Now that President Barack Obama has announced that he will bring all American troops home by the end of the year, it may be time to assess the war there, in human and financial costs, and in what was accomplished. What do you think?

50 percent of Americans favor the legalization of marijuana, up from 46 percent last year, according to a new Gallup poll.

It was the first time in the survey that the number of people favoring legalization was higher than those opposed.

The support for legalized marijuana use has continued to climb since Gallup first began asking questions about it in 1969. Then, only 12 percent of Americans supported legalization, with 84 percent opposed.

Throughout the late 1970s into the 1990s support for legalization remained in the mid 20-percent range, with it passing 30 percent in 2000 and 40 percent in 2009.

The latest poll shows that support for legalized pot is highest in the West (55 percent), among liberals (69 percent), younger Americans (62 percent), and men (55 percent).

Dr. Christopher Glenn Fichtner, author of "Cannibanomics,'" appeared Monday on The Dylan Ratigan show, where he spoke about the potential benefits of legalizing marijuana. He endorsed the California Medical Association’s decision last week to call for legalization of the drug, but with regulations similar to alcohol and tobacco. 

"There are numerous products on the market that have risk," Fichtner said, citing alcohol as one example.

"It’s very hard to argue on a medical basis that herbal cannabis or marijuana is more dangerous than alcohol," he said. "The idea is that regulation offers the opportunity to improve the safety and reliability of access to specific products."

He also blames marijuana prohibition for "playing a major role in the initial criminalization, the initiation into the criminal justice system for a very large number of ordinary American citizens."

The Gallup survey was based on telephone interviews conducted Oct. 6-9, 2011, with a random sample of 1,005 adults.

Marijuana is the most commonly abused illegal drug in the United States, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.  A 2009 federal survey on drug use found  that 16.7 million Americans aged 12 or older had used marijuana at least once in the month prior to being surveyed, an increase over the rates reported in all years between 2002 and 2008.

Pot is legal for people with doctors’ recommendations in 16 states, though it remains illegal under federal law. Last week, the federal government vowed to crack down on dispensaries selling marijuana in California, where thousands of outlets have sprung up.

A Gallup survey last year showed that 70 percent of Americans favored making it legal for doctors to prescribe marijuana in order to reduce pain and suffering.

NEW YORK -- This Saturday marks one month since Occupy Wall Street protesters set-up camp at Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan. Since then the demonstrations have spread to dozens of cities across the country. This weekend, a global day of protests is planned, and organizers say they expect events to be held in more than 800 cities in 71 countries.

Clearly, the movement appears to be growing. Now we have some new information about how the rest of the country views what’s happening in Zuccotti Park and beyond.

From an NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll released Wednesday:

• 37% of the country tends to support the movement; 18% oppose; 25% have no opinion. That’s more than those who say they support the Tea Party -- just 26% say they support it, while 64% say they do not.

• The movement is most popular in the Northeast, where people tend to support it 48%-15%. It is least popular in the South where 30% support, 22% oppose.

• Perhaps counter-intuitively, the movement has its highest support among the highest income earners, (those making more than $75,000 year): 40% support, 24% oppose. Among the poorest, however, it is also popular (less than 30K year): 35% support, 11% oppose.

• Among ethnic groups, the protests are popular among African-Americans, 41% support, 7% oppose; among Hispanics 35% support, 15 oppose; among Whites 37% support, 18% oppose.

• Among political parties, unsurprisingly, the movement is most popular among Democrats (56%-6%), and least popular among Republicans, where a plurality do not support 17%-34%. Independents support 34%-17%.

Since the demonstrations started there have also been nagging questions about what protesters believe in, and what they want. Early last week New York Magazine conducted an informal survey of 100 protesters at Zuccotti Park to gauge their views on everything from President Obama to capitalism. A few snippets are below.

What do you think of Obama?

• I believed in him, and he let me down: 40
• He’s doing great: 1
• I never believed in him: 27
• He’s doing the best he can: 22

Did you vote in the 2010 midterm elections?

• Yes: 39
• No: 55
• No, but only because I wasn’t 18:

Rank yourself on the following Scale of Liberalism:

• Not liberal at all: 6
• Liberal but fairly mainstream (i.e., Barack Obama): 3
• Strongly liberal (i.e., Paul Krugman): 12
• Fed up with Democrats, believe country needs overhaul (i.e., Ralph Nader): 41
• Convinced the U.S. government is no better than, say, Al Qaeda (i.e., Noam Chomsky): 34

For more from the field on Occupy Wall Street, check out msnbc.com's Field Notes blog.

