on night meredith kercher arrived home.etime after midnight a witness living across the street claimed to hear a scream and multiple footsteps running away from the house in opposite directions. the next day knox says she returned home to shower and change clothes. then she noticed something was wrong. one roommate's room was turned upside down, a rock on the floor and a broken window. meredith kercher's door was locked and she wasn't answering her cell phone. >> i got the phone calls about when she came to her house. amanda kept saying i've gotten ahold of ebb. i can't get ahold of meredith. she's not answering her phone. her door is locked. there was lots of concern. and i said, okay, call the police. and then she did. and the police came. and then they had actually one of the other roommates' boyfriends broke down the door because the police wouldn't do it. >> behind meredith's bedroom door was her body, covered by a blanket, blood everywhere. meredith had been sexually assaulted, stabbed and slashed in the neck. a blood

meredith thomas, executive director of the neighborhood parks council. we have been an parks to get there, and i completely understand your intention behind this legislation. as a park-serving organization, we agree that our parks should be well funded by the city and supported and open and accessible. her lover, this legislation. however, this legislation, the way that it is written, will not do that because it does not come with any money. it comes with the hope of money that will somehow appear in the general fund that has not appeared when we have asked for it. the bitter fighting that occurs between the departments that are subsidized by the general fund is ugly and it will make it unclear. we need to rethink the way we have our conversations about the parks and i would love to work with you on this. i think we could have come up with a piece of legislation that the parks council could be fully behind, that our coalition to be fully behind. i think there's a lot of unity around the need for more funding for the parks, and that did not happen. we did

in manhattan, meredith and tiffany waited five hours before making their debut as a married couple. >> this is the most amazing day for new york. it's just a celebration of love and victory. >> reporter: city council speaker christine quinn wiped tears watching the first ceremonies and called it a victory for equal rights. >> today those families were told they matter and that the state of new york cares about them as much as anybody else. >> reporter: inside the clerk's office, organized chaos. >> is everyone with you? >> reporter: volunteers helped couples wade through the process. even judges donated their time. >> it's quite extraordinary, the historic day. >> reporter: weddings in new york began at midnight with niagara falls as a backdrop. >> i keep thinking that -- that -- it just is not real. >> reporter: back in new york city, protesters also exercised their rights. but that didn't dampen the festive atmosphere. a collective celebration. along with a powerful, personal moment of saying "i do." and tonight another ceremony taking place here in the city. new york city's mayor m

nowhere in meredith's room where the murder took place and where meredith's body was found is there aece of dna from amanda. >> hmm-mm. >> nothing. >> reporter: a hair? >> nothing. >> reporter: nothing. >> absolutely nothing. >> reporter: but there is plenty of dna from this man, rudy guede, a local drifter and the third person convicted for kercher's murder. >> the dna comes back. it's not amanda. it's not raffaelle's. it's rudy guede, and he's everywhere. >> reporter: guede himself even admitted he was in kercher's room that night, but he says he did not participate in the crime. tomorrow knox's family will be watching closely as this final stage of her appeal begins. for "good morning america," i'm elizabeth vargas in perugia, italy. >> and elizabeth will be reporting from perugia on amanda knox's hearing all week. >>> coming up on "good morning america," an extreme crash in an extreme sport, but you won't believe what happened afterward. over the south pacific in 1943. vietnam, 1967. i got mine in iraq, 2003. u.s.a.a. auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generati

knox, her former boyfriend, and another man were convicted of murdering meredith kercher back in 2007. >>> family members and supporters of two american hikers detained in iran rallied outside the country's mission to the united nations yesterday. they are calling for the release of josh fattal and shane bauer. the two men were scheduled to have a final trial on espionage charges tomorrow. sarah shourd was released in september of 2010 after 410 days in solitary confinement. >>> held without bond. the muslim u.s. army private who authorities say admits to a plot to bomb a restaurant popular with fort hood soldiers. naser jason abbo is charged with possession of an unstructured destructive device. he refused to stand when the judge entered the courtroom yesterday. abdo later shouted an apparent reference to the muslim soldier charged with the deadly shooting spree in fort hood back in 2009. >>> along the texas coast, a lot of disappointment after what was once tropical storm don made landfall. it came ashore as a tropical depression. but it wasn't the rainmaker folks were hoping for. m

