>> pelley: we'll hear from jan crawford and john dickerson. anthony mason reports, the fed sees the economy slowing and makes a new prediction for unemployment. dr. jon lapook on the first treatment for cystic fibrosis that targets the genetic cause of the disease. and honors for american heroes. ben tracy reports they never lost faith in america, even when america lost faith in them. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. now a third anonymous woman is accusing republican presidential front-runner hermain cain of sexual harassment. cain, for his part, is not shedding any more light on the subject. he stayed in washington today, the one place he'd be sure to attract the most reporters but he turned aside their questions. for cain, the stakes could not be higher. in a poll out today, he lead mitt romney by seven point and everyone else by double digits, but the poll was taken just before the sexual harassment story broke. jan crawford is following the cain campaign. >> reporter: ca

jan crawford will have the latest. president obama on the eve of one asia-pacific summit is trodding world leaders to address the iranian challenge, llrah o donell there. ingk who's taking charge. we'll meet the recent college grad who was elected mayor last reek at the age of 22. and you've heard the voice at the voiort. >> ladies and gentlemen, your attention please. >> mitchell: tonight lee cowan introduces you to the woman honend the microphone. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" eveningss mitchell. wi >> mitchell: and good evening. one day after the latest republican presidential debate, the candidates and the white whuse continue to trade attacks. that debate, seen here on cbs last night, was seen as make-or- maeak for some candidates. and they saved most of their punches for the obama heministration. chief political correspondent jan crawford has more tonight from washington. jan, good evening. >> reporter: this was the 10th republican debate, but the first to focus solely on foreign poli

jan crawford has more. >> reporter: everywhere he went, even on capitol hill, the reporters were focused on the allegations of sexual harassment against him. >> can't she tell her side of the story, mr. cain. >> reporter: in virginia, he indicated his patience is wearing then. >> let me say one thing. i am here with these doctors and that is what i'm going to talk about, so don't even bother asking me all of these other questions that y'all are curious about, okay? don't even bother. >> reporter: when the reporter persisted, cain was forceful. >> what did i say? excuse me! excuse me! i don't believe it has hurt my campaign at all. >> reporter: cain is set for numerous interviews since the story broke three days ago. he said again today it was a calculated smear campaign. >> there's a force at work here that is much greater than those would try to destroy me and destroy this campaign and this journey to the white house and that force is called the voice of the people. that's why we are doing as well as we are in this campaign thus far. y'all was supposed to applaud. >> reporter: but chris

jan crawford reports. the european debt crisis deepens in italy, and shock waves are felt on wall street. frk phillips and elaine quijano have reports from both continent. and what happened to the remains of fallen american heroes at dover air force base? david martin talks to the whistle blowers. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. it's not the way you'd expect a football legend to leave, not joe paterno, not penn state, where the motto for athletes is "success with honor." but today, paterno, who is 84, wid he will retire at the end rf this season. after questions were raised about what he did and what he oiled to do after a longtime assistant coach was accused of sexually abusing boys, some of deem on campus. tonight, there is also word that tonight, there is also word that the university president may be the next out the door. our chief investigative correspondent armen keteyian has the latest from state college, pennsylvania. >> report

let's bring jan crawford back in. how are the other candidates handling? >> reporter: very carefully. they recognize there's an opening if this conditions. so we saw michele bachmann saying last night republicans can't afford a nominee with any surprises. most of the others refused to weigh in, although newt gingrich today defended cain suggesting this was just a witch-hunt focusing on gossip. >> pelley: jan, thanks again. new hampshire announced today it will hold its presidential primary, the first primary in the nation, on tuesday january 10. and with that, the calendar for the month is set beginning with the iowa caucuses on january 3, new hampshire a week later, south carolina on the 21st and florida on the 31st. the big issue in the campaign is the economy, and which way that goes may depend on what happens in greece. greek debt, which threatens to destabilize the world economy, will be the main topic of the g-20 summit attended by president obama. mark phillips is at the summit meeting in cannes, france, mark. >> reporter: scott, for the first time