*** UPDATE *** We checked to see how the supporters and opponents of Occupy Wall Street broke down in their approval or disapproval of President Obama.

Those who tend to support the protesters, said they approved of the president's job 61%-35%.

Those who tend to oppose the protesters, did not approve of the president's job by an 11%-88%

Those with no opinion were 42%-49%.

The margin of error on this question is +/-3.55%.

Get the kids up, feed them breakfast, make their lunch, drive them to school. So far so good.

What am I forgetting? Clothes. For myself. Yes, sometimes I wear pajamas when I drop the kids off at school. What’s the big deal, considering I usually don’t get out of the car?

According to one school, this is not so good.

The school, according to a BabyCenter.com report, has a dress code for parents, which includes banning them from wearing PJs while dropping kids off. Last year in the UK, a school district also banned “bedwear” and asked parents to dress properly and “show decency and respect when attending school premises.”

In yesterday’s Crib Notes column, we mentioned this "No PJs" rule, and based on the more than 130 comments on our Facebook page, it touches a nerve.

Some of you are proud pajama wearers, as one commenter wrote:

Sorry, but as long as my kids are presentable and clean you have no right to tell me what to wear to drop my kids off. Aren't there worse problems to address? I mean, come on!!!

And another says:

Schools should not be able to tell parents how to dress! I almost always wear my pj's for drop off -- but I stay in my minivan! getting the kids ready -- reviewing homework and getting breakfast in them and packing healthy lunches & snacks -- mornings are full of much more important things than how I look.

For others, wearing jammies is just downright inappropriate, as one poster put it:

Moms should have more pride in themselves than to show up at their childs' school looking like they just rolled out of bed, even if they did!

Another dissenter said:

I've always had an issue with adults that go beyond their front porch in their pajamas...shopping, school drop off, whatever the case may be...make an effort to properly clothe yourself for the task at hand....

I admit, I've curtailed my habit of wearing pajamas to school dropoff, thanks to an incident last year.  I was driving away from my son's school when I noticed the car in front of me had its trunk door ajar. As the car went up a hill, contents of the trunk spilled onto the street. I got out of my car to help the driver collect the stuff, totally forgetting I was wearing my PJs.

I mostly saw smiles from the other drivers behind me. But I’m guessing my kids would not have loved the sight. So, now, if ever I wear my pajamas, I make sure I have a coat covering them up. And I stay in my car.

What do you think? Is it OK to wear pajamas when you drop your kids off at school?

Kavita Varma-White is a Seattle based writer and editor and the mom of two tweens. In between cheering on the sidelines for numerous soccer and baseball games, she is contributing editor for TODAYMoms.com and MSNBC.com.

In Highland Park, a small city near Detroit, even the street lights are being turned off to save money, raising concerns about crime and safety in one of Michigan’s poorest communities.

Over the past few months, DTE Energy crews have taken down about 1,300 light poles as part of a settlement with the city to cover $4 million in unpaid city utility bills dating back several years.  About 500 street lights remain, including 200 newer models installed by the utility at intersections.

“It’s certainly a different level of lighting than residents have seen in the past,” said DTE spokesman Len Singer. But he said the DTE worked with Highland Park officials to come up with a level of service that the city can afford. The move, Singer says, will cut the city’s light bill from about $62,000 a month to $15,000.

“Removing lights that aren’t likely to be used again made sense,” he said.

But Bobby Hargrove, a small businessman, believes less lighting has translated into more crime.

“I’ve already had my roof air conditioner stolen,” said Hargrove, owner of Hargrove Machinery Sales, which has been operating since 1978 on Oakland Avenue.

 He’s about to pay his bi-annual tax bill of nearly $6,000, for which he says he should receive at least some city services.

 “I deserve adequate lighting and adequate police protection,” he said. “The whole situation here is rotten.”

Highland Park Mayor Hubert Yopp could not be reached by msnbc.com for comment on Tuesday, but he told the Detroit News that crime has not increased since the lights were removed.

“I had the police chief work up the crime stats, and found that most of our burglaries are taking place during the daylight hours,” Yopp told the newspaper.

There’s no debate that Highland Park, a city of about 11,700, has been plagued by financial problems for years. In 2009, state officials fired the person they had put in charge of restoring the city to financial health after allegations of embezzlement and mismanagement.

