attack in the strongest possible terms. >> cnn foreign affairs correspondent jill dougherty is at the state department. we heard some strong words. any action to follow? >> reporter: no action because really what they have to do is get the syrian government to protect these diplomats. it is not just the u.s., candy. it is the french have gone through some similar things. but so far these incidents seem to be escalating. listen to what secretary clinton said specifically about protecting those diplomats. >> this attempt to intimidate our diplomats through violence is wholly unjustified. we immediately raised this incident with the syrian government and we are demanding that they take every possible step to protect our diplomats according to their obligations under international law. >> reporter: so that is the u.s. position, candy is that this is basically ginned up by the syrian government, having people coming out to attack or do something to the u.s. ambassador and others. now, the syrian government says that these are just people who are motivated by this interference, as they would put it, by the u.s. government into the syrian affairs. so where it goes is not clear because the ambassador is making it very clear himself that he was going to go where he wants to go, with or without permission by the syrian government. >> jill dougherty at the state department, thanks very much. in bahrain today, 20 doctors were sentenced to prison terms ranging from five to 15 years. their crime, treating people injured by security forces during this year's crackdown on peaceful anti-government protests. during a visit to libya today, senator john mccain said he would like to see moammar gadhafi captured alive and put on trial. mccain says the libyan people have turned cynics into supporters and inspired the world. >> i believe very strongly that the people of libya today are inspiring the people in tehran, in damascus, and even in beijing and moscow. >> libya's transitional leaders are trying to get the country running again, but as cnn's phil black shows us, tripoli neither looks nor sounds normal. >> reporter: it is one of the most common and iconic images of libya's revolution. smiling, trigger happy fighters firing into the air. any chance they get. libya's capital still echoes with bullets of joy. and no matter how often you hear it, you never quite get used to it. this is now tripoli at night. families, children, everywhere, celebrating this country's new freedom. as well as guns and gunfire. this country has a gun culture that will be difficult to break. this man isn't looking very comfortable. he was standing in the street when a falling bullet penetrated his shoulder. he's lucky it's not serious. it didn't hit bone. his doctor says he's been treating injuries like this and worse every day since anti-gadhafi forces entered tripoli. in the new libya, happiness is encouraged. expressing it with a gun isn't. but not everyone is listening. >> i talk to them, please stop that. you're killing people. >> reporter: phil black, cnn, tripoli. >> in italy today, the defense wrapped up its arguments about why a u.s. student's murder conviction should be overturned. cnn's paula newton is covering the trial for us. paula, what was the crux of the defense attorney's final argument? >> reporter: two points really. one is that there is a lack of evidence. and for this they turned to dna evidence that they say was botched by an amateur police investigation. they also say that that evidence was what the prosecution used to really whip up a fantasy about why amanda knox would have murdered meredith kercher. they say at the end of the day they still could not come up for a reason of why amanda knox would ever want to murder meredith kercher. candy? >> what's next, paula? >> reporter: you know this is going to be very interesting. today was a very emotional day. the defense using a lot of passion, passion i haven't seen in this courtroom before, candy. i'm sure the knox family was hoping this was the defense team they got during the original trial. having said that, amanda knox herself on monday can actually speak to the jury for about 15 minutes, can be an impassioned plea. she will deliver it in italian. she has to get over the hurdle that she herself has admitted, she looks at people and says why won't they believe me? i had nothing to do with this murder. she needs to come up with a new way to pronounce her innocence and make sure they believe her. >> incredible pressure on that young woman, paula. thanks so much tonight. here in the united states, the involuntary manslaughter trial of dr. conrad murray, michael jackson's doctor, also is attracting international attention. today, jurors heard more about the screams and chaos just after jackson was discovered unresponsive and according to the defense, already dead. cnn's ted rowlands is in los angeles for us tonight. ted, why did the prosecutors call jackson's chef to the stand? >> reporter: well, for two reasons, candy. one to provide more of the color, the specifics of what was happening, the chaos that was happening inside that house. one of the things she did say is she held the children while they were screaming during that time. but the the significant reason that the prosecution wanted her, more than the other employees, she's the only one that really has a sense of time. she said because she had to prepare a meal at a specific time, she knew exactly what time it was. she was used by the prosecution as part of their overall argument of a timeline to really time stamp the exact time when murray first signaled trouble in the house. now, before she took the stand, we heard from alberto alvarez, the director of logistics for conrad murray. he was the first person to