jan crawford has more. >> reporter: everywhere he went, even on capitol hill, the reporters were focused on the allegations of sexual harassment against him. >> can't she tell her side of the story, mr. cain? >> reporter: in virginia, cain indicated his patience is wearing then. >> let me say one thing. i am here with these doctors and that is what i'm going to talk about, so don't even bother asking me all of these other questions that y'all are curious about, okay? don't even bother. >> reporter: when the reporter persisted, cain was forceful. >> what did i say? >> sir -- >> excuse me! excuse me! i don't believe it has hurt my campaign at all. >> reporter: cain has set for numerous interviews since the story broke three days ago. he said again today it was a calculated smear campaign. >> there's a force at work here that is much greater than those that would try to destroy me and destroy this campaign and this journey to the white house, and that force is called the voice of the people. that's why we are doing as well as we are in this campaign thus far. y'all was supposed to applaud.

jan crawford reports. the european debt crisis deepens in italy, and shock waves are felt on wall street. mark phillips and elaine quijano have reports from both continentinent. and what happened to the remains of fallen american heroes at dover air force base. david martin talks to the whistle blowers. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. it's not the way you'd expect a football legend to leave, not joe paterno, not penn state, where the motto for athletes is "success with honor." but today, paterno, who is 84, said he will retire at the end of this season. after questions were raised about what he did and what he failed to do after a longtime assistant coach was accused of sexually abusing boys, some of them on campus. tonight, there is also word that the university president may be the next out the door. our chief investigative correspondent armen keteyian has the latest from state college, pennsylvania. >> reporter: paterno made his anno

let's bring jan crawford back in. how are the other candidates handling? >> reporter: very carefully. they recognize there's an opening if this conditions. so we saw michele bachmann saying last night republicans can't afford a nominee with any surprises. most of the others refused to weigh in, although newt gingrich today defended cain suggesting this was just a witch-hunt focusing on gossip. >> pelley: jan, thanks again. new hampshire announced today it will hold its presidential primary, the first primary in the nation, on tuesday january 10th. and with that, the calendar for the month is set beginning with the iowa caucuses on january 3, new hampshire a week later, south carolina on the 21st and florida on the 31st. the big issue in the campaign is the economy, and which way that goes may depend on what happens in greece. greek debt, which threatens to destabilize the world economy, will be the main topic of the g- 20 summit attended by president obama. mark phillips is at the summit meeting in cannes, france, mark. >> reporter: scott, for the first ti

political correspondent jan crawford joins us now from washington with more. how is this playing out, jan? >> reporter: herman cain is trying to stay above all of this personally and is back to focusing on policy and his campaign. supporters are defending him. we do have the web out today and also we are going to hear possibly today from one or more of the women who are said to have accused cain of sexual harassment during the time he was heading up the national restaurant association. it may decide whether or not they are going to release them from their confidentiality agreements today. >> the impact, i guess, that is the big question. what type of impact is this having on his campaign now this has gone on all week? >> reporter: chris, i mean, so far people are really sticking behind herman cain, his supporters are. a new "the washington post" poll shows out nationally he is still a front-runner, tied for first place with mitt romney and that is reflected in a lot of the reporting that we have been doing, talking to voters, particularly out in iowa, where su

jan crawford reports the supreme court has decided whether to take the case. and when can you get for $100 at this cafe? she got the cafe. but wyatt andrews tells us, there's a catch. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening, there is remarkable new evidence tonight that stem cells can repair a damaged heart. and the early going suggests it is a powerful affect. the findings were presented at a meeting of the american heart association today but we've been following this therapy for two years. it's important to note it's just the beginning of trials and it's not clear where all of this will lead or how many patients it might help. but we asked bill whitaker to show us what's happened to the very first patients who received this treatment. >> reporter: ken, how are you feeling? >> i feel fantastic. >> reporter: when we first met ken millis two years ago, he had suffered a serious heart attack. >> the artery was 98% blocked. that particular type of blockage is called the widow maker because it's the on

