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Cain's Accuser May Speak Out; Cain Supporters Showed Vote of Confidence; G-20 Focuses on Economic Crises; World Braces for G-20 Summit; Light Drinking Tied to Breast Cancer; "Some People Got to Die"; Greece Keeps Investors on Edge; Royals Send Life-Saving Aid to Africa; Banks Backpedal on Debit Card Fees; Dodgers for Sale; Perry, Off the Cuff

Aired November 02, 2011 - 09:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, guys. We're watching that speech indeed.

Well, you know, Herman Cain is surging in the polls. We've been talking about that but stumbling to defuse this political time bomb. We're talking about the allegations of sexual harassment dating back to the 1990s. Well, Cain calls it a smear campaign and just minutes ago he, once again, scoffed at those claims.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There are factions that are trying to destroy me, personally, as well as this campaign. But there is a force greater. 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're doing as well as we are in this campaign thus far. You all were supposed to applaud.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And here's another development. One of his accusers may go public. Her attorney says that she can only break her silence if the confidentiality agreement is lifted. That decision will be up to Cain's former employer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOEL BENNETT, ATTORNEY FOR CAIN ACCUSER: I have not had any direct contact with the National Restaurant Association. In the interviews I've given, I suggested that would be the right thing to do so that she can tell her side of the story since Mr. Cain is telling his side of the story.

And if they -- if they agree to that, then I will confer with my client again and see what she wanted to do. Ultimately, it's up to her. (END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: We're covering all the developments. Brian Todd has the latest on the story at hand. Paul Steinhauser has the political implications.

Brian, let's go ahead and start with you. The attorneys saying that he's actually meeting with his client today, right?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kyra. We're told that he may meet with her as early as today, possibly tonight, to go over everything that they need to work out before they actually approach the National Restaurant Association and formally ask them to release this woman from her confidentiality agreement.

The lawyer says that he's actually not seen this case in about 12 years. It was closed 12 years ago and he didn't even have a copy of it. He is asking his attorney -- his client, this woman, to give him a copy today. He hopes to get that today. And so then the question will be, will they formally approach the National Restaurant Association to release her?

The lawyer said that he's hoping that group will actually do it on his own. So the question to them now is, are you going to release this woman? The only thing that they've said so far in this statement, quote, "We have seen media reports saying that attorney Joel Bennett is publicly making requests on behalf of a former National Restaurant Association employee. Mr. Bennett has not been in contact with the association. If we are contacted by Mr. Bennett, we will respond as appropriate."

So those wheels all in motion. Mr. Bennett meets with his client, this woman, who says that she was sexually harassed by Herman Cain. He says that this woman has been very, very upset since the story blew up in the media and since Herman Cain has come out with these very firm denials that he ever did anything with these women. And so she wants to speak out.

We're going to see if that other shoe drops probably very soon -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, in addition, Cain is coming forward and just dismissing these claims as a political smear campaign. He said it again this morning, but he's also saying that race may be to blame.

TODD: That's right. He has -- he has kind of -- well, he was asked about that by FOX News and well, we should just play that exchange. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER, FOX NEWS: Do you think that race and being a strong, black conservative has anything to do with the fact that you've been so charged? And if so, do you have any evidence to support that?

CAIN: I believe the answer is yes. But we do not have any evidence to support it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: And some of Herman Cain's supporters have actually called this something like a high-tech lynching. Something like that. Just to kind of put that factor back into this whole argument. But, again, you know, Herman Cain being very, very firm in his denials that he ever sexually harassed either of the two women who have allegedly complained against him -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: OK. Brian Todd, thanks so much.

Now let's get over to Paul Steinhauser.

You know, Herman Cain supporters are still rallying behind him with words and money, lots of money, Paul.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, I guess, if there's been one plus to Herman Cain with this whole controversy, it has been the money. The campaign telling us that they raised online $400,000 on Monday, the first full week day after this report came out -- the allegations.

That's a lot of money in one day, Kyra. And also, as you've mentioned, a lot of top conservative pundits supporting Herman Cain, coming to his defense, saying this is the liberal media, the-inside- the-beltway types going after Herman Cain.

Also, the poll. You mentioned the poll so let's take a look at this. Quinnipiac University, it's a national survey. This is a Republican battle for the nomination and a national survey. You could see right there, Herman Cain at 30 percent, Mitt Romney at 20 percent.

