steve handelsman, nbc news. >>> the supreme court announced it will hear arguments on the challenges to the new health care law in march, right in the thick of next year's election campaigns. the central issue at take is whether it's constitutional for congress to require all americans to buy health insurance, a key component of the new law enacted under president obama. an appeals court in washington, d.c. was the most recent to uphold the law. the nation's highest court has allowed five hours in the case, a rare departure from the usual one-hour allotment. a ruling is expected by july. >>> here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. according to city official as slow-moving san pedro landslide has become an immediate and life threatening hazard. it's breaking up the roadway and also causing chunks of earth and concrete to fall into the pacific ocean. city crews are scrambling to remove vulnerable infrastructure and keep spectator as way. >>> five north carolina families are out on the street after an suv crashed into their apartment complex. the driver appare

nbc's steve handelsman reports. >> reporter: herman cain is linking his ordeal over sexual accusations to supreme court justice clarence thomas's in 1991. by doing an interview with thomas's conservative activist wife. >> d.c. culture, guilty until proven innocent. >> reporter: one of the three women who worked at the national association restaurant in the 1990s and said cain, the ceo, made unwanted sexual advances had her lawyer ask that she be released from a confidentiality agreement, wanting to tell her side, now that cain is telling his. >> she had nothing to do with this becoming public and would -- and is anxious for it to go away. >> reporter: cain went on talk radio. >> give me a break. no touching was involved. the door to my office was open. my secretary was sitting right outside. absolutely nothing. this is why it was found to be baseless. >> reporter: the cain drama has topped republicans. >> this makes us look bad with women voters. this is causing us a national distraction now. and it's, of course, causing people to look negatively at the party as a whole. >> reporter: t

nbc's steve handelsman has more. >> reporter: as campaign crisis got worse, herman cain tried to cut off questions. >> are you concerned about -- >> excuse me. excuse me! >> reporter: two more people allege cain committed sexual harassment in the '90s. a woman told the associated press cain called her attractive and asked her to his corporate apartment. she told ap she considered filing a complaint but did not. kris wilson, who does work for rick perry, said he saw cain in a d.c. area restaurant in the '90s sexually harass a woman. cain is calling it a smear campaign. >> things are trying to destroy me personally as well as this campaign. >> reporter: he specifically blamed the perry camp and sent his top faxer to fox. >> rick perry and his campaign owe cain and his family an apolo apology. >> reporter: a wquinnipiac poll puts cain 30% nationally but quinnipiac found the 9-9-9 plan is not his main appeal. voters just liked him. now that's in jeopardy. >> these allegations go to the heart of likability. likability was herman cain's calling card. >> reporter: more surprises could lie a

nbc's steve handelsman reports. >> reporter: herman cain is linking his ordeal over sexual accusations to supreme court justice clarence thomas's in 1991. by doing an interview with thomas's conservative activist wife. >> d.c. culture, guilty until proven innocent. >> reporter: one of the three women who worked at the national association restaurant in the 1990s and said cain, the ceo, made unwanted sexual advances have her lawyer ask she be released from a confidentiality agreement, wanting to tell her side, now that cain is telling his. >> she had nothing to do with this becoming public and wou would -- and is anxious for it to go away. >> reporter: cain went on talk radio. >> give me a break. no touching was involved. the door to my office was open. my secretary was sitting right outside. absolutely nothing. this is why it was found to be baseless. >> reporter: the cain drama has topped republicans. >> this makes us look bad with women voters. this is causing us a national distraction now. and it's, of course, causing people to look negatively at the party as a whole. >> reporter: t

steve handelsman, nbc news. >>> the supreme court announced it will hear arguments on the challenges to the new health care law in march, right in the thick of next year's election campaigns. the central issue at take is whether it's constitutional for congress to require all americans to buy health insurance, a key component of the new law enacted under president obama. an appeals court in washington, d.c. was the most recent to uphold the law. the nation's highest court has allowed five hours in the case, a rare departure from the one-hour allotment. a ruling is expected by july. >>> here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. according to city official as slow-moving san pedestriro land is causing chunks offette and concrete to fall into the pacific ocean. city crews are scrambling to remove vulnerable infrastructure and keep spectator as way. >>> five north carolina families are out on the street after an suv crashed into their apartment complex. the driver apparently lost control before barrelling through a fence and into the building. no one inside was ha

