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Herman Cain Denies Sexual Misconduct Allegations; Conrad Murray Will Not Testify in Trial; White House Pulls UNESCO Funding; JetBlue Apologizes for Stranded Passengers; GOP Presidential Candidate Herman Cain Confident He can Weather Sexual Harassment Allegations

Aired November 01, 2011 - 14:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: And hello to all of you. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Let's get you caught up on everything making news this hour, beginning with "Rapid Fire."

Beginning with a live look at the Big Board. Let me look with you.

Triple-digit tanking, 232, the Dow down at 11,723. Of course, all of this, a lot of this because of the bombshell in Greece.

Their prime minister called for a public vote to approve Europe's debt deal, and investors are worried that the referendum will put that whole deal that was brokered late last week in jeopardy. So we're going to keep a close eye on these numbers during the last two hours of trading there.

Also, the debt-slashing so-called super committee meeting right now in Washington. They are 22 days away from their deadline, and they are still at odds over taxes. They are seeking guidance today from the two chairs of the presidential debt commission. That being Republican Alan Simpson and Democrat Erskine Bowles.

Also, the big bank today bowing to the little guy. Bank of America now calling off plans to charge you, their customers, that $5 monthly fee for using their debit cards. Most people obviously are thrilled over this, but Occupy Wall Street protesters we talked to, not so impressed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's great. That's wonderful. That's a move in the right direction, but it's not earth-shattering. It's really not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Well, in the past couple of days, other big banks have also canceled plans to charge similar fees.

And a commercial airliner full of passengers lands on its belly today. Watch this with me as it starts to skid on the tarmac, no landing gear. Not working. Imagine that. Take a listen.

This is Poland. The Boeing 767 slides to a stop after the landing gear clearly failed on approach. This is Warsaw.

Two hundred thirty people on board. This flight came from the U.S. Amazingly, zero people hurt.

A gold star for the pilot. That was pretty smooth.

And the mother of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton passed away at the age of 92. Dorothy Howell Rodham died early this morning in Washington.

The family's statement described her -- and I'm quoting -- as a "warm, generous, and strong woman, an intellectual, a woman who told a great joke and always got the joke, an extraordinary friend, and most of all, a loving wife, mother, and grandmother."

An Oregon couple who chose their faith over medical aid for their sick newborn will be spending the next six years in prison. A jury convicted Dale and Shannon Hickman in 2009 of second-degree manslaughter. The couple did not seek treatment for their little son David, who died within hours of his birth at home.

Fire investigators are trying to figure out what started this fire. It left several animals dead in a New Jersey zoo. This actually happened Sunday night at the Animal Kingdom Zoo in Burlington County. A giraffe, several puppies, and birds died in this fire. This is the second fire at this zoo this year.

And take a look at this. Conjoined twins -- here they are -- attached at both the chest and the abdomen. So, right now, doctors in California are working to separate these 2-year-old girls.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GINADY SABUCO, MOTHER OF CONJOINED TWINS: I hope and pray that everything will be OK and they will recover successfully.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: That procedure, as we mentioned, under way right now, expected to take more than eight hours, possibly more.

And with that, we have a lot more to cover with you in the next two hours, including this --

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: A surprise move strikes fear in the markets. We're watching Wall Street.

I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.

(voice-over): Herman Cain, Monday. HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am unaware of any sort of settlement.

BALDWIN: Herman Cain, today.

CAIN: I remember an agreement.

BALDWIN: Twenty-four hours of questions. The Republican reveals different answers.

CAIN: It is a smear campaign.

BALDWIN: CNN goes inside Occupy Wall Street.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why are we here? Maybe it's to help people out!

BALDWIN: Find out what happens during 24 hours behind the scenes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We know we let some of you down.

BALDWIN: JetBlue apologizes for making passengers sick on the plane. No working toilets, no food for eight hours. But will it happen again?

The feds call them ghosts, Russian spies undercover right here in the U.S. Now, never-before-seen footage of their secret tricks --

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The classic spy technique, a brush pass.

BALDWIN: -- and how close they got to infiltrating the circles of American power players.

From anarchy, an alternative. A fascinating look at punk rock dads.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've really worked on myself with anger management.

JOY BEHAR, HLN: One down, how many to go?

KIM KARDASHIAN, TELEVISION PERSONALITY: Twenty more to go.