What makes this different? Well, for the first time in any national polls, Herman Cain's lead -- yes, it is a lead -- 7 percent. That is over or more than the sampling error. So it truly is a lead for the first time. But, but, but the caveat here, this poll was conducted almost entirely before, before this controversy broke on Sunday -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, in addition to this controversy, obviously, you know, all of us have wanted to have the chance to talk to him about the allegations of sexual harassment, but he's also getting asked about foreign policy, as well. Iran and China. Take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAIN: Yes, they're a military threat. They've indicated that they're trying to develop nuclear capability and they want to develop more aircraft carriers like we have. So, yes, we have to consider them a military threat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Now he's talking about China specifically right there. What's the reaction been to that, Paul?

STEINHAUSER: Yes, those comments are starting to get a little buzz there. Overshadowed the other night. That happened Monday night in that interview on PBS with Judy Woodruff. Chinas tested its first weapon back in 1964 so it really is a nuclear power.

But, listen, Herman Cain admits it's foreign policy not his strong suit and he's been downplaying the significance of it. Hasn't been a liability to him in this campaign so far. To a degree, yes, it has. His campaign says he continues to study up on it.

Kyra, listen, the economy overwhelmingly the top issue with American voters right now in this battle for the Republican nomination, but this month there are four debates coming up and two of those debates on -- on November 12th in South Carolina and a CNN debate on the 22nd right here in Washington, D.C. Both those debates will focus on national security and foreign policy. So it could be an issue for Herman Cain this month -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Paul, thanks.

Well, next hour, we're actually going to talk with one of Herman Cain's good friends and ask him about these allegations.

Also, all the latest political news, go to our Web site, CNNPolitics.com.

And once again, Baptist preacher Frederick Robertson joining us live this hour.

Well, if you feel a disconnect between the people who shape the economy and those of us who live it, well, consider this. Leaders of the world's top 20 economies are about to discuss the global financial crisis and the sacrifices that need to be made with the backdrop, the French Riviera.

Of course, Ali Velshi always figures out a way to get himself, if he can. San Trope, Cannes, you name it.

But in all seriousness, Ali, everyone is in France, but the talk is all about Greece.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I drew the short straw here because I really figured that people like you and a whole lot of other people in America were not going to be that interested in having me on TV talking about the G-20 so I'd show up in Cannes and I'd be on the beach while none of you wanted to listen to me, but god bless the Greeks, because of them, I'm sitting here talking to you.

The Greek prime minister shows up later on today, French prime minister and Angela Merkel from Germany and, in your words, they're going to look at him and say, what the -- were you thinking yesterday?

He decided that he was going to take this business of this Greek, you know, stuff they've got to do to fix the economy and put it to a referendum. Now if you were Greek and they asked you, hey, would you guys like to work a few years longer? Would you like to pay more taxes than you do? Would you like to lose those kinds of siestas? How about fewer days off?

You know what? People get used to their entitlements. If the Greeks get to vote on this, they're going to say no way. If they say no way, they don't get the bailout from the Germans and the other Europeans. The euro zone goes back into crisis.

This was all supposed to happen a different way, Kyra. The Europeans were supposed to show up at this G-20 with this little thing that they've worked out last week, all gift wrapped with a bow on it. They're going to be the Chinese here, and Indians, all these rich countries. And they're going to say, hey, do you guys mind investing in us because we've really got our act together?

And all of a sudden this thing happened. So right now the Greeks are holding the world by the chest hairs. And if they do not get this thing done, they risk putting the markets -- international markets back into turmoil.

Look what it cost everybody yesterday. The Dow was down about 3 percent. That's your 401(k) because the Greeks can't get it together right now.

PHILLIPS: Wow, and we've seen the protests, as well, in Greece. It'll be interesting to see what type of protests we'll see at the summit. Usually they come out in droves.

VELSHI: Yes.

PHILLIPS: We'll talk about that, Ali, of course, coming up next hour. And Ali --

VELSHI: Yes, we're expecting -- we're expecting about 8,000 or 10,000 people. I'll come and tell you more about that when we talk again.

PHILLIPS: Sounds good. Ali, stay with us. Thanks so much.

And that summit is going to include, by the way, heads of state and policymakers you probably never heard of. But their decisions could impact every person on the planet. So it's no surprise that the world is watching.

Zain Verjee in London with a look at the international headlines.

What are the newspapers saying, Zain?

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hi, Kyra. Good morning.

As Greece holds the world by its chest hairs let's take a look at what the headlines are saying.

"The Guardian" has this. "Protesters confined to Nice as police seal of Fortress Cannes." "France is keen to avoid a repeat of the violence of the 2000 European Union Summit in Nice when 50,000 anti- capitalism protesters fought running battles with riot police."

