would of course be in tripoli, his last major strong hold where he has some capability. what they don't know is what would this last stand look like. they're looking at the notion it could be scud missile launches, it could be an all-out military assault on on libyan civilians. they do not know. but that is the major concern at this hour. no firm indications that gadhafi yet is ready to pack up and go, in a maybe he plans one last effort before he finally decides. >> so it thif that is the worry there any sense that the united states would encourage its nato allies to give him a shove before he can lash out? >> you bet. the question is what's the tipping point here that would make gadhafi go once and for all. they will continue to tighten the screw, continue the bombing campaign. and it's one of those cases yet again poll the money when gadhafi finally runs out of money to pay his mercenary, to pay his own troops, the thinking is they may all turn on him, refuse to fight and then he's really got nothing left. it could be an ugly few weeks ahead before all of this is sorted out. >> you say as of now, no indications gadhafi is ready on pack it in. there are rumors from time to time, some talk people close to him have been in touch with the rebels. if word came that gadhafi wanted to leave, that somebody had offered him a safe haven somewhere, would the united states and nato get in the way or would they say please go, we'll even help you? >> that's the calculation, what do you do. there is an arrest warrant for him with the international criminal court. technically he can't just fly out of libya. he's got to to ask nato. could he sneak on board an aircraft that has permission to fly and go somewhere? could nato fighter jets track him, could they arrange for him to be arrested on on the ground wherever he lands? or is he just going to get in that unmarked vehicle and drive across the border of one of his neighboring countries and seek refuge there? these are all the things that are being looked at right now, all the questions, no thinks as tonight. >> barbara, thank you. and as we look to see what would happen, we know of course this is the libyan battlefield, the most immediate pressure comes to the area closest to tripoli. and sara sidner has been tracking the rebel defenses. and i want to show you why it's so important. see the pipelines coming through here. say have a sidner is just in the area, we don't want to say exactly where, but she's tracking rebel offensive. you hear barbara starr saying they're worried gadhafi may be planning a last stand. what is the status of the rebel offensive? >> reporter: well, i'll tell you what the statute tuesday is because we were right there on the front line in the eastern part of that strategically important city and there was an absolutely fierce firefight. in fact we had to flee the area. however the rebels have said and we believe that they have secured quite a bit of that city, about 80% at that point in time, so they're battling for about 20%. and they do believe that they will break through the line, that we'll break kad forces and be able to push on to tripoli in the next couple of days. those are the ranges that we're getting from them. we did see rebels who were able to control a tank, they had a few tanks that they had gotten off of gadhafi forces that they were ruling through the city and using to their advantage and of course they have how become in control of an oil refinery, one of the last functioning refineries in the country. and also as you might imagine, they've been able to cut this supply off for now from tripoli and tripoli has a difficult time getting its hands on fuel. so the rebels are feeling quite good about some of the victories and they've been able to make them with help from nato. >> i want to reiterate that point. you see the pipelines coming through. if they can choke off the capital, why not just choke him off or why do they think that they should march on tripoli within two to five day, why not wait to snuff the regime out by choking the supplies? >> reporter: there's a general sense that people are tired of waiting. and what you'll hear from them is they'll say we've been dealing with this for 42 years. the opposition just wants to see this come to an end as soon as possible. and they believe that they can make that happen by pushing further and further and further into trin poly where they know that gadhafi's strong hold is there, they know that's where his major support is. but in their minds, they believe this is the real key to getting him to either leave or something worse. they are pretty much saying we no longer want gadhafi in power here, we no longer want gadhafi even in the country. so they feel like they should push forward. that they should have help from nato in doing that. and that is what they're expecting to do. obviously you're going on to have a major firefight. that is what we're hearing and that's what the rebels also believe. >> sarah sid p sidner bravely o front lines for us. also important develop this is syria. will assad answer demands that he step down? by shedding more blood. thousands took to the streets across syria and eyewitnesses and human rights activists report at least 23 deaths. let's show you some of the demonstrations. you won't hear gunfire here, but what an inspiring scene this is. people waving their shoes, the bottom of their feet, saying assad must go. in this town, a suburb of damascus, ghon stldemonstrators street, gunfire arrest with a daily arwa damon is covering it for us tonight. is that crackdown essentially president assad's answer to the united states and other enter national pressure? >> the concentration today appeared to be in the southern previo province where there are numerous towns saying they were being targeted. many people wounded, many unable to go to hospitals. they're being treated in these secret underground clinics because they're afraid that the government will come and detain them if they try to go to a regular hospital. so on the ground this syria, it would seem that absolutely nothing has changed. >> and in the accepts that friday traditionally has been the day of larger demonstrations because of the tradition of friday prayers, any sense comparing this friday to past fridays, any with a to quantify whether the