hollywood's take among some movers and shakeners. >> that nicolette sheridan is not very different fromracter on "desperate housewives," she is brash, is opinionated and can be difficult. >> reporter: mark cherry once vibed sheridan as beautiful, smart and funny. the height of her fame she was voted one of "people" magazine's 50 beautiful people and blackwell's worst dress, sure marks of bold-faced celebrity. now the case for wrongful termination is falling apart. >> we feel good about how things went today. >> reporter: her co-stars including teri hatcher, felicity huffman and eva long gore could be called as witnesses against her. long gloria told a radio station, she used to be friends. >> i would like it to go away. >> reporter: it didn't go away, only nicolette sheridan did from the show that once made her a household name. >>> coming own news4, why a school bus driver says why she held a 9-year-old boy so that another child could hit him. >>> and details of one politician's undercover >>> take a good look at this video. police in columbus, ohio, say a school bus driver can be seep

we learned it was long-time staffer michael reinhardt who left a voicemail for nicolette sheridan's attorney over the weekend. >> i received an e-mail soon after nicolette filed suit. it regarded having it come in and wipe clean the hard drives of the producers in response to the correspondence they have had e-mail-wise about firing nicolette. >> reporter: reinhardt is the man who helped build the show's colorfully suburban set and has been with the show since the beginning. he says he came forward to get the truth out. sheridan's lawyers had hoped his testimony would help prove her character, edie brit, was killed off when she complained executive producer mark cherry hit her in the head. but a hollywood reporter inside the courtroom said it did not go well. >> ultimately, he was not that credible and even he couldn't be sure exactly what he read, couldn't be sure who it was sent to, didn't have a copy of it he had very little detail. >> reporter: then 48-year-old sheridan took the stand and gave a brief version of what happened on the set in september 2008. in a trim bling voice, she said,

closing arguments could begin today in a lawsuit filed by actress nicolette sheridan.udge yesterday dismissed her claim that the show's creator assaulted her on the set. a jury will decide whether she was wrongfully fired from the show. she claimed that her character was killed off to retaliate after a complaint against marc cherry. >> highlights from the first round of march madness action and a look at who president obama has kiland chosen for the final four. >> and the happiest place on earth, for veterans. >> and a corruption hi there. whoaa! chase freedom is offering 5% cash back at gas stations this quarter. that's great! i know, right? just learned how to drive this yesterday. one second i'll be right back around... here's that 5% cash back you earned. wow, thanks! courtesy of chase freedom. oh boy! earn 5% cash back at gas stations this quarter. activate your 5% cash back at chase.com/freedom. >> 5:45 right now. coming up at 6:00, the fight for the republican presidential nomination drags out even longer. if we will have a closer look at rick santorum's souther

a new twist in the wrongful termination lawsuit by nicolette sheridan.s it mean the rest of her case is now in jeopardy? does springs early arrival have you sneezing? what you can do to get relief. will catch up with george clooney and robert deniro as we get started on a wednesday morning. >> thank you. 56 degrees on tv hill. >> coming up, we'll take a last look at weather and traffic before you head out to start your day. >> if you're heading north on 95 come you may have a big problem. >> the e-zpass lanes are closed because of a tractor-trailer accident. watch for delays as volume picks up. southbound delays at the fort mchenry. we have a problem in columbia. watch for debris in the road. a slow go on 95 coming out of white marsh. 32 of the west side outer loop. this is the fort mchenry. looking at delays coming out of the toll plaza. a slowdown development of the north side and harford. >> a slight cold dawn today. >> from 80 to 76. what a day yesterday. a high temperature of 66 or 77. a chance for rain and back in the forecast thursday night and in

bombshell evidence has emerged in a lawsuit filed by a former desperate housewives actress nicolette sheridan. her attorney played a brief note from amanda said abc tried to cover up plans to fire her from the hit show. it ordered the deletion of e- mails about the death of her character. the judge ordered the man to appear in court today. we have 60 degrees. >> another warning about watching what you eat and drink. the main targets of a new health study. >> battling bullies and the motion picture association of america. the list of celebrities calling for action keeps growing. >> and a homecoming hi there. chase freedom is offering 5% cash back at gas stations this quarter. wow, thanks! beep. beep. activate your 5% cash back at chase.com/freedom. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> a busy morning. here's what's coming up a 6:00. more headaches for drivers on the beltway. another round of construction could mean more long delays. will tell you where. >> if overhauling how the government spends money on transportation projects. >> and the latest big thing on th

