there's not a fiber of amanda knox. there's not blood of amanda knox.here's not footprints of amanda knox. there's nothing. >> no one questioned rudy guede's guilt. yet, two and a half weeks after amanda's trial ended, guede's sentence was reduced from 30 years to 16, leading some to ask, did he cut a deal? >> there's overwhelming dna evidence along with lots of other physical evidence that points to rudy guede. >> amanda's attorneys appealed the verdict and focused on challenging the dna evidence. >> when the appeals process began, it felt like they had another mountain to climb that right away you could tell that there was a very different tone, and, again, the key decision was whether or not they would allow an independent assessment of the forensic evidence. >> november 24th, 2010. 11 months after the guilty verdict, a second trial is granted. >> the defense presented a very compelling occasion identifying rudy guede as the true killer, based on hard facts and motive. >> rudy guede came to the house. he broke in. he was in the bathroom. he left his

a new plea from amanda knox this morning.he is again declaring her innocence, this time, in her retrial for murder. and even though she isn't the italian courtroom, her words are being heard in the form of a letter. aaron mclaughlin is following the story. erin, what did knox say exactly about the trial and did she explain why she's not there? >> reporter: hi, john, well, amanda knox is not legally required to be in court. and she said that she's afraid to be there, writing, and that she's worried that the prosecution will be able to, in her words, blind the judges. though she did submit this five-page letter written in italian to the judges. when the italian judge treefd he questioned why she was not there to deliver the message in person. he nevertheless read the message out in court. she reasserts her innocence. she said i must repeat, i did not rape, i did not steal, i did not kill meredith. now for six years, questions have swirled around her seemingly erratic behavior and statements that followed meredith kercher's deat

. >>> in italy, amanda knox's defense attorneys making arguments.mitting an e-mail to the court denying involvement, the highest court vacated the indictme indictment. >>> a group of house members wants to sue the president now. >> they are basing the theory that a co equal branch is not doing it's job to hold up laws. house members say given the president's decisions to ignore or ratify laws without going through congress. >> on the other side, counters says the president is doing his job by modifying the laws so they do his work. >> he is showing reasonable judgement and not being a mindless robot. and that is what he is doing here. >> so far, the house resolution has 29 co sponsors signed on. >> thank you for that update. >> the pot thickens. megamillions just shy of the jackpot. while we know the odds are stacked gueagainst us, is that good thing? den nis neil, ryan reese. do you play the lottery and have you bought a ticket yet? >> i get those scratch offs as christmas gifts. which are the worst. it is the only gift that turns into a piece of p

. >> florence italy, the third trial for amanda knox.y were convicted of killing knox's roommate. the constrictiviction overturne appeals court. the appeals court decision was thrown out by italy's highest court. if she -- she is not in italy f this trial. >> the highest paid employee will healearn its fater defrauding taxpayers out of $1 million. federal prosecutors say that john beal avoided doing his real job for more than a decade by telling his bosses that he was an under cover cia agent working in pakistan. he pleaded guilty in september. prosecutors say he should get at least 30 months in prison. >>> scary moments for delta passengers when their flight slides off the runway because of the snow. this happened in madison, wisconsin. >> he skidded off and stopped. you have to look around to realize we are not on the runway any more. >> thankfully none of the 60 people on the flight was injured. >>> extreme weather alert. more snow is on the way. >> it will create quite a mess if you are heading out. >> this storm system is a quick mo

. >>> amanda knox is not attending her murder trial. she found a way to declare her innocence. in a rare move, she said she did not kilmer dith kircher. her defense attorneys read it today. knox wrote she was not in court in person because she was afraid of being wrongly convicted again. knox and her former boyfriend were convicted in the death in 2009. she spent four years behind bars. the case is being retried again after italy's supreme court found inconsistencies in the case. london says they will not reopen the investigation into the death of princess diana and her boyfriend. back in august, they agreed to look into claims that an elite british forces had a hand in the crash that killed diana. they were given access to military records and they say the claim is nots0#@w credible. >>> a wildfire in california's big sur area is only 5% contained. so far, it's destroyed 15 homes including the home of the fire chief. 100 residents have been evacu e evacuated. the blaze burned through 500 acres. some investigators think the fire started from an illegal campfire. the fire caught