." >> pelley: bill whitaker and jan crawford are covering. they lost their lives in afghanistan. now the air force is investigating what happened to their remains. david martin has the story. at independence hall, we asked some of the most successful people in america the toughest question. how do you create jobs in this country? and remembering smoking joe frazier and the fight of the century. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" >> pelley: good evening, herman cain, the front-runner for the republican presidential nomination, forcefully confronted charges of sexual harassment late today. he called one accuser a troubled woman and he said that he is being slandered in a firestorm that he blames on democrats and the media. in the last week, four women have accused cairn of inappropriate sexual behavior. three of them had been anonymous, but late today one of them revealed her name to cbs news. cain confronted all the allegations in a late news conference in arizona. we have two reports tonight. first, bill whitaker many phoenix. bill? >> reporter: scott, in

. >> pelley: jan crawford on thing a paigs sags. in the death of michael jackson, the jury finds the doctor... >> conrad murder guilty of involuntary manslaughter. >> pelley: ben tracy is at the courthouse. in the birth of a nation, a panel of distinguished americans tells us how to fix the country. your message to washington is what? and steve hartman remembers andy rooney. >> i'll never forget the first time i talked into this office. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening, far week to t accusations of sexual harassment against republican presidential front-runner herman cain had come from three anonymous woman and there were no specifics. that changed today when a fourth woman came forward and enn great detail accused cain of making sexual advances. cain's campaign immediately put out a general denial of all the harassment allegations. political correspondent jan crawford begins our coverage. >> reporter: the woman who came forward today is 50-year-old sharon bialek w

chief political correspondent jan crawford has the latest. jan? >> reporter: scott, the woman, ginger white, gave an interview to a fox television station in atlanta where she lives. in the interview, she says she had a 13-year affair with herman cain. >> it was pretty simple. it wasn't complicated and i was aware that he was married and i was also aware that i was involved in a very inappropriate situation, relationship. >> reporter: the station says white, an atlanta businesswoman, has documented to back up her story that she had a physical relationship with cain. two other women have come forward to accuse cain of inappropriate sexual conduct while he led the national restaurant association. cain has flatly denied any inappropriate conduct. white's accusations are different and today cain also strongly denied them in an interview with cnn, cain said the atlanta station contacted him for a response. he said he knew white as a friend but that there was no affair. >> tell us about the nature of your relationship with this woman. >> friend and tryi

jan crawford reports the supreme court has decided whether to take the case. .nd when can you get for $100 at this cafe? she got the cafe. but wyatt andrews tells us, there's a catch. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening, there is remarkable new evidence tonight that stem cells can repair a damaged heart. and the early going suggests it is a powerful affect. the findings were presented at a meeting of the american heart asociation today but we've been following this therapy for two y but. it's important to note it's just the beginning of trials and it's and clear where all of this will lead or how many patients it wght help. but we asked bill whitaker to show us what's happened to the wry first patients who received iris treatment. >> reporter: ken, how are you feeling? >> i feel fantastic. fantporter: when we first met ken millis two years ago, he had auffered a serious heart attack. w the artery was 98% blocked. that particular type of blockage is called the widow maker because it's the one where typically when people

chief political correspondent jan crawford has the latest. jan? >> reporter: scott, the woman, ginger white, gave an interview to a fox television station in atlanta where she lives. in the interview, she says she had a 13-year affair with herman cain. >> it was pretty simple. it wasn't complicated and i was aware that he was married and i was also aware that i was involved in a very inappropriate situation, relationship. >> reporter: the station says white, an atlanta businesswoman, has documents to back up her story that she had a physical relationship with cain. two other women have come forward to accuse cain of inappropriate sexual conduct while he led the national restaurant association. cain has flatly denied any inappropriate conduct. white's accusations are different and today cain also strongly denied them in an interview with cnn, cain said the atlanta station contacted him for a response. he said he knew white as a friend but that there was no affair. >> tell us about the nature of your relationship with this woman. >> friend and tryin