the $6 million wrongful termination suit against abc ended in a mistrial for nicolette sheridan.of sheridan, but needed nine to in the trial. her attorney says he will try for a retrial. ashton kutcher may at astronaut to his resume. he is the 500th person to reserve a spot on a virgin atlantic spacecraft. he forked over $20,000 as a down payment. his triple in up costing $200,000. you go into space and only stay weightless for a few minutes then come right back down. >> i hope you get the video for free. >> it is 61 degrees. >> secretary state joining the search for history's most [ man ] hmm. a lot can happen in two hundred thousand miles... are you guys okay? yeah. ♪ ♪ [ man ] i had a great time. thank you, it was really fun. ♪ ♪ [ crash ] i'm going to write down my number, but don't use it. [ laughing ] ♪ ♪ [ engine turns over ] [ male announcer ] the all-new subar5 impreza®. experience love that lasts. ♪ ♪ >> spring officially arrived overnight, but for the famous cherry trees it has been for more than a week. >> the blossoms will likely be at peak bloom as soon as today the

nicolette sheridan is accusing the show's creator of writing her out of the show after the mysteriousreatment she received. krig melvin reports, they're trying to figure out how to counter this surprise revelation. >> reporter: anonymous messages are nothing new to the women of desperate housewives. >> how ironic to have something i tried to keep secret treated so casually. >> reporter: now, the real life court drama may be imitating one of the many plot twists in the show. >> i'm an employee of desperate house wires, i received an e-mail soon after nicolette filed suit that regarded having i.t. come in and wipe clean the hard drives of the producers in regard to the core responsible dense they've had e-mailwise regarding filing nicolette. there was a conspiracy to cover up the correspondence. >> sheridan's legal team wants to hear more from this desperate housewives employee, and they've subpoenaed him to appear in court today. >> the trans scripps is very clear, in was a companywide sweep of e-mails regarding nicolette. it's very clear. >> reporter: her character was killed off afte

in a twist worthy of desperate housewives nicolette sheridan the actress producing bombshell evidencehey have abc private coverup plans to fire her. she got a voice mail claiming he was accidentally copied on an e-mail telling executives to get rid of all communications relating to her death on the character on the tv show. she is seeking $6 million in damages on the network. get ready to rock and roll all night long. kiss' new mini golf course is opening in las vegas. only in las vegas. besides an awesome glow in the dark course it features an arcade and what else do you have to have in las vegas? a wedding chapel of course. how would you like to be married by gene simmons or an actor dressed like gene simmons. >> after playing putt-putt. >> on your honeymoon. >>> the most wanted drug kingpins sitting in plain sight at one of the world's top beach resorts. the mexican government missed him. you have to hear this one. >> last chance to e-mail us on this story. the white house moving to block a texas law requiring voters to show photo id before they head out to vote. we want to know is

meanwhile, let's move on to actress nicolette sheridan.talking about her $4 million lawsuit against abc's "desperate housewives." what do you know about that situation? >> if you listen to nicolette sheridan, "desperate housewives" sounds more like the rural housewives of beverly hills. now, she's mad because she said she was written out of the script. she is suing for wrongful termination, and she said that the show's crater mark cherry, hit her. now, he said, well, i did hit her, but it wasn't like she is saying. he said i was rehearsing some lines with her. i was giving her an example of how i wanted her to execute one of the parts. now, she claims that he got mad because she didn't like one of the scripts. there was some line in there with a troerchs a beatles song, and so she is saying that because she complained, because he struck her, and because she went to the brass about it, that's why he wrote her out of the script. she was in court on friday, and there's a report that said she lost her cool during cross-examination when they ac