BALDWIN: And after 72 days, Kim Kardashian decides she no longer wants to be a newlywed. But her husband isn't backing down.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: They are not just talking taxes now in the Republican race for the White House. Herman Cain has been fighting back hard against allegations that he sexually harassed two women more than a decade ago. But by last night, he said he did recall one allegation, and that there had been a payout, albeit a small one.

This morning, my colleague, HLN's Robin Meade, asked Herman Cain to explain.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBIN MEADE, HLN ANCHOR: Now that we're fully 24, 48 hours into this, you're remembering more about what happened, Mr. Cain?

CAIN: That is it. The best account was the one that I gave last night on another station, and the only thing that I added as the day -- remember, this was 12 years ago, and I was trying to recollect this in the middle of an already busy planned day -- a major speech in the morning, a major luncheon speech at the Press Club.

And so the only thing that I could remember when I was asked about any specific things that were in the allegation, I came up with the fact that I made a gesture by putting my hand under my chin, standing near this lady, saying, "Oh, you're the same height as my wife."

My wife is five feet tall, she comes up to my chin, and I was simply making that comparison. We were in my office, the door was wide open, and my assistant was sitting right outside.

MEADE: Now, if either of these two women, one of whom you do remember, one of whom you don't remember the case, you're saying, if they were watching now, I mean, what would you say to them regarding their complaints? Because you say they were false and they were found to be false.

CAIN: I would simply say, why are you bringing it up now? Obviously, someone is encouraging them to bring it up now because I'm doing so well in this Republican nomination. That's all I would say, why are you bringing it up now?

Secondly, are you being used to try and help paint a cloud and help sabotage my candidacy? That's all I would say.

I would just simply ask a question as to why they would do that now. And you and I both know why they're doing it, because someone does not like the fact that we're doing so well in this campaign, and that I'm at or near the top of the polls consistently.

MEADE: So you feel like this is a smear campaign? From whom, do you think?

CAIN: I absolutely believe that this is an intended smear campaign using these two cases -- like I said, I'm not even aware of the second one. It is a smear campaign. When they cannot --

MEADE: By whom? Do you know by whom?

CAIN: We don't know. We have no idea.

I was falsely accused. I have never committed sexual harassment in my entire career, period. And it was found that nothing took place in terms of sexual harassment in this particular case.

MEADE: You've been married for more than 40 years. You've been really happy and proud to say that. So, I'm wondering, what does your wife, if we may ask, have to say about all of this and these things surfacing? Was she told initially all those years ago about it?

CAIN: Yes, she was. When this happened years ago, I told my wife about it because it was found to be baseless. And the hardest part on my wife, quite frankly, is all of the innuendoes from all of the news reports that haven't been presenting the facts.

You know, the fact that, yes, the word "settlement," I said I don't recall a settlement earlier in the day. That's because I considered what happened an agreement. But because of, like I said, the detail at which every word is scrutinized, it was an agreement. And so it looked like I changed my story.

I didn't change my story. I just simply got the wording right, and the difference between "settlement" and "agreement," there is a difference to me.

MEADE: OK.

Now, a lot of campaign watchers are saying, ooh, this is a misstep by his campaign. Do you have any fears about how this is going to play into your poll numbers?

CAIN: First of all, it may affect my poll numbers, but most of our supporters have not been shaken by this whatsoever. In fact, many of the people that have been in organizations that I have run -- I've been president and CEO -- have called and asked, would we like for them to do a testimonial, that this is ridiculous, because they're attesting to go my character and my integrity.

The other thing that shows that a lot of people find this just an attempt to cloud. Robin, yesterday, online, we had one of our highest fund-raising days in the campaign, one of the highest ever.

MEADE: Wow.

CAIN: So what it has done, I believe it has backfired on those that are trying to put a cloud over my campaign because they can't shoot down my ideas. They can criticize 9-9-9, they will criticize the energy independence strategy that we are going to unveil within the next couple of weeks, but they can't shoot down the ideas.

MEADE: Anything else that you want to say to clear the air, as you say, and get this off your chest about that topic?

CAIN: Nope.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Herman Cain with Robin Meade. By the way, we'll talk to Wolf Blitzer later this hour. I'm sure he saw the interview. We'll get his thoughts in just a little bit.

Meantime, news just came down a little bit ago Conrad Murray will not testify in the Michael Jackson death trial. We are live from outside that Los Angeles courtroom. That is straight ahead.

