abc's mike von fremd has the latest. >> reporter: lindsay lohan came to court, with a personal, hand-written letter that may have had a powerful impact on the judge. lohan listened as the prosecutor told the court that she should be spent directly to 180 days in jail for failing her court-ordered drug test. while the judge told lohan, you have an addict, he mentions her personal note. and the fact that counselors at the betty ford rehab center say she is making progress. >> i think the judge felt there was a sincere change in attitude by lindsay lohan. and therefore, he reciprocated. >> reporter: instead of going to jail, the judge ordered her to remain in treatment until january 3rd. he also granted a creature comfort. now that lohan has agreed to live in a rehab center until next year, she will no longer have to wear this ankle drug

mike von fremd has the latest from los angeles. >> reporter: the suspense was building.ry two weeks to come to the conclusion that anna nicole smith's companion, as well as one of her doctors wer guilty o guilty of conspiring to provide opiates to a celebrity with a known addiction. >> two conspiracy counts limited exclusively to my name being used on medications for anna. now, this was done to protect anna nicole's privacy, and it was nothing more than that. >> reporter: anna nicole smith's primary doctor was acquitted. >> it's surreal. it's overwhelming, i guess. what i would say, it gives me a sense of purpose, of future. i am excited to get back to my little family practice. >> reporter: defense attorneys argued that all three were simply trying to help a woman in distress who had lost her son who was someone who suffered ic. howard stern was smith's companion, and he could now lose his law license. her psychiatrist could also lose her medical license. the sentencing will take place early next year. mike von fremd, abc news, los angeles. >>> the san francisco giants

but she'll have to spend cf1 abc's mike von fremd has the latest. >> reporter: lindsa handwritten letter may the judge. court, she should be osecutor sent directly, for 180 days in jail, for failing her court-ordered drug tests. while the judge told lohan, you are an addict, he specifically mentions her personal note and the fact that counselors at the betty ford rehab center say, she is making progress. >> i think the judge felt there was a sincere change in attitude by lindsay lohan. and therefore, he reciprocated. >> reporter: instead of going to jail, the judge ordered her to remain in treatment until january 3rd. he also granted a creature comfort. now that lohan has agreed to live in a rehab center until next year, she will no longer have to wear this ankle drug detection monitor. while spending another three months in rehab may sound lenient, compared to jail, she has told her probation officer that all this time in treatment is crippling both her career and her financial security. for "good morning america," mike von fremd, abc news, beverly hills. >>> and now, an update on that

for "good morning america," mike von fremd, abc news. >>> news for parents and children this morning.dora the explorer" is suing nickelodeon. actually, the actress who voices the hugely popular character is suing the network. the young woman says she is owed millions of dollars. here's neal karlinsky. ♪ >> reporter: if you have kids, you know the song. ♪ dora, dora, dora the explorer ♪ >> reporter: "dora the explorer" is so popular in the toddler crowd, it's grown into an international franchise. aired in 34 languages. and sliced and diced into dozens of products. [ speaking in a foreign language ] >> reporter: 14-year-old caitlin sanchez is the voice of dora. or at least she was. >> dora is a very determined person. very confident. and she always believes that she never gives up at all. >> reporter: that was in august. today, sanchez is suing. and her lawyers are calling her dora the exploited. arguing in this lawsuit that the 14-year-old was taken advantage of, underpaid and forced to sign her contract too quickly to be careful about it. she was 12 at the time. and promised $5,115 p

for "good morning america," mike von fremd, abc news, beverly hills. >>> now an update on the controversialda pastor that threatened to burn the koran. terry jones has picked up his free car. jones was promised a 2011 hyundai accent by a new jersey car dealer if he would not burn a koran on september 11th, as he originally intended to do. jones donated the car to a shelter that consists abused women. >>> finally, the texas rangers are going to the world series. for the first time in their 50-year history, texas won the american league championship by beating the new york yankees, based here in new york city, 6-1. the giants of san francisco, could wrap up the national league championship tonight in philadelphia. in the bronx. no joy. >> i'm not a baseball fan. but i'm a texas fan. >> very brave. >> i'll talk to you later. >> very brave for bianna to openly root for -- >> we will talk. >> my home state. we'll talk later. >>> heidi jones? >> hi. >> how are you doing? >> i'm pretty good. we're going to need escorts for you when you leave the studio today. >> i love new york. i just also love m