nbc's steve handelsman reports. >> reporter: it's the first time a woman has publicly come forward to accuse herman cain. >> mr. cain had been very sexually inappropriate with me. >> reporter: her name is sharon bialek. she says in july 1997 after she was fired from a restaurant association job in chicago, she came to washington to get advice from national ceo herman cain. after dinner, bialek charges cain physically assaulted her. >> he suddenly reached over and he put his hand on my leg, under my skirt. i was very surprised and very shocked. i said, what are you doing? you know i have a boyfriend? this isn't what i came here for. mr. cain said, you want a job, right? >> reporter: bialek says cain stopped. she did not file charges. nbc news cannot independently confirm bialek's allegations but attorney gloria allred showed statements from two men who swore bialek told them in '97 cain had been sexually inappropriate. after three women anone mousily accused cain of harassment this month, bialek says she decided to do it publicly. >> i want you, mr. cain, to come clean, just admit what

steve handelsman reports. >> i don't even know who this woman is. >> reporter: herman cain went after his first accuser to go public. the day after sharon bialek said cain groped her and pushed her in 1997. >> they simply did not happen. >> reporter: cain's campaign listed lawsuits against bialek and two bankruptcies. >> the democrat machine in america has brought forth a troubled woman to make false you you sagss. >> reporter: but in a media blitz, bialek denied her motivation is political or financial. >> i expected this. this is what happens. it's not about me. i'm not the one running for president. >> reporter: cain insisted he'll keep running. >> and as far as these accusations causing me to back off and maybe withdrawal from this presidential primary race, ain't going to happen. >> reporter: but as cain spoke, another accuser went public. karen says she's one of those who got a settlement in 1999 after accusing cain of harassment. >> the cumulative impact of all these accusations have got to be a killer for cain. >> reporter: but defiant, the gop front-runner in last week's poll

i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, rochester, michigan. >>> in a massive shakeup at penn state university, legendary football coach joe paterno was fired last night. the university president was let go amid a widening scandal over how the school handled allegations of sexual child abuse by a former assistant coach. penn state students flooded the streets last night in protest. at least two were reportedly arrested. nbc's jay gray reports. >> reporter: the turmoil at penn state poured into the streets overnight. >> joe paterno! [ chanting ] >> reporter: as word quickly spread of a late decision by the university board of trustees that legendary coach joe paterno and university president graham spanier would be relieved of their duties immediately. >> i think we reached a point where change was necessary. we thought it was in the best long-term interest of the university. >> reporter: thousands of students gathered on campus and outside paterno's home to support the man who has been a part of penn state football for more than six decades. with his wife at his side, paterno spoke briefly, th

i'm steve handelsman in washington. the story is coming up next. >> in "medical alert" many doctors are recommending all teens be tested for h.i.v. they can't prevent teens from unknowingly spreading the disease. >> in areas where there are wise levels of s.t.d.'s, it is wise to screen everybody. >> health officials estimate 20% of the one million people infected with aids in the u.s. are unaware of their status and hope testing will become morariu teen and part of the standard check-up. >> good news for people with prediabetes and diabetes. building muscle can help lower the risk of developing the disease and help stablize blood sugar levels. >> robby is building his muscles to not just look better but fight off disease. >> i was scared out of my mind. he went -- my father went from being predie betic to full-blown weets diabetes. >> robby fought back. he changed his lifestyle and started pumping iron several times a week. >> it is not some macho thing. it is to help my health. >> studies show he probably did the right

i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, rochester, michigan. >>> in a massive shakeup at penn state university, legendary football coach joe paterno was fired last night. the university president was let go amid a widening scandal over how the school handled allegations of sexual child abuse by a former assistant coach. penn state students flooded the streets last night in protest. at least two were reportedly arrested. nbc's jay gray reports. >> reporter: the turmoil at penn state poured to the streets overnight. [ chanting ] >> reporter: as word quickly spread of a late decision by the university board of trustees that legendary coach joe paterno and university president graham spanier would be relieved of their duties immediately. >> i think we reached a point where change was necessary. we thought it was in the best long-term interest of the university. >> reporter: thousands of students gathered on campus and outside paterno's home to support the man who has been a part of penn state football for more than six decades. with his wife at his side, paterno spoke briefly, thanking the crowd.