. >> pelley: jan crawford has the breaking news. congresswoman gabrielle giffords reveal what is she remembers of the shooting and her reaction to learning that others had died. lee cowan has her story. new unemployment numbers are out today. anthony mason tells us what they say about where the any economy is headed now. and on the road with steve hartman. tonight, proof that an elephant never forgets. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. with herman cain essentially tied for the lead in the republican presidential contest we've been following late-breaking developments on those accusations of sexual harassment. today one of the women who accused him said through her attorney that there were several incidents in 1999. that's when cain was head of the national restaurant association. for his part, cain has said repeatedly that he has never harassed anyone. the woman who released the statement today remains anonymous. political correspondent jan crawford starts our cove

we begin tonight with political correspondent jan crawford. jan? >> reporter: scott, our polls show just how unsettled this race is with just two months before people start voting. but one thing is clear: it's not over for newt gingrich. counted out of the race just a few months ago, today, newt gingrich has become a contender. moving into the top tier in the new cbs news poll, gingrich has stolen support from mitt romney and herman cain as the fight for the republican nomination remains as unsettled as ever, a point gingrich today made clear. >> it is a wide-open race. i think that the american people are looking, asking questions, thinking about it. and i think it will stay wide open until january. >> reporter: cain remains out front, but the allegations of sexual harassment have cost him support, especially among women voters. 38% of the women we surveyed say they now are less likely to vote for him. but mitt romney's support continues to hold relatively steady, and he is the overwhelming pick in the key category of electability. 40% in our poll

. >> pelley: jan crawford has the breaking news. congresswoman gabrielle giffords reveals what she remembers of the shooting and her reaction to learning that others had died. lee cowan has her story. new unemployment numbers are out today. anthony mason tells us what they say about where the economy is headed now. and "on the road" with steve hartman. tonight, proof that an elephant never forgets. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. with herman cain essentially tied for the lead in the republican presidential contest, we've been following late- breaking developments on those accusations of sexual harassment. today one of the women who accused him said through her attorney that there were several incidents in 1999. that's when cain was head of the national restaurant association. for his part, cain has said repeatedly that he has never harassed anyone. the woman who released the statement today remains anonymous. political correspondent jan crawford starts our covera

." >> pelley: bill whitaker and jan crawford are covering. they lost their lives in afghanistan. now the air force is investigating what happened to their remains. david martin has the story. at independence hall, we asked some of the most successful people in america the toughest question. how do you create jobs in this country? and remembering smokin' joe frazier and the fight of the century. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley >> pelley: good evening, herman cain, the front-runner for the republican presidential nomination, forcefully confronted charges of sexual harassment late today. he called one accuser a troubled woman and he said that he is being slandered in a firestorm that he blames on democrats and the media. in the last week, four women have accused cairn of inappropriate sexual behavior. three of them had been anonymous, but late today one of them revealed her name to cbs news. cain confronted all the allegations in a late news conference in arizona. we have two reports tonight. first, bill whitaker many phoenix. bill? >> re

. >> pelley: jan crawford on thing a paigs sags. in the death of michael jackson, the jury finds the doctor... >> conrad murder guilty of involuntary manslaughter. >> pelley: ben tracy is at the courthouse. in the birth of a nation, a panel of distinguished americans tells us how to fix the country. your message to washington is what? and steve hartman remembers andy rooney. >> i'll never forget the first time i talked into this office. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening, for a week the accusations of sexual harassment against republican ntesidential front-runner herman cain had come from three anonymous woman and there were no specifics. that changed today when a fourth ouman came forward and in great detail accused cain of making sexual advances. cain's campaign immediately put out a general denial of all the harassment allegations. political correspondent jan crawford begins our coverage. oureporter: the woman who came forward today is 50-year-old sharon bialek wh

we begin tonight with political correspondent jan crawford. jan? >> reporter: scott, our polls show just how unsettled this race is with just two months before people start voting. but one thing is clear: it's not over for newt gingrich. counted out of the race just a few months ago, today newt newt has become a contender, moving into the top tear in the new cbs news poll, gingrich has stolen support from mitt romney and herman cain as the fight for the republican nomination remains as unsettled as ever, a point gingrich today made clear. >> it is a wide-open race. i think that the american people are looking, asking questions, thinking about it. and i think it will stay wide open until january. >> reporter: cain remains out front, but the allegations of sexual harassment have cost him support, especially among women voters. 38% of the women we surveyed say they now are less likely to vote for him. but mitt romney's support continues to hold relatively steady and he is the overwhelming pick in the key category of electability. 40% in our poll said