for "good morning america," mike von fremd, abc news, los angeles. >> and for more on this we're joinedom los angeles by robin sax and criminal defense attorney mark geragos. welcome to both of you. robin, let me begin with you. this verdict surprised you, didn't it? >> it was a little surprise in that especially that both parties right now are claiming victory. how is it that both of them claim a victory when you have not very many counts that were actually prosecuted and convicted on especially for the prosecution's point of view. how is it if you couldn't prove that anna nicole smith was an addict who is an addict? so i don't see it as a win but both are claiming victory. >> who do you see it as a win for, anyone? >> well, i see it's a win for the defense actually here for sure for dr. kapoor, the primary physician responsible for prescribing all medicines was completely acquitted and here you only have a conviction based on one incident in november of 2006 where howard q. stern's name was used on a prescription and a conspiracy that happened before that. out of all of the counts tha

for "good morning america," mike von fremd, abc news, hollywood. >> joining us now from los angeles is former prosecutor robin sax. and robin, have you ever quite seen anything like this and what do you make of all of it? >> good morning, robin. no, this is a bizarre tale indeed. what you have here appear to be the trappings and strappings of a drug case but we're not hearing anything that the root of the behavior for the quaids is drugs. that would be the most sympathetic move they could take. instead, they're claiming this bizarre asylum thing. and can only make one thing that they don't think the rules don't apply to them, they feel entitled and they feel they can get away with the crimes they've committed. >> sort of celebrity justice that we have not seen before. now, we have california and canada involved in the case. what do you think is going to happen now? >> well, canada is traditionally very cooperative with the united states when it comes to matters of extradition. i would not predict at that state of california, the country of the united states or the country of canada spe

here's mike von fremd. >> reporter: linebacker junior seau has taken monster hits in his all-pro career. but it's a miracle he survived this one. plunging his suv, 100 feet down, this treacherous san diego cliff. >> i could hear -- right off the edge of the cliff. >> reporter: no drugs or alcohol were involved. and police have determined the 41-year-old athlete simply fell asleep at the wheel. >> dropped by junior seau. >> reporter: but many fans of this 12-time former pro bowl linebacker are now concerned that his life is in freefall. early monday morning, he was arrested at his home, after his 25-year-old live-in girlfriend accused him of domestic violence. seau crashed his car just five hours after posting bond and being released from jail. his former wife is now his most adamant defender. deanying denying her former husband would try to kill himself or harm another person. >> there are a lot of things in life where you overcome obstacles. >> reporter: seau founded an organization here in san diego, to help inspire young people. doctors treating his physical wounds say this talented

mike von fremd has been following the nine-week trial.ook the jury two weeks to come to the conclusion that anna nicole smith's companion as well as one of her doctors were guilty of conspiring to provide opiates to a celebrity with a known addiction. >> two conspiracy counts limited exclusively to my name being used on medications for anna. now, this was done to protect anna nicole's privacy and it was nothing more than that. >> reporter: anna nicole smith's primary doctor was acquitted. >> it's surreal. it's overwhelming, i guess what i would say, it gives me a sense of purpose and future. i am excited to get back to my little family practice. >> reporter: defense attorneys argued that all three were simply trying to help a woman in distress who had lost her son, who was someone who suffered from chronic pain. howard stern was smith's companion, and he could now lose his law license. her psychiatrist could also lose her medical license. the sentencing will take place early next year. mike von fremd, abc news, los angeles. >>> well, most

mike von fremd has the remarkable story. in the community of joshua tree with the remarkable story. it turns out the messages he wrote on his hat kept him going? >> reporter: yes, they sure did, george. he poured out his heart on those messages on his hat. edward rosenthal is still in his family is by his saying he's in good spirits and luckarri the 64-year-old real estate agent had just closed a deal on a los angeles landmark, clifton's cafeteria. and decided to celebrate, by taking what he thought would be an afternoon hike in the desert. >> he wanted to go to his favorite place. and he didn't want me to bother him while he was gone. >> reporter: for six, terrifying days, he had the scorching joshua tree national park all to himself. search teams on horseback and helicopters did not expect to find him alive. rosenthal is an experienced hiker, who got lost, taking a wrong turn into hell. it was 110 degrees. and he was out of food and water. >> i had to just pick him up and carry him into the helicopter. put him in the backseat. he couldn't stand to walk on his own at all. >> report