for tiffany and meredith. >> have been selected -- >> that's it.one. >> i love you. >> i love you. >> reporter: the engaged couple are among the 823 who entered the new york city lottery and chosen to marry on the first day same-sex marriage is legal in new york state. >> i'm just so happy. i mean, we wanted to get married in new york so badly because this is where we live. this is where we made our home. this is where we met. this is where we fell in love. >> reporter: douglas and michael will officially make it legal today, using the historic occasional to celebrate their own history together. they were married in a church ceremony nearly two decades ago and have raised two sons. >> who would have ever thought in our lifetime this would happen or the state would recognize our relationship and the love we have for each other continues at 25 years. >> reporter: new celebrations and new sources of income for businesses catering to same-sex couples. >> that is going to help all of us who have been suffering through this terrible economy. >> reporter:

i ask, as meredith did, can we put our energy and time and limited resources into working together for parks and open space? it will be more productive for all of us and i look forward to working with you over the next several months to bring more generous on support for our part to keep them open and accessible for all. thank you. supervisor avalos: thank you. if i call your name, please come forward. and please line up on the side after a call your name. >> good afternoon, supervisors. i support this initiative. do you like my hat? sometimes we have to point out how ridiculous and idea is. i am referring to the idea of building a miniature golf course in golden gate park. this idea quickly sack, so we thought. i told people about it. they cannot believe i heard this. now the idea is back. the department stated this ballot initiative means that rec and park cannot build a miniature golf course and our parks. gosh, what it lost where park system. parks is not happy with this initiative. why is that? what is planned for our parks? i suggest that everyone here today, and i know that ever

international murder suspect after her arrest in the gruesome stabbing of her british roommate, meredith kercher. the tabloids labeled her foxy knoxy. >> [ speaking foreign language ]. >> reporter: during the trial the prosecutor had no eyewitnesses and no clear motive. >> [ speaking foreign language ]. >> reporter: the case rested entirely on two pieces of evidence. first, a knife found at the apartment of raffaele sollecito, knox's then boyfriend, also on trial. the prosecution claimed it was the murder weapon, saying the knife had knox's dna on the handle and kercher's dna on the blade. second, kercher's'sra clasp, found in the bedroom where she was murdered, had sollecito's dna on it. according to prosecutors, it was enough to convict them. knox was sentenced to 26 years in prison and sollecito to 25. after the verdict knox's family, stunned and angry, fought their way through a mob of press and local perugians. >> how do you think this whole experience has changed your daughter? >> she was 20 when she walked in here. she was naive, happy, lovely. she's way more cautious. she had to

. >> reporter: meredith has worked as a clerk in san francisco for nearly a decade but this week -- >> i'm sorry to be form you that you've been laid off. >> reporter: she's among one of the 200 employees losing their jobs. pink slips mailed home to more than 40% of the staff. >> we were all told in advance this they were going to get them but it hurts. >> reporter: with san francisco courts losing $14 million this year, the county will also shut down almost half of the courtrooms by september. >> essentially it's going to be gutted. >> reporter: presiding judge, katherine feinstein, who happens to be the daughter of california's senior senator, worries the justice system is collapsing. >> rather than being an entity of government that solves problems which we historically have been, we are, in fact, creating more. >> reporter: the courts have been getting squeezed for years, facing fiscal cut backs, they've raised fees, furlough days, and even hiring freezes. but nobody saw this coming. already backlogged, it could take five years just for a lawsuit to go to trial. to pay a traffic t

. >>> upopen it -- >> reporter: tiffany and meredith got the word they've been waiting for. >> that's it! we're done! >> reporter: an e-mail telling the couple they had been chosen from the new york city lottery to marry on sunday. >> i'm saying this, i agree to this, and we're doing this in a public way with somebody watching. like this is -- it's been validated. and to us, that means a lot. >> reporter: the big apple will usher in the first day of legalized same-sex marriage with back-to-back ceremonies. the city clerk's office originally planned to wed 764 couples on sunday. it announced it would expand hour to make sure all 823 who registered could marry. new york city's mayor, michael bloomberg, is also marking the first day with a special evening ceremony at gracie mansion. he will officiates the marriage of his chief policy adviser and consumer affairs commissioner. >> this is about celebrating our relationship, but in many ways it's really about our children who have often asked us why we aren't married. and so we've involved them in every step of the way. >> reporter: busines