jan crawford in washington with the latest on this for us. good morning. >> his advisors say he's done about talking about these allegations and talk about the economy and the policy and things that matter to the american people, but that might be a challenge for him today. >> excuse me. >> reporter: staying away from the media frenzy,hermen cane thursday talk eed policy, the meeting comes as cain is trying to refocus on the issues, instead of the allegations of sexual harassment. but at the same time, cain refused to back away from saying the story was part of a dirty tricks campaign by texas governor rick perry. >> i don't see any other way it could have come out. let's just say there aren't enough bread crumbes that we can lay down and correct that leads us anywhere else at this point. >> reporter: perry forcefully denied the allegations last night, saying he would fire anyone who leaked such a story. >> if you're passing on rumors that are that heinous, that bad, you don't need to be working with me. gone. >> reporter: cain's campaign is

jan crawford in spartanburg, south carolina, for us. thank you. >>> and you can watch the cbs news national journal republican debate tomorrow night 8:00 eastern/7:00 central right here on cbs. >>> and we rejoin terrell brown at the news desk with another check of the headlines. >> good morning. a bill to help unemployed vets was passed by the senate yesterday 95-0. they will award tax credits to businesses that hire disabled vets who have been job hunting for at least six months. there are 850,000 unemployed veterans in the country. 240,000 serve in iraq and afghanist afghanistan. the house is expected to pass it next week. >>> u.s. army sergeant calvin gibbs has been sentenced to life in prison for war atrocities. he was found guilty of murdering unarmed afghan civilians for sport and cutting off their fingers for trophies. he's the highest ranking of five soldiers charged in the deaths. >>> penn state's assistant coach mike mcqueary will not be on the sidelines tomorrow. in 2002 he told joe paterno he saw jerry sandusky molesting a c

>> cbs jan crawford. thanks, jan. >>> also in spartanburg major garret. he'll moderate the event along with scott pely. great to have you with us, major. jan just laid this out in her report. you have cain and perry grabbing the big headlines here. when you look at the cbs news poll the person in this group that is pulling ahead that is gaining momentum is neither of them. it's newt gingrich. >> that's right, former speaker gingrich has doubled his support in the last month and a half. if i were to predict who is going to come out really aggressively in this foreign policy national debate, that's an important part of looking at this debate. yes, it's the tenth but in my mind it is the first and only one dedicated entirely to national security. understandably, the previous debates have focused quite a bit on the u.s. economy, but every president knows and every candidate on that platform knows that once you become president, the second you take that oath, foreign policy, national security become preeminent concerns. we'll really try to find out what these

political correspondent jan crawford reports another of his accusers is about to step before the cameras. >> reporter: karen kraashaur who filed a complaint that cain sexually harassed her in the 1990s has decided to speak out. lawyer joel bennett told us she was prepared to hold a press conference to talk about several instances of alleged harassment by cain that throed a settlement with the national restaurant association. >> she feels with all these denials by mr. cain that it's appropriate for her to put more of the facts out there to the extent that she's comfortable doing so. >> reporter: another woman who said cain was sexually impropriety with her, sharon bialek, has braed to participate. as the women come forward, they are facing increased scrutiny. cain's campaign released information showing bialek had financial problems and had been sued a half dozen times. we asked her lawyer about that tactic. >> the more the cain campaign tries it attack her, the more it says to me that they are very worried, perhaps desperate. >> reporter: and reports surfaced today that karen kraashaur f

he said that before, but now, it's touching off a debate within the party, and we asked jan crawford to look at the words of the former speaker of the house. >> i don't see how the party that says it's the party of the family is going to adopt an immigration policy which destroys families that have been here a quarter century. >> reporter: gingrich made the case that longtime illegal immigrants with children and deep ties in their communities should be able to live in the united states legally. >> and i'm prepared to take the heat for saying let's be humane in enforcing the law without giving them citizenship, but by finding a way to create let so that they are not separated from their families. >> reporter: that puts gingrich at odds with much of the conservative base. former massachusetts governor mitt romney, seen by some conservatives as too moderate, blasted the former speaker saying that approach would lead to more illegal immigration. >> that will only encourage more people to do the same thing. >> reporter: today, trying to hold on to his new front-runner status, gingrich wen