The "Irish Independent" has this. "Last chance for G-20 to show leadership." It says, "The G-20 was created in 2009 as the steering committee for the world economy, the latest unforeseen twists in Greek politics risks relegating the G-20 to a group of bystanders."

And then finally "The China Daily" Hong Kong, "Bumpy road still lies ahead." It goes on to say, Kyra, "Needless to say, what the international community is hoping for is not just a joint statement at the end of the summit, but down to earth collective actions." Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Zain Verjee, out of London, we'll be talking about the summit throughout the morning.

Well, ladies, if you have just a few drinks a week, you know what, you could be at risk for breast cancer. Chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta here to tell us more about this linkage that has been made.

What do we know?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, it's interesting. For some time there's this -- been proven that alcohol increases your levels of circulating estrogen. That's important because estrogen could be the fuel for breast cancer. That's been shown in previous studies. And it's also been shown as a result that heavy drinking can be a problem with regard to breast cancer.

This looked at light and moderate drinkers specifically. And what they were saying was women who on average had about a drink a day, now one drink per day increased their breast cancer risk 1.2 times. If you had two drinks per day, it went up 1.5 times. So there was an increased risk.

It didn't matter if there was beer, it was wine or it's liquor. And again, they're measuring accumulative effects. So if you went 10, 20 years without drinking at all, you get credit for that. If you drank that entire time, obviously, it increased your risk.

That's what this new study is talking about.

PHILLIPS: But it's interesting because we've also done so many stories and studies on how, oh, a glass of wine is so good for your health.

GUPTA: Right. Right. And this is one of those tough positions in medicine because there's risk reward with just about everything. One thing we don't talk about this enough, but we talk about relative increase. The absolute increase is -- gives you some perspective. The average risk is about 2.8 percent for a woman to develop breast cancer. If they drank two drinks per day on average, it would go up to 4.1 percent.

Obviously, an increased risk. But it's not saying you're going to get breast cancer if you're a drinker. It just increases the risk. And it is potentially good for your heart, which is what I think you're alluding to, Kyra.

Increases your good cholesterol and decrease the formation of clots. And so even the American Cancer Society says look, we're not ready to change our recommendations. We still think there are some potential benefits to drinking lightly. You know less than three drinks per week.

PHILLIPS: We've got to consider family history and your current medical status.

GUPTA: Yes. You do. And those things add to your risk. Although, you know, it's always important to point out, Kyra, that most women who get breast cancer have no family history. They are the family history. They are the first ones in their family to develop it.

Seventy-five percent to new breast cancer cases come to women who don't have family history. So don't take solace in that. Still get your checkups, and if you do have risk factors, then obviously you want to consider drinking as adding to those risk factors.

PHILLIPS: All right. So a glass of wine tonight, yes or no? Help me, doc.

GUPTA: You can have one -- yes, just don't do one every night. Three times a week maybe.

PHILLIPS: OK.

GUPTA: I'll even buy you one.

PHILLIPS: That's a deal.

GUPTA: All right.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Doc.

All right. Well, senior citizens in Georgia are accused of being terrorists. Coming up, we're going to tell you more about the alleged murder plot that involves four older men and homemade biological weapons.

Also ahead, Will and Kate spending their day packing up supply boxes. May not be glamorous, but they're helping save lives in east Africa. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Checking stories cross country:

Police in Racine, Wisconsin, say that they busted a huge marijuana operation. They seized enough to fill a dump truck. More than $7 million worth of pot. The property owner is in jail now on a $1 million bond.

In Philly, the pilot of a barge that crashed into a sightseeing boat and killed two tourists was sentenced to a year and a day in jail. Matthew Devlin admits he was distracted when his ship crash under to the duck boat last year. He also surrendered his coast guard boat issue license.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

PHILLIPS: An off-duty officer saved a woman and her infant when her car got stuck on a railroad crossing. Mom apparently failed a couple sobriety tests and was child. The child turned over to a family member.

In Georgia, four senior citizens are accused of being part of a bizarre murder plot to kill federal officials. The four are set to appear in court later today.

George Howell is live for us in Georgia.

So, George, tell us about the plot.

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, these men allegedly had plans to kill a lot of people. Here, the four affidavits released from this federal investigation. We'll take a quote from Fred Thomas who is described as the leader of the group.

Listen to this, quote, "There is no way for us to save this country, to save Georgia, without doing something that is highly, highly illegal." Another quote reads, "When it comes to saving the Constitution, that means some people got to die."