meredith care mucher was found dead four years ago. prosecutors claim she was killed by amanda knox and her italian boyfriend in a sex game. both knox and her boyfriend have denied wrongdoing and are appealing their prison sentences. >>> in los angeles, a pretrial hearing today for michael jackson's former doctor, dr. conrad murray. murray is charged with involuntary manslaughter jackson's death two years ago. at issue today, a motion by sony pictures entertainment, which distributed the jackson documentary "this is it." sony wants the judge to block plans to show outtakes from the film during the trial saying this would reduce the value of the footage. >>> in alaska, seven teenaged boys taking part in a wilderness education program were attack and mauled by a brown bear and her cub. one of the boys is seen in these pictures. officials say two of the boys suffered life-threatening injury, two more in serious condition now and three others suffered minor injuries. it happened saturday as they crossed a river. the boys were involved in a

amanda knox was convicted of killing meredith kercher in 2007 but insists she didn't do it. a forensic expert testified today that no dna was found on the alleged murder weapon. which is a kitchen knife. that contradicts testimony by forensic police experts during her trial. after today's session, the court adjourned till september 5th. >>> it's hard to believe when you look at this, but the 163 passengers and crew aboard this caribbean airlines plane are okay today. the boeing 737 was unable to stop after it landed at an airport in georgetown, guyana on a flight that originated in new york. the plane careened into a grassy patch and broke in two. several passengers were taken to the hospital with only minor injuries. >>> meet the latest british royal newlyweds. queen elizabeth's granddaughter zara phillips tied the knot with the rugby player mike tindall in edenburg today. prince harry, the mother of the bride were among the guests at the private ceremony. tonight, there is a reception at queen elizabeth's palace in scotland and in something of a royal precedent, zara phill

meredith bragg did it. it's called "attack ads, circa 1800."e took a couple of clips of people complaining about how 2008 elections. it looks like it's going to be the dirtiest ever, the most vile ever, the most reprehensible, and then we inter-cut thomas jefferson and john adams, using contemporary slurs against these guys. >> virginia postrel we used to see a lot on this network. >> yes. >> when she was editor of reason magazine. >> yes. >> before you? >> yes, that's right. she hired me. >> but here is a video that drew carey narrates. >> yes. >> and it's about the fact that virginia postrel gave her kidney. >> right. >> one of her kidneys to sally satel who is a doctor, but needed a kidney. >> right. >> and this is about that whole episode. >> yes. >> let's see what it looks like. >> there is one thing we can't try because it's illegal, paying people to donate their kidneys. it sounds really ghoulish. it sounds really icky, but they are your kidneys and it really helps people in need, so if you want to sell one, why not? >> the most straight

not meredith vieira, meredith reece. she is young.ood topic. >> we do. married women with kids are starting to feel like single moms. we will talk about that issue. >> try to put an end to it. >> the summer accessories that turn any outfit into a show stopper. everyone has a story day. 's ckgrt sty. can you toss me a ? your toilet paper shouldn't be too rough.e a ? we're out of toilet paper. can you toss me a roll? your toilet paper shouldn't be too soft. we're out of toilet paper again. fortunately, angel soft is an ideal balance of softness and strength. unlike other toilet paper that has just one ply, angel soft has two. and it's strong, yet gentle on your skin. ♪ angel soft ♪ an ideal balance of softness and strength ♪ time to deploy the chex mix boring potato chip decoy bag. now no one will want to steal the deliciousness. with a variety of tastes and textures, only chex mix is a bag of interesting. revlon launches growluscious plumping mascara. with a conditioning formula that helps strengthen and plump lashes up to 200% instant

lake meredith is the other big water source feeding 11 cities, including amarillo and lubbock.t's so hot and dry, the lake is slowly disappearing. >> the average loss of water from lake meredith is 100 inches. >> just from evaporation. >> just from evaporation. >> very hot and hazy areas building into the northeast. heat advisories are up for 11 states. the hottest of the hot, mississippi and parts of tennessee, where the heat index could soar to 116. we're seeing temperatures rise quickly across the south this morning, just dying for a little bit of a breeze here. let's break this down and talk drought first off. texas still getting the brunt of it. there hasn't been a whole lot of moisture the past three or four months. they're in exceptional drought. this is a drought they haven't seen, really, since back in the dust bowl, and there is not a whole lot of rain in sight there. there will be some moderation of this heat, though. we've already seen that somewhat. the northeast is a little bit cooler and a little bit dryer than it was yesterday, at least as humidity goes, but at