see michael jackson unresponsive in jackson's room besides murray. he provided gripping testimony including what he claimed was a scenario where he says murray asked him to help put some vials of propofol in a bag before he called 911. >> i didn't question his authority at the time. i knew it was a medical emergency, so i proceeded to follow mr. conrad murray's instructions. >> okay. what did you think you were -- they were being -- what did you think the items were being packed up for, if anything? >> i thought we were packing to get ready to go to the hospital. >> reporter: throughout this proceeding with alvarez, the prosecution used alvarez to really establish all of the details of what went on in the house because he was that first person and really seemed to hit with that jury. they were riveted throughout the proceedings today, candy. >> that's part of what i wanted to ask you, ted. how are the jurors reacting or can you tell and how about jackson's family? >> reporter: well, absolutely. you mentioned the jackson family, they're leaving court right now. there is janet jackson walking without randy jackson as the fans cheer, justice for michael. the family has been riveted throughout this. there is joe jackson walking out as well. and so has the jury, which is fascinating because a lot of times in cases like this, jurors can drift from side to side and sometimes up and down, nodding off, not the case so far, at least. they have been riveted. >> as have we. ted rowlands thanks so much in los angeles tonight. we appreciate it. using a parliamentary maneuver that takes much longer to explain than it does to watch, the house of representatives today kept the government from shutting down by agreeing to the compromise worked out in the senate. >> without objection, the senate amendments conoccurred and motion to reconsider is laid on the table. >> there you go. crisis averted. in presidential politics, republican newt gingrich today unveiled a new 2 161st century contract with america. the first one was ten items and fit on two pages, the new contract is 23 pages and isn't done yet. >> the scale of change i am suggesting is so enormous that i couldn't possibly as a single leader show you everything i'm going to do. >> 391,000 americans filed for new unemployment benefits last week. but that's the lowest number in nearly six months and maybe signals a slight improvement in the job market. speaking on a south florida radio station, vice president biden admitted the obvious, while the economy is hurting his ticket in the polls, they will soon have someone to run against. >> right now understandably, totally legitimate this is a referendum on obama and biden, the nature of the state of the economy. it soon is going to be a choice. it is soon going to be a choice. >> bank of america says beginning next year, it will charge customers $5 a month to use their debit cards. that's in response to a new government rule that caps how much banks can charge merchants on debit card transactions, so now the customers will have to pay. next, more on today's top story. mob violence directed at the top u.s. diplomat in syria. every time a local business opens its doors or creates another laptop bag or hires another employee, it's not just good for business. it's good for the entire community. at bank of america, we know the impact that local businesses have on communities. that's why we extended $7.8 billion to small businesses across the country so far this year. because the more we help them, the more we help make opportunity possible. her morning begins with arthritis pain. that's a coffee and two pills. the afternoon tour begins with more pain and more pills. the evening guests arrive. back to sore knees. back to more pills. the day is done but hang on... her doctor recommended aleve. just 2 pills can keep arthritis pain away all day with fewer pills than tylenol. this is lara who chose 2 aleve and fewer pills for a day free of pain. and get the all day pain relief of aleve in liquid gels. the u.s. ambassador to syria is safe tonight after being attacked by a pro government mob in damascus. rahida derga works for the london based up in elle hayat and p.j. crowley is a state department spokesman. this is an ambassador unlike any i have seen, this is outside the box, is it not? >> for the last three months in particular, he's had extraordinary diplomacy on behalf of the united states. it is one thing for the president and the secretary to be here in washington and say that we identify with the aspirations of the syrian people. it is robert ford that brings that policy and those words to life. he's been to hamaa to visit with syrian people and express the united states concern about their welfare, he's challenged the assad regime, using social media, including twitter, and obviously today he's engaging in an important discussion with syrian opposition about the syria of the future that does not include bashar al assad. >> do you have any fears about this strategy of having the u.s. ambassador over there, so clearly on the side of the opposition to the government? >> yes, of course there is always fear of -- god willing it would never happen. but an attack like this could be harmful and could cause us to worry quite a bit as to what would happen to the ambassador. but as p.j. said, this is an extraordinary ambassador. i was not really for appointing an ambassador to syria when he was appointed. but he had proven to be an exceptional man, doing an exceptional job, and that is why the syrians are trying to push him out. they were hoping that he will be pulled out, you know, by either by nonconfirmation or by the united states deciding that we cannot take this humiliation, but there is also now talk about them trying to