nbc's steve handelsman reports. >> reporter: it ended with a whimper at a mostly empty u.s. capitol. in a statement the supercommittee co-chair said, we are deeply disappointed that it will not be possible to make any bipartisan agreement. president obama blamed republicans. >> they continue to insist on protecting the $100 billion worth of tax cuts for the wealthiest 2% of americans at any cost. even if it means reducing the deficit with deep cuts to things like education and medical research. even if it means deep cuts in medicare. >> reporter: republicans blamed him. >> what has the president done? now and then he phones in. you can't be e.t. you actually have to lead. >> reporter: the supercommittee could not make a deal to cut $1.2 trillion in red ink because, in part, democrats say entitlement cuts. >> there's a lot money to be saved without cutting people on medicare. our democratic friends like to portray that as the choice. that's not the choice. >> reporter: republicans resisted higher taxes on wealthy. >> if they were to take the bush tax cuts off and let the amer

steve handelsman reports. >> i don't even know who this woman is. >> reporter: herman cain went after his first accuser to go public. the day after sharon bialek said cain groped her and pushed her in 1997. >> they simply did not happen. >> reporter: cain's campaign listed lawsuits against bialek and two bankruptcies. >> the democrat machine in america has brought forth a troubled woman to make false accusations. >> reporter: but in a media blitz, bialek denied her motivation is political or financial. >> i expected this. this is what happens. it's not about me. i'm not the one running for president. >> reporter: cain insisted he'll keep running. >> and as far as these accusations causing me to back off and maybe withdrawal from this presidential primary race, ain't going to happen. >> reporter: but as cain spoke, another accuser went public. karen kraushaar says she's one of those who got a settlement in 1999 after accusing cain of harassment. >> the cumulative impact of all these accusations have got to be a killer for cain. >> reporter: but defiant, the gop front-runner in last wee

nbc's steve handelsman reports. >> reporter: it's the first time a woman has publicly come forward to accuse herman cain. >> mr. cain had been very sexually inappropriate with me. >> reporter: her name is sharon bialek. she says in july 1997 after she was fired from a restaurant association job in chicago, she came to washington to get advice from national ceo herman cain. after dinner, bialek charges cain physically assaulted her. >> he suddenly reached over and he put his hand on my leg, under my skirt. i was very surprised and very shocked. i said, what are you doing? you know i have a boyfriend? this isn't what i came here for. mr. cain said, you want a job, right? >> reporter: bialek says cain stopped. she did not file charges. nbc news cannot independently confirm bialek's allegations but attorney gloria allred showed statements from two men who swore bialek told them in '97 cain had been sexually inappropriate. after three women anonomously accused cain of harassment this month, bialek says she decided to do it publicly. >> i want you, mr. cain, to come clean, just admit what y

nbc's steve handelsman reports. >> reporter: it ended with a whimper at a mostly empty u.s. capitol. in a statement the supercommittee co-chair said, we are deeply disappointed that it will not be possible to make any bipartisan agreement. president obama blamed republicans. >> they continue to insist on protecting the $100 billion worth of tax cuts for the wealthiest 2% of americans at any cost. even if it means reducing the deficit with deep cuts to things like education and medical research. even if it means deep cuts in medicare. >> reporter: republicans blamed him. >> what has the president done? now and then he phones in. you can't be e.t. you actually have to lead. >> reporter: the supercommittee could not make a deal to cut $1.2 trillion in red ink because, in part, democrats say resist ed entitlement cuts. >> there's a lot money to be saved without cutting people on medicare. our democratic friends like to portray that as the choice. that's not the choice. >> reporter: republicans resisted higher taxes on wealthy. >> if they were to take the bush tax cuts off and le

