this case. prosecutors could appeal, say we want her to stay in the country while we're pending an appeal here. the appeals court could reduce the sentence, as opposed to s saying, we're going to acquit her. there are all sorts of options here. beyond just simply saying she could be set free. >> lots of cautions there. how much is riding on the final statement? >> i think it becomes very emotional. it will become very personal. it will become very powerful. i don't think it will be the make or break issue. i think, what is the evidence, what do they have to actually convict her on. and most importantly, what do they s

sixteen is just one machine in one branch of the military to take another example the army's abrams tank weighs sixty eight tons and requires two gallons of fuel per mile. all told the united states department of defense burned some three hundred fifty thousand barrels of oil per day making it the world's largest single consumer the defense department uses think somewhat over two thirds of the energy. that the us government. uses it uses them for ships and tanks and planes and heating buildings and a whole host of other things. but probably the largest impact that all the defense effort has is a diversion of intellectual entergy and our monetary resources away from trying to solve an address some of the long term problems. in sea level is also rising and in louisiana we've been losing thirty square miles a year roughly. of land. i mean if the united states were losing that to some foreign power we'd have the military out there defending you. we often ask the question where were you on september eleventh well i remember that very curt because i was in new york and i was there specifically

. >> dan abrams will weigh in on both cases this morning. >>> and look at this video.ids in a cage, surrounded by adults cheering them on. some think it's brutal. others call it barbaric. but we talk to the parents and ask why they approve, which they do. >> it may surprise you what the parents say. that's ahead. >>> but let's get to the crucial closing arguments under way in italy in the appeals trial of amanda knox. the student trying to get her murder conviction overturned and return home here to the u.s. "20/20" co-anchor, elizabeth vargas has covered the case from the very beginning. and joins us again this morning from perugia. >> reporter: good morning, robin. amanda knox seemed more tense than i've seen her. her family have flown in from the united states to support her. she looks thin. her mother says she looks like she hasn't been sleeping. for the first time, people in italy say she could be free within days, after spending four years behind bars for a crime she says she did not commit. amanda knox was led into the courtroom today, looking tense and somber,

the main battle tank, dubbed the "abram", is equipped with enhanced digitized features. in the past, the tank commander and the gunner both had to search for one target. with the new digitized system, the operator can search for targets independently... so it's like having another set of eyes. the us troops who operate these tanks say it's like having the same platform with new and improved features... speeding up the ability to acquire targets. english "the difference between the m1a1 and the m1a2 is decreased acquisition time and allows us to engage and destroy targets sooner." meanwhile, the commander of the us forces in korea, general james thurman also gave a welcoming speech. he said it was important for the rok-us alliance to demonstrate deterrance and contribute to combat readiness... for continued peace in south korea. the rok troops also experienced this improvement while training with the new tanks. korean "the biggest difference is the digital equipment, which takes the video and audio of each of the officers during operations. this allows easy post-analysis.

dan abrams and nancy grace to break down the extraordinary footage from the courtroom. >>> and the ex-files. brad pitt opens up about life with ex-wife jennifer aniston. his scathing words about their marriage, and candidly revealing his real thoughts about life with angelina. >>> it's friday, baby. >> a little friday mix. >> woo. george is taking a little time off. we have josh here by our side. >>> so much reaction from the story we did yesterday with dr. besser and dr. oz, about apple juice and arsenic. dr. oz raising questions about level levels of arsenic in this drink that millions of parents give to children. and dr. besser told dr. oz he was being, quote, irresponsible. but they talked again. and we'll check in on where they agree and disagree. people just want to know what they should do. >> certainly looking forward to that. >>> and charlie sheen back on tv last night. talking about dating. how he really feels about being fired from his hit show. and what advice he has for ashton kutcher, the man who replaced him. and how he wants to hug things out. a kinder, gentler charlie sheen

abbie, thank you. >>> dan abrams is back to weigh in on this.'t think many of us are surprised the judge ruled because of the investigation. >> yeah. it's a really big deal to take children away from biological parents and give it to the maternal grandparents. it has to be a big burden here they had to overcome. so, you have the combination, not just of the noose and creepy posters in the house and the naked man walking around. but i think the key factor is that the authorities are now saying that josh powell is now subject to that same investigation that his father's part of, with all these allegations of voyerism and child pornography that the authorities are saying, at least for now, let's leave them with the grandparents. >> and we know the boys are now 4 and 6. they're with the grandparents. until at least november 15th. that's when they will be back in court again. what are the chances that he will get his kids back? >> i think he's going to have to sort of get himself cleared from this investigation into the child pornography, before they