expel, maybe, wanting to expel the ambassador because they can't have his watchful eyes exposing what they're doing right there from damascus and other cities. >> p.j., let me ask you, just briefly for our audience, the ambassador was a recess appointment by the president because he could not be confirmed by the senate because there were republicans who didn't want to send an ambassador to syria for precisely the reason we just heard, her initial objections, we shouldn't send anyone there. having said that, he needs to come back at some point before christmas anyway. let me ask you about the danger zone here for him. does there come a point when we need to be worried about this? it seems to me this is a pretty dangerous assignment for him. >> right. this is an unparalleled situation. we have an ambassador in the middle of what is a conflict zone and he's standing between the government and its intimidation and attacks daily on its people. >> what is in it for the syrian government to go after the -- not just the u.s. ambassador's jill dougherty reported earlier but the french ambassador. what are they trying to do. >> they're feeling pressure. they have enormous sanctions by the united states, the europeans and others are putting pressure on china and russia to join this as well. they're feeling the pressure. robert ford is getting under their skin. and clearly they don't quite know what do. there are also things happening here. the syrian embassy here has been accused by the state department of collecting information on a family members in the united states of syrians. and then intimidating those family members back home. so there is this dynamic here. i do expect at some point in time the syrians are going to pull the plug on this and what we call png, you know, expel the ambassador. but that also has geopolitical ramifications for syria. so this is a very difficult dance that we're in. >> go ahead. >> that panicking, you see, they are really feeling the heat now because i think they understand that the united states, this administration is now quite serious in opposing the continued killing that is going on in damascus and they had thought in the past, that, you know, we'll fix it. the u.s. will change their mind, they will come around and everything will be fine. we have been there before, done that. and now they're realizing that's not going to happen. they're upping the ante. in the meantime, in the united nations, in the next few days, you will see a confrontation with russia and china if they don't come along on this resolution they're working. it will not have immediate sanctions but it will condemn the syrians and if the russians insist on equating the opposition with the authorities, the authorities in terms of this possibility of violence, i think there will be no meeting on this draft resolution. but even the russians have to come around because the situation is terrible and i think damascus understands and fears that very much so. >> and do we see any signs that russia will come around? that pressure is really needed at this point. >> well, i mean, they have a traditional -- china and russia, but what they see is interference by the international community and the internal affairs of any government, including their own. eventually i think she's right, they're going to have to do something because they can't ignore t even the iranians, great protector of the assad regime, they're feeling the heat and they have said the assad regime has gone too far and needs to pull back. eventually this will come around at some point, but it could take a while. >> have they gone so far that they really can't come back? it is now the only option is out and when do you see this coming to some kind of head here for the government? >> all right. well, the syrian family, if you will, the syrian regime represented in the assad family, it seems that they are just digging in their heels, they're not interested in any equation or they would be out. they did not even get the lesson from what happened with gadhafi in libya. they feel that they can survive this and they feel somehow the world will change their mind, they will change the subject one way or another, iran still continues to support them, russia and china still continue to encourage them in effect by not having them, you know, scrutinized as supposed to be and then you have countries like brazil, which is changing its mind, india, south africa, that have given them the idea that yes, they can be protected if they go on with killing people as they are and oppression they are exercising against the demonstrators. i think in the final analysis, syria is the linchpin for what will happen in the region. they now understand the new order, if you will, in the middle east, is being drawn and they understand that it is going to get them, they're not going to be there for too long. maybe not tomorrow, as ambassador ford himself suggested, but maybe not in a week, but certainly possibly in six months and certainly definitely most possibly in one year. the united states has got to stay the course. that is important. and the idea we give them we're changing our mind and we're hesitating or going wobbly will encourage them to really escalate against the u.s. and their own people. >> what will be decisive here is the state of the security services. you're seeing an increasing drumbeat of defections if the assad regime loses their military. then the game is over. >> so we're closing in on it. i want to thank you both so much tonight. appreciate it. next, the man who called 911 tells a jury about the screams and chaos when michael jackson's children walked into the room where their father lay dying or already dead. 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