york to do letterman's top ten. can he wiggle his way out of the michigan meltdown by smiling his way through it? it's "way too early" for this. good morning. i'm willie geist and this is "way too early." the show that smiles through this pre-dawn program with a little help from the people at zoloft. you are listening live on cirrus radio, shoot me an e-mail or tweet me @williegeist 1. you can do what eldrick woods does and text the word awake to 622639. we will read the best responses later in the show. the next 30 minutes will be your cram session for friday, november 11th. yes, it is veterans day. oakland's mayor is calling for the occupy group to clear out

after a shooting death. the problem is, the shooting had nothing to do with their protests. we will explain that. jon stewart finally cries. he just can't take rick perry anymore. the oops moment at the debate apparently was the final straw. that clip a bit later in the show. let's get to the news live at 5:30 here at 30 rock in new york city. the investigation into penn state coach jerry sandusky is expanding beyond the state of pennsylvania. texas authorities looking into the team's 1999 trip to san antonio to play in the alamo bowl. according to the 23-page grand jury report which outlines sandusky's alleged sexual assault of eight boys over the span of 15 years, the coach took one of his victims to the bowl game and threatened to send him home when the boy resisted his sexual advances. that's according to the grand jury report. >>. >> back in state college, the governor spoke to reporters and

says he supports the decision to fire coach joe paterno and called on penn state to stop the violence reminding them the couldn't interest i is watching their actions. joe paterno has reached out to a high-profile washington lawyer to represent him. ron mott has the latest. joe paterno is no longer the head football coach effective immediately. >> reporter: after 46 years atop the throne of penn state's football kingdom, joe paterno got a phone call wednesday night trumping his planned retirement leading to his immediate oust instead and that of the school's president. >> we thought that because of the difficulties that have engulfed our university and they are great, as you all have documented, that it was necessary for us to make a change in the leadership to set a course for a new direction. >> joe pa, joe pa. >> reporter: the immediate reaction to paterno's firing was

violent, students overturning and damaging vehicles shouting object sen citis about the former assistant coach child with child sexual abuse. more responses emerged. >> i kind of have mixed feelings. the town should be upset. on the other hand, joe pa could have done more. >> tom bradley, now about moving forward. >> coach paterno has meant more to me than anybody except my father. we have to find a way to restore the confidence and start a healing process. >> we are penn state. >> reporter: as penn state readies for their final home game against nebraska, student leaders call for calm and respect, especially for the alleged victims that have come forward. >> it is about the victims, the actions that occurred and us standing by them and their families. >> ron mott reporting. there are a lot more students like that young lady than there were in the school of 40,000 people. on saturday, penn state plays at

home against nebraska in what will be a strange final home game of the season in happy valley. university officials now say assistant coach, mike mick mcqueary says reporting it to paterno will not be on the sideline due to multiple threats against the coach. more trouble for the "occupy oakland" protest. a man was shot after eyewitnesses say the victim got into an argument with another man. members of the protest group say the incident had nothing to do with their demonstration. the mayor of oakland is now calling for an end to the protest for what she calls safety issues. the statement she said, we need a peaceful resolution to the encampment. the campers need to leave voluntarily. i call on the community to be united around a peaceful debate

performance in michigan where he blanked on a question about which federal agencies he would apolish as president. he offered this explanation to fox news. >> there are a lot of people out there that i think just like me, they think about an agency of government or maybe multiple agencies of government that they would like to forget about as well. so that was kind of what was going through my mind after my tong finally engaged my mind. >> governor perry added his

him. i wasn't gloatingi at that poin. i was thinking, wow, that could have happened to any one of us. >> anyone who watched the debate had concern. no one wants to be in a situation like that. we have all been in situations where we draw a blank. no one takes any joy of that. that's a very difficult thing. we certainly understand. >> how did you feel about the debate? >> i was very pleased with the debate. i thought i got most of my points across pretty well. that's what i got to do. >> how did you feel about perry? >> we have to get going. i have to worry more about me than anybody else. >> meanwhile, fellow republican candidate, herman cain is facing sharp criticism for his comments made about nancy pelosi. he said this at the same debate. >> legislation has already been written, hr-3,000. in the previous congress, it was