All this information comes from confidential informants who told investigators about this group called Covert Group, that they plan to buy ammunition and explosives and produce a deadly toxin called ricin and to release it on highways in Atlanta and other cities across the United States. But investigators say they made the arrests before these men could become a threat.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SALLY QUILLIAN YATES, U.S. DISTRICT ATTORNEY: They had taken substantial steps such that it was important that they be arrested and be charged with crimes. But the public was never in any imminent danger. The FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force was monitoring this to make sure that it was never close to anything actually happening.

So, no one was in imminent danger.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: So, later this afternoon Eastern Time, we were waiting to see Frederick Thomas, Dan Roberts, Ray Adams and Sam Crump make their first appearance in federal court. Again, these men in their 60s and 70s allegedly targeted, they planned to target people in government, corporate leaders and members of the media. They were also planning to target the ATF and IRS buildings in Atlanta -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Tell me about the special expertise that apparently these men had.

HOWELL: Well, apparently, according to the investigation, Crump was a contractor for the CDC and Adams was a retired lab technician with the USDA. They say he had castor beans and castor beans are necessary to produce ricin. Also that he had the formula to do so -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, we'll track it. Thanks.

Now, remember the Bank of America $5 debit card fee that probably outraged you. Well, good news. The bank is backing down.

And an American model gets fired for defending the Gadhafi family. Hear what she said in a magazine interview that made her biggest client back out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, American model is out of a job for defending the Gadhafi family. This is Vanessa Hessler. She's done ads for Calvin Klein, L'Oreal. Her other claim to fame, she used to date one of Moammar Gadhafi's sons.

Zain Verjee is in London.

So, Zain, what exactly happened?

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, she's describing it to the Italian magazine "Diva e Donna" as a really passionate relationship. Now, the German company Telefonica Germany has reacted by canceling a major advertising contract. They just said that there is no way that they can continue to have her as their face with some of the kind of stuff that she said.

One of the spokespeople said that she has failed to distance herself from the comments on the conflict in Libya.

So, what did this model say, Kyra? She said she had been dating Mutassim Gadhafi for four years and she said this to the magazine and I'm quoting. She said, "I didn't have contact with him since the uprising broke out, but our relationship was one of passion." She also went on to say that the Gadhafi family is not as they're being depicted. She described them as normal people.

She also finally, Kyra, went on to say that she was really crying for Libya and the Libyan people and she felt the rebels really did not know what they were doing.

And, by the way, this other model who was an ex-girlfriend of Mutassim Gadhafi who ended up having to be evacuated from Libya and she ended up going to Malta and described him, also, as a pretty decent guy and that they were friends -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And do we know anything -- have we heard anything more from her how she met Gadhafi's son, why she dated him, why the relationship continued on for four years, apparently?

VERJEE: She hasn't really given any specifics, but, I mean, he had a lot of money. You know, he seemed to have an affinity towards models. And one of them described him as being a great guy, lots of fun, taking her to St. Barts, which is a luxury resort place and an island in the Caribbean to Monaco, and plenty of gifts of Louis Vuitton bags.

So, they're not really revealing many more specifics. I guess you wouldn't really want to right now given what's happened. But this model, Vanessa Hessler, is coming out defending her and she's insisting she's staying by her comments. That this was a normal family and that she was sad to see what happened in Libya.

PHILLIPS: Don't know what planet she lives on, normal family.

Zain Verjee, interesting story, for sure. Appreciate it.

Well, we're just minutes away from the opening bell. Yesterday was pretty rough. Will today be rougher? We're going to take you live to the New York Stock Exchange.

And the scandal around Herman Cain might not hurt him at all, in fact, it might help. Coming up, we're talking to a reporter who takes that idea just a step further. He thinks the Cain campaign can actually thrive because of all this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VERJEE: Checking top stories now:

An attorney for a woman who accused of Herman Cain of sexual harassment is questioning Cain's recent statements on the case. She may tell her side of the story if a confidentiality agreement can be waived.

And more than a million people in the Northeast still don't have power after last weekend's snowstorm. At least 15 deaths are blamed on the storm.

And President Obama leaves for the G-20 summit tonight. Global leaders will meet in France stating tomorrow. They'd be looking at a deal to contain Greece's debt crisis.

All right. The opening bell is about to ring on Wall Street. Investors, I think it's pretty fair to say, are on edge.

Christine Romans live in New York, Alison Kosik at New York Stock Exchange.