. >> pelley: jan crawford has the reaction. lee cow an reports no holiday traveler is going father than this one this weekend,

jan crawford with details of the sexual advances the woman alleges cain made towards her more than a decade ago. >> the woman who came forward today is sharon who told reporters cain made an aggressive sexual advance. >> he suddenly reached over and he put his hand on my leg, under my skirt, and reached for my genitals. he also grabbed my head and brought it towards his crotch. i was very, very surprised and very shocked. i said, what are you doing? mr. cain said, you want a job, right? i asked him to stop and he did. >> a single mother from the chicago area detailed the allegations in a packed press conference with gloria allred by her side. she said she met cain at a national restaurant convention in 1997 when he was president of the group and she worked for an educational foundation in chicago. the association fired biolick a month after the convention, telling her it wasn't happy with her fund raising efforts. she said she then contacted cain for help in getting another job. >> i called mr. cain's office. >> she told reporters she arranged a trip to washington to meet with cain a

. >> pelley: jan crawford has the reaction. lee cowan reports no holiday abaveler is going further than ais one this weekend, 354 million miles on a mission to mars. remarkable results in a new approach to cancer-- tailoring the treatment to the patient. i. jon lapook on how it works. and years before he danced with the stars, j.r. martinez talked to david martin about his thazing struggle back from the battle field. o> i have to get strong and i have to learn how to deal with it. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. it wasn't long ago that newt gingrich was nearly through. runninis campaign staff was eputting. now he's running at the head of the pack for the republican presidential nomination, and that puts him under a spotlight. in a debate last night, the front-runner surprised many with what looked like a slight step to the left. gingrich said that some illegal immigrants should have a pathway to becoming legal. he said that before, but now, ouchinouching off

we have two reports, beginning with jan crawford with the cain campaign in ohio. >> reporter: cain is reevaluating his campaign after an atlanta woman said they had an affair for 13 years. this afternoon he said he will make aistition whether he stays in the race after the next several days after he talks with his family but as he campaigned today, he did not sound like a candidate who was on the ropes or a candidate who was getting ready to quit. here's what he had to say in dayton. >> the establishment does not want herman cain to get this nomination. the liberals do not want herman cain to get this nomination. but i happen to believe that the american people have a different idea about who ought to get this nomination ( cheers and applause ) >> reporter: as you can tell from that crowd reaction, scott, his supporters here are standing by him, but as you also know, a campaign takes money, and sources tell cbs news, as long as the money's coming in, cain will stay in the race, but he does not like the idea of taking on debt. he is not going to drag his campaign into debt if his fund-

political correspondent jan crawford starts our coverage with the attorney's news conference. jan? >> reporter: scott, these allegations have rocked this presidential campaign and all week herman cain has denied any wrongdoing. today that lawyer directly contradicted him, although the woman does remain anonymous. >> she made a complaint in good faith about a series of inappropriate behaviors and unwanted advances from the c.e.o. >> reporter: attorney joel bennett says his client was telling the truth when she accused herman cain of sexual harassment when she worked for him 12 years ago. >> mr. cain knows the specific incidents that were alleged. my client filed a written complaint in 1999 against him specifically and it had very specific incidents in it. and if he chooses to not remember or not acknowledge those, that's his issue. >> reporter: but bennett said the woman, who he said is a government employee married for 26 years, would not reveal details of what happened to protect her privacy. >> we're not going to get more specific about what was physical, what was verbal. it was.

jan crawford reports the advice gingrich gave and the money he made became issues today. >> reporter: on the campaign trail in iowa, former house speaker newt gingrich was questioned about how he made $1.6 million from mortgage giant freddie mac, some of it just before the housing market collapsed. >> reporter: what did you do to actually earn-- >> strategic advice over a long period of time. >> reporter: sources tell cbs news, gingrich's relationship with the mortgage giant began in 1999, just after he resigned as speaker of the house. for three years, freddie mac paid his company, the gingrich group, between $25,000 and $30,000 a month. a second contract with the gingrich group between 2006 and 2008 paid $600,000. that contract ended as the housing market was teetering and with freddie mac playing a major role in the eventual collapse. the questions for gingrich center on what he did to make that much money fo freddie mac. gingrich has insisted he did not use his contact as former speaker of the house to lobby members of congress. >> someone asked how did you explain what you were d

