young boys he allegedly targeted over a span of more than 15 years. let's go straight to nancy grace who's been all over this case to try to get a better understanding of all of this. nancy, was this a smart decision by sandusky and his attorney? >> it was a win-win decision. it was a win for the defense joe johns because otherwise they would have had the case laid bear for the public of the granted it's a closed courtroom to cameras but there are spectators and reporters that can hear what happened and they would have had heard every excruciating detail. to our count, we can identify five alleged victims there waiting in line to testify against sandusky. so they would have given their testimony. the win for the prosecution is that the defense did not get a dry run at cross-examination. this is what i predicted to you yesterday should go down. the state should under no circumstance offer up all of the alleged victims like a thanksgiving turkey, to get sliced up on cross exam. they did it, now for the defense, defense attorneys typically would love the chance to go fishing at the expense of the state's witnesses here it would have been a pr nightmare for sandusky's lawyer. so you know, today the lawyer amendola is out on every news network talking about how great it was there was not a preliminary hearing. i don't care what he says all right, all i care about is what sandusky says and for once he's remaining quiet. >> let's listen to a sound bite we got from sandusky's attorney earlier today. here's what he said. >> in return for us waiving this hearing, which was a close decision, we really kind of labored over whether we wanted to do this, but ultimately we decided it would be better for jerry to be guaranteed that he can remain out on bail pending a resolution in this case and trial rather than proceed with a preliminary hearing and run the risk that additional bail might be set either today or a later point in time. >> now nancy, sitting there listening to that on your couch at home, you think that's a big win for the prosecutors. is it really? >> get real! look. they were having talks into the night. so all of this would not come out on the witness stand. hey, it was no skin off the prosecution's back to avoid putting their witnesses on the stand. this was a big win for the defense. don't tell me it was a last minute decision. he was on his knees last night begging the state not to go forward. this is the state's decision, they could have gone forward whether the defense liked it or not. in fact it's their duty but here they are moving forward, we're going to have another court date in a couple of weeks, mid january, where there will be an arraignment. i guarantee there's going to be a not guilty plea entered and sandusky will probably not even show up in court. why? because it will be another chance for him to look bad. how can he avoid it? there's like 40 counts of alleged child molestation. >> you also have to wonder whether there's going to be a plea deal in all of this because we've heard so much about the evidence. realizing some of that evidence is already been called into question, at least the testimony, do you think there are chances of a plea dell -- >> says who? you? what's been called into the question, nobody has taken the stand yet. >> mcqueary's testimony has been called into question. >> by who? >> we talked about it yesterday on this program. >> i asked who called it in, the defense has. i need to come to washington to straighten you out. let me tell you something, the defense is going to use every public forum they can to attack the state's witnesses. listen, even if one witness, mcqueary has been called into question, as you saw today, they are lined up to testify against sandusky. how many more states' witnesses can they destroy on cross-examination. maybe he is a fatality for the state but he's one of many. >> do you think the attorneys for sandusky have messed up this case? will he have a defense that he didn't have good counsel? >> when there's conviction, it's standing operating procedures that the defendant sits in jail and decides his defense lawyer is to blame. true, the defense lawyer should never have let sandusky go on air and interview with anybody. that was a big mistake. all of that can and will come into court. i can guarantee you that. but the reason that we're in court now is not because of the defense lawyer, it's because of the allegations claimed against sandusky. sandusky has made this mess and he's the one that going to have to answer in court for it. regarding a plea as you wisely mentioned a few moments ago, it would likely be in sandusky's best interest to enter a plea so all of this doesn't come out in open court. but i guarantee the state is not going to go down without hard jail time. so sandusky and his wife need to resign themselves to the fact that he's going to jail. >> you do think his wife has real legal exposure at this point and would you be advising her to get a lawyer if she hasn't already gotten one? >> i don't, i don't think she has real legal exposure. under our system, even if she heard a young boy crying for help, which i don't think she did. i believe the little boy's story, i believe that did happen from what i have read, but i really do not believe this woman, this good and kind hearted woman would have turned a deaf ear to a call for help. i don't think she has legal exposure and don't think she's going to be prosecuted. of what? of being a trusting and believing wife? i don't think any jury in this jury could find her guilty. sandusky is an entirely different matter. >> it is always a pleasure to talk to you and i learn something every time i do. >> bye, friend. >> the other stories making news, the house of representatives may vote today on a republican plan to extend the payroll tax cut. democrats have been pushing to extend the cut which will otherwise expire next month but the republican plan adds conditions democrats don't like, including the construction of a controversial oil pipeline from canada to texas. even if the republican plan is approved by the house democratic leaders say it won't pass the senate. president obama wants iran to return the u.s. drone it claims to have downed. it says the u.s. has asked for the drone and is waiting for a response. the iranians say the unmanned aircraft was on a spy mission over iran and they say they are