hr-3400. it has already been written. we didn't hear about it in the previous congress because princess nancy sent it to committee and it stayed there. it never came out. >> speaking at an event, cain responded to questions about his characterization of miss pelosi. >> thank you. >> mr. cain, do you think -- >> i can apologize for calling her princess pelosi if that's the biggest story you all want. i apologize. >> is it an incident to apologize. >> so you all can stop asking me about it, okay. >> just to make the questions stop. south carolina representative, jim clyburn, chosen by pelosi, to be assist stent leader said that given cain's rough couple of weeks, he ought to tread very lightly going forward. >> that kind of boorishness that we see on the part of mr. cain plays into a narrative that's been out there for the last two weeks. he ought to be very, very careful how he react to or treat

women going forward. >> we will have more on governor perry's media tour, including his stop to do the top ten on letterman here in new york city coming up in just a few minutes. facing increasing pressure from nebraska, officials and environmental activists, the obama administration has declayed any decision on the controversial keystone oil pipeline until after the 2012 election. vowing to review the proposed route from canada through oklahoma and the gulf coast. he supported the state's department decision. because this permit decision could affect the health and safety of the american people as well as the environment, we should take the time to ensure that all the questions are addressed and all potential impacts are properly understood. john boehner accused of the president of hunting ott project saying the current project has already been deemed environmentally sound and calling for a new route is a thinly veiled attempt to avoid upsetting the president's

political base before the election. the president has delayed several other environmental initiatives including a review of the nation's smog standard, a push back of offshore oil sales and a new regulation of coal ash. supporters of this pipeline say it will create jobs. just in time for veterans day, the senate voted overwhelmingly in favor of a bill that would give tax credits to businesses hiring unemployed or disabled veterans. the bill passed by a 94-1 margin. the one holdout, jim demint of south carolina who said the government should not privilege one american over another whether it comes to work. the bill heads back to the house, is expected to approve it and send it to president obama for signature next week. the scrutiny is growing at dover air force base in light of the most recent scandal involving lost remains of fallen soldiers. secretary of defense, leon panetta, has reopened the investigation and is pushing for stronger punishments for those

responsible. so far, one commander and two civilians have been reassigned to lower positions. no one yet has been fired. in the news conference yesterday, secretary panetta said he will not be satisfied until the military has proven all it can to families. >> we have to send a clear signal to the american people that these kinds of actions that took place there cannot happen again. it involves some moral standards that means we have to pay the greatest respect and reference to the remains of our fallen heroes. >> according to an initial investigation, small body parts of u.s. troops killed in afghanistan were discarded on two occasions in mid 2009. in the

euro zone debt crisis if not the d of t crisis both in italy and greece, which we have all been looking at for a long time. new faces at the top. let's start off in italy, mario monty, a european commission man, he has been made a senator for life. it seems after a senate vote and a lower chamber vote, this weekend, we could see him replacing silvio berlusconi as the new prime minister of italy leaving a government of technocrats. a similar story over in greece. lucas pap lucas papademos, it is expected that his new government will be squorn in around noon. new characters, is it going to be the same old story? >> we seal if they stabilize the markets today. still ahead on "way too

early" how great to have thursday night football. raiders and chargers fighting for first place in san diego as we get used to seeing carson palmer in the silver and black. highlights ahead in sports. rick perry delivers his top ten excuses for the big stumble in wednesday night's debate. here is a hint, he blames mitt romney's good looks. a check on weather when we come right back. i want healthy skin for life.