Christine, Greece still has everyone worried.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Greece, the 32nd largest economy in the world, has the entire world watching and waiting to see what's going to happen next year. Absolutely right. Greece has been the center of this drama, the beginning of the sovereign debt crisis for Europe. And now the beginning of the end of the sovereign debt crisis with Europe depends on what Greece does here.

Papandreou, George Papandreou, the prime minister, has been summoned to France to meet with E.U. leaders. He wants to have a national referendum on a yes or no to the European bailout. Yes or no to staying in the euro. Yes or no to Europe, basically.

And that has surprised and shocked many in Europe who said, look, we worked very hard to put together a deal to save you, to save Europe, to save the euro, and now you want to put it up to your own people for a vote. That's just going to cause too much of a delay and too many months of uncertainty until that happens.

So, really big concerns about where we go forward from here and whether Greece is onboard, Kyra, with what Europe wants to do to get its financial house in order.

PHILLIPS: And as we can hear, the opening bell ringing right there. We're going to see how those markets start seconds from now.

Alison, the Fed also announcing a rate decision later today. That will impact things.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, no surprise on the rate decision. Rates are expected to remain right where they are at historic lows. I think the focus will remain Europe today. You know, the markets are clearly still rattled from this stunner by Greece.

We are opening higher, though. The Dow is up about 60 points. We had indications we could open even stronger than this. I think what you are seeing, though, may be short lived because this Europe issue is really going to hang on the markets, just when everybody thought this European debt deal was a lock up, you know, we got this big curveball from Greece's prime minister.

So, yes. Now we have investors looking at that word again. That uncertainty. It's really turned markets upside down. So, you'll see nervousness continue to weigh on the markets, and the markets are most likely going to remain very volatile. Kyra?

PHILLIPS: All right, Alison Kosik, Christine Romans, thanks so much. We'll keep an eye on the markets. You can see right now, it's looking good. Up by 87, 88 points. We'll keep tracking it.

All right. Megan McCain says that America's speed date with Herman Cain is over. But, hold on a second, "The Des Moines Register" actually found likely Republican caucus goers still supporting him despite the sexual harassment allegations. Plus, the Cain campaign says it raised $400,000 Monday. Best day yet. It's one thing for a scandal not to hurt a candidate, it's quite another for it to help. Joshua Green is with "Bloomberg Business Week." You normally don't think scandals will help candidates, but in this case, Joshua, you think Cain can actually thrive. Why?

JOSHUA GREEN, REPORTER, BLOOMBERG BUSINESS WEEK: Well, this is a strange cycle. But there is a scenario where Cain could thrive. And as you mentioned in the intro, "The Des Moines Register," which just came out with a poll on Saturday that showed Cain in the lead in Iowa went back and repolled some of its respondents after news of the sexual harassment allegations broke, and they didn't find any loss of support for Cain. So, that is one sign that he may be okay, at least in the short term.

Another is that a lot of conservatives rallied around him yesterday and, also, he seems to have one of his best fundraising days ever. So, there is a scenario where Cain could continue to thrive, and one big component of that, I think, will be that Iowa, which is suddenly a very contested state. You have Rick Perry with a $15 million warchest who's about to go after the other frontrunner, Mitt Romney. At least for now, Cain seems to still be viewed by conservatives as a fairly likable guy. So if Romney's attacks - or if Perry's attacks on Romney are successful, that could actually end up benefiting Herman Cain.

PHILLIPS: You know, Joshua, Joe Klein wrote a piece for "Time" magazine, I saw it yesterday. Similar notions here. I want to just pull a quote, and you tell me what you think. He writes that "the notion of a black man as a sexual predator is a particularly toxic stereotype, and it may intensify the self-righteous satisfaction some Republicans are getting from supporting a conservative black man for president." What do you think?

GREEN: I think Joe's exactly right. And you can hear Cain's campaign making this charge. They used the phrase "high-tech lynching" and invoked the specter of Clarence Thomas. This has sort of been a dog whistle to conservatives to let them know, hey, we're being unfairly attacked by liberals and it's because of race and you ought to do the right thing and get behind Herman Cain. And in the short term, at least, that seems to have worked. He's maintained that support.

But now with these new allegations coming out and the possibility that some of the accusers may come out and be able to talk about this publicly, that still could change.

PHILLIPS: Joshua Green, "Bloomberg Businessweek." Interesting article. Thanks for joining me this morning.

GREEN: Good to be with you.

PHILLIPS: You bet.