i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, rochester, michigan. >>> in a massive shakeup at penn state university, legendary football coach joe paterno was fired last night. the university president was let go amid a widening scandal over how the school handled allegations of sexual child abuse by a former assistant coach. penn state students flooded the streets last night in protest. at least two were reportedly arrested. nbc's jay gray has more. >> reporter: the turmoil at penn state poured to the streets overnight. as word quickly spread of a late decision by the university board of trustees that legendary coach joe paterno and university president graham spanier would be relieved of their duties immediately. >> i think we reached a point where change was necessary. we thought it was in the best long-term interest of the university. >> reporter: thousands of students gathered on campus and outside paterno's home to support the man who has been a part of penn state football for more than six decades. with his wife at his side, paterno spoke briefly, thanking the crowd. >> look, get a good night

nbc's steve handelsman report. >> reporter: it's the first time a woman has publicly come forward to accuse herman cain. >> mr. cain had been very sexually inappropriate with me. >> reporter: her name is sharon bialek. she says in july 1997 after she was fired from a restaurant association job in chicago she came to washington to get advice from national ceo herman cain. after dinner, bialek charges cain physically assaulted her. >> he reached over, put his hand under my skirt. i was very surprised and shocked. i said, what are you doing? you know i have a boyfriend? this isn't what i came here for. mr. cain said, you want a job, right? >> reporter: bialek says cain stopped. she did not file charges. nbc news cannot independently confirm bialek's allegations but attorney gloria allred showed statements who swor bialek told them in 1997 cain was inappropriate. after three anonymous women accused cain this month, bialek says she decided to do it publicly. >> i want you, mr. cain, to come clean, just admit what you did. >> reporter: cain issued a statement this afternoon denying what he

steve handelsman reports. >> reporter: it's the first time a woman has publicly come forward to accuse mr. cain. >> mr. cain had been very sexually inappropriate for me. >> her name is shart buy let. she says in july of 1997 after she was fired from a restaurant association job in chicago, she came to washington to get advice from national ceo. after dinner cain physically assaulted her. >> he suddenly reached over and he put his hand on my leg under my skirt. i was slr, very surprised and very shocked. i said, what are you doing? you know i have a boyfriend. this isn't what i came here for. mr. cain said, you want a job right. >> reporter: she did not file charges. nbc news can't confirm her allegations. gloria allred showed statements from two men who told her she told them in 2007 cain had been sexually inappropriate. she says she decided to do it publicly. >> i want you, mr. cain, to come clean, just admit what you did. >> reporter: cain issued a statement denying what he called false allegations. sharon buy lick says she's telling her story to put a name and face to the charges. s

nbc's steve handelsman has more. >> reporter: as his campaign crisis got worse, herman cain tried to cut off questions. >> are you concerned about -- >> excuse me. excuse me! >> reporter: two more people allege cain committed sexual harassment in the '90s. a woman told the associated press cain called her attractive and asked her to his corporate apartment. she told ap she considered filing a complaint but did not. kris wilson, who does work for rick perry, said he saw cain in a d.c. area restaurant in the '90s sexually harass an employee in her 20s. cain charges a smear campaign. >> things are trying to destroy me personally as well as this campaign. >> reporter: he specifically blamed the perry camp and sent his top staffer to fox. >> rick perry and his campaign oh owe herman cain and his family an apology. >> reporter: cain understands he could lose his frontrunner status. a quinnipiac poll taken before the allegations puts cain 30% nationally, but critics found the 9-9-9 plan is not his main appeal. voters just liked him. now that's in jeopardy. >> these allegations go to the hea

live from michigan, i'm steve handelsman, news 4. back to you. >> thank you. >>> souvenirs and cell phones may become a bit more scarce. it's because of a new executive order. president obama signed the directive today ordering agencies to reduce expenditures by 20%. the cut backs include items ranging from travel and cell phones to souvenirs such as pens and coffee cups used for promotion. it's part of a white house plan to cut $4 billion in waste and to make government more efficient. >>> students at george washington university are getting a tuition refund after their professor didn't show up for class. she resigned. she didn't teach at least two semesters of a medicine course. everyone in the class got an a. the dean of the medical school said students will still get credit. they earned it through clinical rotations. they appointed an independent committee to make sure it doesn't happen again. doug is here with a look at the forecast. a wonderful day out there, again, today. >> three in a row. dry days. plenty of sunshine through