Plus, the United States pulling $60 million worth of funding to the United Nations Education and Science Agency. You probably know it as UNESCO. We're going to explain why coming up.

And a CNN.com video producer spends 24 hours with the folks with the Occupy Wall Street movement in New York.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning. It's about 8:30, Zuccotti Park, lower Manhattan. And I just woke out of my bed roll (ph), had a little breakfast, and I'm ready to Occupy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Well, within just about this last hour we learned about a big, big decision from Michael Jackson's doctor, Dr. Conrad Murray. We learned that he will not be testifying in his own involuntary manslaughter trial.

I want to take you straight to L.A., outside that courthouse. We have Ted Rowlands.

And Ted, if you can, just describe for me the scene inside the courtroom not too long ago when Murray told the judge he won't testify, doesn't want to.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, yes, it was kind of dramatic. And it takes you back to yesterday, when Murray blurted out that he hadn't made up his mind yet on whether he would take the stand. So that set up this whole, "Will he or won't he?"

And then today, finally, this morning, the judge sat him down and said, what's the deal? Are you going to do it? And he sort of took his time on responding.

He looked at his lawyers. It was like a reality show, you know, and they're kicking somebody off. Everybody was waiting. And then he finally said, "I will not be taking the stand in my own defense." So -- although we didn't think he would, now we know for sure.

BALDWIN: So, would you say not a huge surprise he's not testifying?

ROWLANDS: No, because of his statements made to police. He really boxed himself into a story that now, during testimony, we know is not completely accurate. I think he would have been beaten up pretty badly on cross-examination because of those inconsistencies that he told police.

BALDWIN: What can we expect next here, Ted, in terms of the trial? And when will we expect closing arguments?

ROWLANDS: Well, it's wrapping up very quickly. Right now on the stand is Dr. Steven Shafer. This is part of the prosecution's rebuttal case.

The defense has rested. They rested early this morning. So what we're going to have is this final witness, and then the judge is likely going to give the attorneys at least a day, a day and a half, to prepare for closing arguments.

So I suspect we'll have the close on Thursday, and the jury should get the case by Friday.

BALDWIN: Friday.

Ted Rowlands, what a past couple of weeks there in L.A. for you. Ted, thank you very much.

Coming up, the United States pulling $60 million worth of funding for the United Nations. All of this having to do with possible statehood granted to Palestine.

So why is the U.S. so opposed to this? We're going to break down the details for you with Jim Clancy of CNN International coming up after this quick break.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: "Globe Trekking" now.

And how could we forget, back in September the Palestinian Authority formally requested membership at the United Nations. President Mahmoud Abbas made the bid, knowing full well the United States would block that.

That application hasn't been voted on yet. Probably in a couple of weeks.

But in the meantime, the Palestinians applied for -- and it looks like successfully -- membership in the U.N. organization UNESCO. And there's already been strong repercussions, especially from Washington.

With us, Jim Clancy.

You're our veteran go-to guy from CNN International to walk us through this story.

And you know, Jim, when I think UNESCO, I think world heritage sites, I think the pyramids.

JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Science. Think science.

BALDWIN: Science, helping kids learn, read, promoting that sort of thing.

So help me connect the dots between -- you know, we're talking about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, and we're talking UNESCO. CLANCY: This all goes back about 20 years, when the idea was, put measures in place that will prevent the Palestinians from getting a state unless they go through Israel. They have to negotiate that. Israel has to give it its stamp of approval before they can get it.

Now, this was a threat to UNESCO and all of its members. It was a threat to the Palestinians. And the problem with a threat is that it only works as long as the other guys are intimidated. Clearly, they are not. They approved this by a pretty wide margin.

BALDWIN: Pretty overwhelming vote, right.

CLANCY: And they are Palestine. The state of Palestine is now a full member of UNESCO.

But that's not the big problem. That's not the headline in the Israeli newspapers today.

BALDWIN: What is?

CLANCY: The headline is there's another 15 or 20 organizations that the Palestinians are already actively lobbying to join. Organizations like the Intellectual Property Rights Organization. What, the U.S. is going to pull out its funding there? And what do the movie companies, what does the media -- who do they go to negotiate when somebody infringes on their property?