the second thing is the knife that is alleged to have killed meredith kercher. has been found on the handle of that knife and blood was found on the blade of that knife. what the defense is arguing is that the blood was so teeny tiny, it was so small that there weren't even enough cells to do a proper dna test to definitively identify it as the victim's. amanda knox and her family are really hoping that independent dna and forensic expert says, you know what? this is not going to be admissible. technically, they handled the dna incorrectly. therefore, it may not stand in court. they are keeping their fingers crossed that this flies. and this is the only window of possibility, they say, that could -- could see her released. kyra? >> keep us updated, zain. thanks. >>> faa, as you know, is temporarily shut down and is impacting ticket prices. let's talk about how it is affecting our wallet, alan. >> there's so much congress can't agree on these days, including funding for the faa. as you said, the agency is now partially shut down for thousands of faa workers and 3

. >> do you think ann curry was thinking meredith vieira never had to deal with this crap? lullaby with little hands slamming little teen tiny sledgehammers into your skull. >> they have had two hours of sleep. this is the behavior for two hours of sleep. >> david gregory is like, get me back to "meet the press." >> it's not 245 difficult to keep them quiet. when i met nancy grace's kids i thought things went quite well. >> i'll do whatever makes them happy. >> you want a piece of paper. >> uh-oh. >> anderson, what did you to him? >> i didn't do anything. >> i swear, all i did was hand the kid a piece of paper. and yes, i'm available for babysitting. i would even babysit the octomom's kids like this fall when she's on a reality show called "seleb date." and she says she's been celibate for seven years. i found that a little bit too much information but who wants to be involved with octomom? >> you're not that interested in finding a man and having a relationship? >> not at all. >> if you're attracted to one, and there was something going on, would you go on a platonic date?

monday, forensic experts attacked evidence used to convict knox and sollecito for the murder of meredithkercher. knox, sollecito and a third man were convicted and sent to jail for kercher's murder. >>> nato warplanes carried out strikes on libyan transmitters last night. they used state-of-the-art precision guided munitions. nato says three satellite transmission dishes were disabled by the air strike in tripoli. reports indicate up to a dozen explosions rocked the libyan capital. >>> to china where family and friends of the victims of last week's train crash will pay last respects today. 40 people died a week ago today when a high-speed train crossing a bridge was derailed by a lightning strike and another train slammed into it from behind. a chinese railway official blamed the crash on design flaws in the equipment that failed to flash and correct signals after that lightning strike. >>> in northern japan, flooding and landslide warnings for areas including the tsunami disaster zone. in parts of fukushima, more than 25 inches of rain have fallen since wednesday. more than 10,000 peopl

now, david from meredith says "at the age of 25, i'm already the owner of a small software company in the lakes region. we currently have five employees with plans to grow. we're expecting our profits for next year to exceed $1 million. as an employer, small business owner, and at my age, i feel as though i will be greatly affected by budget decisions we make during the next week and into the future. i want to make sure that america stays as one of the best nations in the world." and he goes on to say, "i have never written a letter to any member of congress before tonight." and then we have jeanine from auburn who says, "settle the budget now. the dysfunction in congress is embarrassing the country. as a s -- as a shawl business owner, i can't afford the uncertainty of a political fiasco. if interest rates rise, i can't keep my business afloat. i would rather pay increased taxes. and eric from hollis says, "as a small business owner, i'm able to plan and hire employees. due to the uncertainty the current standstill in washington has created. pleas get the u.s.a. back to work -- pleas