steve handelsman, wbal-tv 11 news. >> we are ready to do our part. that pledge today from president obama during a meeting with european union leaders as they deal with their debt crisis. >> the united states stands ready to do our part to help them resolve this issue. this is of huge importance to our own economy. >> the president says the u.s. will do what it can, but ruled out any financial assistance from the american taxpayer. retailers hoping a strong holiday shopping weekend will continue into cyber monday or apparently getting their wish. online sales by midafternoon were up 20% over last year. online sales of department stores also reported double- digit increases. rick and mortar retailers hoped the frenzy would spill over into their stores. >> it is different over the internet. it is not personal. it is a cold shopping experience. here you get out, you are among people, and is more of what the holiday is, getting out, getting involved in the crowds. >> sales from mobile devices were up 8.5%. wall street reacted to the good sales numbers by

i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, rochester, michigan. >>> following the debate on the "last word" with lawrence o'donnell. lawrence asked republican strategist steve schmidt and msnbc's alex wagner to weigh in on rick perry's debate blunder and if it spelled doom for his campaign. >> it's over for him. i think his campaign effectively ended tonight. just an extraordinary moment. the likes of which we have never seen before in a presidential debate. he had fallen off the radar screen, he's fallen to michele bachmann's levels in the race, think that was something over tonight. >> ha was something akin to wetting your pants on the last day of school. there's no reprieve for rick perry. especially ironically on energy, which something he has hammered out over and over and over. >> it turns out later he was thinking of the department of energy. he finally got that out. the governor of texas, the oil business centered there, and he couldn't quite remember oh yeah, the department that regulates my big industry, i want to get rid of them. >> it was one of those white knuckle moments where you

here's steve handelsman. >> reporter: it ended with a whimper at a mostly empty u.s. capitol. in a statement, the super committee co-chairs said we are deeply disappointed that it will not be possible to make any bipartisan agreement. super committee democrat, senator max baucus, and patty murray had conferred. rob portman with the other republicans. but the full bipartisan committee had no meeting despite president obama's urging. keep going, keep at it, no politi politics, no delays, no excuses. >> republicans blamed him. >> what has the president done? now and then he phones in. you can't be e.t., you actually have to lead. >> reporter: the supercommittee could not make a deal to cut $1.2 trillion in red ink. democrats say don't blame us. >> we're the only ones who put almost a $4 trillion on the table. we did that. >> reporter: but democrats resist ee eed entitlement cuts. >> that's not the choice. >> reporter: but republicans resisted higher taxes on the wealthy. >> if they were to take the bush tax cuts off and just let the american people decide, we could have an agreem

nbc's steve handelsman reports. >> i don't even know who this woman is. >> reporter: herman cain went after his first accuser to go public. the day after sharon bilic said cain groped and pushed her in 1997. simple charges. >> they did not happen. >> cain's campaign listed lawsuits against her. >> the democrat machine in america has brought forth a troubled woman to make false accusations. >> but bielic denied her motivation is political or financial. >> i expected this, this is what happens. it's not about me. i'm not the one running for president. >> cain insisted he'll keep running. >> as far as these accusations causing me to back off and maybe withdraw from this presidential primary race? ain't going to happen. >> but as cain spoke, another accuser went public. karen said she's one of those who got a settlement in 1999 after accusing cain of hara harassme harassment. >> the cumulative impact of all of these accusations have got to be a killer for cain. >> but defiant, the gop front-runner in last week's poll said he'll be in detroit for the debate. i'm steve handelsman, nbc news,

i'm steve handelsman, nbc news washington. >>> the supreme court announced it will hear arguments on challenges to the healthcare law in march, in the thick of the election campaigns. in a departure from the one hour allotment. the high court set aside five hours for the arguments in the case. brian mooar has details >> the supreme court agreed to hear a challenge of president obama's healthcare law. a constitutional challenge that will be decided in the middle of the 2012 election campaign. >> it's going to have political ramifications as well as legal ramifications. it's one of the big cases of history. >> the central question? can congress force americans to buy health insurance. >> for the first time in 200 years, congress is requiring every american to either buy a product, in this case health insurance, or pay a fine. if this mandate is upheld, what is off limits? what under the constitution can congress not require each of us to purchase? >> how far did congress reach? >> the supreme court for years has upheld various forms of insurance requirements, social security is a form