Over the summer, Arthur Blackwell II was found liable by a jury in a civil trial of violating his duties to the city by paying himself $264,000.

”This is a pretty unique situation with Highland Park,” said Singer. “It’s been a challenge.”

But he said while the number of lights in Highland Park has gone down, it’s not that “much different than what we see in other communities in southeast Michigan.” DTE serves about 2.1 million electric customers and 1.2 million natural gas customers.

“We certainly did not repossess street lights,” he said. “It’s been blown out of proportion a bit.”

Hargrove isn’t happy about the situation but the 75-year-old businessman said he also can’t afford to add lights outside the three buildings he owns.

“I am struggling to stay alive here,” he said.

Occupy Wall Street started with fewer than a dozen college students camping out in Zuccotti Park, a plaza near the New York Stock Exchange. The movement has spread out to cities across America and to some around the world. We're interested to get text, photos and videos from the protests, if you have some, share them here.

Sent in from readers around the country on Thursday, Oct. 13:

Niles, Mich.

Submitted by Eugenie Torgerson

Photo of a protester in Niles, Mich. Eugenie Torgerson wrote: "The Occupy movement resonates in Niles, MI, a diminishing city that the Bush/Cheney bus used to regularly visit. The economic pain is real here now, and people are calling for balance, for compassion, for an end to rampant, unregulated greed. They want support for teachers and schools, security for the elderly, and a slice of the pie they bought.

The crowd seemed not to be partisan. When someone called out, 'Who do you support for president?' the shouted answer was 'None of the above.'"

San Francisco, Calif.

Submitted by Hal Muskat

San Francisco Veterans For Peace at march to commemorate 10th anniversary of war. Marchers take the streets to join Occupy SF.

Portland, Ore.

Submitted by Timothy Boers

Timothy Boers wrote: "Even in the midst of these troubling times I have renewed hope. To see our nation finally acting like a nation, young and old alike using the tools of democracy to their best affect. My first rally was in 1970 in Seattle, the "Moratorium Day Parade"; it certainly was not my last. Five years and one presidential disgrace later, it paid off.
My fervent hope is one of persistent, unrelenting non violence and for the patience and wisdom it will take to make our voices heard.......Again!"

Submitted by Timothy Boers

Protesters in Portland.

Sent in from readers around the country on Wednesday, Oct. 12:

New York, NY

Submitted by Patrick Stefano

Sent in from readers around the country on Tuesday, Oct. 11:

Oakland, Calif.

Submitted by Guy Bryant

Guy Bryant wrote: "I took these shots with my IPhone on my way home from my office located in Oakland California. I was impressed at the diversity and size of the crowd for a rainy afternoon. Something real is occurring in America.

If the issues continue to lead and the focus on non-violence continues, the 'we are the 99%' message has a chance to impact the political and social discourse in this country in a major way in my opinion."

Sent in from readers around the country on Friday, Oct. 7:

Indianapolis, Ind.

Submitted by Jeff Kisling

Occupy Indy protesters first gathered on the mall in downtown Indianapolis on Oct. 7 then moved to the Indiana Capitol building.

Houston, Tex.

Submitted by Jose Duran

Occupy Houston on Oct. 6. Protesters marched around downtown Houston.

Los Angeles, Calif.

Submitted by a user in Los Angeles

Protesters occupy Los Angeles Civic Center's red subway line.

Austin, Texas.

Submitted by Joshua Christopher Harvey

Protesters gather in front of Austin City Hall.

Washington, D.C.

Submitted by Greg Richards

OccupyDC participants gather at Freedom Plaza in the nation's capitol.

Sent in from readers around the country on Thursday, Oct. 6:

New York, NY

Submitted by Gabriele Gordon

From Occupy Wall Street in Manhattan, Gabriele Gordon writes: When I arrived at "Liberty Square," I immediately felt an incredible sense of community and solidarity with these young people, who have taken the initiative to start this incredible protest, which has a great potential to turn into something we have never experienced before. While walking around and taking photos, I was impressed how organized and tidy the place was. From a wi-fi zone over a cell phone charging station to a recycling area, the protesters seemingly have put much thought into every aspect of what is required to keep this protest going."

Submitted by Gabriele Gordon

Submitted by Gabriele Gordon

Tampa, Fla.

Submitted by Jon Reeder

More 2,000 people attended the protest at Lykes Gaslight Park in Tampa, Fla.