BALDWIN: Let's back up for a second, because part of this conversation is the fact that the U.S. is saying, well, we're just pulling out our funding from UNESCO, right, somewhere between $60 million --

(CROSSTALK)

CLANCY: But it applies to a lot of these other organizations as well, remember, like the IAEA. What, we're going to pull out funding from the IAEA so North Korea and Iran have an easier time of developing their nuclear problems?

This is the problem. They've given the threat. It's worked for 20 years. The news this week is it's not working anymore.

BALDWIN: So this is obviously a huge victory for Mahmoud Abbas, for Palestine. As far as the U.S. goes, though, in pulling out, what does Abbas think of that?

CLANCY: Well, what Abbas things is that -- he's been told for years, this is going to weaken you, this is going to weaken your prospects. But the reality that's being faced in Washington and Tel Aviv right now is that they are the ones that end up weaker. When it comes to the IAEA, Israel isn't even a member because it won't come clean on its nuclear program.

These are huge issues. Every time an international organization recognizes Palestine as a member --

BALDWIN: It's a step forward.

CLANCY: -- it's a step forward without going through Washington or Israel. They are gaining diplomatic, international legitimacy. Huge.

BALDWIN: Jim Clancy, thank you very much.

CLANCY: Thank you. Good to be with you, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Good to be with you as well.

Coming up here in CNN NEWSROOM, tens of thousands of people have protested in the Occupy Wall Street movement. But morning, noon, and night, what really are they doing?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody's like, oh, why are we here? Why are we here? Why are we here? What are we going to do?

Why are we here? I don't know, maybe it's to help people out!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: We sent one of our CNN.com video producers inside the movement to spend 24 hours inside the movement there in Zuccotti Park in New York.

And when I say -- also coming up -- when I say the f-word, what do you think? Probably not fatherhood, right? Coming up, we talk to punk rock dead Jim Lindberg.

Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: We are just about 90 minutes away from the closing bell, and at least the Dow is looking a little better than the last time you and I looked at it, now down about 176 points. And a lot of this related to what's happening in Greece and the prime minister coming forward and calling for this public vote with regard to that Eurozone deal that was brokered last week.

So, we'll keep an eye on that. We're going to talk to Alison Kosik a little later about how all of this could affect us, of course.

And let's continue talking in New York.

It may seem the Occupy Wall Street demonstrators are getting more attention, perhaps, for their confrontations with police than their anger against corporate greed.

These "Occupy" scenes, this is from Occupy Denver. Since Friday, at least a hundred occupiers have been cuffed here, and in Portland and Austin and elsewhere.

And check out this Twitter page which protesters say keeps a tally. Close to 3,000 occupiers have been taken in.

But when all is quiet, what is Occupy life really life?

CNN.com's Jarrett Belini went "In Depth" for us this week, spending 24 hours at the place where it all started some 45 days ago, New York's Zuccotti Park.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I'm going to be here until I die. I don't know how long some other people are going to be here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mike check!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mike check!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mike check!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's falling apart. See the apple floating over there?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you guys need towels?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Thank you.

So I'm charging this deep cycle marine battery for my (INAUDIBLE) stationary bike. We're taking the deep cycle marine batteries all around the park, wherever we need power.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hate capitalism as I eat a Burger King burger. They criticized the Cuban Revolution, said the revolution eats its own children. If the revolution can eat its own children, I can eat Burger King.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Help people. Everybody's like oh, what are we here for ? Why are we here? Why are we here? What are we going to do? I don't know. Maybe it's to help people out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's all volunteer here. See a need, fill it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're going to eat right now. It's dinnertime.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would like everything.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi Jack.

CROWD: Hi, Jack.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, everybody.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, everybody.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome to general assembly.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The NYC general assembly has been going on since 7:00 and it's currently 10:40 now. It will probably continue until midnight, as usual.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning. It's about 8:30, Zuccotti Park, Lower Manhattan. I just woke up out of my bed roll, had a little breakfast, and I'm ready to occupy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If they shut it down today, what would I do? I would pack up my stuff and we'd both go to my girl's parents house for a minute. And then just look for work and live do it -- life all over again, you know.

It's going to be a good day today. It's always a good day. Got to make the best out of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Let's go to the man behind that video. There he is, Jarrett Belini, live at Zuccotti Park.

Jarrett, you know, you've been in the thick of it, the thick of the movement, the heart of the movement for 24 hours. Tell me, what is one thing you learned about this movement that most of us don't know when it comes to Occupy Wall Street?