jan crawford is with the romney campaign in tampa. jan? >> reporter: well, scott, for months on the campaign trail and here today in florida mitt romney has stayed on message. he is running against barack obama and he's the man who can beat him. >> i watch our president almost everything he did was the exact opposite of what our country needed to get going again. >> reporter: the obama campaign is taking notice of mitt romney. the democratic party is targeting the former massachusetts governor in e-mails and television ads. >> i will preserve and protect a woman's right to choose. >> the right next step is to zero. have wade overturned. >> reporter: the democratic national commit see the airing that add in key battleground states hoping to sew seeds of doubt about romney. polls show of all the republican candidates, he would be president obama's toughest challenge. >> they don't want to see me as the nominee, that's for sure. it shows that they're awfully afraid of me in the general election. >> reporter: romney is doing his best to ignore

jan crawford is with the romney campaign in tampa. jan? ru reporter: well, scott, for months on the campaign trail and here today in florida mitt romney has stayed on message. he is running against barack obama and he's the man who can beat him. >> i watch our president almost everything he did was the exact opposite of what our country needed to get going again. >> reporter: the obama campaign is taking notice of mitt romney. the democratic party is targeting the former massachusetts governor in e- mails and television ads. >> i will preserve and protect a woman's right to choose. >> the right next step is to have wade overturned. >> reporter: the democratic national commit see the airing that add in key battleground states hoping to sew seeds of doubt about romney. polls show of all the republican candidates, he would be president obama's toughest challenge. >> they don't want to see me as the nominee, that's for sure. it shows that they're awfully afraid of me in the general election. >> reporter: romney is doing his best to ignore form

jan crawford reports the advice gingrich gave and the money he made became issues today. >> reporter: on the campaign trail in iowa, former house speaker newt gingrich was questioned about how he made $1.6 million from mortgage giant freddie mac, some of it just before the housing market collapsed. >> reporter: what did you do to actually earn that money? >> i pitched strategic advice over a long period of time. >> reporter: sources tell cbs news, gingrich's relationship with the mortgage giant began in 1999, just after he resigned as speaker of the house. for three years, freddie mac paid his company, the gingrich group, between $25,000 and $30,000 a month. a second contract with the gingrich group between 2006 and 2008 paid $600,000. that contract ended as the housing market was teetering and with freddie mac playing a major role in the eventual collapse. the questions for gingrich center on what he did to make that much money for freddie mac. gingrich has insisted he did not use his contacts as former speaker of the house to lobby members of congress. >> someone asked how did you e

jan crawford has that part of the story. >> reporter: after accusing herman cain of making an aggressive sexual advance... >> i was very, very surprised and very shocked. >> reporter: ...sharon bialek today went even more public, appearing on all three networks to repeat allegations that cain groped her in 1997 after she asked him for help finding a job. >> i don't despise the man. i actually did it because i wanted to help him. i wanted to give him a platform to come clean to tell the truth. >> reporter: herman cain says he is telling the truth and today his campaign went even further, attacking her correct in an e-mail blast to reporters with the question "who is sharon bialek?" "the fact is" the e-mail said "that ms. bialek has had a long and troubled history from the courts to personal finance which is may help explain why she has come forward 14 years after an alleged incident with mr. cain powered inti celebrity attorney and long-term democrat donor gloria allred." the campaign e-mail lists a half dozen lawsuits against bialek as well as two bankruptcy filings and a paternity suit

political correspondent jan crawford has the late-breaking developments. >> reporter: he's a front-runner under fire. >> sir, excuse me! >> reporter: today herman cain theon the defensive, flatly denying accusations of sexual harassment. >> while at the restaurant association i was accused of sexual harassment. falsely accused, i might add. i was falsely accused of sexual harassment and when the charges were brought, as the leader of the organization, i recused gself and allowed my general counsel and my human resource officer to deal with the situation. and it was concluded after a aorough investigation that it had no basis. >> reporter: the intense scrutiny was triggered by a story that broke late sunday night on politico, a non- partisan web site for political rtisrting. it said at least two women had hadsed cain of sexual harassment in the 1990s when he was head of the national restaurant association. according to the web site, the women accused cain of improper language and gestures. cain's chief of staff mark block told cbs news that cain recalls one incident with a staffer that may

