here to bellefonte, about 15 minutes from penn state. prosecutors will use the grand jury report along with witness and testimony from alleged victims to lay out their case, trying to show a judge that there is enough evidence against sandusky to move forward and go to trial. of course, sandusky's lawyer said that they will challenge aggressively the credibility of some of these accusers. we are expected to hear from some of them. there are ten alleged victims in the grand jury report. but we don't know how many will testify today. we are hearing maybe a handful. and many of them are believed to be adults at this time. but the courts and the media are keeping their names -- not revealing their names at this time. that gives the alleged victims the option to either speak out publicly after their testimony today or keep their identities private. lynn? >> michelle franzen there for us in bellefonte, pennsylvania. thank you, michelle. >>> now here's your first look at some of the other news going on around america today. a virginia christmas

susan candiotti in bellefonte, pennsylvania.closely. >>> and cnn legal contributor paul cowen. you've been following the story. tell me about this hearing. how unusual is the hearing and how unusual for the victims to face-off with sandusky in court? this isn't the trial. 234is is to determine if there will be a trial? >> no, not a trial bought very, very unusual hearing and i think a gut-wrenching day for those in court watching this and even people at home listening to the details. >> could this go on past a day? >> could go on, could be today, could go into tomorrow. a lot of jurisdictions something like this would go on for over a week. we're talking about potentially eight to ten victims testifying. we're talking about other witness whose could be testifying, but this is called a preliminary hearing. most states in the united states don't even conduct these things a anymore. what it is, basically the judge is taking a snapshot of the case. just looking for a bare outline of testimony to democrat if there's enough evidence t

stunning turn of events here in bellefonte pennsylvania. i had just sat down inside the over flow courtroom that was just over here on the corner in the courthouse an next an area they had set aside -- annex an area they had set aside as i sat down, the judge walked in said are there any preliminary mappers to discuss. -- matters to discuss. sandusky's attorney walked up to the bench and it only took a second they came and sat down and the judge said mr. sandusky has agreed to waive his preliminary hearing a groan went up inside the over flow courtroom everyone knew there would be no testimony at all. in fact we learned from one of the torns of the victims, they knew about this last night witnesses were never brought here to the courthouse. let's play a little bit of a remark from the senior deputy attorney general who came outside and spoke to the media, explaining what this means for his case. >> helps prosecution in a lot of ways, and, frankly, in addition to the technical prosecution in the case, again, i want to emphasize, what it woul

we're live in bellefonte, pennsylvania. mike? >> chris, what about the people expected to show up to support sandusky, his wife has recently made a public comment supporting him. are there expected to be others in the courtroom on his side? >> reporter: well, we know that both obviously jerry sandusky and his wife, dottie, they maintain his innocence. dottie sandusky helped put up the bail that brought in a $50,000 check just a few days ago to get her husband out on a quarter million dollars bail. it is unknown if she will be in the courtroom today. mike? >> thank you, chris knowles live in bell front, pennsylvania. our bruce leshan is also there. he will be covering today's hearing. the only local television reporter with a seat inside the courtroom. he'll have live updates for us tonight beginning at 5:00. you can also follow developments all day long on wusa9.com. >>> it is 6:20. next in sports, a basketball thriller at howard and a dud on monday night football. >> it is time before our break to check on the question of the mo

we have live pictures from bellefonte, pennsylvania. sandusky's decision to waive his preliminary hearing means that prosecutors can move forward toward trying him on charges of child sexual abuse. he is charged with more than 50 counts involving 10 boys he met through the children's charity he founded. the accusers are adults. some were expected to testify at today's preliminary hearing. sandusky has denied those allegations. >>> you could soon be able to cycle into the city. what it's going to take to get a bike lane on the bay bridge. >> plus, the new year could mean a cut in your paycheck. why president obama is vowing to veto a tax cut measure. >>> and a cloud of controversy over the towers. the eerie resemblance and the call to scrap it altogether. ,, can now be enjoyed in your coffee only international delight puts the real flavours from your favourite treats inside get selsun blue for itchy dry scalp. strong itch-fighters target scalp itch while 5 moisturizers leave hair healthy. selsun blue. got a clue? get the blue. jobless be