nbc's steve handelsman reports. r it ended with a whimper at a mostly empty u.s. capitol. the co-chairs said we are deeply disappointed that it will not be possible to make any bipartisan agreement. president obama blamed republicans. >> they continue to insist on protecting the $100 billion tax cuts for the wealthiest 2% of americans. at any cost, even if it means reducing the deficit to things like education and medical research. even if it means deep cuts to medicare. >> republicans blame him. >> what has the president done? now and then, he phones in. you can't be e.t. you have to lead. >> the super committee could not make a deal to cut $1.2 trillion in red ink because, in part, democrats resisted entitlement cuts. >> there's a lot of monday to be saved with without cutting benefits for people who are on medicare, for example. i know our democratic friends like to portray that as a choice. that's not the choice. >> republicans resisted higher taxes on the wealthy. >> if they were to take the bush tax cuts off and let the american people decide, we could have an agreem

nbc's steve handelsman reports. >> republican candidates for president of the united states. >> reporter: they tangled on cnn near the white house. their 11th debate with a new frontrunner, who's a washington veteran. >> i spent years studying this stuff. >> reporter: newt gingrich, outspoken before 9/11. >> all of us will be in danger for the rest of our lives. >> reporter: he's at 24% in the cnn poll. mitt romney's at 20%. herman cain down to 17%. and tonight's topic, national security, is not cain's strength. >> if we pull out of afghanistan too soon, iran will help fill take power vacuum. >> reporter: most agreed. >> we have been in for ten years. we're winding down, afghan troops are picking up the security. >> reporter: they also agreed iran must not get nuclear weapons. >> if we were serious, we would open up enough oil fields in the next year that the price of oil worldwide would collapse. now, that's what we do if we were a serious country. >> reporter: tough talk and big ideas, and gingrich broke with the rest on immigration saying long-time illegals could stay. >> the party th

nbc's steve handelsman has more. >> as his campaign crisis got worse, herman cain tried to cut off questions. >> what did i say? >> are you concerned about -- >> excuse me, excuse me! >> but two more people alleged cain committed sexual harassment in the '90s. a woman told the "associated press" cain called her attractive and asked her to his corporate apartment. she told a.p. she considered filing a complaint, but did not. chris wilson, who now does work for rick perry, said he saw cain in a d.c.-area restaurant in the '90s, sexually harass an employee in her 20s. cain charge as smear campaign. >> there are factions that are trying to destroy me, personally, as well as this campaign. >> he specifically blamed the perry camp and sent his top staffer to fox. >> first rick perry and his campaign all herman cain and his family an apology. >> cain understands he could lose his front-runner status. a poll taken before the allegations puts cain at 30% nationally. but quinnipiac found the 9-9-9 plan is not cain's main appeal. voters just liked him and now that's in jeopardy. >> these allegation goe

steve handelsman reports. >> reporter: he laid the traditional wreath at arlington cemetery. because of his policies in iraq and afghanistan, this veterans day is different than the last night. >> my fellow americans, troops are coming home. >> reporter: returning to a tough job market. >> i challenged business leaders to hire 100,000 veterans and their spouses. >> reporter: the president pushed tax credits for companies that hire vets and the senate okayed that yesterday in a rare bipartisan vote. at a barbecue joint in south carolina, mitt romney praised the plan. >> given the high level of unemployment of veterans, i think it's an idea that has merit. >> reporter: herman cain aimed a video at families. >> thank you for your sacrifice and your service. >> reporter: in a new cbs poll since the harassment charges, cain's support dropped but he remained the lead gop at 18%. romney tied with gingrich. why not gingrich. he'll take a run in iowa and we'll see what happens. >> the former house speaker noted how few republicans favored cain, romney or him. >> it is a wide open race

i'm steve handelsman, news 4. >>> stocks went doppler sharply. dow plunged 190 points. nasdaq 46 and the s&p 500 off 20 points. >>> republican presidential candidate newt gingrich says his firm was hired by freddie mac. he has to investigate how much money is involved. he's been criticized by conservatives saying they unwisely expanded home ownership to buyer who is couldn't afford it. they did not lobby for freddie mac. >> the idea you are thinking act how could we help people learn how to budget, how do we help people learn how to save and maintain a house on a lower income would strike me, for most people a good thing to do, not bad. >> there are reports gingrich's company earned $1.5 million for its work with freddie mac. >> we are just getting started. when we come back, the sexiest man in the world is revealed. >>> new developments in the case of the woman claiming justin bieber is her baby's father. >>> a supermodel and ready to walk the cat walk. [ male announcer ] the chicken marinara melt is the featured $5 footlong of november. juicy chicken, marinara sauce,