JARRETT BELINI, CNN.COM VIDEO PRODUCER: Well, you know, despite the fact that it looks like a chaotic maze of tents, there's actually a bit of structure and some organization there. But with that being said, there's really no unified message.

And what we have is sort of this fringe majority, which is kind of an oxymoron. But it doesn't really help with that message. There is sort of a vagabond culture here. And I think if they weren't here, they would be somewhere else. This is sort of the place to be right now.

BALDWIN: So then if you talk about the fringe message or the messengers, are some of the people who really are at the heart of this movement -- are they frustrated that perhaps some of the fringe members are really overtaking -- overshadowing their message?

BELINI: You know, it's interesting. I had conversations with some of the people that are more at the forefront of the culture here. And when I would say, you know, this is what one person said to me, they'd say, well, he's entitled to his opinion. So they are kind of forced to defend them because that's everything that they stand for, is defending other people's right to speech and their ideas.

BALDWIN: Jarrett, you woke up with them, I imagine ate lunch with them for 24 hours. What are they doing morning, noon, and night out there?

BELINI: Well, during the daytime, there are chores to be done. They have to clean. They have to cook. Or they can sit around or bang on a trash can with a stick. And then there are rallies and there are protests to go to.

So they find ways to keep them occupied, pardon the pun. BALDWIN: But as they continue to do this, I know some of them feel very strongly, very passionately about their messages, or it seems like messages, which again are what?

BELINI: That's a great question because there is no message. I met one guy who says, yes, I am a socialist and I want socialism. Then you talk to somebody else and their message is well, I don't want to see tracking happening.

So what we've created here -- or what they've created here is a soapbox -- a giant soapbox where anybody can come and say what you want, whatever's on your mind.

BALDWIN: Do they feel like their message or messages are being received by the nation?

BELINI: It's hard to say. I mean, when you go in there and talk to them, they will say, especially as a journalist, why aren't you covering this message? And why aren't you covering that message? And I don't have a good answer for them. I try not to answer it.

But they don't think so, because they are so passionate about that particular message. And there is nothing that is going to satisfactory, it seems, until something gets done, whatever that something happens to be.

BALDWIN: Final question. It's cold. You guys saw some snow. How long do they plan on protesting, occupying Zuccotti Park?

BELINI: Everybody I talked to said they're here -- some people said forever, whatever that means. But they said they're not going anywhere. In fact, the snowstorm, they said, sort of empowered them. They said, look, we've made it through this. We can make it through the winter.

I don't know. That was one storm. We will see. All I can say is that spending 24 hours there was tough.

BALDWIN: Jarrett Belini, we appreciate you doing it for us, and for your colleagues at CNN.com. Jarrett, thanks so much.

JetBlue is slammed for a plane sat on an airport tarmac for hours and hours over the weekend. I know you've heard about this. Guess what? Now they are apologizing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROB MARUSTER, JETBLUE CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER: We know we let some of you down over the course of this weekend. And for that, we are truly sorry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Here's the question we have: what do they plan to do to keep this from ever happening again? Also, a bizarre initiative by Starbucks to create small business jobs. Poppy Harlow sat down with the Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz about getting customers involved in the process and the jewelry. Poppy and I back in two minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: So JetBlue has a message for its passengers left stranded for hours upon hours on this snowy Connecticut tarmac. Six JetBlue planes, in fact, were diverted to a small Connecticut airport during that snowstorm that socked the northeast on Saturday.

Worse off, Flight 504 stuck almost eight hours. No food, no water, no working restrooms. Did you hear me? No working restrooms and a crying baby on board. Yikes. The pilot was so desperate to get to the gate, he was willing to take matters into his own hands.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My priority right now is a tug and a tow bar. If you can just give me a welding shop, I'll be willing to make one myself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: The pilot. Today, JetBlue is apologizing in this video posted online.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARUSTER: But let's face it, at JetBlue, you count on us for a lot more and we promise a lot more. We know we let some of you down over the course of this weekend. And for that we are truly sorry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: JetBlue blames the weather, the size of the airport, and other operational issues for the extremely long delay. But the airline says passenger safety was never compromised. And it plans to cooperate with the Transportation Department in its investigation.

Starting today, you can pay a little extra when you're getting your morning latte and feel good about it. It's all part of this new program at Starbucks that's aimed at creating jobs across the country.