night of meredith kercher's murder. on monday gaday himself took the witness stand claiming those inmates were lying. after his testimony knox once again stood in court, professing her innocence. the appeal is not expected to the appeal is not expected to conclude until the fall. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> it happened in the dark of night. a wrong turn down a dead end road. it would end up costing him 17 years in prison. >> there's no way i could have committed that crime. >> a state bureau of investigation crime lab withheld evidence that could have set him free. >> floyd brown spent 14 years locked up for a crime he didn't commit. >> was there any evidence whatsoever linking him to the crime? >> no. the only thing that puts floyd in this case at all is the fictional confession. >> i think over the last 20 years, a culture has developed at the sbi that basically the ends justify the means. >> you'd hope these were isolated incidents. the more we dug the more we found that wasn't the case. >> you never an

here we have an alleged murder weapon that links meredith karcher, the victim, to amanda knox.se. >> from your experience at looking at how this -- the way this was handled, what could police have done differently in this test? >> the problem is that there were very few cells on the -- on this alleged murder weapon. and because of that, if you do the routine dna procedure, it's -- it doesn't work. either you get no results or you get peaks, dna fragments below a threshold, a certain level. in the united states, when you have peeks below a threshold, we don't even call that -- those as genes because they may well be artifacts. you're starting off with evidence that has insufficient dna. you need to use special proerps called high sensitivity testing or low copy number. that was not done in this kils. >> what's a low copy number? >> it implies there are fewer than 16 cells on an object. that level of drk na can cause a lot of problems in interpretation. unless you use a specialized procedure. >> very quickly, in the intro, we said it could be a glimmer of hope for amanda knox. do

dna is at the center of the case and is used to convict amanda knox and her boyfriend of murdering meredithers. the new finding from a leading criminal attorney in rome seems to seriously undermine the prosecution's case. >> if i were reviewing this from an american point of view, i would say most definitely it looked like a slam dunk. >> the knox family remains optimistic, but upset judicial delays in the appeal means knox will spend another summer behind bars. >> it's unfortunate now there will be spldelays again and the will have to sit another summer in the heat in jail while everybody else goes on vacation. >> reporter: the judge adjourns the trial until september 5th there will be a half dozen sessions going over the dna evidence. the judge will then retire to his chambers and come back with three options, acquit knox and set her free. give her a harsher sentence if further evidence emerges or reduce her sentence. clearly, the knox family says they would prefer option number one. >> i can bet. keith miller in perguia, thank you so much. >>> a top adviser to president obama says al qae

but i would have to say that in some ways i think that there is a lesson for all of us who love meredithn fiction because it is an example of how we really are seeking care at various, protagonists who are fully formed human being, and meaning for all their flaws and strengths he is someone who over time made himself and his false self available to me to be able to portray it to time, took effort, took taken into the racetrack. want to imitate took going with him to the hospital. there became solidified and seducing him in any film he be in the hospital. those are really difficult things -- do for this project. and yet he was a vulnerable figure. he was a strong figure. he was a wildly successful and he seemed never to be able to achieve enough to satisfy whatever blogging he had within him. and so in that way coming he's a universal figure, not merely representative of any particular group or caste or reason this country, but he represents the vulnerabilities in all of us. and i think in that way he is an enduring haircut which is what we are seeking to do in narrative nonfiction. it's

. >> host: our guest is meredith mcghee, the policy director for the campaign legal center. our topic for our last segment until 10:00 a look at public financing of presidential campaigns. meredith mcghee, how did the last campaign that we saw affect this campaign in terms of public financing? >> guest: well, i think you're certainly going to see that really no viable candidate is going to appropriate in the current system. as you know in the last campaign president obama opted out, raised an enormous amount of money that shocked everyone from both primaries and the yes or no. senator mccain did participate in the general to get the money. and i think in this campaign, because changes have not been made in the system that was financing presidential campaigns with the public financing, it really has become, to some degree, out of date and it's an understandable selection given that the system hasn't kept up with the changes and the costs. >> host: give an example. >> guest: well, you have, for example, limit by state in the current presidential system. so if you go to iowa, w

the two were convicted of murdering meredith kercher, an exchange student from england, based largelypolice. by on scientific review, the alleged murder weapon was found not to contain dna material from the victim, as the prosecution contended. police forensic teams were accused of shoddy work, that resulted in what the experts called a bungled case. that testimony, according to a leading criminal attorney in rome appears to seriously undermine the prosecution's case. >> it is a tremendous, tremendous advantage and victory for the defense, for amanda knox, because for an appellate court to request a review of the evidence means that the appellate court has already made an initial determination that the evidence used to convict amanda in trial level was flawed. >> reporter: the prosecution in rebuttal attempted to discredit the forensic scientist, drawing a warning from the judge. knox's defense team perhaps sensing a victory declined to request the experts. the knox family were cautious but optimistic. >> i'm really hopeful it will just become even clearer that the way the evidence wa