it's got to be good news for herman cain. >> steve handelsman with the latest. thank you, steve. >>> in the state of virginia republicans are now in control. democrat ed hulk conceded the race. after the votes were canvassed vice president reeves won. it's less than one percentage point. republicans control the virginia house, the senate and the executive mansion. >>> up next on news 4, another round of violent demonstrations between police and occupy protesters. this placed at the university of california berkley. >>> new developments on how officials handled the remains of america's war dead. it is disturbing. >>> metro bus driver hailed as a hero after a boy darts into his path. >>> a long commute could be the key to a happier and healthier life they say. >> i don't see how it's going to work. >>> your commute is on the wet side. i tell you what, a little on the cold side, too. it's not the only thing moving in. we'll talk about it in the full forecast. >>> coming up in sports, kyle shanahan on the revelation his dad told him not to take the job. the capitals

steve handelsman on capitol hill with more. steve? >> reporter: good evening. herman cain's accuser was cool, calm and articulate. if the story is true, it's devastating. it's the first time a woman publicly came forward to accuse herman cain. >> he was very sexually inappropriate with me. >> reporter: she says in july, 1997, after she was fired from a restaurant association job in chicago, she came to washington to get advice from national ceo herman cain. after dinner, cain physically assaulted her. he suddenly reached over and he put his hand on my leg, under my skirt. i was very, very surprised and very shocked. i said what are you doing? you know i have a boyfriend. this isn't what i came here for. mr. cain said you want a job, right? >> reporter: she says cain stopped. she did not file charges. nbc news cannot confirm the allegations. attorney gloria allread showed statements from two men who she told cain was sexually inappropriate. three other women accused him of it this month. she said she decided to do it publicly. i want you, mr. cain to come clean.

steve handelsman has more on this. >> reporter: the current commander in chief up for re-election made a popular move when he pulled forces out of iraq and set a date for them to leave afghanistan. he mentioned that as part of today's observances. he laid the traditional wreath at arlington cemetery. he pointed out because of his policies in iraq and afghanistan, this veterans day is different than the last nine. >> my fellow americans, our troops are coming home. >> reporter: returning to a tough job market. >> i challenged business leaders to hire veterans over the next few years. >> reporter: the president pushes tax credits for companies that hire vets. the senate okayed it in a rare bipartisan vote. mitt romney praised the plan. >> given the large unemployment among veterans, it's a good idea. >> herman cain had a video at military families. >> thank you for your sacrifice and service. >> reporter: in a new poll since the harassment charges, cain's support dropped but he remained the gop front-runner at 18%. romney 15%, tied with newt gin rich who rocketed up. >> we have had cain,

steve handelsman reports. >> reporter: the capital is quiet. most lawmakers have gone for thanksgiving. supercommittee democrats, senator max baucus and pat murray confirmed with the other republicans. the full bipartisan committee had no meeting. >> keep going. keep working. let's keep at it. no politics, no delays, no excuses. >> reporter: republicans blamed him. >> what has the president done? now and then he phones in. you can't be e.t., you have to lead. >> reporter: the supercommittee could not make a deal to cut $1.2 trillion in red ink. democrats say don't blame us. >> we are the only ones who put a $4 trillion deal on the table. we did that. >> reporter: democrats resisted entitlement cuts. >> there's a lot of money to be saved without cutting mens for people on medicare. i know our democratic friends like to portray that as the choice. >> republicans resisted higher taxes on the wealthy. >> if they take the bush taxes off, we could have an agreement today. >> reporter: the failure means automatic defense cuts. bad planning said mitt r