keeping it. there's concern the drone could provide iran with u.s. military secrets. >> anybody on either side. >> former vice president dick cheney says president obama should have ordered an air strike to destroy it. four soldiers died last in a helicopter crash, two army observation helicopters crashed in a training base mccord. they are trying to determine what went wrong. a congressional panel is holding its first meeting today looking into reports of serious misconduct at the dover air force base mortuary. most of america's fallen troops pass through the delaware base as they prepare for burial. remains were mishandled and body parts incinerated and dumped in a landfill. there's news about another hazing investigation involving the florida a and m marching 100 band. three band members were arrested yesterday in connection with an incident that allegedly occurred weeks before the death of drum major robert champion. police say the suspects attacked hunter on october 31st and november 1st, breaking her leg and causing blood clots. so far police are not linking the suspects to the alleged hazing death of champion three weeks later. just how far can a state go in its crackdown on i am legal immigrants and does arizona go too far? as the u.s. supreme court is prepared to take up the case, i'll ask one of the toughest anti-immigration in the nation, sheriff arpaio joins any next. first, meet aaron wright, the brave 6-year-old met his mother after her car flew down a 60-foot snow covered em bankment. he managed to escape and find a man who called 911. he's too shy to adds met he's a hero but not to say how much he loves his mother. aaron, you are a total rock star! brad, where we going? just a second. just, just one second. ♪ what are you looking at? don't look up there. why are you looking up? ♪ get outta the car. get outta the car. ♪ are you ok? the... get in the car. get in the car! 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[ buzzer ] [ male announcer ] finding the must have soul by ludacris headphones for $199.99 at radioshack. so right. ♪ [♪...] >> male announcer: book now, save up to 65%. call 1-800-sandals. enforcing immigration laws is a tough job but somebody has to do. the question is who? the supreme court will tell us in june whether it's solely the job of the federal government or whether the states can join in. arizona, for example, the high court has agreed to take up four key parts of that hugely controversial arizona law that requires police to check the status of suspected illegal immigrants who are stopped or arrested for other reasons. it makes it a state crime for immigrants to violate a federal registration law and makes it illegal for undocumented immigrants to hold or try to find jobs. it let's police make warrantless arrests if they believe the suspects are deportable. lower courts at the urging of the white house have put all of the measures on hold but now arizona wants clarity. when it comes to immigration enforcement, nobody is more clear than my next guest, maricopa county sheriff joe arpaio. let me read you one sentence the judge writes, the idea that 50 individual states or one individual state should have a foreign policy is absurdity too gross to be entertained. what do you think of that statement? does arizona s a foreign policy and is that appropriate? >> i spent years in mexico enforcing the laws with the federal drug enforcement. i'm kind of shocked at that decision was made by that judge but now i'm happy that we're going to the supreme court and get this problem resolved. you ought to keep foreign problems away from us and arizona enforcing state laws. >> now, how much a difference does this law, this individual law really make to you if the supreme court says the law has to be struck down once and for all, would you still be able to do your job? or would you you be hand strung in any way there? >> we've been doing the job anyway, we have investigated and arrested on the streets and in the jail system. it doesn't change anything. i do like certain parts of that new law but i'll tell you one thing we've been doing that under two other state laws. we have two other state laws, one is the employer sanction that the supreme court ruled in our favor. it's not going to change anything i'm doing regardless of what that decision is. >> so the fact of the matter is, if you look at this thing closely, the supreme court could do away with sb 1070 and you wouldn't be affected? >> that's right. we got two other state laws we're enforcing. not -- for get the 1070 raid businesses on employer sanction and catch people from mexico coming in our county, thousands we've arrested. nothing to do with the 1070. >> do you have any second thoughts about what you're doing? as i understand it, the fellow who wrote the law has been booted out of office and they are coming after you too. >> let them come. as long as the laws are on the books i'm going to enforce those laws. i'm the elected sheriff. so you don't like it, take the laws off the books. if they are on the books, this sheriff will continue to enforce it. >> what do you think about the politicians who say there ought to be humane enforcement. i think newt gingrich is among those who have made this point. do you think that's the same as amnesty or do you agree with this notion of humane enforcement. >> i think it's aamnesty. a lot of politicians wasn't amnesty, the texas governor perry sent the troops out to the border for five years. he's one governor at least who is enforcing these laws since the feds are not doing it. get other people involved, other states involved to fight this problem. forget about a national policy emanating from the white house and the justice department. let every state take the laws and enforce them. >> i don't know if you've seen it but there's new immigration numbers out that suggest border arrests are down sharply. the numbers i have in my hand here say 340,000 in fiscal 2011. 