Occupy Tampa at the city's courthouse

Portland, Ore.

Submitted by Ben Foster

Occupy Portland protestors in the city's Pioneer Square.

Bloomington, Ill.

Submitted by Grace Savina

Protesters at the "Occupy Blono" (Bloomington-Normal) protest on the bridge at Illinois State University.

Sarasota, Fla.

Submitted by Howard J. White

The young and old came out in support of the protest in Sarasota, Fla. It was quite calm with mixed reviews. Not everyone was in support, with some opponents blaming America's downfall on Congressman Barney Frank of Massachusetts.

Protesters in Sarasota, Fla.

Seattle

Submitted by Leah Young

A protester holds up a sign on Oct. 2 at Westlake Center in Seattle, Wash. The local protest was one of dozens across the country in response to weeks-long protests in New York City.

Submitted by Leah Young

A protester displays a sign on Oct. 2 at Westlake Center in Seattle, Wash.

Submitted by Leah Young

A protester displays a sign on Oct. 2 at Westlake Center in Seattle, Wash.

Chicago

Submitted by Deb Jensen

The church ladies -- part of the 99% -- have arrived at Occupy Chicago.

Nashville

Submitted by Molly Poremski

Occupy Nashville in full swing at Legislative Plaza in downtown Nashville.

Submitted by Molly Poremski

At the start of Occupy Nashville. Crowd grew to about 500 people.

Are you an occupier in the U.S. or around the world? Share your story, pictures and video here

John Makely / msnbc.com

Jon Reiner joins other "Occupy Wall Street" protesters Wednesday at Zucottii Park in New York City.

By Miranda Leitsinger, msnbc.com

Jon Reiner, a former marketing executive and father of two boys, figures he has sent out 2,000 resumes since he was laid off for the third time nearly five years ago. He has not gotten a single job offer.

An unassuming presence in the colorful crowd that marched in New York on Wednesday, the 49-year-old Reiner nevertheless is in many ways typical of the protesters who have established the “Occupy Wall Street” camp just blocks away from the New York Stock Exchange.

His despair and frustration are palpable as he speaks about how his wife has returned to work as a high school teacher to support their family. Even so, he says, they ran out of their savings last year and now are in debt.

The fall from what Reiner believed was a path that would lead to a comfortable retirement was both fast and “shattering.”

“You were a member of the middle class, you were at a point in your life where you thought you’d be at the zenith of your career or upward trajectory, and all of a sudden you find yourself marginalized,” he said. “… The term that I’ve begun to use is unemployable.”

Now a stay-at-home dad at the couple’s two-bedroom apartment in New York City’s Upper West Side, Reiner is one of the forgotten jobless – someone who has been without work for so long that he is no longer officially on the unemployment rolls. He is grateful that he has finally found a place where he can voice his worries and hopes for the future: at the “Occupy Wall Street” camp.

“What this rally – this organization you know -- represents is to try to give voice to the have nots, who are a huge part of this society, and who no longer have the means or the opportunity to contribute,” he said.

He rejected as “unfair” critics of the “Occupy Wall Street” movement who would “dismiss what is a very real issue and a very real need based on a perceived lack of organization.”

“I think that most grassroots movements that I am aware of start out messy and disorganized but they do come together because there is some galvanizing need or desire or sense of purpose,” he said.

The camp is filled with protesters – young and old with different professions and backgrounds – many toting signs decrying corporate greed or espousing other causes. People exchange ideas as they make food for demonstrators or, on this day, move the camp to accommodate new arrivals.

The cry of “mic check” is often heard, when an individual needs to make an announcement to the group. At daily general assemblies, anyone with an opinion – about anything – can take the microphone and express it.

Reiner, wearing a blue fleece jacket and khaki pants, is not one to make a speech. But he approaches a reporter interviewing the crowd and willingly tells his story.

He said his last layoff, in 2007, came after two others since 2001. In each case, he was dismissed because Wall Street analysts determined that his company’s stock was underperforming, not because the firm wasn’t profitable, he said.

“I assumed after the last layoff that, that was probably it for me, I was probably not going to find another job like I’ve had because they were being eliminated,” he said. “And, the last five years looking for work obviously confirmed (that).”

“My identity in terms of how I define myself for my profession has been destroyed. It’s a humiliating feeling and it’s also terribly worrisome because I’m only 49-years-old -- which doesn’t feel old to me -- and I had planned to work for another 20 years and I have a family to support,” he added. “(Now) I need to figure out how it is we are going to be able to survive.”