Remember Bank of America $5 debit card fee that probably outraged you? Well, there is good news. The bank is backing down. And bizarre story in our "Showbiz" update. A woman says a fling with Justin Bieber led to a brand-new baby boy. And she's hit him with a paternity suit.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: So, a woman is now saying that Justin Bieber is the father of her three-month-old baby boy. And the teen superstar is actually named in a paternity suit. It's a bit of a bizarre story, we're told, straight from the mouth of A.J. Hammer. And he'll tell us why.

What makes it so bizarre, A.J.?

A.J. HAMMER, HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Well, it's bizarre because he is so young and was so young when this woman would have gotten pregnant, allegedly, by him. She's 20-year-old Mariah Yader (ph). Now, she would have been 19 at the time she got pregnant and she's alleging that she and what would have then been a 16-year- old Bieber had unprotected sex in a backstage bathroom after one of his concerts.

Now, there are a lot of salacious details out there about this, but I have to tell you, you know, as famous as Bieber is, he's only 17 years old. So, there's a limit to what I'm willing to say about that. A PR rep for his music label is telling "Showbiz Tonight," however, "while we haven't yet seen the lawsuit, it's sad that someone would fabricate malicious, defamatory and demonstrably false claims. We will vigorously pursue all available legal remedies to defend and protect Justin against these allegations."

Kyra, sad to say, simply comes with the territory when you're a megastar like Bieber, no matter how young you are.

PHILLIPS: It always does. I mean, there's a lot of interesting legal issues within this. All right, A.J., we'll follow it.

Now, yesterday, you told us about Kim Kardashian filing for divorce. Today, she sends out a letter to her fans. What exactly is she saying?

HAMMER: Pretty lengthy explanation, Kyra, of what she says happened. Kim really doing her best here to try to defuse some of the outrage that's happened over her 72-day marriage coming to an end. Posted a letter online; in it, she calls herself a hopeless romantic and she denies that the wedding was a made-for-TV scam.

Here's part of what she wrote: "I love with all my heart and soul. I want a family and babies and a real life everything so badly that maybe I rushed into something too soon." And she basically said something that I had suspected to be the case, that once this wedding train started rolling down the tracks, she didn't know how to stop it. And I give her a lot of credit for just coming forward and saying that. She didn't know what to do. Now, Kim is in Australia right now, but that's not far enough away to dodge the questions that I have a feeling are going to be following her for some time to come. Here's what she told a local camera crew there in Australia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIM KARDASHIAN, REALITY TV STAR: There's been so many different reports that, you know, just aren't true. Like my wedding cost $10 million or I got paid $20 million to have a wedding. And all of that is just not true. And, you know, hearing that kind of stuff - like, I married for love. Anyone that would, you know, get married for a TV show, it's just, you know, ridiculous. And it's just sad that I even have to defend that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, as for the money she made or didn't make from the wedding, Kim does say she will donate money from all gifts she received to the DREAM Foundation. So, that at least is a good thing. If you sent her a blender, Kyra, she is apparently cashing that in and donating it to charity.

PHILLIPS: Mmm-hmm. Okay, A.J.

All right, it's Wednesday, as we know, another elimination from "Dancing With the Stars." I have to admit, I missed it. This is going to be news to me, as well. Who's out?

HAMMER: Oh, it was a shocking shocker. David Arquette got the ax last night. It was unbelievable. The studio audience did not like this one bit. They were booing. He handled his disappointment, as you would expect from David, graciously. He joked with the judges and the fans.

Last night, it did come down to David Arquette and Nancy Grace. Now, Nancy, had the lowest score from the judges on Monday, but Nancy's fans thankfully came through and kept her alive. I'm sad to see David go, I think he was great for the show. Of course, happy to see Nancy still in the game and dancing for yet another week. Nice going, Nancy!

PHILLIPS: There we go. I don't know, I have a good feeling about this, A.J. I think it could be good stuff for her.

HAMMER: Oh, yes.

PHILLIPS: We'll have more Showbiz headlines with A.J. next hour. We know who will replace Regis Philbin as he heads into retirement. A.J. is going to have that breaking news coming up next hour.

All right. Will and Kate packing boxes to help save lives in Africa. Just ahead, we're going to the UNICEF center in Denmark. The royal couple there getting emergency supplies ready to ship. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Checking stories "Cross Country" now.

In Los Angeles, a 35-year-old man accused of being a hackerazzi has pleaded not guilty. Christopher Cheney is accused of hacking into e-mail accounts and devices of more than 50 celebrities, including Scarlett Johansson and Christina Aguilera. A judge raised Cheney's bail to more than $100,000.