Poppy Harlow has more on this. She's live from New York. Poppy, that makes me feel good, because I might have contributed to that this morning. Tell me how it works.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Good job. This is interesting. So any Starbucks you go into right now across the country, except for the franchise ones, you're going to see these wrist bands up by the counter. What these are is a new program launched today by Starbucks, Brook.

You donate five dollars or more, if you want. And they say that that entire amount goes to funding small business loans. Now, I think what's really interesting about this is the back story.

This is driven purely by the CEO of Starbucks, Howard Schultz. He came out, you'll remember, Brook, over the summer with a pledge, saying stop donating to Washington, stop donating to political campaigns until Washington gets its fiscal house in order. And he asked business leaders across the country to pledge to hire, to create jobs in America.

So this is him taking that one step further. And Starbucks is raising what they hope to be a lot of money to go to a nonprofit organization that funds small business loans.

He's saying, look, if Washington isn't going to get it together, we as business leaders and the average American need to do what we can to create jobs in this country. I had a chance to talk to him earlier today about why he's doing this. Why would Starbucks sort of go out on a limb to do this? Why is this the right move?

And I thought his answer was pretty interesting. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOWARD SCHULTZ, STARBUCKS CEO: The old school of looking at profit as a singular goal for the reason a company exists I think is a shallow, wrong approach. I also believe that those companies that are willing to embrace the balance between profitability and social conscience will make more money. You'll be able to attract and retain greater people because they will believe in the reservoir trust of the company.

I also feel that the consumer today has many choices. And the company that they are going to chose is a company whose values are like minded to their own.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: So what he is saying here, Brooke, is that it is in the hands of American business to do what they can to create jobs. And he's also saying that the soul goal for business leaders right now should no longer be just to make money, Brooke.

That's interesting at a time when we have Occupy Wall Street spreading across the country. A lot of talk about the growing wealth gap in this country.

BALDWIN: So we can give. We can buy the bracelets and help. But, I mean, is Starbucks walking the walk? Are they contributing money to this program as well?

HARLOW: They are. So what Starbucks did, the foundation, they gave five million dollars as seed funding. They are also, he told me, going to cover the complete costs of all the marketing, the cost for the wrist bands, as much as it takes.

I asked him, is that a smart move for a company that is publicly traded, has to respond to its shareholders. What he said is this is going to cost us millions. But in the end, we think it's the right thing to do. And his belief, Brooke, is that people will come into Starbucks because of this program, and that that will boost their business.

We'll see. We'll see if shareholders, et cetera push back. But it's an interesting move. And this is something we haven't seen from Starbucks before and we haven't seen from a lot of businesses, sort of the CEO stepping out on a ledge here and doing something that he is personally motivated for and that he thinks will ultimately benefit the company and the greater society.

I want to add one thing, Brooke, because the question a lot of people have been posing about him is, oh, is Howard Schultz interested in going to Washington? Is he interested in politics, because he's so vocal about it?

He said, absolutely not. He thinks he can do more in his role as the executive of one of the biggest companies in this country than he can in Washington. You know, you don't need Congress to pass a move like this. So sometimes it looks like it's easier to make moves in the business sector these days than in Washington.

BALDWIN: Glad you asked the ,question because it does sort of beg it, doesn't it, all of what he has been doing?

HARLOW: Right.

BALDWIN: Poppy Harlow, thank you for sharing your interview, by the way. You can always check it out. Go to CNNMoney.com. Poppy, thank you.

Also, just into us at CNN, we have now learned the defense has now rested in the Dr. Conrad Murray trial. The judge says the jury will get the case Thursday or Friday this week. So we're told no court tomorrow, just today.

Conrad Murray decided not to testify. We're going to catch you up on all the trial developments in the next hour when Sunny Hostin joins me in today's On The Case.

Punk. Let's talk punk. It's all about anarchy, anti-establishment, freewill, breaking the rules. But then you grow up.

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: You get some kids. You realize they need to have their diapers changed. They need to go to the doctor. You need health insurance and then you need a house for them and then you need clouds and you have a mortgage. And then all of a sudden, the system that you are fighting against or trying to change, you become part of that system.

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BALDWIN: What a documentary, I watched this over the weekend. So I'm going to talk this guy who built this bridge from front man to family man. Even if you don't like punk, stick around for this. There is a lesson in here for every parent wanting to do right by your kids. We're going to talk next.

