Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Fmr. Penn State Coach Charged with Abuse; Trial of Michael Jackson's Doctor; Making History in Mississippi; Bloodshed in Syria on Major Holiday; One Year to Election Day; Debit Card Fee Reversal
Aired November 06, 2011 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Right now on CNN -- cigarettes and regret.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't even go there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: The man who wants to be the leader of the free world refusing to answer questions about his past.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Excuse me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You dodged the question.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Excuse me!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Excuse me, it's the media's fault?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: And on your marks -
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe in America. I'm running for president.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I'm in, I'm in all of the way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Election Day, one year from today. Who'll be your choices in the voting booth?
Plus, child sex and a college football coach, a well known one, accused.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They all but come out to say that this charity was a point for him to get access to kids.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: And it is not just Jerry Sandusky, two college bigwigs have some explaining to do.
And Supernanny fired up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He didn't apologize, he justified what he did.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Jo Frost goes off on the judge caught on tape beating his daughter.
It's all right here, right now, on CNN.
Good evening, everyone. I'm Don Lemon. Thank you for joining us here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
You know, exactly one year from now, it will be election night, and voting results will be pouring in from delegate-rich states in the West. But right now, the focus is centered squarely on the battle between the Republican candidates. Major GOP candidate Herman Cain is losing patience fast with the media's focus on sexual harassment claims from his past. And we were the first to bring you this on our show last night - a fed up, angry Herman Cain struggling to change the conversation with a room full of reporters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I was going to do something that my staff told me not to do and try to respond, OK? What I'm saying is this -- we are the -- we are getting back on message --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Mr. Cain.
CAIN: End of story. Back on message. Read all of the other accounts. Read all of the other accounts where everything has been answered. End of story. We are getting back on message, OK?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Earlier here on CNN, I spoke with Will Cain, a CNN contributor, and LZ Granderson, a CNN contributor to CNN.com and a senior writer for ESPN, and I asked them to react to Cain's anger at the media.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) LZ GRANDERSON, CNN.COM CONTRIBUTOR: The fact that Herman Cain is trying to turn this around and make it about journalism and about the mainstream media, to borrow a line from, you know, our girl Sarah Palin, it just shows you how irresponsible he is, how ill prepared he is for the stage and for this moment.
The real problem with this is that he had an opportunity to get in front of the story, and now he is being wagged by the story and he is upset about it. And if I were a voter, I would say if this is the man who responds to something that is not really a critical issue in his face, how is he going to handle the real issues?
You know, that to me will be a real moment of concern if I were a voter.
LEMON: Yes. We are going to talk about other issues as well a little bit later on. But listen, Will, there is a Reuters poll that's out there now indicating that Cain has lost some favorability but he is holding at the top of the rest of the polls. Does he have anything to lose by attacking the media?
I would say it is probably win-win for him, because there are many conservatives who would say, you know, it is a liberal media going after him, even though they go after every single candidate who rises to this occasion no matter if it's a woman or a man, black, white, or whatever. Everyone gets this level of scrutiny.
WILL CAIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes. I would say, you have seen the conservative base kind of circle the wagons around Herman Cain. You've seen that happened I think for three reasons.
One is because Herman Cain, the man, is very likable, very charming. You want to root for this guy.
Two, Herman Cain, the symbol, and not just because he is a black conservative, because he's a businessman. He represents an outsider, a nontraditional professional.
And three, there is a sense of unfairness around these allegations because they're vague, because they're anonymous. I think a lot of people look at this and go, this does not sound quite like it should amount to a character assassination just yet.
So that is why you're going to see him continue to do well in the polls. And I agree with kind of what you hinted at there. If he plays the media as the bad guy, probably a pretty good strategy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: We're not done yet. Herman Cain and conservatives call this a high-tech lynching. We address that in a must-see "No Talking Point" segment later on this hour.
To college sports world now which is reeling from news of child sex abuse charges against an ex-coach for Penn State Nittany Lions football team. Jerry Sandusky, the team's former defensive coordinator, has been arrested for alleged sexual abuse or advances on eight boys from 1994- 2009. Investigators say he met all of them through Second Mile, a charitable organization he founded for at-risk children back in 1977.
Sandusky is out of jail tonight on $100,000 bail. His lawyer says he maintains his innocence.
Also involved in this case -- Penn State Athletic Director Timothy Curley and Gary Schultz, the university's senior vice president for finance and business. Both are charged with perjury and failing to report an investigation into the allegations.