>> thank you very much, bruce leshan reporting live from bellefonte, pennsylvania. we want to let you know that bruce is the only local television reporter with a seat inside the courtroom. so, he will have live updates for us throughout the day. of course, beginning at 5:00 p.m. you can also follow the developments by going to our web site at wusa9.com. >>> montgomery county rescue crews are on the scene of a trench rescue. authorities say that a ride on bus hit a construction barrel and knocked a worker into a 16- foot ditch. this happened a short while ago, a mid county highway and washington grove lane in redland, maryland. authorities say the man suffered serious but nonlife- threatening injuries. >>> the virginia woman carjacked at gunpoint by ross ashley, the day before thursday's deadly shooting at virginia tech is now speaking out. joyce bennett rented an apartment to ross ashley. she said that he was never a problem until he walked into her office last wednesday, armed with a gun and demanded her car keys. >> he comes up to my desk right here and he says h

that's the live from bellefonte, pennsylvania. i'm manuel gallegus. back to you. >> manuel, a question from san francisco. what is motivating the victims? is it the justice, they want to see this guy behind bars, or are this going to be a number of civil suits? is it money? >> reporter: well, it could be money, frank. that's certainly a possibility. there are civil attorneys involved with the accusers already. and the defense attorney for jerry sandusky suggested today that many of them could be motivated by money or some of them could be. he is curious to know if the accusers have talked together privately. then of course if you talk to their attorneys, they say their clients are legitimate and disturbed and credible by -- disturbed by what's happened. >> is there a statute of limitations? some of this happened years ago. >> reporter: we're still within that. if you saw in the other case in syracuse, for example, the statute had run out. but here, they are in the thick of it. so as this goes to trial, that shouldn't be an issue. these men are still y

all this happening in the small town of bellefont. tahman bradley has details. >> reporter: today, for the first time, former penn state coach jerry sandusky faces his accuser. some will explain under oath how sandusky molested them. ben an degree yoz si says his client is eager to take the stand. but the large number of press in attendance will not make it easy. >> i know it's going to be uncomfortable. but he's ready to go forward. >> any victim that goes forward with these types of cases is incredibly brave. but they have to face the person they're accusing. >> reporter: in what could be a setback for the prosecution, one of the key witnesses in the case, penn state assistant coach mike mcqueary is being called into question. mcqueary says he witnessed sandusky raping a 10-year-old boy in the team showers in 2002. and that he told head coach, joe paterno, and penn state officials about it. now, a local paper says, a mcqueary family friend says he told the grand jury that he spoke with him on the night of the alleged incident. and m

michael isikoff, nbc news, bellefonte, pennsylvania. >>> up here next tonight, there's something you should know about those plans to cut back at the post office. >>> and a plan to do something about the volume of what you're about to see, commercials on television. >>> about those postal service budget cuts that are supposed to cut back on our mail service and slow it down a bit, well there's been a delay placed on the planned closing of those 252 regional sorting centers. now delayed until may while senate democrats try to pass the funding to save them. >>> and they say it doesn't happen officially, but it happens and we've all heard them and complained about them. the television commercials that air at a higher volume than what you're currently watching on television. the fcc is acting on it, putting out an order to crack down on it. it will go into effect a year from now. by the way, speaking of polling, a recent harris poll says 86% of the viewers find the commercials louder than the programs. and the feds over the years have received thousands of complaints about it. >>> now to