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BALDWIN: Punk rock, it isn't dead, but it's definitely different. Just ask the guys who front the biggest punk bands in the business. Their lives are not glamorous like other famous musicians. They live in buses. They stay in dirty hotel rooms and have to eat some pretty bad road food. And they also come home to their wives and their kids and the bills.

And it's not at all what you would expect from these anti- establishment kings of punk. And it's all on display for the cameras in this new documentary. It's called "The Other F Word." F being fatherhood here. Take a look.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can do it. Yea. Yea.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are not men. We are debo, D-E-B-O --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's tough to be a punk rock hero and still be a good authority figure for your kids. It's almost impossible.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When my wife and I decided to have a kid, we made a pact, we're not going to change our life. We'll have a good time with the kid. We'll bring this child into our life.

But we're not going to be -- we're not changing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It pretty much changes everything. I get up a lot earlier now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Emma, I'm not going to warn you again, honey, OK? And you're going to stay home from Allison's.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's like you're supposed to be a model citizen for your little kid, show them the right way to do things. Whereas I'm the exact opposite of that.

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BALDWIN: Joining me now from Los Angeles, Jim Lindberg. Fans of Pennywise, you know Jim well. But for those of you watching CNN who are not familiar, let me just say we have punk rock royalty in our midst today, folks.

So Jim, it's a pleasure to have you on. I know you have three daughters. We were just talking during the commercial break. And one of them now in high school. So good luck to the boys knocking on your door.

How -- first question, how have you balanced being a punk rock hero with having to be, as you mentioned in the clip, a model citizen, an authority figure at home? Is it even possible? JIM LINDEBRG, MUSICIAN: Well, I haven't balanced it that well. That was part of the problem and why I wrote a book and they did a documentary about it. It's because it does become very difficult after a while of being the wild man on stage and fitting into the stereotype, but then coming home and being an authority figure for your kids.

It was challenging, you know. And that was a problem for me. I felt like for a while I was doing a poor job at both. So it was tough, but I think I've gotten better at it over the years. And I think I've become a better father and a better punk singer as well.

BALDWIN: We see you on tour through the film, you know, day 219, day 220 and you're Skyping with your kids and getting birthday cards on the road. And I just want to show another clip here from the movie, because it seems that one thing that is pretty consistent among all of you guys is that your life on the road as this sort of punk rock hero, it's not as glamorous as many of us would think, which would maybe defy -- glamour defies the definition of punk anyway.

But let's watch this clip.

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LINDBERG: You get some kids and you realize they need to have their diapers changed. They need to go to the doctor. You need health insurance, and then you need a house for them, and then you need clothes, and you have a mortgage. And then, all of a sudden, the system that you were fighting against or trying to change, you become part of that system:.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody who has high ideals at some point has a crisis, you know, when they have to actually get food on the table and take care of other people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No one joined Pennywise to make money. No one joined Rancid to make money. No one -- we didn't start the Vandals to make money.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It kind of slowly became a job and what we did for a living. We're a working class band. It's not like we have Leer jets picking us up or man servants doing stuff for us.

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BALDWIN: If only you had man servants, I guess, Jim. So it's part of the movie, right, when you're talking about having to put food on the table for your family. At what point did music, which I imagine was your first passion -- at what point did it become more of a job, something to have to -- that you had to do to put the food on the table?

LINDBERG: Well, that was a difficult part for me, because I grew up in an era when music was everything, and the whole punk rock idea of just doing it for yourself and just for the fun of it. Then in the '90s, it did become a business. But I was always keeping the two separate. I played music because I loved it. I loved the songs that we wrote and I loved the response from our fans and putting our music out there. But after a while, you do have to start worrying about putting food on the table and how the bills get paid. And that was a very hard disconnect for me to deal with over the years.

But, you know, if you're in a band, you have to deal with your agents and the record labels and booking shows and things like that. It just becomes something -- if you want to control how your band is perceived, you have to do that. And it teaches you some organizational skills.

And I have to use those at home as well.

BALDWIN: Also, it seems like in the film, you have to sort of tell your other band members like, look, I have to go home and take my daughter to the school dance. My final question is, you know, it seems like a lot of the musicians who were featured in the film came from broken homes.

My question to you is how did your own parents -- how did your father impact the father you are today?

