jennifer brown is paying the price for her hometown's bills. this single mom is one of 550 county works, or unpaid leave as officials try to convince their lenders to shave $1 billion off the $3 billion they owe. >> it's devastating. you know, i think i cried for two weeks. >> reporter: jefferson county's problems began with a corruption-plagued sewer project that went billions over budget, poor investments, and a loss of millions in tax revenue made things even worse. unless the county can cut a deal with lenders, jefferson county will file for the largest municipal bankruptcy in american history. officials have tried cutting back everywhere they can, at the overcrowded jail there's just one part-time deputy for every 100 inmates. >> we're below federal regulations. we're always in danger but that put us more in interesting. >> reporter: court clerk anne marie adams is using state fund to pay security guards at the courthouse. >> we would have had to shut the system down and it would have been a major problem. >> reporter: even small things li

brown. thanks so much to all of you. >> thank you. >> all right. >>> still ahead this morning, jennifer lopez joins us live and she has special announcement to make. but first, these messages. ñ÷ñññ >>> back now at 7:50. britain's best-selling tabloid "news of the world" issues the final edition on sunday amid the widening phone hacking scandal. nbc's stephanie goss is in london with the latest. >> rupert murdoch bought "news of the world" but it has been loved by readers and feared by the politicians, celebrities and royals that it has regularly exposed. in its final edition editors asked the reading public not to judge the paper by this scandal but instead by its years in print. with the ink barely dry on the final edition of "the news of the world" rupert murdoch traveled to the uk to manage the damage control personally. on display his so far unqualified support from rebecca brooks, former editor of the paper and now a trusted executive at news corp. smiles for the cameras but calls for hooks to resign are growing louder. one of the most damaging allegations the paper faces is a phone hacking of a 13-year-old murd