. >> reporter: word came in the form of an e-mail for tiffany and meredith. >> you have been selected. >> that's it, we're done! >> i love you. >> reporter: the engaged couple are aplong the 823 who enters the new york city lottery and were chosen to marry on the first day same-sex marriage is legal in new york state. >> i'm just so happy. i mean, we wanted to get married in new york so badly, because this is where we lib, this is where we made our home, this is where we met. this is where we fell in love. >> reporter: douglas and michael will officially make it legal today using the historic occasion to celebrate their own history together. they were married in a church ceremony nearly two decades ago and have raised two sons. >> who ever thought that in our lifetime this would happen? or the state would recognize our relationship and the love that we have for each other continues after 25 years? >> reporter: new celebrations and new sources of income for businesses catering to same-sex couples. >> that is going to help all of us who have been suffering through this terrible economy.

forensic experts rejected crucial dna evidence to prove she stabbed her roommate meredith kercher toe say that the claspp on kercher's bra was left at the crime scene for more than a month and then collected with dirty gloves. keith miller has more from peru ja. keith? >> well, there was a chip into the prosecution case today and in the courtroom there was an audible gasp when they showed the videos of the slides of the police procedures at the scene of the crime, and the policemen kicking it across the floor and others picking up evidence with dirty gloves an none of them wearing hairnets which are protocols for the international gathering of crime evidence and some of it written by the united states department of justice. but the most crucial part of the testimony concerned the alleged murder weapon that was retrieved allegedly at knox's boyfriend. there was some protocol of the handle of the knife, but no dna material whatsoever on the blade. the prosecution introduced that as evidence in the first trial, and it weighed heavily on the jury when they convicted knox of murder. also

amanda knox was convicted of killing meredith kercher in 2007 but insists she didn't do it. forensic expert testified today that no dna was found on the alleged murder weapon. which is a kitchen knife. that contradicts testimony by forensic police experts during her trial. after today's session, the court adjourned till september 5th. >>> it's hard to believe when you look at this, but the 163 passengers and crew aboard this caribbean airlines plane are okay today. the boeing 737 was unable to stop after it landed at an airport in georgetown, guyana on a flight that originated in new york. the plane careened into a grassy patch and broke in two. several passengers were taken to the hospital with only minor injuries. >>> meet the latest british royal newlyweds. queen elizabeth's granddaughter zara phillips tied the knot with the rugby player mike tindall in edenburg today. prince harry, the mother of the bride were among the guests at the private ceremony. tonight, there is a reception at queen elizabeth's palace in scotland and in something of a royal precedent, zara phillip

specifically, the dna material found on the knife, allegedly used to murder knox's roommate, meredithent from exland. the prosecution claimed there was dna from knox on the handle and dna from the victim on the blade. on monday, forensic scientists are expected to testify that the dna material was insufficient to reach a verdict of guilty. >> everything's turned. the truth is now finally coming out. you know, i think it takes some pressure off of all of us and i think maybe we're all -- i think amanda put it well, we're all breathing a little easier. >> reporter: in the closing stages of the trial the defense team will raise the issue of motive. the prosecution originally claimed this was a crime linked to a sex game gone wrong. but that theory was never proved and the fallback motive, that knox murdered her roommate in a jealous rage, has fallen flat. this week's testimony could reveal in the most dramatic way if an innocent person has been wrongly convicted. even if the testimony swings knox's way that doesn't mean she'll immediately be set free because the italians will take their

boyfriend raffaello sollecito and a third man were charged in the stabbing death of her roommate meredithas a drug-fueled evening, a sex game gone wrong. in 2009 knox was convicted and sentenced to 26 years in prison, sollecito to 25. back in court for her appeal earlier this week, the 24-year-old knox looked fragile and pale. but then that shocking testimony regarding g y forensic evidence on the victim's bra clasp said to contain dna of sollecito and on the alleged murder weapon, a kitchen knife said to contain knox's dna. >> these independede experts came forward saying there is no evidence on the knife. this little bra clasp also had no evidence of dna of the young man. >> reporter: not only no blood or dna, but strict international guidelines for collecting dna were apparently violated. >> taking away the material evidence destroys the case, and i don't think that they can go very much further with it. >> reporter: for amanda her freedom may very well not be a question of if but when. >> i was able to speak to the priest in jail who was there when she heard the news. he said, "you co