. >>> let's bring in our legal analyst, dan abrams.llance tapes, fascinating to watch. but what do they really change? >> not a whole lot as to what we know right now. we have a little bit of a tighter timeline now, because the last time they are now seen together. we know, 4:00, walking towards the beach. again, that's something a fisherman said also. but this corroborates that account. and then you have him just after 6:00 where she's disappeared. of course, the question is going to be, what could he have done in that two-hour period, even if he did kill her? so, the authorities are going to be looking very carefully at that timeline. >> and they'll look very carefully also at his demeanor. one of the things that matt talked about, giordano doesn't look frenzied in any way. >> that's the sort of thing that will matter a lot more in the investigation. the investigative phase, for example at a trial. the authorities want to learn as much as they can about gary giordano. what would he have done? how would he have behaved in these situat

i'm talking about casey abrams. dr. sanjay gupta met up with this star to talk about his condition.re is this week's "the human factor." >> you may remember casey on "american idol." >> i was just studying music in college. i was getting stomach cramps, carrying my bass from one side of the campus to another wore me out. hi no energy. >> he was diagnosed with inflammatory bowl disease. it can destroy the lining of the intestines and increase your chance of colon cancer. >> to be honest, it was a kick in the butt. >> but casey was not about to let it get in the way of his musical career. >> it got worse and i felt like hi to keep fighting and fighting. i felt like the little engine that could. >> the top 24, that is, on "american idol." it was a dream come true but his fight wasn't over. just days before his first television performance. casey was rushed to the hospital. >> i'm out of the competition. that's all i'm thinking. the disease has won. and i'm defeated. >> but casey returned and he returned to the show working his way, all the way up to the top six. abrams is still working

and admiral johnson and general mccain and abrams and the observation that are we so stupid? talking afghanistan are we really that stupid? [laughter] >> it is a good question. but somehow talking about fear and gilts and there is nothing wrong with the brains of the ambassadors but it is something to do with the culture this is where i want to be pretentious but inouye if you are a commanding general there is a limit. in fact, i have enormous respect and admiration for general eikenberry who was the ambassador to afghanistan but as soon as he began to criticize now he criticizes the strategy now we will start whispering maybe he is not up to it. not because they are not good and what will prove to be correct in 20 years but as soon as you say this, something about our structure means your immediate the discredited. it is not a question of intelligence. they are phenomenal. general petraeus can talk you up 75 ways with the statistics, analogies, examp les, why this is working. but the problem is he is in a role where that is the view. i don't know what to do as the public for

elliot abrams held top foreign policy positions under presidents reagan and george w. bush.teaches at columbia university. brett stevens is the foreign body affairs columnist for the wall street journal. welcome. rashid, what is the strategy here that the palestinians hope to accomplish because the u.s. is going to veto any kind of palestinian statehood and the security council is the only place where they can get it. so what's the point of going through this exercise? >> it's true that there will not be a palestinian state member of the united nations because of the u.s. veto if they go for that. i don't think it's clear what their strategy is. it may be changing. they are under enormous pressure not to go ahead. i should say that nothing they do will change the reality on the ground. the occupation will continue, settlement will continue. the united states will be an obstacle to any sound, peaceful, just resolution of the conflict. but it may change the diplomatic atmosphere. i think this may be the most important result. it is going to lead to severe sanctions against the