Reiner said he and his wife try to shield their sons -- eight and 12 -- from the economic strains. He said he hasn’t bought new clothes for himself in years, his wife wears old clothes to work and they don’t go out to dinner or to movies. They haven’t taken a vacation in years, either.

“There are a lot of things that we used to do to have fun, to enjoy ourselves, to stay sane, and the absence of that has placed enormous strain on our marriage,” he said. “We’re sticking through it together, but it’s a daily burden and … we make sacrifices so that our kids don’t have to make as many. But our kids have to make sacrifices, too.”

He said one of his son’s friends wanted him to join a weekly swim lesson, but Reiner said he had to tell him they couldn’t afford it. The other wanted to return to taekwondo, but they don’t have money for that either. Reiner said his son now puts on his uniform to do shadow kicks on his own.

Reiner believes his resume has often ended up in the trash, and when he gets an interview, he either learns that the job doesn’t yet exist or finds himself explaining “the elephant in the room” -- why he hasn’t had work for so long.

“The answer, you know, I was a victim of a corporate layoff and what I’ve been doing is this, I’ve been trying to get inside the door again,” he said, adding that the response seems either “suspect” to those interviewing him or has “some stigma or fear attached to it.”

Wednesday was Reiner’s fourth day at the camp. Usually he can only come during school hours since he has to get the boys off to school and pick them up afterward. He arranged a play date for his sons so he could join the afternoon march.

“I will continue to come regularly and see what I can contribute to the cause,” he said. “If it’s just my body … marching in a line, that’s one thing, but I’m going around to various tables and offering what I can do.”

While he is adding his voice to the growing protest, Reiner said he is trying to make hay from his experience by penning a book on his plunge from affluence to jobless. His memoir, on his having to live with almost no food or water for several months after a medical emergency and the ensuing impact on his family and his health, was published in September. 

But he's also continuing to retain a shred of hope in the face of what at times seems like a hopeless exercise.

“I and my peers keep hoping that things will get better. I mean it’s insulting when we hear sometimes that the unemployment statistics don’t include the millions of people who have given up, and that identifies me because my unemployment benefits have run out a long time ago,” he said.  “But I haven’t given up. I continue to look for work year after year, as do my friends.”

“… I can deal with the humiliation. What’s not negotiable is living in debt and not having the means to pay our bills.”

NBC News

Amanda Knox makes a short statement at Sea-Tac Airport.

By msnbc.com's Kari Huus and Alex Johnson

Update 9 p.m. ET: As Amanda Knox and her family leave and the ladders are folded, supporters urge the media crowd to "give them some peace. ... Give them some time." 

_____

Update 8:51 p.m. ET: Amanda Knox's statement at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport: 

They're reminding me to speak in English, because I'm having problems with that. 

I'm really overwhelmed right now. I was looking down from the airplane, and it seemed everything wasn't real. 

What's important for me to say is just thank you to everyone who's believed in me, who's defended me and who's supported my family.

My family is the most important thing to me right now, and I just want to go be with them. So, thank you for being there for me.

_____

Update 8:41 p.m. ET: The news conference is over. Amanda Knox spoke briefly, saying, "I'm really overwhelmed right now."

She arrived in the briefing room to loud whoops from a crowd of supporters. She was crying, with her hand over her mouth.

• Full coverage of the Amanda Knox case on msnbc.com

She then sat with her family, still crying and clutching a relative's hand.

_____

Kari Huus / msnbc.com

A supporter of Amanda Knox at the Seattle airport Tuesday evening.

Update 8:32p.m. ET: Amanda Knox and her family have arrived for a news conference at the Seattle airport. A groan went up from journalists when it was announced that no questions would be taken.

_____

Update 8:16 p.m. ET: The first Italian press to show up were Manuela Moreno, an anchor for Rai TV in Italy, and a producer who arrived with a producer this morning from New York, where they had been for the previous month. 

For these veterans of the Amanda Knox drama — they've been covering it since the news of the murder — there's no surprise that even in relatively far-flung Seattle, press hunger for the story remains at a fever pitch. 

"I expected it, yes, because Amanda is young, beautiful and enigmatic. There are three young people, love, sex and a horrible murder in a small town. ... It has all the ingredients for a horrible story," said Moreno.