when meredith left we saw our version of "don't stop believing." >> i'm neil, by the way. >> oh, i'm. you know, the more fans, the better. our audience is getting younger and younger by the day, it seems. >> momentous occasion about to take place because the nielsen company has just certified that "don't stop believing" is the number one single from the 20 th century. all right? >> whoa! >> we have a plaque here to commemorate it. how does that feel for you guys? >> amazing. that's amazing. >> what an honor. that's really cool. it's all these people out there. >> that's right. >> we love you. thank you. >> congratulations. what are you guys going to play now? >> we're going to play "city of hope". >> our new song. >> ladies and gentlemen, once again, journey. ♪ ♪ people waiting for some kind of sign from above ♪ ♪ lost in the shadows of doubt need a message of love ♪ ♪ nothing is certain in uncertain times ♪ ♪ hard to see beyond the greed and the crime ♪ ♪ oh the faithful refuse to give up ♪ ♪ homeless and hungry survive just enough ♪ ♪ learn to smile through it all ♪ ♪ they are bles

their contention that the alleged murder weapon, a knife, had dna on the blade from the victim, meredith kircher, an exchange student, while this select panel came back and said, no, there is no dna of the victim on that knife, and, in fact, another peterson of evidence which tied her boyfriend into the crime which was a bloody bra clasp, that was ruled to be just too far decayed to even test it. quite a remarkable turn. don't think the prosecution is going to make a lot of headway today, alex. >> okay. remarkable, indeed. thank you for that updated. nbc's keith miller. >>> we, in the meantime, will continue our coverage of the debt limit showdown in just a moment with a look at a few of the myths that a florist in the debate over raising the debt ceiling. >>> also ahead, putting the brakes on red light cameras. why are cities deciding to do away with them? >>> and pretty in politics. do good-looking candidates have an edge at the ballot box? results of a new study next on msnbc saturday. where'd you get that idea? how'd you learn to do that? what'd you use? every project we finish comes

my friend meredith bragg from reason tv and i have been collaborating last couple months, last month made it about the tsa and called it the pokey-pokey and it put an entertaining spin on sort of a political topic. we thought maybe we would try the debt ceiling. i was at first hesitant because i was thinking they'll solve that tomorrow, it will be fine, but a day became two days, a week, two weeks. we said let's do it. >> what has been the reaction from especially younger people? >> i think hopefully folks are enjoying it. i have been getting a lot of positive feedback and some great e-mails and tweets. i have been getting some tweets. they have been positive. >> okay. let me just quote from it since we're not going to play the whole thing. if you're looking for some cash, it's about to get heavy, i got some big old piles of money and guess what, they shovel ready. you're talking about basically stimulus spending and all that. that's a big part of the argument here. what got us to the point where we're in so much debt? >> well, yeah, we are in a lot of debt. the number i use is $14 t

center of this case and was used to convict knox and her former boyfriend of murdering her roommate, meredith the absense of dna on the alleged murder weapon, a kitchen knife, contended.secution cc1: that new finding, according to a leader criminal attorney in rome, appears to seriously undermine the prosecution's case. >> if i were reviewing this from an american point of view, i would say most definitely it looks like a slam dunk. >> reporter: the knox family remains optimistic, but upset judicial delays in the appeal mean knox will spend another summer behind bars. the judges adjourned the trial until september 5th and then come back for at least a half dozen more sessions. by the way, lester, he is able to give three different rulings at the end of this. he can find amanda knox not guilty and overturn the conviction and impose a harsher sentence if new evidence arrives or in the end he could actually reduce her sentence. lester? >> keith miller, thank you. >>> so how is amanda holding up after this pivotal week in her defense and how is her family feeling about last week's promising testi