[ female announcer ] improve the health of your skin with aveeno daily moisturizing lotion. the natural oatmeal formula improves skin's health in one day, with significant improvement in 2 weeks. i found a moisturizer for life. [ female announcer ] only from aveeno. with crest 3d white professional effects whitestrips. it penetrates below the enamel surface to whiten as well as a $500 dentist treatment. the secret's in the strip. crest 3d white professional effects whitestrips. life opens up when you do.

prego?! but i've been buying ragu for years. [ thinking ] i wonder what other questionable choices i've made? [ '80s dance music plays ] [ sighs ] [ male announcer ] choose taste. choose prego.

5:45. a beautiful look at the plaza. guess what's arriving today? the christmas tree from northeast pennsylvania. they hacked it down and are going to put it up. let's check our weather from nbc

weather meteorologist, bill karins. >> they start doing the show, the rockets start doing their thing, the christmas spectacular, that time of year. right on schedule, cold front coming through the east. it didn't feel a lot like the middle of november. now, it will this morning. the winds are howling. for the first time, lake effect snow showers off of lake erie. i was mentioning the windchill. yesterday, near 70 degrees in many areas. right now, at 36 for windchill in hartford. philadelphia, 35, d.c., 36. for those headed out, if you are going out with your kids, you need the winter coat and gloves. much of the country is very chilly, all the way down to san antonio, texas. we have a windchill of 31. not a lot of dramatic weather going on on this veteran's day. tranquil weather conditions. the only stormy conditions we have out on the west coast, california, a little bit of rain

if you are traveling to lax or up to san francisco. it is not going to be all that bad all weekend long. temperatures begin to warm up around the country for those sunday football games and saturday football games. no problems whatsoever. a little bit of wet weather out there in the four corner region. overall, willie, nice, quiet, november weekend. for everyone on the east, sunday is going to be warming up. >> thanks a lot, bill. we turn to sports now. thursday night, nfl, charge yers and raiders in a battle for the afc west division. carson palmer making his second start. he hits rookie denarius moore. he managed to hold on with his finger tips. wow, that is a great catch. that led to a field goal later in the second. raiders have the ball again. palmer scrambles a little bit to avoid the defender. look at the mobility. that wasn't a scramble. that was generous. he just stepped up. it hits moore again at the goal line. how good is that kid? he dives for the touchdown.

raiders take a 24-17 lead into the fourth. 3:40 left on the clock. chargers for the chance to tie it. philip rivers tries for the end zone, throws in double coverage. raiders come down with the ball and the win. rivers having a frustrating season. oakland wins, 24-17. that puts them in the lead in a strange afc west division. 5-4. chargers in free-fall losing their last four games. the other two teams in the picture, kansas city and tim tebow's broncos face off at arrowhead stadium. some golf in a phrase you don't hear much anymore. tiger woods is in the lead. yesterday, australia open, tiger shot five under par to close out his best back to background since coming back from an achilles injury. tiger with the nice approach shot tapped in for birdie, nine under after two rounds. last time he led a tournament was in april of this year during the first round of the masters. he went on to finish fourth in augusta.

coming up at the top of the hour on "morning joe," joe paterno hires a lawyer as a scrutiny on the last 15 years of his tenure on penn state. gets more intense by the hour. was there a cover-up of alleged child rape in his program? we will bring in somebody who has been covering this story. when we come back here, we will huddle around the water cooler to watch rick perry visit dave to give his top ten excuses for the michigan meltdown. coming right back. [ male announcer ] all over the world, there's a battery

that's relied on to help bring children holiday joy, and while it doesn't travel by sleigh or reindeer, it does get around... in fact, every year duracell sends loads of batteries to the mattel children's hospital, u.c.l.a. of course, children here and everywhere don't really think about which battery makes their toy run... but, still... you'd never want to disappoint. duracell. trusted everywhere.