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. >>> to the desperate housewives trial in los angeles, jurors in the nicolette sheridan wrongful term i kanation case will try t reach a verdict. craig melvin has more from los angeles. >> reporter: the cliffhanger continued when the judge revealed jurors are hopelessly dead locked. >> unless they get one more vote we won't see a verdict. >> reporter: nicolette sheridan claimed her character was killed off because she claimed the show creator slapped her during rehearsal. he contended it was a light tap directing her in a scene. she is suing for $5.7 million. abc touchstone decided to off the character before the incident. if jurors don't agree on a verdict monday, the judge will declare a mistrial. she ordered both sides tom reconsider a settlement. >> the judge asked the parties to talk. we talked, it went nowhere. >> the two week trial had all the makes of a housewife's episode. >> mystery with it surfaced. >> i received an e-mail. >> the producer leaked mike delfino is being killed off. then the biggest plot twist. >> i'm thrilled by the judge's decision. >> threw out a battery ch

the wrongful termination trial of that lady right there, nicolette sheridan fired from "desperate housewivesa stir at this trial. the man who left that anonymous voice mail may take the stand today. we're going to find out more details about that. coming up. >> anyway, also ahead, joy bauer will be here with her diet s.o.s. helping everybody figure out the best foods to help you heal faster if you're recovering from surgery. and nutrition foods that even a picky toddler will love. how to avoid high sugar content and frozen meals. >>> a lot of good items today. pillows there. monogrammed leather cuffs, a luggage set for your next destination. even something for your pets. apparently 80% off. >> here's to animal elevators. >> and water. >> and water? >> okay. you guys okay? >> no fighting. no. >> let's go inside. natalie's standing by with a look at all the headlines. >> good morning once again. in news this morning, more fallout today from sunday's massacre of afghan civilians allegedly by an american soldier. nbc's atia abawe is in kabul. >> reporter: good morning. protests began in eastern

they are split over how to decide wrongful termination lawsuit nicolette sheridan filed against "desperateeator of the show claims her demise was scripted all along. she claims he whacked her in the face to show her how a scene was supposed to work. she complained and he retaliated by firing her. he claims it decision to can her was made bell before the blow. she is suing for $6 million and the jury may not be able to reach a verdict. joining us jonna spilbor and kill kimberly guilfoyle. sheridan suffer sad blow to her case when they dismissed mark cherry from the case? >> they did. i don't think it's as big a blow as we might believe it to be. basically what she said was there was an assault. he hit her in the head during a rehearsal. the judge said even if he hit you in the head, there aren't any damages. the damages are $1. let's focus on the wrongful termination. megyn: her big money case, the $6 million case is still alive and well, or is it in the jury come back after a day and says they are hopelessly deadlocked? >> they have to have 9 jurors agree in order for her to prevail on her

a jury failed to decide whether actress, nicolette sheridan was wrongfully terminated or whether sheas killed off that show, bill, for, you know, just for creative reasons. the character perhaps, it was time for the character to go. bill: happens on soap operas all the time, doesn't it? martha: killing off for creative reasons. at least we hope. bill: 17 minutes before the hour. there is explosive new information now, in the botched "fast and furious" gun-running program. documents revealing a federal agents picked up a top drug cartel suspect targeted by the operation but let him go after he pledged to cooperate and stay in touch with investigators. good luck with that. utah congressman, jason chaffetz serves on house committee on oversight and government reform. good morning morning to you. >> good morning, bill. bill: what do you make of this revelation? >> this is troubling. we're being slow-walked by the justice department. the obama administration is still not giving us all the documents. here we have a revelation in may of 2010, we apprehended somebody who is committing a crim

a an attorney for actress nicolette sheridan will make one last attempt to convince jurors that the actriesbecause she complained by the series creator. they say her claims are overblown. her character was on the chopping block months before the dispute. the hit show is in its 8th season, jon, its final season but still a lot of money at stake especially in this case. jon: nicolette, not looking so good. >> she got hit. jon: we'll see. popular hbo racing drama "luck" suspends all filming using horses after a third horse was euthanized after injuries suffered during production. rick folbaum has the story. >> reporter: this takes viewers into the world of horse racing. the other main attract is unis horses big strong animals given full on hollywood treatment. veteran nick nolte one of the stars. you can see him in the hat there. take a look at this. >> now listen, you just keep them settled. coming up to the gate. now he is going to do the rest all on his own. >> thank you, mr. smith. ♪ . >> reporter: that horse and all the other horses that are a part of the show now being kept off the set w

we're talking about former "desperate housewives" actress nicolette sheridan.she said her character was killed off after she claims terry slapped her in the head. abc says he was demonstrating physical humor he wanted used in the show and called it a light tap to the head. during the testimony sheridan demonstrated. she smacked her lawyer in court to reenact the incident. she hit him hard enough. you could hear the smack clear across the courtroom. they say he had planned to write her out of the show anyway months before the incident as a plot twist because he wanted to shock viewers, get some ratings as a result. the rest of the housewives are on the witness list to testify in behalf of sherry. in the end they'll decide if sheridan's termination of her employment was illegal workplace retaliation or, in fact, was it a creative decision unconnected to the alleged battery incident. it's wild to me though, i guess they had to demonstrate it somehow, that she smacked her lawyer in the head. does her lawyer get to sue her how? >> well, hopefully they had made an ag