knox is serving 26 years in prison for the murder of her british roommate, meredith kercher. >>> wellrs and supporters of two american hikers detained in iran rallied outside the country's mission to the united nations today. they're calling for the release of josh fattal and sean bauer nearly two years after they were arrested by iranian forces. and the two men are scheduled to have a final hearing on espionage charges tomorrow. meanwhile, bauer's fiancee, sarah shourd, you saw her in the video, was released in september of 2010 after 400 days in solitary confinement. >>> and the army private who admits to bomb a restaurant popular with army soldiers is being held without bond. naser abdo is charged with possession of an unregistered destructive twice. he didn't help his case by refusing to stand when the judge entered the courtroom yesterday. abdo later shouted an apparent reference to the muslim charge charged with a deadly shooting spree of ft. hoot back in 2009. >>> also in texas, they waited and they even prayed for a storm, but tropical storm don was a big washout. it fizzled b

italian boyfriend, and another man were convicted of the 2007 murder of knox's british roommate, meredith. >>> also in texas, the muslim army deserter accused of planning to bomb a restaurant near ft. hood is being held without bond at an undisclosed location. police believe naser abdo was planning a second ft. hood massacre. >>> also in washington, d.c., lawmakers wrangle over triggers as the stalemate over the debt ceiling intensifies. mitch mcconnell wants a greater white house presence in the negotiations. >>> all right. the world of politics right now is all about the debt ceiling and whether leaders in washington can find a solution. in remarks yesterday, president obama tried to point out areas of agreement. >> keep in mind, this is not a situation where the two parties are miles apart. we're in rough agreement about how much spending can be cut responsibly as a first step toward reducing our deficit. we agree on a process where the next step is a debate in the coming months on tax reform and entitlement reform. and i'm ready and willing to have that debate. >> well, not everybody

it all to you and take a look at the ones that we made here at "today," too, most recently for meredith'sr and over again. >>> let's get a final check of the weather from al outside. >> let's show you what's going on for the next 48 hours starting with today. we've got the risk of strong storms through the plains. also beautiful weather throughout the great lakes. the heat continues down to the south. and we've got sunshine through the southwest looking ahead toward tomorrow. beautiful along the east coast. i mean, you can't ask for better weather. sizzling weather from southwest and texas. strong storms from montana back into the central plains. and more showers in the pacific >>> good morning to you. we've been waiting for the sun to come out. this is a live look now at sunol and look at this. we get sunshine as we head throughout the morning and into the afternoon. we will continue to clear. take a look at where we ended up yesterday. the daytime averages, 66 degrees was it in danville. 89 is the average. as we head throughout today, similar conditions no warmer than it was yesterday.

lake meredith is the other water source feeding 11 cities including amarillo and lubbock. it's so hot and dry the lake is slowly disappearing. >> the average loss of water from lake meredith is 100 inches. >> just from evaporation. >> just from eprapvation. >> reporter: now hot and very hazy air is building into the east. where the heat index could soar to 116. >> reporter: all right. so there you go. the northeast getting a little bit of a break. not so much a cold front coming through yesterday, but more or less a drier front. with less humidity up there, but the southern half of the u.s. continues to sizzle. we'll see dangerous amounts of heat and humidity. as mentioned the number of heat advisories and warnings up stretch across 11 states. here's the forecast high temperatures for these areas. as measured in the shade, not including humidity, dallas, texas, may well get up and over 100 degrees. 97 in jackson, 97 expected in atlanta, georgia. we'll see some relief to this, not so much today, definitely not so much tomorrow but as we head towards the weekend. but with --

be looking up for amanda knox and her former boyfriend, very little consolation for the family of meredithe family has never bought into the defense argument that it was a third man, he was also convicted in this case from the ivory coast who acted alone in this murder. finally it's interesting. it will be interesting as this case wraps up. there will be a couple hearings in july then probably adjourned in september when it comes near to an end. amanda seeing a lot of hope. in the meantime she is going to turn 24 later this week. this is the birthday for which she has been in jail. rick: a possible break in the case of a missing indiana student. lauren spierer *. jamie: a live picture of where the jury in the casey anthony case will go to speak to the media after they reach and deliver their verdict. rick: the president's campaign team latching on to his recent news conference taking aim at republicans. >> they are in one week, they are out one week. then they are saying obama has got to step in. you need to be here. i have been here. at bayer, we've been relieving pain for over 100 years.