And how is this for water pressure? (INAUDIBLE) Police say it is what is left of a hit and run crash. The water from a broken fire hydrant lifted a car some ten feet into the air. Police are still looking for the driver.

And New Yorkers, getting a sneak peek at the so-called taxies of tomorrow; they begin hitting the road in 2013, but advocates for the disabled say the new taxies actually violate ADA standards.

Well let's head overseas. Will and Kate are visiting UNICEF's global supply center in Denmark today. The young royals are helping pack and send life-saving supplies to East Africa; as you know that area has been devastated by famine.

Royal correspondent, Max Foster, live in Copenhagen for us. And I know we've got a live picture, as soon as we see Will and Kate. We'll bring that up. Actually it's actually their live pictures moving now towards Kate and Will. There it is right there.

So Max, we've got this live picture. They're there at UNICEF. Tell us about this supply center. It's huge, right? It's like the size of three football fields.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Exactly. It's the global supply center for all of the aid going through UNICEF. So it all comes here and then it gets distributed.

What we understand happened here is there was a meeting of minds between these two young Danish royals and William and Catherine. They were all increasingly concerned about the situation in east Africa. And they wanted to highlight it.

So, they all decided to come down here together. It's all going on in the building behind me. And you just saw those live pictures there. That was the four of them watching the video of the situation in east Africa. They've all traveled there and William and Catherine have lots of friends in Kenya. They got engaged in Kenya. So they have a personal association here.

Also, Princess Mary has visited Kenya. So, you saw them being moved by that video and trying to do something about this. UNICEF, I have to say, Kyra, thrilled to have them here. Here's what the head of UNICEF U.S. had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CLARY M. STERN, CEO, UNICEF USA: We were very thankful. I have spent the past several weeks asking America what mountaintop do I have to stand on. How loud do I have to yell for you to hear how many children are dying? And obviously, when the royal family pays attention, the world pays attention. So, it's very exciting for us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: It's all about raising awareness, really, Kyra because this concern has dropped down the news agenda.

PHILLIPS: All right. Royal correspondent, Max Foster there, live in Copenhagen. We're following the live pictures and we'll continue to bring more to our viewers about what exactly the royal couple will be doing to help in that effort.

All right. Well, you remember that 22-year-old who started a petition to get Bank of America to drop its fees? Well, she won. And now the bank is backing down. We'll get her reaction.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Were you one of those B of A customers that was pretty outraged about a $5 debit card fee? Well, you may be happy this morning, because Bank of America is backpedalling, right, Alison Kosik?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is what we like to hear, and what's funny about this you know do you remember how all of these banks were -- were lining up, they couldn't wait to ding us with these fees.

And now you know what, all of the big banks, they've scrapped their plans to impose those fees for credit card purchases, for those debit card purchases rather. It's really a dramatic reversal when you think about it, especially for Bank of America which really got the heat.

So B of A is calling it off, even before it even started. That $5 fee on debit cards was set to start in January. But yesterday they said, you know what, let's just forget about it, let's not do it and other banks are following that as well.

Sun Trust is going to stop charging its $5 debit card fee today, and Regions Bank, JP Morgan, Wells Fargo, they're all doing the same. They're saying you know what, we don't want to upset our customers too much let's back off from that idea -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, now customers have one big win, right. But banks of course --

KOSIK: Yes.

PHILLIPS: -- will probably find other creative ways to charge us. KOSIK: Probably yes. Banks, because the reality is, banks still have to make up for the lost revenue, because of these new regulations. Think about it, most checking accounts that we have these days, they're not free any more. But I think here's -- here is the big lesson in all this. There is strength in numbers, B of A, Regions, SunTrust, they say they're cutting these fees because of these customer feedback.

Activist Molly Katchpole was one of those outspoken people, she and hundreds of thousands of people, she got to sign an online petition against these debit card fees. She's confident though that this is not a short-lived -- a short-lived victory for the people. Listen to what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOLLY KATCHPOLE, ONLINE PETITIONER: They saw 300,000 people who were upset about it. They saw all of the people leaving their banks. And you know, if they're smart, they won't come up with a new fee.

As for what I do next, I'm going to support people who start campaigns. I mean there's already been a bunch of Change.org petitions that have been started about banks. So I'm going to go support those.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: And Change.org has petitions for virtually any cause you can think of: women's rights, education, environment. And it's true, Kyra, we all band together, we're productive about it. We can get things done -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Darn right, we can. Alison, thanks.