steve handelsman reports. >> reporter: six days left for members of the supercommittee. >> time is running out. we are working hard. >> reporter: the battle rages over hiking taxes on the wealthy and taking things away from the poor. >> wake up. wake up! >> reporter: they want a line drawn. >> we are not going to accept social security, medicare and medicaid cuts. >> reporter: moderate democrats like patty murray say if there are to be cuts, there has to be new revenue, too. tax hikes. she says republicans have to decide. >> whether or not to put real revenue on the table. once they resolve that and are willing to compromise as we have, then we can reach a deal. >> reporter: supercommittee republicans, senator pat toomey and jeb are backing $300 billion in new taxes, a compromise. speaker john boehner know that is will be hard to get through to the house. 72 said no to tax hikes. boehner charged democrats backed out of earlier deals. >> you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. the problem we have had all year is getting to yes. >> reporter: murray said democrats have sa

here is steve handelsman. >> reporter: newt gingrich was in iowa happy to hear he's surging. >> who knows what the polls are going to be. >> reporter: he was second in the cnn poll. romney is up by two. cain's 14 and perry at 12. newt gingrich refuses to dumb it down. >> i am for more revenue, but against higher taxes. let me explain this. nobody in washington seems to get this. >> reporter: the nbc poll asked the same voters to take a look at cain and perry. >> oops. >> reporter: perry lost half his support. gingrich is up so is romney. many more republicans are concerned about charges cane committed sexual harassment. for the first time, cain's wife is coming to his defense on fox. >> i know that's not the person he is. he totally respects women. >> reporter: the former boyfriend of the accuser backed her account today. victor zuckerman says he sent her to get career advice from cain. >> i can confirm when she returned she was upset. she said that something had happened and that mr. cain touched her in an inappropriate manner. >> reporter: cain, slumping in the polls. perry in a nose di

i'm steve handelsman, news 4, capitol hill. >>> on wall street, the stocks closed up, gaining 2%. it's after boosted confidence following the record-breaking shopping weekend. nasdaq up 85. s&p closing 33 points higher. >> congressman barney frank is retiring at the end of his term. he announced he doesn't plan to seek re-election. he was amajor architect of the sweeping banking reform passed last year. he remains the ranking congressman on that committee. he's 71 years old and was one of the first lawmakers to announce he's gay. >>> the official holiday season hit capitol hill. the tree arrived in d.c. this morning from california national forest. it will be erected on the west lawn of the capital building with 10,000 l.e.d. lights and 2,000 handmade ornaments. the lighting ceremony takes place next tuesday. it will be lit until 11:00 every night through new year's day. >>> a little warm to light a tree today to get in the holiday spirit. it's going to get colder. >> veronica johnson is going to tell us about the dip heading our way. >> that's right. as far as today goes, it was

steve handelsman has the latest. >> reporter: on a swing through ohio, herman cain sounded defiant. >> they want you to believe that with enough character assassination on me that i will drop out. >> reporter: cain will not quit anytime soon according to the former party chairman who has been in touch with cain. >> i don't think herman is contemplating getting out of the race at the moment. he doesn't really have a strong reason to do it. >> we want cain! >> reporter: with much support intact, cain can wait until january when the voters in iowa decide about the alleged 13-year affair, the charges of sexual harassment and foreign policy. if cain drops out, the poll finds the rest of the field won't reshuffle much. mitt romney would get cain voters. romney denied charges of flip-flopping last night on fox. >> your list is not accurate. one, we are going to have to be better informed on my issues. >> newt gingrich would get cain voters. if he's the nominee, barack obama won't debate seven times. >> whether every the president goes, i will show up four hours later and make a speech. >> re

steve handelsman has more. >> reporter: herman cain had reason to smile. confirmation today from a major poll that allegations of harassment have not slowed his assent. >> the american dream has been hijacked. the good news is, we can take it back. >> reporter: cain is at an all-time high, 23% nationally in the abc news washington post poll conducted since the revelation that three women who worked at the restaurant association in the late 1990s accused cain of unwanted sexual advancements. 55% of republicans called it not a serious matter. 70% said it make nos difference to their vote. cain at 23% is virtually tied with mitt romney at 24. romney, today, laid out for the first time how he wants to transform social security and medicare. >> the eligibility age should keep pace with longevity. those ideas will give tomorrow's seniors the kind of choices most americans have in health care today. >> reporter: romney has to share front-runner status with another businessman. >> the way i approach problems is like all successful people. you make sure you are wor