amanda knox is in the news. coming up the elf mail she sent the italian court trying her for murder yet again. >>> plus new research on adhd. doctors are releasing new findings how long symptoms can last amid growing controversy what is driving the rising numbers of diagnosis for the condition. we'll take a closer look. jenna: "happening now," a stunning medical announcement from researchers that attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or adhd as you might know it, may be a lifelong condition. according to the centers for disease control, 11% of children in the united states are diagnosed with adhd. almost 30% of them will continue to show symptoms beyond childhood. and another 30% will continue to have symptoms or some sort of impairment. all this comes amid new controversy how many people are being diagnosed with the condition and why and the medications they're given for their kid and maybe for the rest of their lives. dr. charles williams is a trained adolescent psycho therapist. great to have you back on

amanda knox and her boyfriend at the time went to prison for british student meredith kurcher's murdervestigators say somebody slit kurcher's throat in the house in 2007. a jury later acquitted knox and he ex-boyfriend. they're now on trial again in italy, about knox is back home here in the u.s. >>> beyoncÉ is getting heat over one of her songs on her latest album. the nasa astronauts are calling the pop star insensitive and what beyoncÉ is saying in response. that's next. >>> a volcanic eruption has forced thousands of people from their homes in el salvador. locals say they heard a powerful explosion yesterday before plumes of smoke and black ash started spewing from the crater. authorities ordered anybody living within two miles to evacuate. crews have set up shelters for evacuees. at least two people went to hospitals for minor breathing problems. >>> some nasa astronauts and their family say they're outraged with beyoncÉ over a six-second audio clip you're about to hear. it's part of a song on her new album. the audio starts off on a black screen. take a listen. >> flight controll

those words from amanda knox.n e-mail from the former american exchange student was read today by her lawyers in an italian court. knox is not at the trial for fear she'll be convicted for the 2007 murder of meredith kercher. the third trial comes after italy's highest court vacated a ruling throwing out her murdered conviction. >> pope francis shared his 77th birthday celebration with four homeless people today. they were invited to breakfast at the hotel where the pope stayed. the forecast among dozens of people who usually are camped out around st. peters square. the pope invited vat vatican staff to join him at the celebration. >> after an explosion at the apartment complex. it happened in the middle of the night in birmingham. a man and woman have been pulled from the rubble. the man survived, but is in critical condition. they were asleep in a first floor apartment at the time of the blast and the explosion may have been the result of a broken gas line. >>> a wild fire burning near one of california's most p

. >> is amanda knox a whore or a saint. >> i was sexually active.. >> was she guilty in fact or just in the press. >> they haa

. >>> and a passionate plea from amanda knox saying she is is not a psychopath on trial again for thetal death of her roommate. we're live with that story. >>> good morning, everyone. welcome to "early start." i'm john be

amanda knox stating her innocence in an italian court.retrial in the stabbing death of her roommate meredith kercher was not in court. instead the judge read a written statement from knox. in that she said i must repeat to you. i'm nnlt. i did not raid, i did not steal, i did not kill meredith. she said there was no evidence putting her at the crime scene. she returned to the united states after her guilty convict was overturn in 2011 and has not returned to italy since. the white house is sending a message to russia showing its dislike for the country's anti-gay laws. the delegation that will attend the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2014 olympics in sochi, russia, was announced. two of the people chosen are openly gay athletes. billy jean king, the retired tennis player, and kaitlyn, a former olympic ice hockey player. the delegation does not include the president, first lady, or vice president. it is the first time since 2000 a president, former president, first lady or vp has not led a delegation. >>> we're learning new details

and i asked him about that and he said the same thing that amanda knox said to me. together everything. defending myself, losing my wife, losing my family, losing my dreams. i didn't hoe hknow how to react. >> the thing that is have a ordinary about this, too. he may are gained his freedom, but he lost everything. he lost his son, he lost his wife forever. >> 25 disbelief factor. you get in there and you think this doesn't happen in reality. i didn't do this. this happens in the movies and it's happening to him. >> and you'll get to hear tomorrow the things that he says turned it for him. what allowed him -- and it's not as simple. oh, he must have found god. yes, but it's not as simple as that. it's powerful for him, but he is different. i kept asking him were you you always this deep? >> he seems so calm. he seems so unaffected. >> which is very misleading because emotionally, he has been through a journey that i would not wish on anybody. but to hear him tell his story about how he made it through, what changed his case and what would happen with the relationship

. >> amanda knox said quote, i did not kill meredith. bill: a federal judge saying a program to collect your mehta ma is likely unconstitutional. michael mukasey, first meta data is? >> the number that does the calling, the date of the call and the length of the call. it's nothing about the contents of the call or the identity of the person making the call. bill: not my address or the context of the conversation, no key words searched for? >> no words at all, key or otherwise. i have got to tell you richard leon is a fine judge and terrific person. but even great judges and terrific people occasionally make mistakes and he made a mistake. bill: he stayed the order giving the government the chance to appeal. >> that's the responsible thing for a judge to do and that's what he did. bill: he said i cannot imagine a more indiscriminate and arbitrary collection of data or every american citizen without prior judicious approval. such a program infringes on that degree of privacy of the founder enshrined in the fourth amendment. >> i think the

the american amanda knox facing a second appeals trial in italy along with her former italian boyfriend family says the two should be found guilty of kircher's murder. they had been convicted but an appeals court later vacated that ruling. jenna: mega millions jackpot is about to get bigger. prize for tuesday's drawing is a half billion dollars. that's right. $550 million. lottery officials say strong sales over the weekend could easily push that number past last year's record of a jackpot of $656 million. some experts are predicting it could even reach $1 billion. by the way, odds of sitting that jackpot are one in 258 million but as we know, there are winners, jon. it could be you. jon: and the tax man always gets his share. jenna: i'll still take home half for sure. jon: a tragic story. a bride is widowed after only seven hours of marriage. a former army ranger was driving with his new broid to a hotel in brown point, indiana southeast of chicago. this after their wedding reception. the couple stopped to help a teacher whose car had slid off the road. that's when knight and the teach

. >>> in italy attorneys for amanda knox are presenting closing arguments in her murder trial.death of her british roommate, meredith kercher. now she's being retried along with her british ex-boyfriend. prosecutors want them convicted and sentenced to at least 30 years in prison. >>> chris brown's probation has been revoked by a los angeles judge. he's not going to jail, at least not for now. the ruling follows the r&b singer's arrest on assault charges in washington, d.c., in october. the judge ordered brown to remain in anger management and has to complete community service for his 2009 attack on then-girlfriend rihanna. >>> someone else who has legal problems is a woman who drove backwards into a hardware store in massachusetts. several surveillance cameras caught the incident on sunday. the woman behind the wheel said she hit the gas instead of the brakes sending the vehicle in to the store. she is charged with facing negligent operation of the vehicle. she was using a homemade gas pedal extender that they think contributed to the accident. >>> a northern california teen c

. >>> amanda knox once again is declaring her innocence.italian court. the former u.s. exchange student is being tried again for the murder of her roommate back in 2007. her attorney submitted the e-mail as part of her defense. in it she says i didn't kill, i didn't rape, i didn't rob, i didn't plot, i didn't instigate, i didn't kill meredith. a verdict is expected in january. >>> cantor fitzgerald, the new york brokerage firm that lost 658 employees has settled its lawsuit against american airlines. they were seeking $1 billion from the airline, claiming that american was negligent in failing to detect the hijackers that flew the jetliner into the world trade center. american agreed to pay cantor $135 million. >>> a military chopper was brought in here and plucked him out before the train could collapse. the man was petrified. he reportedly only suffered minor injuries. they are concerned about that crane. >> the worst place to be. >> thanks, michaela. >> you're welcome. >> all right. >>> time now for our political gut check. for the first

. >>> and amanda knox trying out twitter.w. >> it's already happening. so my good friend who lives in philadelphia got a puppy for her children. did you get a puppy for christmas? wondering how to train your new four-legged friend? robert is here to help us out here. and these are rambunctious dogs here. a lot of kids are going through this all across america. they have a puppy. how do we train them? one of the first things these puppies will do is chew your shoes and your furniture? how do you get them to stop doing it? >> chewing is a natural behavior. they should be doing it. keep your expectations realistic. on chewing on furniture, having had some really good chew dois like this. people can get sweetky toys and fuzzy toys. these you can put food inside of. i encourage people to feed their dogs entire meals from here. >> is that right? >> yes. if you feed -- you can have a couple of -- you know, at least one meal a day. >> the poor doog is looking for food in the bowl and there's nothing in it. >> but they can sit there a

. >>> in italy, the defense team for american amanda knox began closing arguments today in the retrial of the meredith kercher murder case. in his closing arguments, the prosecution slammed knox for becoming well known because of the case while the victim has fallen into oblivion. this is the third trial of knox. italy's supreme court overturned the acquittals in march, citing inconsistencies in the case. >>> when you go to the airport, you have your stuff? tow. why do you put bait bill? a man places his baby on the table while he is putting his jacket back on, but as the baby is falling you, the officer slides in like an all-star center fielder, making you the catch. his good deed did not go unnoticed. there are reports the security company gave their employee a well-deserved bonus. i think we can all say. that's incredible. >> father might want to chip in on that also. >> destroy that video. yeah. don't let the wife see it on the security tape. don't let the wife see it on the security tape. a lesson for all of us. including long kicks from 53 and 49 yards out. >>> now the forecast.