LINDBERG: Well, that was kind of the difference for me in the documentary. I'm kind of like the middle man. I came from a very supportive family. In fact, my dad really imported on me the importance of going to college. I went to UCLA and graduated. And I think he was a little concerned when I decided to quit my day job and go on the road for my punk band.

But that was a difference. And I think that's what -- the documentary does a great job of showing all the different situations. You had some dads coming from broken homes, very dysfunctional families. Some very heart-wrenching scenes are shown in the movie about that exact situation.

But I was lucky. I had a great family and a great support system there. And I think it's helped me become a better father today. At least I hope so.

BALDWIN: That's awesome to hear, Jim Lindberg. By the way, huge twist sort of at the end of the documentary. I'm glad you didn't give away. I wasn't going to either, sort of your relationship with the group. We'll leave that to everyone who gets to see the movie. It's called "The Other F Word," opens up this week. Jim, thank you so much. Nice to meet you.

LINDBERG: All right. Thank you.

BALDWIN: Coming up, brand-new report out on pain killer deaths. We have now learned that more people die in connection with prescription pain killers than from heroin and cocaine deaths combined. Our medical unit is all over this one, digging into the numbers for you. That story is moments away.

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BALDWIN: Wolf Blitzer is standing by with our Americans Choice 2012 politics update. Wolf, let me -- I know you know this story. Let me set this up, though, for our viewers. Herman Cain dominated discussion in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, but not for the reasons he would prefer.

Cain is strongly denying published claims that he allegedly sexually harassed not just one but two women who once worked for him some 10, 12 years ago. Before we talk, I just want everyone to hear how Herman Cain summed up his views of these allegations against him.

He spoke this morning with my colleague and yours, Robin Meade. Take a listen.

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CAIN: I was falsely accused. And it was demonstrated to be false. I wasn't aware of the second accusation. I have never committed sexual harassment towards anybody in my over 40 years. This was the only case that I know about.

If there are any others out there, they will probably have to make it up, because I am totally not aware and I'm not trying to hide anything. I'm trying to put it all out there for people to see.

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BALDWIN: So, Wolf, prior to this, he was doing excellently in the polls. I know you look at those numbers so closely. How, if at all, is this story affecting him?

WOLF BLITZER, HOST, CNN'S "THE SITUATION ROOM": He said to Robin that he raised a ton of money yesterday online, that his supporters are with him. They are not moving away. He thinks he has some political adversaries out there who are trying to hurt him for whatever reason.

When she pressed and said, who are they, he wouldn't say. He said, I have no idea who is behind these allegations, who is behind reviving the story right now. But he seemed to be -- when I walked him out -- I was here in the Washington, D.C. bureau as he left the studio. And I escorted him to the elevators. He seemed to be in a pretty good mood.

He was happy, thought the interview was good. He was smiling. He was upbeat, very friendly, as he always is. I don't know if you have ever met him, but he happens to have an engaging, nice personality, a good sense of humor. And he seemed to be happy that things -- and he didn't seem to be overly concerned that this was going to undermine the support of the conservative base that he has, the Tea Party supporters, others within the Republican party.

He's doing remarkably well, not only in the state polls, as you know, but in the national polls as well. Whether or not this hurts him I think will depend in the coming days if he gets all of the information out, if he comes up with a consistent story, without any evolving changes or whatever. There's some contradictory statements that have emerged over the past 24, 48 hours.

But if you can get it all out quickly -- I've covered a lot of these stories over the years -- he can recover, but it's going to require some diligence and a consistent line of work. And he's just got to let it all get out there and then he can move on. Let's see if he can do that.

BALDWIN: OK. If, as he said, he believes this whole thing is a smear campaign, and if somebody comes forward and sort of unearths who that person may be, what kind of backlash would that campaign feel?

BLITZER: Well, if it turns out that one of his rival Republican campaigns, you know, is -- through their own opposition research, as it is called, came up with this and then leaked it and all of that, then it adds another degree of element.

But, you know, the fundamental fact is that, as Herman Cain himself has acknowledged, there was an allegation of sexual harassment. There was, as he called it, an agreement. Some might call it a settlement. Five figures were paid off, at least to one of these two women.

And whether or not somebody leaked that from another campaign, those are the facts that are undisputable, at least for now.

BALDWIN: OK, Wolf, thank you so much. You and I will chat next hour about what you have coming up on "SITUATION ROOM."