705 in 2008, 1.6 million in 2000. what does that say to you? do you believe those numbers and actually think the number of people trying to cross the border has gone down too? >> the only answer i can give you, every time we go out there we're locking up illegals in the workplace, we have no problems arresting them from the border. how domestic this sheriff doesn't have any problems? they are still coming in and you can draw all of the statistics out there but they are still coming in to arizona. >> sheriff joe arpaio, thanks for talking to us. i know we'll come back to you soon. >> thank you. >> imagine losing 30 pounds in 30 days? sounds like a diet too good to be true? the fda agrees and cracking down on companies selling hcg. what is this new diet craze and is it dangerous? i'll speak to one doctor who's all for it. everyone believes in keeping their promises once a year. but we believe in helping people take steps to keep them every single day. that's why every day we help people across the country get into their first homes. prepare for a comfortable retirement and protect the people and things that matter most. at genworth we believe every day is the right day to take a step toward tomorrow. a diet all the rage is the target of fda rage doctors use it to treat infertility but it's not approved over the counter for any purpose. they submitted letters to seven diet companies that submit it and they say the drug is unapproved. the weight loss claims unsupported. if the companies don't comply they could face legal action. the doctor is a weight loss physician, do you think the fda got it wrong? >> no, i don't think they got it wrong. we've been explaining to patients this is a prescription drug that needs to be prescribed by a doctor, it's not something to be bought over the counter. >> what do you think triggered this decision? what is it that makes the fda go out and decide there's something wrong with a treatment like this and say we've got to get rid of it or whatever? >> i think because this diet has become so growingly popular in the united states, that some companies may have been jumping on the bandwagon and trying to sell this over the counter. however, in my practice, what we are doing is we're really pioneering and having this looked at as a possible use for weight loss in an approved way by the fda. hopefully when the research comes out t. will show that. >> what makes you think hcg is better than some of the other diets on market, and what makes you think this one works? we've had so many different examples of different diets that turned out to be scams. >> well, hcg used in a prescription form has the potential to change the dynamics within the body during the use of a low calorie diet. it's those changes that occur in the body that may be contributing to longer term changes to help people with weight loss. that is what we're taking a closer look at. however, a lot of companies selling things over the counter may be making false claims and that's something the fda has decided was something that people should not be taking lightly. diet is something that physicians really need to follow closely with their patients to ensure they are a good candidate, that they don't have any underlying medical conditions that need to be followed closely and make sure they have success on it as well. >> you use the stuff on the prescription level, if you will, but the fda says it shouldn't be used. we have 'statement here, there's no substantial evidence that it increases weight loss beyond that resulting from calorieic restriction that hcg causes a more attractive or normal distribution of fat or that it decreases the hunger and discomfort associated with calorie-restricted diets. it says it doesn't work. i mean, plain and simple. what's your response to that? >> right, there was a batch of data in the late '70s to early '80s and that was the ee quif cal conclusion from that but it hasn't had a new batch of research done to look at different perimeters such as higher dosing and body composition. so that's what our practice is focusing on. the evidence is very strong so just it needs to be looked at more closely. once the data comes out, it will allow it to be re-evaluated and looked at a second time. >> thanks so much for that. i know a lot of people are talking about this diet. >> a lot of people are talking about it and there's a lot to be said. stay tuned on that. >> appreciate it. >> thank you so much, joe. >> we're going to take you to an ancient european city after the break. it's located on islands where two rivers meet. it was the birth place and known for its christmas market but today that market turned deadly. we go globe trekking next. we begin in eastern bell jim jum after a gun and grenade attack. the attacker is among the dead, identified as a 33-year-old city resident. there's no information on any motive. some reports say the attacker served prison time on drug and firearms convictions but never been charged with any terror crimes. now so syria, where at least 34 people are said to have died in today's fighting between government troops and dissidents, the united nations says 5,000 people have died since the violence broke out nine months ago. but a government spokesman disputes that figure calling it incredible. they say the dead include a 10-year-old boy killed by sniper's bullet in his own home. mourners were going to bury the boy friday, the funeral procession also came under fire. finally to pakistan where political leaders are criticizing a u.s. move to cut aid. pakistani relations have grown increasingly strained and pakistan recently stopped fuel shipments to nato sources. yesterday a committee voted to withhold $700 million in aid in to pakistan. the chairman of the the foreign affairs committee calls the u.s. move unfortunate and untimely. newt gingrich has advice for mitt romney. you be nice to me and i'll be nice to you. but is all of this good guy talk possible in such a heated presidential race? plus, win or lose the first few primaries why romney says he's in it for the long haul. this is the part of the show where we go past the partisan talking points and all sides are fair game. mitt romney has tipped his hand in an interview he called newt gingrich the front-runner but conceded it will be a long road to the presidential nomination. romney seems to be looking past iowa and south carolina and florida. joining me now are maria cardona and lenny mcallister. people out there, the taxpayers and voters, the people who are going to be covering these races, the candidates we all want to know, is this going to be a very long race? start with you, lenny. >> i don't think it's going to be a long race. i think the reason he has to shape it that way, the possibility of losing all four of the first four contests. super tuesday may end u