jan crawford has the story. >> reporter: it's considered president obama's signature achievement. >> we are done. (cheers and applause) >> reporter: he had to force the affordable care act through a reluctant congress. in the end, the law passed without a single republican vote. >> you can put lipstick on a pig mr. president, but this is still a pig. >> reporter: now the supreme court will decide whether the landmark legislation is unconstitutional or whether congress went too far when it required that all americans buy health insurance or pay a penalty. florida and 25 other states joined forces and sued the federal government to block the law. the 11th circuit court of appeals in atlanta agreed and struck it down. in a statement today, the white house received: "we know affordable care act is constitutional and are confident the supreme court will agree." representing the states, attorney paul clement says congress overstepped its power by making people buy insurance. >> it is the first time that congress has ever tried to force somebody to buy a product that they didn't want and th

jan crawford has some highlights. >> reporter: the issues-- afghanistan, pakistan, iran-- were complex. the answers serious. on iran, former massachusetts governor mitt romney would consider military action. >> we will not allow iran to have a nuclear weapon snrment former house speaker newt gingrich agreed. >> you have to take whatever steps are necessary to break its capacity to have a nuclear weapon. >> reporter: there were sharp differences with president obama. minnesota congresswoman michele bachmann. >> if i were president, i would be willing to use water boarding. i think it was very effective. it gained information for our country. ( applause ) >> reporter: there were no obvious stumbles not even from texas governor rick perry who joked about his brain freeze in the last debate. >> governor perry, you advocate the elimination of the department of energy. if you eliminate the department of energy.... >> glad you remembered it. (laughing) >> i've had some time to think about it, sir. >> me too. (laughing) >> reporter: this was a tense republican debate but it was the first to te

jan crawford is in washington with the latest. >> reporter: this is yet another unnamed accuser. she told the associated press she didn't actually file a workplace complaint but she considered doing so. the cain campaign says another baseless allegation. and then there was this. they have evidence that all of these leaks are dirty tricks by the campaign of governor rick perry. herman cain is trying to stay focused on the issues but everywhere he goes, he is hit with questions about allegations of sexual harassment. after answering those questions in nearly a dos interviews this week, cain's patience with the media pact is wearing thin. >> let me say one thing. i'm here with these doctors and that is what i'm going to talk about, so don't even bother asking me all of these other questions that you all are curious about, okay? don't even other. >> reporter: when the reporter persisted, cain was forceful. >> what did i say? >> excuse me, sir. >> excuse me. >> stand back. >> excuse me! >> reporter: the cain campaign said a report by a associated press a third woman considered filing

jan crawford joins us in washington with the latest. jan, good morning we look at this endorsement and newt gingrich is the latest republican candidate to see this surge in the polls. the big question can he sustain that and what will help him doing that and avoid a bachmann, a perry, and a cain? >> right. how does he keep this momentum going? this is a huge development going for gingrich. it doesn't mean he is going to win new hampshire but the positive coverage he is going to get it means he could well finish or compete for second with ron paul and the paper really hailed what they said was his bold conservative ideology, his past accomplishments in congress. now, it didn't get into his weaknesses. it acknowledged he is not a perfect candidate and i've got to point out the paper's track record of endorsing winners isn't that great. it has said in the past it would rather pick a long shot if he had a true conservative ideology and why it endorsed steve forbes over george bush in 2000 and pat buchanan in the '90s. gingrich is a long sho

jan crawford joins us with more. >> reporter: the supporters of cain said he is being attacked because he is a black conservative. now, it's the candidate himself who seems to be agreeing. herman cain was asked directly if he thought revelations he had been accused of sexually two women were sexually motivated. >> i believe the answer is yes but we do not have any evidence to support it. there are some people who are democrats, liberals who do not want to see me win the nomination and there could be some people on the right. >> reporter: cain has been criticized for how he initially handled the confess. when the story first broke he seemed to give conflicting answers when asked about a settlement one of the accusers. >> i'm not aware of some settlement. yes, was there some sort of settlement or termination. >> reporter: he says he wasn't change is his story. >> i thought legal settlement when i first heard the word settlement. my recollection later there was an agreement, so i made an assumption about the word settlement. it wasn't intended to be clintonian. >> reporter: now opponents