All right, we're following lots of developments in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM. Let's check in first with chief business correspondent, Ali Velshi, he is live in quite the beautiful place there on the south of France -- Ali.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I know you can't see it behind me, because we're in a working press area. But I am in Cannes, on the Cote D'Azur, in the south of France. I was here to cover the G-20. That's exactly what I'm doing but it has taken a very interesting twist, with the Greek Prime Minister deciding that he wants to take the Greek part of the European deal to the people in a referendum. That has thrown this whole meeting into disarray, and world leaders are gathering here to convince him to do otherwise or risk putting the world back into global recession.

I'll have more about that in just a few minutes.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Christine Romans here in New York, Ali is going to have the angle from Cannes and I'll give you the angle from the U.S. Why is it so important that Europe get its act together, that Greece fall in line with this EU debt deal? And what does it mean for recession and recovery here in the United States? It matters to your job and to your 401(k). I'll have that at the top of the hour.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Thanks Christine and now the FBI is joining an investigation into a bankrupt brokerage firm run by former New Jersey Governor and U.S. Senator, Jon Corzine. What are the Feds looking for? I'll have a live report coming up.

PHILLIPS: All right, guys thanks so much.

Plus Herman Cain's campaign says that cash is pouring in and the fundraising phones are ringing off the hook ever since those sexual harassment allegations surfaced.

So could the scandal actually give him a boost? Our "Political Buzz" panel sounds off.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: One of the most storied franchises in sports could be yours. Los Angeles Dodgers owner, Frank McCourt and Major League Baseball have announced that the team is for sale. McCourt gives up his battle to keep the team, following a messy divorce and bankruptcy. No word on possible buyers, but they'll need deep pockets. The team could go for more than a billion dollars.

And Novak Djokovic, still a joker; he shows up courtside last night, wearing a Halloween mask. The man in black, playing the Swiss indoors, his first tournament in six weeks after a back injury; Djokovic goes on to beat Javier Malis in three sets. Djokovic's record this season: an amazing 65-3.

GOP presidential contender, Rick Perry, goes off the cuff, leaving some voters scratching their heads. Here's CNN's Jeanne Moos.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): when presidential candidate Rick Perry gave us saluting, arms in the upright position, kiss-blowing speech, you could have thought he was just over-caffeinated. But when he opened his mouth --

RICK PERRY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Today has been awesome, girl.

RACHEL MADDOW, MSNBC HOST: You'll never look at this guy the same way again.

PERRY: If they print any more money over there in Washington, the gold is going to be good.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was a loosy-goosy.

PERRY: This is such a cool state, I mean, live free or die? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will have what he's having.

PERRY: You know, we're kind of into those slogans, man. It's like, live free or die, victory or death. Bring it.

MOOS: What Rick Perry brought on was endless speculation about whether he was in an altered state. And the answer ranged from -- "how drunk is Rick Perry in this video" to "Rick Perry wasn't drunk".

Perry spokesman said simply that the governor is passionate when he speaks. And that he got a standing ovation.

PERRY: You know what I mean. Like 9 percent in expansion.

MOOS: True, we're showing his oddest moments. But there were a lot of them in the 25-minute speech.

On Fox News, they let loose with his defense.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think he was just loose.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because he was so loose --

MOOS: Many suggested that given Rick Perry's recent back surgery maybe pain pills were to blame.

Jon Stewart said there is one other explanation.

JON STEWART, TALK SHOW HOST: Rick Perry just got back from the dentist.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is this real life? I can't see anything.

MOOS: Many thought Governor Perry's speech was just fine. "Goofy, yes. Drunk, no." Sure looked blissfully at the syrup they gave him as a gift. Not only did he swish it, he clasped it to his heart.

Some compared this to the Dean scream that more or less dashed Howard Dean's presidential hopes.

HOWARD DEAN, FORMER CHAIRMAN, DNC: And then we're going to Washington D.C. to take back the White House.

MOOS: Others compared to the bad lip-reading parody video that went viral back in September.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And save a pretzel for the gas jets.

MOOS (on camera): Rick Perry wasn't just animated. At times he was downright flamboyant.

PERRY: Are that, 20 percent flat tax, put it on there.

MOOS (voice-over): One person posted, he's channeling Paul Lynd in the center square.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You just have to turn her on.

MOOS: And something seemed to turn on Rick Perry.

PERRY: I love Herman, he's the best.

MOOS: Jeannie Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)