condemnation has any extra inspiration or motivation? >> reporter: we hear from the activists that at least makes them feel as if they are no longer alone. they have been highly critical and disillusioned with the west especially with the united states because it had taken so long to get to this stage. on the one hand, by shear use of for the, the syrian government to a certain degree has managed to shrink the volume of the demonstrations, but has not succeeded this in stopping them and you can be sure that the minute the syrian government actually decides for withdrawal its security forces, massive demonstrations will it take place. >> and we've talked many times about the importance of assad's relationship with iran. how about the importance of the relationship with russia which today says not only will it not join the cause for him to step down, but exceptionally making t essentially making the case he need more time. >> reporter: and activists will tell you how much more time is a country like russia willing to givesyria, how many more have to die. russia supplies weapons to syria, continues to do so. the two countries have a fairly close relationship. and item also about t's also ab relationship with china and pd i can't india. so the international community is still divided and that does still lieu f still allow for the government to feel at if it has a certain position of power. >> arwa, thank you. so often when we show you the videos of the disturbances, they're out here. but look the this, a glimpse of the political tensions right inside central damascus. it was shot right in the center, anti-government activists posted it online. they say their march shattered. listen. earlier today i spoke to an item witness to this scene. >> protests were going to head to another area where another protest was taking place, but as soon as we started walking towards the area, there were nuprous accounts of gunfire, gunfire was taking place from all directions. we -- people took cover. the crowd dispersed immediately. the crowd became around 500 people who were actually standing there and standing up to the government who were firing randomly at the protesters. we could see people wearing plain clothes standing with the security forces. and they were the people who were actually taking on the assault. >> and you see some of the demonstrators throwing stones. i'm sure the government would say that the protesters instigated this by throwing stones. take us through the sequencing. >> what the government will do is they sushl hausually have so filming and they're probably going to use that clip to say that they were throwing rocks. but they would probably be cut out the and you had i can't part to prove that there wasn't any gunfire. but this video proves there was gunfire and shelling of tear gas at the peaceful protests. >> and we're not there, so we get these videos from youtube and this one this damascus, we see them from all around the country. and you can see some things and the eye didn't lie, but some things we can't be sure of. you say they were firing bullets. was it live ammunition, rubber bullets? >> there's been no accounts of rubber bullets in syria. they haven't wasted their time. they do in the hesitate to use live bullets. they don't care about the consequences before the idea of attacking or taking the fall on the peaceful protesters is disbursing the crowds. >> you go by a pseudonym to identify your agent, but the government says they know who you are. how would you answer that? >> these are cheap allegations just to basically make us the pro democracy activists look bad. they're worried about people being infatuated with the idea and actually taking part, as well, so they make us look bad basically. this hasn't stopped me, hasn't stopped a lot of people who have been accused on syrian state tv. >> we're having this conversation over skype, but you did not want to show your face. explain why you think that's a risk. >> anyone who is working online against the government or taking part in the protest is a target and will be detained and probably tortured and might be killed. if my face goes on tv, then i think it would be minutes before they came and otook me away fro home. >> alexander paige speaking to us from damascus. we appreciate your help and we wish you safety. >> thank you. still ahead, a good will basketball game turns in to a brawl in china. just as vice president biden pays an important visit. and next, the west memphis three are free, yet the state still says they're guilty of brutally killing three young boys. that's why i like glucerna shakes. they have slowly digestible carbs to help minimize blood sugar spikes, which can help lower a1c. 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[ slap! slap! slap! slap! slap! ] [ male announcer ] your favorite foods fighting you? fight back fast with tums. calcium rich tums goes to work in seconds. nothing works faster. ♪ tum tum tum tum tums the nascar nationwide series, i know pleasing fans is a top priority, 'cause without the fans, there'd be no nascar. just like if it weren't for customers, there'd be no nationwide. that's why they serve their customers' needs, not shareholder profits. because as a mutual, nationwide doesn't report to wall street, they report to their customers. and that's just one more reason why the earnhardt family has trusted nationwide for more than 30 years. nationwide is on your side. an amazing moment in arkansas as on on lookers cleared three men who spent 18 years in prison walked free. it's partly because new dn after the evidence can't connect them to the crime scene and partly because some high level celebrities took up their cause. they've been known as the west memphis three. they were teenagers when a jury convicted them of the 1993 killings of three young boys, but over the year, the doubts gr grew. damien echols was on death row before a maneuver set him and his companions free. >> they came in with ghost story, rumors. innuendo, things that had nothing to do with the case whatsoever. and they know now the whole world was watching, they would have to come with some sort of concrete physical evidence, and they didn't have any. >> david mattingly has long been covering this case. this hearing was a bit of a surprise. take us inside the courtroom when