ines ferre for cbs news, bellefonte, pennsylvania. >> sandusky would be supervised from any contact with minors. >>> prosecutors cannot bring charges against a former syracuse university basketball coach of sex abuse. two former ball boys say bernie fine sexually molested them when they were teenagers but the crimes happened too long ago for fine to be charged in those cases. the d.a.'s office is also angry that an audiotape, one of the accusers recorded years doesn't with his wife never were brought to the proper authorities. on tape, fine's wife acknowledged her husband's alleged sexual abuse when she was speaking with hundred of his accusers. the university fired fine last month after the 2002 tape surfaced, fine is still denying the allegations. >>> after 30 years of legal battles, the philadelphia district attorney says his office will no longer pursue the death penalty against jamal. the former black panther was convicted of killing a white philadelphia police officer in 1981. he was originally sentenced to death but a federal appeals court ordered a new sentencing hearing after de

manuel gallegus, cbs news, bellefonte, pennsylvania. >>> the hearing could extend into tomorrow, depending on the testimony. cameras will not be allowed into the courtroom but reporters will be allowed to electronically transmit information about what's going on in real time. >>> a shooting suspect is dead after police involve shooting in northeast d.c. just before 7:00 last night, police got 911 calls about a man randomly firing a gun in the 5300 block of plate terrace. they ordered the man to drop his weapon. he refused then as many as four officers opened fire. the suspect was taken to the hospital. that's where he later died. investigators believe he was high on pcp at the time of the shooting. >>> a husband, a father and iraq war veteran and a die hard pittsburgh steelers fan is how family friends remembered officer deriek crouse. hundreds gathered on the virginia tech campus in blacksburg for officer crouse's funeral. he was making a traffic stop last thursday when police say 22-year-old ross ashley walked up to his cruiser and shot him to death. ashley then killed himself. crouse is

jim avila, abc news, bellefonte, pennsylvania. >>> there's a new development in the sex scandal at syracuse university, as well. two men who claim assistant basketball coach bernie fine molested them repeatedly when they were young are now suing the school and head coach, jim boeheim, for defamation. the abuse claims are credible. but that is too late to prosecute. >>> a california utility is taking blame for a horrific pipeline explosion and says it will compensate victims. the blast destroyed dozens of homes in san bruno. pacific gas was due in court on friday for 90 civil suits in the case. the company hopes to settle before going to trial next july. >>> arizona is getting a break in the weather today, after a storm there left some areas covered by more than two feet of snow. plows were on the move in flagstaff, trying to clear 15 inches of snow that shut down the city's public schools. and more good news for skiers. more snow may be on tap for the weekend. >>> and that storm is moving east, bringing gusty winds, hail, and thunderstorms across san antonio, dallas and southern oklahoma. r

armen keteyian is in bellefonte, pennsylvania tonight. armen? >> reporter: good evening, scott. today was the first time we expected to hear from several alleged victims in the case, emotional testimony due to last all day. instead, we got a very different kind of drama. within minutes of judge robert scott calling the court to order, sandusky's attorney waived his clients' right to the hearing, triggering audible gasps inside a packed courtroom. the 67-year-old sandusky entered the county courthouse under heavy guard. he'll now be formally arraigned on january 11 where he is expected to plead not guilty to 52 counts related to child sex abuse involving ten boys over a span of 15 years. as he walked out of court today, he used a football reference to professor his innocence. >> reporter: prosecutor mark costanzo told reporters the state was ready to make its case, but the decision did spare the witnesses set to testify from reliving their ordeal in public-- for now. >> they will, of course, testify at trial in the case. they've shown great strength and they were more than ready

>> armen keteyian in bellefonte, pennsylvania, thanks. joining is is mike bon, the attorney for what is known as victim number one. what was your client's reaction yesterday? >> his reaction is mixed. he is a young man, 18 years old and felt a great sense of relief that he would not have to face more than 200 people in the courtroom and tell a very lorid story about what happened to him at the hands of jerry sandusky. at the same time, he was very angry. the lead prosecutor to testify and got himself psyched up to do just that and was really angry that after being so well prepared, he was denied the opportunity and the potential cathartic relief that comes with it and was angry he didn't have the chance to do so. >> he is still prepared to do that at trial? >> oh, sure, absolutely. >> joe amendola raised the possibility there was collusion between some of the victims here. what is your reaction to that? >> i was extremely offended by that remark. if mr. amendola wants to become a fact witness in the case, then he should stop representing