. >>> actress nicolette sheridan returns to the stand after giving her lawyer a good slap.howing her how the producer of desperate housewives hit her, a move she said ultimately led to her character being killed off. >>> and president obama was interrupted by a heckler in the middle of a fundraising speech. this was in new york last night. listen. >> none of this change -- none of -- nobody's announced a war, young lady, so -- but we appreciate your sentiment. you're jumping the gun a little bit there. >> about 900 people paid anywhere from 1,000 to $35,000 each to attend last night's event, which was hosted by russell simmons. still ahead for us on "early start," food and medicine coming in. the wounded finally getting out. syria letting the red cross into a besieged neighborhood in homs. we'll have a live report for you. you're watching "early start." courage. and all the points i earned with my citi thankyou card. [ male announcer ] the citi thankyou card. redeem points for travel on any airline with no blackout dates. in here, the landscaping business grows with snow. t

sheridan's attorney over the weekend. >> i received an e-mail soon after nicolette filed suit that regarded having i.t.cers in response to correspondence that they have had, e-mailwise, about firing her. >> reporter: reinhart helped build the colorfully suburban set and has been with the show since the beginning. he said he came forward to get the truth out. sheridan's lawyers hoped his testimony would help prove her character was killed off when she complained executive producer marc cherry hit her in the head. but hollywood reporter inside the courtroom said it didn't go well. the problem was ultimately he wasn't that credible. even he couldn't be sure of exactly what he read and he couldn't remember who it was sent to. he didn't have a copy of it. he had very little detail. then 48-year-old sheridan took the stand and gave a brief version of what she said happened on set in 2008. in a trembling voice she said, quote, he was dismissive and he hit me. shortly after her testimony the judge threw out the battery complaint saying there was not enough evidence. >> obviously i'm thrilled by the judge's dec

in court cherry testified once nicolette said she thought hatcher was the meanest woman in the world for how she was treating her. cherry criticized sheridan's unprofessional behavior, not punctual, forgetting lines and nasty to a prop man and critical of costars. >> this has been ugly. it's not helping anyone. >> reporter: for a time the show was such a cultural touchstone former first lady laura bush made a joke she knew everyone would get at the 2005 correspondents dinner. >> 9:00. mr. excitement here is sound asleep. [ laughter ] >> and i'm watching "desperate housewives." [ laughter ] >> reporter: those days are in the past. >> i burned your house down. >> reporter: with the show winding down and especially for the star who insists she was wrongly jettisoned from the cast. one of the only facts not in dispute that was that sheridan was fired after the hitting incident and after she complained about it. the rest was a he said/she said dispute with no smoking gun offered yet by either side. the jury should get the case early next week. natalie? is. >> mike taibbi in los angeles for us. thank you. >>> police are investigating a deadly shoo

sheridan's attorney says he got from someone at the show. >> marc, i'm an employee of "desperate housewives." i received an e-mail soon after nicoletteiled suit that regarded having i.t. come in and wipe clean the hard drives of the producers in response to the correspondence that they have had, e-mailwise, about firing nicolette. there was definitely a conspiracy to cover up the correspondence e-mailwise, in regards to in this case let. see ya. >> reporter: sheridan's legal team wants to hear more from the "desperate housewives" employee and they have subpoenaed him to appear in court today. >> the transcription is very clear. there was a companywide sweep of the producers' e-mails on anything related to in this case let's termination, it's important. >> reporter: the testimony would support sheridan's claims she was fired from the show after she complained executive producer marc cherry struck her in the head. cherry himself testified what she called a hard hit was just a light tap while rehearsing a scene. legal expert lori levinson. >> this is a huge piece of evidence. if it's true and if the judge lets it in. it would be bigger