thank you very much. >>> we'll have "gma" legal analyst, dan abrams weigh in.port. emotional testimony. you said calling to the stand, there's a strategy in that. >> absolutely. the prosecutors are trying to show this is not a woman who was thinking about suicide. she was talking about the future. she was talking about mundane matters. that's one of the most important things for the prosecution to do right now. they believe they have the science on their side. they have his own words. they have this gun powder evidence that demonstrates that the gun was shot from at least 18 inches away. now, they want to make sure these jurors don't think this is someone who was actively thinking about suicide. >> we heard -- we didn't see but we heard in ashley's report. bob ward you heard him slam his fist. and his daughter's reaction she broke down. how do you think that plays with the jurors? >> we didn't see it on camera. but it can't help. the last thing bob ward wants is these jurors think he's capable of an outburst. of something horrible. or doing something like that.

today, sanjay profiles casey abrams, many of you know him from american eye do his medical strugglesped his musical career, even before it got struggled. >> reporter: you may remember casey abrams as the jazzy fan favorite from season ten of american idol. what you may not know is casey had to overcome a person a.m. battle of his own. >> i was just studying music at clem, i was getting stomach cramps, you know, just carrying my bass from one side of campus to the other, just warming up. i had no energy. energy. >> reporter: at 19 diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease, ibd, a condition that can destroy the lining of intestines and increase your risk of colon cancer. >> to be honest, it was a kick in the butt. >> reporter: casey wasn't about to let the die sease to get in e way of his musical aspirations. >> it got worse. i felt like i had to keep fighting and keep fighting. i think i can, i think i can. i got to the top. >> reporter: the top 24, that is, on "american idol." it was a dream come true but his fight wasn't over. just days before his first television performance the di

. >>> let's bring in "gma" legal analyst, dan abrams for more.es are trying to figure out if this was random. that's a long shot, huh? >> probably. there might be a crazy person putting a bomb on a car. but unlikely. they're going to look at this as a targeted attack. they're going to look at his personal and professional life. when it comes to professional life, they're going to want to know who his former clients are, who his current clients are. what are the most controversial cases. people -- he's a lawyer. maybe he was targeted by someone he had a case against. >> clients at first. somewhere than likely someone he went up against and defeated. >> that's possible. i think they will also be looking very closely at his own clients. you can have disgruntled clients, et cetera. >> but this is relatively unusual, right? we've seen these kinds of cases before. you've seen judges targeted. to have a lawyer targeted a little bit different. >> yeah. you have prosecutors who tend to be threatened a lot. and judges who are threatened a lot. very differe

but there have been other times, like when john mccain was investigating the abram off scandal, people political and i think it benefited him. the less sort of overtly partisan you are probably the better off you'll be if you're a member of congress on this. >> jim, how damaging do you think the e-mails are? >> i think it's too soon to tell. i agree with paul on that. i think it puts a lot of pressure on senate democrats to look into this as well. they don't want to come across as if they're trying to give the white house a pass or cover up this. i think this also provides a real opportunity for republicans and republican presidential candidates to contrast themselves with the president in the sense that they believe in empowering the private sector and this is a clear example of president obama's administration empowering the government to make decisions. you heard jay carney say it. and i think the response to jay carney is the government shouldn't be in the business of the private sector. that's not what government is for. i think that's a real political headache. if not, as things

. >>> let's bring in dan abrams, our legal analyst right now. there's a motive for murder.na is on the gun. and you have the detail of the shot being a foot away. so this would be some strong points in favor of the prosecution. >> and his own statements, of course. initially saying it was an accident, but he did it. so, i think all of that together, , esents a pretty compelling case. the defense is going to focus on the drugs in her system. the defense is going to say, "a," she was taking more drugs than an ordinary person would have. therefore, she was trying to commit suicide. and they're going to go on reasonable doubt. >> we've heard that before. >> we have. we have. when you have something like drugs in her system, you a defense that focuses on the possibility of a suicide, you're pointing towards the defense saying you can't prove beyond a reasonable doubt this was murder. >> how do the surveillance tapes of bob ward's behavior in prison play in all this? >> they make it look odd. they make it look bad. but i don't think it's going to be that significant, in terms of