this is in bellefonte, pennsylvania. sandusky, the former assistant football coach at penn state university, is charged with more than 50 counts of child sexual abuse there. they involve 10 boys he met through the children's charity that he founded back in the '70s. the accusers are now adults and some will testify at today's preliminary hearing. >> he is going to have to sit in a courtroom with a couple of hundred people -- i understand it's going to be filled to capacity -- including members of his family and friends, who are going to listen to some of these young men say horrific things occurred between them and jerry. >> sandusky has denied all the allegations. the hearing could potentially extend into tomorrow. >>> a suspended basketball player who was involved in an on-court brawl broke down in tears during his apology. you might have seen the video. the man from the university of cincinnati punched a player from xavier leaving him with blood streaming from his eye. yesterday, gates apologized and he thanked the sc

sara ganim is a reporter for "patriot news" and she's with us from bellefonte, pennsylvania. why did sandusky decide to wave his right? did he not want to be in the courtroom confronting some of his accusers? >> reporter: john, that's exactly what his attorney said afterwards. after he decided to waive. it was remarkable that in court we were only there about 30 seconds for actual court, you know, testimony. it wasn't even testimony, it was just a couple of seconds for him to say i'm going to waive. but what happened afterwards behind me, joe amendola came down on the courthouse steps and talked to the media for almost three hours, first an hour as a group, then individually for another two hours, and basically laid out his entire case and said, you know, it would have been one-sided in the courtroom because the alleges victims and witnesses would have testified and they don't really have that much of a chance to cross-examine and attack credibility and things you could do at trial. here, you know you kind of got exactly what he wanted, he got that stage to present his entire

in bellefonte, pennsylvania, outside the tiny courthouse where jerry sandusky will face his accusers,struggling to come to grips with what has happened here. >> the reputation of people from the whole area is affected by this kind of action. so it makes everyone unhappy. >> reporter: prosecutors could call most if not all of the alleged victims. and watching from the defense table, the man they accuse of unspeakable crimes. ten boys, now young men, have accused sandusky of a variety of sexual offenses including rape. one claims he was victimized repeatedly, when he was 12 years old. >> it will be more of an adversarial process for him. i know it will be uncomfortable. but he is ready to go forward. >> reporter: sandusky admits having contact with young boys, but he told "the new york times" it was never improper. >> if i say no, i'm not attracted to boys, that's not the truth because i'm attracted to young people, boys, girls. >> reporter: a local newspaper here is reporting that assistant coach, mike mcqueary, confided in a family friend that he never actually saw sandusky violating

abc's scott goldberg is in bellefont, pennsylvania. reporter: some of sandusky's accusers cam to this courthouse ready to tell their stories while he sat in the same room. but the former coach backed away. then his lawyer went on the attack. in the end, jerry sandusky and his legal team decided there wasn't much good that could come out of a preliminary hearing. so the former coach waived his right to hear his accusers in person. >> we fully intend to put together the best possible defense that we can do. to stay the course and fight for four quarters. >> his lawyer called it a tactical decision to avoid listening to as many as ten young men describe how they say sandusky abused them when they were boys while the defense wouldn't have a chance to call its own witnesses. >> i think realistically -- all that would have reaffirmed what you think. >> reporter: joe amendola said his client pleading not guilty will waive his appearance at the arraignment. and take the case directly to trial. >> this is a fight to the death. >> reporter: amen