None of the same frenzy surrounds Knox's former boyfriend, Italian Raffaele Sollecito, whose conviction was also overturned. Moreno says she thinks this is because he is more "naive."  

"But she is like a sphinx," Moreno says of Knox. "No one knows what she thinks."  

Moreno sees no end to press interest in Italy for a long time, especially if she delays talking to Italian press.  

"It all depends on how long Amanda drags is out before talking ot the press. The sooner she does, the sooner she will get rid of us."

They hope to understand her better by seeing how she acts now that she is back in the United States. But if she is very elusive, they might end up camped in front of her house in West Seattle. 

"It could get quite obnoxious," says Morena.

— Kari Huus

_____

Update 8:09 p.m. ET: Amanda Knox's plane has landed safely at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

_____

Update 7:40 p.m. ET: While there was a sense of relief and joy among supporters of Amanda Knox, she and her family face a host of challenges, NBC's Stephanie Gosk reports. The family has been nearly bankrupted by legal fees, and her grandmother says she's drowning in debt:

_____

Update 7:25 p.m. ET: While news crews make up most of the crowd at Sea-Tac airport waiting for Amanda Knox, a couple of civilians did make their way to the press area.

Kari Huus / msnbc.com

News crews jam Seattle-Tacoma International Airport ahead of Amanda Knox's arrival.

"I wondered why there weren't more people here," Rochelle Fitzgerald — who landed in Seattle on her way back to Port Angeles, Wash., from Los Angeles — said upon learning that Knox wasn't expected to land until after 5 p.m. local time (8 p.m. ET).

Fitzgerald just happened by coincidence to be in the airport as the press was setting up and she was hoping to catch a glimpse of Knox, who she said got a raw deal.

"All I can say is it's a shame when our American people go into another country, and the things that happen," she said. "I think it's a sad situation to go through that, and [Knox] needs all the support she can get."

• Full details and background on the Amanda Knox case

By contrast, Thomas Bakker of Seattle has been following the case from day one, and with a day off work, he took Seattle's light rail to Sea-Tac expressly for Knox's homecoming.

In Bakker's opinion, "after all is said and done, she was in the wrong place at the wrong time." 

"She kept mixing up her story at the beginning," he said, "and so that probably triggered the prosecution, who was able to go after her." 

— Kari Huus

____

Update 6:32 p.m. ET: Anne Bremner, a Seattle defense attorney who served as a spokeswoman for Friends of Amanda Knox, which raised money for her defense, tells Reuters that Knox is likely to make a brief statement thanking her supporters. 

NBC station KING-TV of Seattle reported that Friends of Amanda Knox would not be at the airport but would instead wait for Knox to decide when and where they would hold a celebration.
_____

Original post: Nearly a dozen TV satellite trucks are sitting outside the Seattle airport, part of a media maelstrom awaiting Amanda Knox's return home after she served four years in an Italian prison for a murder she was ultimately found not to have committed.

Knox's British Airways flight was on schedule for an estimated arrival at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport about 8:12 p.m. ET. When she lands, customs agents will meet her and her family, and then they will be whisked through a secure door for a news conference, said Perry Cooper, a spokesman for the Port of Seattle, which operates Sea-Tac.

Knox's parents and the family's legal adviser are expected to speak, but it isn't known whether Knox, 24, an exchange student at the University of Washington, herself plans to make any statement. They'll then be whisked away to depart privately.

Msnbc.com will stream the news conference live, probably beginning around 9 p.m. ET.

Knox was initially sentenced to 26 years in prison after she and her then-boyfriend were convicted in 2009 of sexually assaulting and killing her British roommate, Meredith Kercher, in 2007. An Italian appeals court overturned the convictions Monday, setting off a media frenzy in Italy and the U.S. alike. The prosecutor said he would appeal the ruling, and Kercher's family was left without a resolution to her killing. 

Knox's case generated enormous interest and sympathy in the U.S., but NBC News' Claudio Lavanga reported from Perugia that as soon as the verdict became clear Monday, the air filled with  cries of "Shame, Shame." The Knox family, pelted with heady insults when they emerged from the court, had to be whisked away by security.

• Full details and background on the Amanda Knox case

Carlo Dalla Vedova, one of Knox's Italian attorneys, said Knox is weak, stressed and scared after her ordeal.

"She hasn't got so much sleep, and this week has been extremely heavy on her," Dalla Vedova said in an interview with NBC's TODAY: