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Herman Cain's Deepening Scandal; Cain Blames Perry for Scandal; Rice: Gadhafi's Crush "Weird and a Bit Creepy"; How Banks Are Taking Your Money; Town Threatens Suit Over Power Outage; Lt. Governor Hits Ice, Wrecks Car; Gloria Cain to Step into Spotlight; "Occupy Oakland" Turns Violent; Greece's Government Near Collapse; Bieber Responds to Paternity Suit; Fans Want American Act at NFL Game; A Goal in Memory of His Son; Interview with John Carlos
Aired November 03, 2011 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: And at the top of the hour, thanks so much for joining us here on the CNN NEWSROOM.
We have new developments in the Herman Cain harassment scandal. Today, the attorney for one of the alleged victims says he will ask Cain's former employer to lift that confidentiality agreement so she can break her silence.
She wants to issue a written statement contradicting Cain's claim that he did nothing improper, but she doesn't want to be publicly identified. Meanwhile, the stress from the presidential candidate is showing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Don't even bother asking me all of these other questions that you all are curious about, OK? Don't even bother. Excuse me. Excuse me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And Cain is not just snapping at reporters. In an extraordinary twist, his campaign is now lashing out at Republican rival Rick Perry.
Joe Johns has the latest developments and Mark Preston has reaction from the Perry campaign adviser who is actually accused of leaking the allegations.
All right, Joe, let's start with you. As early as today, we actually could hear from one of Herman Cain's accusers, right?
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Right, Kyra. Well, sort of. Joel Bennett is the lawyer for one of the women at the center of this controversy. There has been some speculation. She might go public to clear the air.
And tell us specifically what behavior Cain did that she was complaining about that apparently led to the settlement more than a dozen years ago. However, Mr. Bennett had a long talk with the client last night, said she did not want to go public, does not want to become an Anita Hill-type figure.
She won't be doing interviews although the attorney now apparently is asking the National Restaurant Association to approve some type of statement being drafted in his client's words that's supposed to be released to the media.
Important because there's a confidentiality agreement we've been talking about for days that the client apparently signed with the National Restaurant Association, part of a settlement so this current avenue is to try to put something out there.
Where the client puts something on the record, doesn't actually have to step into the limelight. Meanwhile, there's the issue of the finger pointing over who leaked the story. The Cain camp says it was the Perry camp.
The Perry camp says no way. In fact, Rick Perry himself told redstate.com that no one in the campaign knew anything about that. And you've been hearing about Kurt Anderson all morning. He was just on CNN a little while ago, works for Perry.
There's another guy, too, a guy named Chris Wilson who is an Oklahoma political consultant who is actually doing polling for Political Action Committee that supports Perry's campaign.
Wilson says he personally witnessed Cain engaging in inappropriate conduct toward a woman while Cain was the head of the National Restaurant Association. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS WILSON, FORMER POLLSTER, NATIONAL RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION: I was actually around a couple times when it happened. It was only a matter of time.
So many people were aware of what took place, so many people were aware of her situation and the fact that she left after this. Everybody knew at the campaign without her campaign that this will eventually come up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: Chris Wilson also denies leaking the story about Cain to "Politico." So there are a lot of people out there who have been asked about this, but if anybody did it, nobody is fessing up -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Joe, thanks.
Well, the man that Herman Cain accuses of launching the so-called smear campaign is Curt Anderson. He's a campaign adviser for Rick Perry. He actually sat down with our chief political analyst Gloria Borger for his first TV interview and he says right here, he's not the leak.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CURT ANDERSON, RICK PERRY ADVISER: I didn't know anything about this. So it's hard to leak something that you don't know anything about, of course.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Senior political editor, Mark Preston actually got Anderson to come on. Gloria gave you that shout out just moments ago, Mark. So what do you think, did Curt Anderson succeed in clearing his name?
MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: I thought he did very well in this interview, Gloria, in defending himself. A very difficult position for Curt Anderson as it is a very difficult position for Herman Cain.
And the reason being is that Curt Anderson is now being forced to go on national television to defend himself. He said he never actually had a conversation with Herman Cain. So now it's his word against Herman Cain's word about what exactly transpired.
What really muddies the water right now, too, is that Anderson recently joined the Rick Perry campaign. So in simple terms, it seems like he would have something to do with it.
But I thought Anderson was very believable this morning when he was on AMERICAN MORNING for his first interview saying he didn't do it.
PHILLIPS: So, Mark, another thing that struck us was he didn't personally come out and criticize Cain. Let's go ahead and take a listen to what he said when Gloria asked if, indeed, he thought the campaign or Herman Cain was lying.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, I'm not here to add any more name calling to what's already a --
GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: My characterization. Is he not telling the truth?
ANDERSON: I'm not going to, you know, attack him in any sort of personal way or anything. I will say this. This has been -- you know, he's in a tough spot and it's very rough and candidates, when they get into a firestorm like this have, you know, sometimes come unravelled.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: All right. So, Mark, what do you make of that?
PRESTON: You know, I think in many ways, Anderson is right in that the Cain campaign seems to be coming unravelled. Their story has changed or at least has evolved over the past few days. But you know, again, let's go back to someone is telling the truth, someone is lying. We don't even know if these allegations against Herman Cain are actually true, Kyra.
In many ways, he's defending himself against folks that are not being named at this point at a time when he's rising in the polls so, again, a very difficult situation. It puts us all in a difficult situation because we do not know who to believe.
I have to say this morning, and, look, I've known Anderson for many years. I thought he came across as believable this morning. The question is who is really telling the truth -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Mark Preston, thanks so much.
And you can actually hear Rick Perry's reaction to Herman Cain's charges today on CNN. John King has an interview with Governor Perry. So you can watch "JOHN KING USA" tonight at 6:00 eastern right here on CNN.
Moammar Gadhafi is dead, buried, but certainly not forgotten. Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is now talking about the late Libyan dictator and his crush on her.
CNN's Zain Verjee is live in London with more of this salacious scoop.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You never want a dictator to have a big old crush on you. This bears it out here, Kyra. Moammar Gadhafi had this weird fascination with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
And the way she describes it in this new book of hers is that she headed off to the meeting. It was a really big deal because she was their first secretary of state, 50 years to even be on Libyan soil.
She said to herself, I'm going to get through this, it's going to be all business, just do the diplomacy and that's it. She thought everything was going pretty well she describes it.
And all of a sudden, Moammar Gadhafi turns to her and says, I want you to see something. I have a video and she thought. Listen to how she puts it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Quite extraordinary.
CONDOLEEZA RICE, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: Yes, quite extraordinary and weird and a bit creepy. I actually had known that he had this fixation on me. A couple foreign minister friends told me and a couple of my staff.
And so I was going to Libya, my job was to go there. He had given us weapons of mass destruction. He had paid money to the victims. It was my job to go there, do a little diplomatic business and get out.
So that's what I did. But I have to say, I did have that terrible moment when he said that he had a videotape. I am just glad that it all came out all right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VERJEE: And she was also glad that it wasn't -- she in any way. That's the way she puts it, Kyra. She sighed a big sigh of relief. But it was weird because there was a montage of pictures of her and the leader of France, Sarkozy, her and Vladimir Putin.
And Gadhafi told her that he had songs specifically composed for Condoleeza Rice called "Black Flower in the White House." He asked her to sing a few lines of the ballad and she said no, thanks -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Don't blame her. Zain, thanks.
Well, the big banks may have caved in the customers on those debit card fees, but that doesn't mean they've given up on getting more of your money, of course. Christine Romans is here with one of the banks' new charges -- Christine.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: And this is the big Canadian bank that has a big presence here in the U.S., TD Bank. And you're right, Kyra, you know, they've always blamed new federal regulations that cap how much fee money and interest money they can get and the things that they can do to get more money.
That means they're finding new ways. TD Bank says it's going to start imposing a $9 fee on savings account transactions once they exceed six per month. The company says after six a month, it costs them money on that account and they're not going to eat that cost. They're going to pass it on to you.
They're also going to raise their fees for stop payments, wire transfers, certified checks and money orders. All of these, they're going to raise so in total, starting in December, it's $24 a month in new fees.
The company says they're trying to go after parts of their business where it's not a lot of people who are affected. They are going to try to educate they say their consumers on how to avoid these sorts of fees.
But they say because of government regulations, new American government regulations, it's inevitable that they'll be passing along some of those fees to you. It's interesting because just yesterday, Kyra, that I sat here and I told you customers matter and publicity matters and score one for the little guy because Bank of America had rescinded its debit card fee.
But I think we all know that they will try to find, the banks are looking for ways to raise revenue and, of course, the money is in your pocket, it's in your bank account. So we'll continue to tell you when the new ones pop up.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, Christine.
Herman Cain has been defending himself against sexual harassment allegations all week long. So where is his wife? Gloria Cain gets ready to stop into the spotlight and we're taking a closer look at the woman behind the GOP frontrunner.
Silence in the streets of Oakland. More from the latest flash point of the anti-Wall Street movement.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: All right, checking stories "cross country," six days after the freak October snowstorm that nailed the northeast, officials in Simsbury, Connecticut are fed up with feeling powerless. The town is actually threatening to sue the utility company that's been unable to restore electricity.
Meet the newest hero now of Corsicana, Texas. Look at that. Officer Dan Putnam was awarded the Medal of Valor for going into a burning house and saving this little 3-year-old Jones. It looks like each of them has a new lifelong friend.
And Massachusetts lieutenant governor went out for coffee and a paper, but instead, Murray found a patch of black ice and totalled his state issued car. He's OK, but just to reassure constituents, he asked for a breathalyzer test at the crash scene, and yes, he passed.
Well, Herman Cain has spent his week denying, clarifying and trying to explain allegations that he sexually harassed female employees in the '90s. He's been all over the airwaves defending himself.
But his wife, Gloria, MIA, scandal or no scandal, she stays out of the spotlight anyway. Even when he announced that he was running for president, blink and you might have missed her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAIN: This is my family, along with you. And I wanted you to see them because this thing is going to move so fast, you may not see them much. So you better look quick.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: But now, it looks like she may break her silence. Patricia Murphy is an editor for Citizen Jane Politics and a contributor for "The Daily Beast."
She actually wrote the piece, "Gloria Cain Stands By Her Man." So Patricia, how do we know she's going to stand by her man?
PATRICIA MURPHY, EDITOR, CITIZEN JANE POLITICS: Well, we know that from talking to friends of Gloria Cain who have told us that she is a woman who is very supportive of her husband, somebody who has actually been very supportive of his political aspirations.
But it's not something that she has wanted to be a part of so far. She did tell friends, though, that she knows at some point she'll need to be a part of it. It looks like that's going to happen. She has a national interview scheduled for this Friday. As of all these allegations are coming toward her husband.
PHILLIPS: So that interview is definitely going to happen. She's not going to back out --
MURPHY: It has not been canceled.
PHILLIPS: And was it planned before all of this broke? Do we know?
MURPHY: There was a plan to roll her out at some point during the campaign. We know that they had been in talks with different networks, different reporters to roll her out.
We don't know if the timing was coincidental. These allegations hit on Sunday. It was announced on Tuesday that she would come out and speak to reporters. So we don't know if it was coincidental or not, but it only comes as the firestorm is coming towards Herman Cain.
PHILLIPS: And you really got specific about how friends close to them here in Georgia describe her. She actually made the point to her friends specifically that she didn't want the politics to interfere with the family and their personal lives, right? Now, look, it's unfolding right here.
MURPHY: Yes, she was described to me as somebody who's a very traditional family. She puts her family first. She cooks Sunday supper for them. Herman Cain is expected to be at Sunday supper every week.
But she said when Herman Cain came to her and said I want to run for president, the only reservation that she had was I don't want this to hurt our family. I don't want to be in the public spotlight.
So this looks like it could be sort of kind of her worst nightmare in a way to be rolling her out publicly just as these allegations are coming at her husband's character.
PHILLIPS: Patricia, do you think she can make this scandal go away?
MURPHY: No, she can't make this scandal go away. A lot of the problem that we see with Herman Cain is not so much to allegations. It's how he's handled these allegations. Now he's blaming different campaigns.
He says he doesn't remember the allegations, now he does. There's nothing Gloria Cain can do to change how this has been handled by his campaign. But what she can do is talk about his character.
And she is somebody who as described to me as warm, lovely, very friendly and somebody who smiles a lot. That is the view of Herman Cain and his family that he does need to put forward. And so whether it was deliberate or not, it is the faith of his family that he really needs to roll off.
PHILLIPS: They've been married for more than 40 years. You know nothing is perfect in 42 years. And so, you know, I think what would you want to hear her say? You definitely want her to be honest and straightforward. You kind of wonder, is she going to be like him? A plain talk person, just puts it out there.
MURPHY: Exactly. She's been described to me, he is the gregarious person in the family and she is the more quiet one, the reserved one. She is what they call the tranquillity of the campaign. I think we're going to see that.
But I think we also need to see somebody who tells us who Herman Cain is as a person. This episode has really confused his supporters in terms of is he the Herman Cain that we know and love, who straight talk out there, just let us know what's on his mind or is he the one who is denying and running away from allegations?
PHILLIPS: Did she and the family even know anything about it? And if so, how did they handle it and how was it dealt with?
MURPHY: Exactly, well, they were college sweethearts. Obviously, they have been through ups and downs and certainly this has to be a down. But this is a chance where she can come in and tell people, who were just getting to know Herman Cain just like they're getting to know her, who is he as a person. We'll learn a lot when she starts talking.
PHILLIPS: Patricia, thanks.
MURPHY: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: All right, Oakland is hoping to reopen its shipping port after it was overrun by protesters from the occupy movement. Overnight, police fired tear grass on the crowds after some protesters threw rocks and shot fireworks at the officers.
Police say that several private and government buildings were heavily vandalized and dozens of protesters were arrested. Let's get the latest from Oakland now. Our Dan Simon is there. Well, what is it like this morning, Dan?
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're seeing a lot - a lot of broken windows. A lot of graffiti pretty much everywhere you look throughout downtown. You know, these protesters talk about the 99 percent versus the 1 percent.
Well, we should point out that they have their own 1 percent. These are people who are intent on creating violence, creating clashes with police. It was a peaceful event all throughout the day. We saw this incident at the Port of Oakland where they actually shutdown the port.
But it was peaceful over there. Then, as soon as you had the sun go down, you had this 1 percent who came downtown and started smashing windows, setting fires, setting off fireworks. And so the police had to respond.
And so that's why you saw the tear gas, that's why you saw these clashes with police officers. But we should point out that for the most part, this was a very peaceful protest, aside from the violence we saw last night -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Dan Simon in Oakland. Dan, thanks.
Coming up, the Postal Service is broke. A group of senators has come up with a new plan to keep those mail trucks moving. We've got the details.
Well, you like the band "Nickelback?" Apparently, there's controversy over them playing at the Nfl Thanksgiving game because they're not American.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Now a financial crisis that hits home for every American. CNN's Jessica Yellin is in Cannes, France for the G-20 Economic Summit.
Now, Jessica, we're hearing that Greece's government could be toppled, the prime minister could resign and of course, that's going to trickle on down to us here at home, our markets and our banks.
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kyra. The Greek prime minister has been in an emergency cabinet meeting that may or may not end in his departure. The situation is very fluid.
This all started when the German and French leaders came up with this deal to help save the euro zone that and it involved a measure that would help rescue Greece from the brink of default.
But that deal came with some new measures that would cut back on government services and involved more foreign oversight and that precipitated this crisis. Primarily, because the Greek prime minister said, I'm going to put this to a vote of the people.
Well, the French and the German leaders said, if you put this to a vote and the Greeks vote no, Greece is kicked out of the euro zone and that has not gone over so well. So he is locked in this crisis.
What happens in Greece affects the rest of Europe and that, in turn, affects us. But I'll tell you, U.S. officials are saying, you know what? Greek politics is its own game. We're going to keep moving ahead.
We're going to keep the euro deal is moving ahead regardless of what happens in Greece. They're playing it pretty cool. But, Kyra, there's a lot of tension, nonetheless.
PHILLIPS: Well, now the president has arrived there at the summit. What can he do, if anything, to help ease this crisis?
YELLIN: You know, it's a great question. U.S. officials insist that the president is still the world's dominant leader and that nations around the world still look to the U.S. first for global leadership.
But the truth is, when Europe needed money to finance the central part of this deal, to finance their bailout fund to rescue Europe, who did they turn to? Years ago, they would have turned to the U.S. instead they're turning to China.
China may or may not come in, but that is a meaningful shift. What U.S. officials say they're doing is offering technical guidance because we went through a similar crisis during our 2008 bailout. So the U.S. can give advice on how to rescue banks, on how to go about the technical pieces of this.
And that U.S. officials are acting as intermediaries, speaking to different leaders of different countries and going between and that the president has a leadership role. But the U.S. influence around the globe is obviously diminished and you can see it here at the G-20 in this euro zone talks -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Jessica Yellin there in Cannes, France. Thank you so much. Now, imagine hearing this. Every time someone calls your cell phone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAIN: Excuse me. Excuse me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Our "Political Buzz" weighs in on the Herman Cain ringtone hot off the internet presses.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Checking top stories now.
Oakland police fired tear gas on anti-Wall Street protesters overnight after the group refused to disburse. Police say people in the crowd threw rocks, shot fireworks at officers.
And world leaders in France for the start of the two-day G-20 Summit. President Obama says resolving the European debt crisis is a top task.
And Herman Cain wants an apology from rival presidential candidate Rick Perry. Cain says a consultant tied to Perry's campaign leaked the story about sexual harassment claims. The Perry adviser denies it.
Well, you can hear Rick Perry's reaction to Herman Cain's charges on "JOHN KING USA." John has an interview with Governor Perry. You'll watch it here right on CNN, 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
All right, "Political Buzz", your rapid fire look at the best political topics of the day. Three questions, 30 seconds on the clock.
And playing today Democratic National Committee member, Robert Zimmerman; Patricia Murphy founder and editor of Citizen Jane Politics; and CNN contributor Will Cain. All right, guys first question. Herman Cain keeps denying these charges of harassment and now he's blaming the Rick Perry camp for launching a smear campaign. Here is what Newt Gingrich had to say about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If it turns out that a Republican presidential candidate deliberately went out and created this kind of a story about a fellow candidate, that they would pretty rapidly become a pariah among the rest of us and they better fire the people who did it, I would think that that's the kind of despicable behavior. That is the worst possible behavior. We Republicans need to be unified to beat Barack Obama.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And who is gaining and who is losing? Robert?
ROBERT ZIMMERMAN, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE MEMBER: Well, considering that Newt Gingrich acknowledged that he cheated on his wives because of his love of country, because he felt so passionately about our country, I'm not sure he's the best source to weigh in on this topic.
But ultimately, in the short-term, obviously Rick Perry, even a Newt Gingrich candidate tends to benefit in the short-term by Herman Cain -- by this scandal and if Herman Cain drops out. In the long run, Mitt Romney who shows himself to be the only adult in this rather -- this rather dysfunctional field, he seems to be the one who will benefit in the long run.
PHILLIPS: Will?
WILL CAIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I don't know if there are any winners, Kyra. But the loser, potentially has to be Herman Cain. Although no poll suggests that it is yet. On this story I still refuse to dog pile these are still vague allegations on what is a hard crime to define, sexual harassment.
That being said, Herman Cain has proven to be his own worst enemy over and over and over, his self-contradictory statements from this issue, to his abortion -- to the abortion issues to whether or not China has -- has nuclear weapons. Herman Cain is his own worst enemy. And again he has baseless allegations that Rick Perry put this out. There's nothing other than their words to suggest that's true.
PHILLIPS: Patricia.
PARTRICIA MURPHY, FOUNDER AND EDITOR, CITIZEN JANE POLITICS: Well, obviously, Herman Cain has the most to lose here. And when he talks about this being some sort of a smear campaign, my answer is, of course it's a smear campaign. You're running for president. This is what happens on campaigns. I mean, put on your helmet and your pads and get out there, because this is what happens in these campaigns.
The person, I think in the short-term, obviously who has the most to gain is Rick Perry. He has sunk like a stone in the polls. He has done in the single digits on some of the these states. If he can get Herman Cain off the stage, get himself back on the stage that obviously is going to be a winner for Rick Perry. And that is why you have to wonder where these allegations really are coming from.
All right, guys, second question, Cain got pretty testy with reporters yesterday. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What did I say, --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you concerned about --
CAIN: Excuse me. Excuse me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, imagine this, now you can download the "excuse me" ring tone. And this question to you three, if you can replace your ring with any political catch phrase, would it be this or would it be something else? Will?
CAIN: That's a good one. You know, at first I thought I'm going to go with Barry Goldwater from 1964. Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice and toleration in pursuit of justice is no virtue. Then I thought, no, I'll go with Ronald Reagan, the scariest word in the English language are "I'm from the government and I'm here to help". But in the end, I decided I would go with Michele Bachmann from the last CNN debate. "Anderson. Anderson. Anderson. Anderson. Anderson."
PHILLIPS: I was -- I was getting nervous when Will said the first one. I thought, oh, Lord, is he going all intellectual and deep on us? This is going to put us so sleep. Ok Robert, what have you got?
ZIMMERMAN: Well fortunately Will didn't let us down. He didn't go too intellectual on that one. That's for sure. And I'll try to match him. I mean, by the way, if you want to hear a really good excuse me, then you out to Google or go to -- got to YouTube for Steve Martin on "Saturday Night Live" when he did his character interpretation.
PHILLIPS: That is one of the best skits yes.
ZIMMERMAN: It was one of the best. But for me this was a real easy one we have to look no farther than CNN's own Paul Begala and James Carville have them do a ring tone that says, it's the economy, stupid.
PHILLIPS: Oh ok, Patricia.
MURPHY: I will not go intellectual on this question. I will pick from the vast catalogue of Rick Perry one liners.
PHILLIPS: Ok.
MURHPY: And it can go anything from "live free or die" to -- he has a great line where he says adios blank, blank. I think that would have to be mine. If you can't say it on TV, but that would definitely be on my cell phone.
PHILLIPS: All right, "Buzzer Beater" now 20 seconds each on this one. If you've seen "Office Space" oh a great movie then you know the song, "It Feels Good to be a Gangster".
All right, I guess we should have expected that a Perry will make it at some point. Let's queue Occupy Wall Street and it feels good to be a bangster.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All I've got to say to you communist, socialist, nonworking chronic smoking when you've got to get (EXPLETIVE DELETED)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: So what do you think? Is this the right song? You guys got anything better? Robert?
ZIMMERMAN: Well of course, this happens right in my wheel house, Kyra. So thank you for choosing it for me. I went back to my iPod for some references and also did a lifeline call to my office for some help. And I came up -- and I came up with first of all bit "mo money mo problem" by Notorious BIG which are not on my iPod. There's also Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance". But I think -- but I think -- but I think Jay-Z's -- I think Jay-Z, damn I'm telling you -- I forgot that one.
PHILLIPS: That's OK, old white guy trying to be hip. Next. Will Cain.
CAIN: I thought of the middle aged white guy and see if you can beat him. I thought Occupy Wall Street already had a song. I thought it was the cacophony bongo drums. You know I mean, didn't the "We are the 99 percent" didn't bring home enough just put it to the background with bongo drums and it really hit home and makes you want to go sit in a park somewhere. PHILLIPS: Patricia?
MURPHY: Well, speaking of sitting in a park and because it is so cold out there, I feel like this producers are all bundled up I would go "I am woolly, hear me roar."
PHILLIPS: Oh, my goodness.
ZIMMERMAN: Kyra -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Yes, yes.
ZIMMERMAN: I've got it, Jay-Z's big pimping.
CAIN: Let's get out of this thing fast.
PHILLIPS: Yes, this is really frightening.
ZIMMERMAN: The bottom line is they'll stand for anything on Wall Street and Occupy Wall Street.
PHILLIPS: I'm singing all your tunes right now. All right, guys.
The headlines out of Europe, well they seem to be changing by the hour. Investors around the world following each and every one of them. So is Alison Kosik. She's at the New York Stock Exchange.
How is it playing out in the market? A lot of uncertainty, Alison.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: A lot of uncertainty. What's happening in Europe Kyra definitely keeping the markets on their toes. You know, stocks could get an initial jolt after the European Central Bank that's the equivalent of the Federal Reserve here in the U.S., after the ECB cut interest rates for the first time in two years.
And this is good news for investors. Because what this essentially does is -- this lower interest rates, look to boost the small growth that Europe is experiencing. You know there had been a lot of talk of another recession there.
But don't be alarmed. I know you know this. Events in Greece are still the main focus here. Even with everything so dicey in Greece investors clearly are buying into the market. They're holding on to hope that an agreement will be worked out, but still, you're going to see investors today respond to every rumor, so expect stuff today Kyra to be a bit volatile -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Alison, thanks.
Well up next, teen idol Justin Bieber breaks his silence about a paternity suit that he's facing. A 20-year-old woman says that the singer is the father of her newborn. Now Bieber is sending a message to his fans. Apparently some football fans are saying no to Nickelback. They don't want the Canadian band to play the half time show on an all American holiday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: All right.
Teen idol, Justin Bieber, isn't talking to reporters about the paternity suit that he is facing, but he is reaching out to his fans. "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT's" A.J. Hammer with what he is saying via text -- is that -- or tweet, right?
A.J. HAMMER, HLN HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Yes. He's tweeting. And again, yes, not directly addressing the claims that this woman is making about him, but Bieber is tweeting that he just wants to focus on his music. He has a new album with Christmas songs called "Under the Mistletoe"; it's releasing today. I guess paternity suits don't really say holiday spirit.
Here is what he's saying on Twitter. All the rumors, the gossip, I'm going to focus on the positives -- music. He's actually tweeted that message a couple of times.
But as for the paternity suit, which his representatives are vehemently denying -- we're not going to actually see the official court documents from the case because of Bieber's age at the time of the alleged unprotected backstage bathroom sex. He was only 16 when a then 19-year-old Maria Yeater (ph) alleged it happened resulting in her pregnancy and a son, who's now three months old.
We are starting to see some stories serviced about Yeater having some money issues. There were reports that she was on food stamps when she allegedly had sex with Bieber. These kinds of paternity suits against celebrities are really nothing new, of course.
Last night, I spoke with Nick Cannon. Nick is the host of "America's Got Talent". He is also the husband to Mariah Carey, father of their children. He's been in the public eye for a very long time; since he's like 8 years old. So I had to ask Nick just how a star like Justin Bieber should deal with something like this. Watch what he told me.
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NICK CANNON, HOST, "AMERICA'S GOT TALENT": Keep your family close to you more than anything. Justin Bieber has an outstanding family and a good support system around him. So as -- you know, I've known Justin since he was a pre-teen. And the kid actually does have his head on straight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: And Nick also told me that he hopes the allegations aren't true. And Kyra he also said that Justin really shouldn't spend a whole lot of time worrying about it. It basically, unfortunately, sadly comes with the territory.
PHILLIPS: Well, another story that's breaking, the Detroit protests over the Canadian band Nickelback. They say, hey, no NFL Thanksgiving football game for you, we want an American band.
HAMMER: Yes, you know. You have some Detroit fans pretty upset that Nickelback was chosen over a home grown artist. I mean this city, of course, has a great musical heritage from Motown to M&M, Kidd Rock. If you think about it, it does seem a little strange to have a Canadian band playing at a halftime show during a Thanksgiving Day football game. So the petition is on change.org. And here's what they're asking.
This game is nationally televised. Do we really want the rest of the U.S. to associated Detroit with Nickelback. Now, I should point out, it's a relatively small movement that has started with around 1,500 signatures so far and it's being driven by some people who really just don't like Nickelback and can't understand why they're so popular.
Make no mistake about it, Nickelback is an extremely popular, extremely successful group. They've had 18 hit songs, according to their label, they've sold more than 50 million albums worldwide. They have a new album out so obviously it would have been a great chance for them to promote their new songs. But hey, I just mentioned that they've got a new album out. So maybe it's backfiring against the people who are protesting it.
PHILLIPS: Ok. We'll track it. You like the band, right, A.J.? Rock star, right?
(CROSSTALK)
HAMMER: I do get the sentiment though. I get the sentiment on Thanksgiving Day, you know, let's keep America growing. I understand that. I'm not saying it should be done one way or the other, but I see the point, I guess.
PHILLIPS: We'll follow it. Thanks, A.J.
If you want information breaking on anything in the entertainment world, A.J. has got it. Every night "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" at 11:00 p.m. on HLN.
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PHILLIPS: We're used to seeing celebrations after athletes score a touchdown or a home run. Sometimes the guy will point to the sky in memory of a loved one. But we've never seen a celebration quite like this one at the British soccer match this week. And, of course, Don Riddell is in London with the full story -- hey Don.
DON RIDDELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey Kyra, you know, this is one of those desperately tragic but somehow uplifting, heart warming stories. Just to give you an idea of the emotional scale of this, I tried to tell my wife about this story last night and she wouldn't even let me finish the story. So I'd grab a hanky while you look at this.
This is about a footballer called Billy Sharp who tragically lost his baby son at the weekend. Hits son, Luey Sharp was just two days old when he died. And you wouldn't have expected that this player, his father would be able to play football just a few days later. But he phoned his manager up and said I want to play in the game.
And he then scored the most incredible goal. It really was a fantastic goal for Doncaster Rovers against Middlesbrough. And when he celebrated he lifted his shirt up and underneath he had this message saying, "That's for you, son" and you could see just what the moment meant to the player. He was so emotional afterwards, so pumped up about it.
I should tell you that in British football, players often have messages underneath their shirts, not often as emotional as this. And they're penalized for it. But the referee on this occasion could recognize the moment for what it was. He didn't book him. And just what an incredible moment, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Absolutely inspiring. Don, I can understand why your wife had a hard time listening to that story. I think it's going to touch everyone's heart, no doubt.
Thanks Don.
Well, we all know this iconic image from the 1968 Summer Olympics. Tommy Smith and John Carlos raising their hands during the medal ceremony. John Carlos is supporting another protest now and he's going to join us live right after the break.
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PHILLIPS: Stories making news later today:
2:15 Eastern in Worchester, Mass., a detention hearing for the man accused of trying to blow up the Pentagon with a remote controlled airplanes loaded with explosives.
At 2:20 Eastern in Cannes, France, dinner time for leaders at the G-20 Economic Summit.
And 6:30 this evening in Washington, Senators John McCain and Joe Lieberman will be honored at the 2011 the American Patriot Award.
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PHILLIPS: Checking stories now cross country. In the tiny Indiana town of Bethany Park, the upcoming city elections pits brother versus brother. Charles and Walt Worley, they're facing off against each other for city council, giving all 46 registered voters a choice to which Worley brother should represent them.
And residents of Denver are digging out from their second snowstorm of the season. Another ten inches of snow greeted the mile high city yesterday morning. They got hit with 6 inches just last week.
And near Birmingham, Alabama, a vending machine that's a cut above the rest. It's called the smart butcher. Check it out. Customers buy the steaks, sausage, even a tenderloin, with cash, credit, or a debit right out of the machine.
All right. Time now for a political update. Presidential candidate Rick Perry gets pretty serious about some wacky behavior. Mark Preston is in Washington. Mark, we talked about this video that pretty much became an online sensation. Are we ever going to hear from Rick Perry as to what was going on during that speech?
MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Yes, and you know, and this video, Kyra. Shows a very animated Rick Perry. He has a lot of hand gestures, makes a lot of really silly jokes, right? Even Jon Stewart came out and said, look, he's drunk, you know, during this video when, you know, Rick Perry giving the speech up in New Hampshire.
Well Rick Perry told the "San Francisco Chronicle" yesterday that he wasn't drunk, that he's given thousands of speeches and the fact of the matter is, he was just having a little bit of fun. But what's too interesting about this, is now that Rick Perry has to defend himself from allegations that he was drunk before he gave a campaign speech. Not something a campaign necessarily wants to deal with.
But what I found interesting from Rick Perry in this interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, Kyra, is that he said, look, I would have a glass of wine with Jon Stewart if he buys the glass of wine.
So maybe those two will sit down the next time he's in New York.
PHILLIPS: Hey, we've had a beer summit at the White House. What the heck? We'll see what's next. Mark, thanks so much.
PRESTON: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: All right. We're going to wrap up the hour with an update now on the pepper spraying that took place at Occupy Seattle. You know, the protesters who actually disrupted the rush hour traffic. The protesters also surrounded a downtown hotel where JP Morgan Chase's CEO was speaking.
Demonstrators chanted, "They got bailed out, we got sold out", referring to the government's loan to the firm in 2008, which brings us to Seattle today. John Carlos, he knows all about protests. Let me take you quickly back to 1968. It's the summer games in Mexico City. John and Tommy Smith received their medals, full of pride, and then as you can see here, the fist. Black power salutes during a medals ceremony.
John and Tommy got their message across, but it cost them. John Carlos talks about it in his new book, "The John Carlos, the sports moment that changed the world. And now he's showing support again, but this time to Occupy protesters in various cities around the country. And John, I'm going to get to the Occupy Wall Street movement in just a moment.
But first, if you don't mind, quickly take us back to 1968. You're at the top of your game, you're an Olympian. The whole world is watching. Why did you choose that very moment to raise your fist for black power?
JOHN CARLOS, ACTIVIST: Well, you say black power, I say (INAUDIBLE) for human rights mainly because I'm a black man, you can classify that as black power. Had I been a white individual, I don't think they would have called it black power.
But in any case, I felt it was necessary to make a statement about the plight of people of color not just in the United States but throughout the world. In terms of us being classified and depicted as second class citizens.
We thought there was enough time in the society would move forward and try to make it a level playing field. We got to the point where we felt we were tired of waiting to hear, that statement, slogan, give us more time to make advancements. We sit back and think about slavery, what has happened back in slavery time relative to what was happening in the 60s and relative for that matter what's happening in 2000.
PHILLIPS: You know, it's interesting you raise the point of black power versus power to all people, you know, human rights. When you did that, that moment, and you saw what happened, they stripped you of your model, looking back at it now, was it worth it?
CARLOS: First of all, let's correct something. It's a fallacy. They've been announcing for the last 43 years that they've taken our medals away. They did not take the medals away. The medals weren't given to us. We earned those medals. This is propaganda that has been put on for the last 43 years to intimidate every young individual that might get to the Olympic game and make them realize that I don't have a view as a citizen of this society. I have to stay forward and focus on that Olympic gold medal.
PHILLIPS: Well, I'll tell you what -- and John, I'm going to full disclosure here with you and our viewers, we had a number of technical difficulties trying to get audio connection with you, so our time became limited. We're hitting the top of the hour and I just want to thank you for joining us. I could obviously have a much longer discussion with you.
There you go. I knew we were going to hit the top of the hour. I know.
And Fredericka, you were listening, too. There were so many more questions I wanted to talk to him about --
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Of course.
PHILLIPS: -- because now he's getting involved with the Occupy movement and talking about what it means to protest, and the gains you get from it, the cost -- you know, the price that you pay. And he's out with a new book talking about that, as well.
WHITFIELD: And he's a fascinating individual --
PHILLIPS: Character.
WHITFIELD: -- from the '68 games, and he's fascinating, still. Very relevant. So we're dying to hear the rest of the story. Maybe you can book him again.
PHILLIPS: There we go.
WHITFIELD: Allow another window.
PHILLIPS: We would like to continue. If anything, by the book.
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: He's a fascinating guy.
WHITFIELD: All right.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, Fred.
WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Kyra.