. >> let's get dan abrams to weigh in. get you convicted. >> i think this will make the investigators that much more frustrated. they're going the say, gosh, we know this is the guy. we're so convinced of it. yet, they don't seem to have enough. i think at this point, they have enough evidence to convict him in the court of public opinion but probably not in the court of law. most people will look at this and say, i don't buy this guy's story. >> it did appear staged. >> oh, yeah. you have the possibility he may have been casing it the day before. so all of these pieces together are going to lead investigators to become more convinced in their own minds that they have the e ght guy. >> they're going to have a real tough call at the end of this next 60-day period. >> they're going to want to hold him. after another 60 days, what will they be able to find? can they find a body? >> let's talk about the walgreens case. wrongful termination lawsuit from the pharmacist. it would seem common sense. you have a permit to carry the

let's bring in legal lift dan abrams a a ask if that's a possible. >> sure it's a possibility.lly fighting an uphill battle because the judge already ruled. look, the investigators have to be getting a little bit nervous. they've now asked for one detention period. they've now asked for another detention period. as matt points out, they're waiting for more evidence, they're begging the public to help them with additional details that they are still missing in connection with this case. >> it gets harder to keep them in jail. doesn't the standard get tououer than what they have to -- >> absolutely. to hold them for 60 day, it got harder than it was to hold them for the first 16-day period. if they want to hold them after 60 it's harder after that. >> let's talk about the documents. what do you think? >> it's amazing to look how cavalier he is, when talking to claims representatives from american express. he's lecturing them on whether they should be accepting faxes and starts advising them how american express ougug to do their business which is astonishing, when you're thinking

. >>> we're going to bring in legal analyst dan abrams in the studio with me.rmer counsel for michael jackson, is mark geragos, joining us from los angeles. good morning to you both. we heard in jim's report that the children are not expected to take the stand. are you surprised by that? and do you expect to see any of the jacksons on the stand? >> i actually disagree with the report. i think if the prosecution doesn't call one of the kids that the defense probably will. they're listed on the list -- the witness list. i don't think it's -- would be a surprise to me, at least, to see one or more of those kids testify because i think there's going to be a recalculation based on some of these rulings that the judge is making that the defense is going to have to scramble and some way get in the information that they're trying to get in through the back door. they may have to go in through the front door with one of the kids. >> it's always a risk, calling the kids. first of all, you don't know exactly what they're going to say. they're kids. and second of all, whoe

. >>> all right, we're going bring in legal analyst dan abrams.w kenny ortega on the stand. >> he doesn't talk about the actual death itself. but when you're talking about gross negligence or recklessness, the standard is so undefined that hearing from someone like ortega, talk about the fact that he had gone to dr. murray and warned him about the situation. dr. murray blows him off. i do think that becomes very important in a case like this. >> what stood out to you most in the opening statements? >> from the prosecution, the amount of propofol. hundreds and hundreds of bottles of propofol. again, this is a drug that's not supposed to be administered for sleep. from the defense, on the other hand, i was struck by the fact they're taking a very aggressive position. they're saying, he didn't die from the propofol. he died when dr. murray stopped giving him propofol. >> isn't that risky? >> that is a little risky. their take is he was try ing to wean him off of propofol. and in essence, jackson was trying to prevent dr. murray from doing it. but to

-made abrams tanks. what is our position on that at this point? is this provisional government attempting to buy tanks? what stage do we deem there is a government that ought to be involved until defense spending of their own and getting armaments from us? >> there is a transitional government in place. as you know, senator, i'm not aware of that particular request from the egyptians. we have a very -- my understanding is we have a very clear process for any arms sales and that is something that we would consult with the congress about. and i would be glad to ask the state department to provide you with an updated brief on that particular question. >> thank you very much. >> senator menendez. >> thank you, mr. chairman, ms. sherman, thank you very much for your long service to our country. i appreciate it and look forward to your role now again at the state department. there's two lines of many questions i would like to ask you, but two i'll have within my six minutes. one is libya. i welcome the political change in libya. to bring about the aspir