10e7b8%, give or take only 1% of americans over the age of 18 have fought in afghanistan or iraq. about 2.4 million out of the 240 million americans over the age of 18. on capitol hill, that number is higher. if you want to sound smart, tell your friends that the start of the current congress, there were 118 members or 21.8% of the membership who are veterans according to the congressional research service, the lowest percentage since world war ii. enough of the real news. let's huddle up around the water cooler to watch rick perry on letterman. governor perry changed his travel plans diverting to new york to deliver the top ten, attempting to undo the damage of

his epic meltdown at the michigan debate the other night. let's see how he did. rick perry excuses. number ten. >> actually, there were three reasons i messed up last night. one was the nerves. two was the headache and three, um -- uh -- oops. >> you are fine. >> i don't know what you are talking about. i think things went well. hey, i was up late last night watching "dancing with the stars". >> i see. that explains it. >> i thought the debate was tonight. >> i see. there you go. that happens to everybody. it was a mix-up, ladies and gentlemen. >> hey, listen, you try concentrating with mitt romney smiling at you. that is one handsome dude. >> el nino? >> thank you. >> i had a five-hour energy drink six hours before the

debate. >> oh, no. >> yeah, i really hoped to get on my favorite talk show but instead i ended up here. >> what? hey, wait a minute. i'm right here. i heard that. >> i wanted to help take the heat off my buddy, herman cain. >> okay. the number one rick perry excuse. >> i just learned justin bieber is my father. >> come on, come on, you have got to give it to him. that was good. johnny deutsche likes it. he is going to weigh in on "morning joe." jon stewart, a little bit less impressed of rick perry's performance. last night, his review of the michigan meltdown. >> commerce, education and the -- what's the third one

education, commerce and, let's see, i can't -- the third one, i can't. sorry. oops. >> are you not entertained? are you not entertained? will you not entertained? i don't even know which to pick. there is the part where ron paul is trying to help him out. he is going, i think you mean five. other people are shouting out. i think you mean epa but you know, they wanted to shout like corn dogs, just to see if perry would repeat it. in the middle of that -- perry should have just been ah, i smell toast. >> oops. >> oops, oops, oops! o-o-p-s. oops. thank you, jesus.

that is not the four-letter word i would have gone with. oops, like it is a juice box. oh, my god, my chance to be president of the united states, oops. he is really digging in on that one. did you hear the news about the oscars. we know brett rattner shall the producer, was thrown off the show for making a comment they disapproved of. eddy murphy, who everyone was excited about hosting the oscars, left because rattner is his buddy. we had a vacuum to fill. who is going to host the oscars? yesterday, we learned, billy crystal stepping back in to do it. he has done it eight times before. spot duty. he is going to rush in. he tweeted the news this way. i'm doing the oscars so the young woman in the pharmacy will stop asking my name when i pick up prescriptions. he is worried that he has been forgotten. says he looked forward to the show. he always does a great job. he will be great again this year. >> still away on "way too early."

texts and e-mails next and "morning joe" just moments away. i'm your blind spot. [ humming ] and my job is easy. hide big things. you're good... [ crash ] [ laughing ] [ screaming ] [ tires screech ] and if you named your own price on car insurance, you could be paying for this yourself. so get allstate, you could save money and be better protected from mayhem like me.

[ dennis ] shop less, get more, make one call to an allstate agent. our machines help identify early stages of cancer, and it's something that we're extremely proud of. you see someone who is saved because of this technology, you know that the things that you do in your life matter. if i did have an opportunity to meet a cancer survivor, i'm sure i could take something positive away from that. [ jocelyn ] my name is jocelyn. and i'm a cancer survivor. [ woman ] i had cancer.

i have no evidence of disease now. [ woman #2 ] i would love to meet the people that made the machines. i had such an amazing group of doctors and nurses, it would just make such a complete picture of why i'm sitting here today. ♪ [ man ] from the moment we walk in the front door, just to see me -- not as a cancer patient, but as a person that had been helped by their work, i was just blown away. life's been good to me. i feel like one of the luckiest guys in the world. ♪