armann katain is at the courthouse in bellefonte, pennsylvania. >> reporter: the purpose of today's hearing is rather simple, for the judge to determine that there is probable cause that a crime has been committed. a decision will almost certainly come by tend of the day. jerry sandusky is expected to show up at the hearing with his wife of 45 years, dottie, at side, along with other family members. his attorney said sandusky is, quote, dreading the experience. >> he isn't looking forward to it, his wife isn't looking forward to it, his kids aren't looking forward to it, but it's a necessary part of the process because squarery maintains he's innocent. >> cbs news has learned at least foovt of the accusers will testify. one of those victims will be questioned about a shower incident with sandusky that sparked an investigation in 1998. howard janet representatives victim number six. >> can anybody ever be ready to testify in a public setting when the subject matter involves something as personal as sexual abuse? he's as ready as anybody can be. >> cbs has learned former penn state coach mike

anna werner, cbs news, bellefonte, pennsylvania. >> joining us is beth karras who is a correspondentor "in session" on trtrutv. if for the sake of this conversation, if mrs. sandusky knew what is happening, could she face charges as well? >> if she knew, yes. but that's a big question. what we know right now based on the two grand jury presentments or reports there is not enough evidence but if one of the accusers said they told her what was happening and saw her in the room and she walked away, there is evidence, if it's credible that she knew and she could be charged. >> she has been very quiet. why do you think she is speaking out now? >> i think because victim number nine, that accuser, has actually almost implicated her saying i knew she was in the house, i'm screaming for help. he says he was being raped at the time. he believed she was in the house and she didn't come to help and she rarely came to the basement and he had almost no contact with her whenever he came to the according to his testimony. if believed, that raises questions. we in the public and media are raising que

strategy to put your client under the kind of stress he's put his client under in terms of all of bellefonte, pennsylvania, being filled with attorneys and press. that, alone, had to be difficult for his client. i don't have a whole lot of sympathy for sandusky. on the other hand, this is a bit of a circus for anyone to have to go through. >> just real quickly, marcie, have you had a chance to tell your client about what happened? >> no, this has happened so quickly. i have to call him as soon as we're done. >> thank you very much for joining us. so, again, certainly some sense of relief in a way for some of these alleged victims. but on the other hand, many of them have been looking forward to this day. >> jason and susan, thanks so much. thanks for rolling so quickly with us as this all happened. pretty unpexected for all of us. paul callan, too, former defense attorney and prosecutor also one of our legal contributors and, paul y was listening to what you had to say when this all went down and you, in a way, understand this strategy because you said basically it would have been a day for

nbc's national investigative correspondent michael isikoff is at the courthouse in bellefonte, pennsylvania. michael, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. a little more than a month after prosecutors first charged jerry sandusky with repeatedly abusing young boys, they're planning to lay out new details of their case today in what is expected to be a grueling, all-day hearing in this local courtroom. it's a classic courtroom confrontation, jerry sandusky faces his accusers for the first time since being charged. prosecutors need to show they have enough evidence to bring sandusky to trial. and nbc news has learned they plan to start out today with one of their strongest witnesses, a man identified in a grand jury report as victim 4, who says sandusky repeatedly forced him in to sexual encounters, including a penn state visit to the alamo bowl in san antonio, texas. >> priority number one for my client, and i presume for the other victims in this case, is to do what's right, and that's to put mr. sandusky in bars and to make sure that he's in jail for the rest of his life. >

he wanted to try the case before the national and international press corps on the steps of the bellefonteo intention, in my view, of ever having this preliminary hearing go forward. >> we talked to mr. amendola a short time ago and he makes no bones about it. he is prepared to try this case in public. he said that jerry sandusky would agree to more interviews, televised interviews. he could get his side of the story out there. >> i think what's going on here, carol, is that along the way they are testing just about every water that they can test. we have mr. amendola saying that mr. sandusky is going to do more interviews. we hear his co-counsel last night on this station on cnn say that mr. sandusky is more like a teenager than like an adult. they're rolling out various defenses and seeing what reaction they have. the fact of the matter is that yesterday was a net loss for them. the prosecution had all of its evidence ready to go. i was a first-mahand witness to see a lot of this going forward and they had eight young men who were prepared to come into a courtroom if needed and tell thei