the west memphis free will be free. >> reporter: well, this was a small courtroom, absolutely packed. there was about 15 to 20 armed officers in that room to to maintain order. there were families abandmember both the west memphis three and for the young boys who were killed. when the judge started explaining all the twists and turns behind this complex legal agreement, everyone slowly was able to hear that the west memphis free was going free, but not until they entered guilty pleas to first degree murder charges and acknowledged that the state of arkansas does have thaefd they could use to convict them. in the end, the west memphis three went free and the emotions that have been surroundsing this case continue. there was a short outburst from some parents of the boys inside the courtroom, one father yelling at the judge saying you've just opened a pandora's box. but there are other pare parent assume the west memphis three. and you can hear the emotions at play. >> i don't know what kind of deal they worked up. now you can get a little money behind you and walk free from killing somebody? >> they're going to have to stand up in court and say they're guilty of a crime that they didn't commit and that is total hypocrisy. it's the most crazy hinthing i' heard in my life. >> the judge acknowledged that had this is probably not going to make any of the pain go away for anyone, not the pain that the parents expressed when they lost their children and not the pain that the west memphis three themselves have endured over the last 18 years that they've been behind bars. >> remarkable case and remarkable coverage. david, thank you so much. just a short time ago, i spoke with the attorney for another of the memphis three defendants, he represents jessie misskelley who had been serving a life term. >> well, jesse's got a lot of catching up to do. remember, 1 years ago, there weren't cell phones and obviously computers and everything were a8 years ago, t weren't cell phones and obviously computers and everything were a lot different. he has a huge amount of catching up in society to do. as came out in many of the hearings, he's got some limited intellectual resources, but i think he'll do all right. he's going to need some guidance and readjusting back to society because he really hasn't been anywhere but the prison system since he was 17 years old. >> and it's been a source of controversy because he does have an iq of only 72. and he delivered a confession back in the day, confessed to this, but what he confessed to, his presentation was diversion from the facts of the case. the investigation is gathered wouldby police. do you believe he was trick fld into that? >> he was tricked, bamboozled, whatever verb you want to use, but he was as i say basically mentally retarded or borderline at best. and didn't understand what he was getting in to. they fed him details and told him he would be free if he recited those details. and of course all that was litigated before. but back then, there was a less firm understanding in society and in law enforcement and psychology about false con fepgss. and there's a lot more understanding now about how people, particularly people with limited intellectual abilities, can be tricked and whatever into falsely confessing which of course was the evidence against him in this case. >> your client and the two other defendants have freedom, but we do not have clarity. a statement from the attorney general says i continue to believe that these defendants are guilty. and as you know right there at the court house, the local prosecutor made clear he agreed to the deal, but he still thinks -- listen. >> i have no reason to believe that there was anyone else involved in the homicide of these three children but the three defendants who pled guilty today. and it's why we moved forth and so as far as the state's concerned today, and i speak for the state at the prosecutor for the second judicial district, i believe that this case is closed and there will not -- there are no other individuals involved. >> you have freedom, but you don't have clarity. any hint, any reservations in the back that you should have held out and gone through the additional proceedings to maybe get a new trial as opposed to having this complex legal maneuver that gets you freedom but still has the state saying your client's guilty? >> that's a different question and different people could argument it a different way. my client wanted to go home and he despaired of ever being able to fully clear his name in the sense that some people -- some cases, the evidence just doesn't exist that could clear. because particularly as the result of the passage of time. and this was we thought the best result possible under the circumstances. s . >> thank you so much for your time. joe biden is in china. his trip seems to be going much better than a good will visit by a basketball team. ♪ [ male announcer ] they'll see you...before you see them. cops are cracking down on drinking and riding. drive sober, or get pulled over. sure, but let me get a little information first. for broccoli, say one. for toys, say two. toys ! the system can't process your response at this time. what ? please call back between 8 and 5 central standard time. he's in control. goodbye. even kids know it's wrong to give someone the run around. at ally bank you never have to deal with an endless automated system. you can talk to a real person 24/7. it's just the right thing to do. joe biden is on a major trip to china, but so far the big headlines are who are about a brawl. check out these images from what is supposed to be a good will basketball game between georgetown and the rockets. amateur video clearly show as rockets player ramming a georgetown guard and then throwing a flurry of punches at bow en's chest. with that came chaos. unbelievable. the game was called and the teams met friday to make peace. or at least blet's take a look t what i mean. if you look at projections of the u.s. economy and the chinese economy. there we go. you'll see in terms of gdp, the united states economy much bigger. the chinese economy expected to surpass the united states in 2019. if you go back to 2000, the blue line is the united states. we dominate manufacturing but china is catching up and 2015 to surpass the united states. china's