Penn State's Head Coach Joe Paterno, we should emphasize, is not accused of any wrongdoing.
Earlier tonight, he made a statement to the "Patriot News" in Pennsylvania. And he said in part, quote, "If true, the nature and amount of charges made are very shocking to me and all Penn Staters. While I did what I was supposed to do with the one charge brought to my attention, like anyone else involved I cannot help but be deeply saddened these matters are alleged to have occurred."
I asked Jon Wertheim of "Sports Illustrated" why this case is so much bigger than other sports scandals. Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JON WERTHEIM, SR. INVEST. REPORTER, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: This is a level of just sort of disturbing, shocking scandal that I don't think that college sports has seen in a long time. So, a, the sort of nature of these allegations. Also, this is Penn State football. This is one of the iconic college sports programs. They win a lot of games.
But you know what, this is also a program predicated on the sort of rectitude and integrity. So, to have a scandal like this -- Joe Paterno's name is obviously in the complaint. He figures into this. He's not been charged, but he's a player in this. And you put it all together, and this is really -- I mean, I don't exaggerate, this could be one of the great awful college sports scandals in the past few decades.
LEMON: Why do you say that?
WERTHEIM: Well, again, given the nature of these allegations, and given the reports of a cover-up, and it implicates Joe Paterno. And this is not a rogue booster giving a couple of hundred bucks to a football player, this is a completely different level of allegation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: A preliminary hearing for Sandusky is scheduled for Wednesday, but his attorney says he expects it to be postponed.
An extremely controversial execution is expected to take place in Texas on Wednesday. Hank Skinner is on death row for the 1993 murder of his live-in girlfriend Twila Busby and her two adult sons. He says he is innocent, and for the last 10 years he has been seeking DNA analysis of untested crime scene evidence. Skinner's attorney is appealing the case in both federal and state courts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROB OWEN, ATTORNEY FOR HANK SKINNER: If you look at this case, it is just common sense that you want to do DNA testing. This is a case where there are serious reasons to question whether Mr. Skinner had the physical capacity to commit a triple murder.
As your listeners may know, he had consumed tremendous quantities of alcohol and codeine on the night of the crime. And a witness, who saw him about 90 minutes before the murders took place, said he was essentially comatose, and is dead to the world. They could not even rouse him from the sofa.
So, on top of that, Mr. Skinner had a hand injury at the time that would have made it impossible for him to inflict the strangulation injuries that Twila Busby suffered.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: 120,000 people have signed a petition calling on Texas Governor Rick Perry to put the execution on hold for the DNA testing. The victim's family believes Skinner is guilty but they want the testing done to end his legal challenges.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now deciding the fate of Dr. Conrad Murray.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A verdict could be reached at any moment.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Verdict watch. This is it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think they are very serious at what they are doing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They must be unanimous. All 12 people must agree on this verdict.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They really need to understand causation. Criminal negligence is basically conceded by the defense. The defense is causation, so they're really going to focus on that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that this was a jury that took a lot of notes, paid a lot of attention.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it is too close to call.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is sort of a ticking top that makes everybody nervous. And the longer it goes on, the more nervous people get.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: In Los Angeles, jurors will soon begin a second day of deliberations in the trial of Michael Jackson's doctor. Conrad Murray is charged with involuntary manslaughter in Jackson's death from an overdose of propofol. The jurors are on a very tight clock, and a verdict could come at any time. For that, we go the CNN's Ted Rowlands.
Ted?
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don, 7 1/2 hours, no verdict on Friday. They will turn around on Monday at 8:30 in the morning. They'll be back at it, this jury of seven men and five women. At one point on Friday, they did ask to get some evidence which clearly means that they are taking this very seriously in going through some pieces of evidence.
What, of course, is unclear is what is going on in that room. Are they united? Are they just piecing through all of this evidence? Or is there a divide starting, a disagreement as to what they ultimately will come up with in this verdict?
The judge will not allow them to deliberate over the weekend or after court hours. So, they will be back at 8:30 in the morning on Monday. They can go for the whole day. They can shorten their lunch. In fact, they did shorten their lunch on Friday, but they have to be done by 4:15 because of budget restraint problems here in Los Angeles County.
So, we will see what happens on Monday. Outside of the courthouse, people were out here all day and we expect that they, too, will be back along with the jury on Monday -- Don.
LEMON: CNN's Ted Rowlands in Los Angeles. Thank you, Ted.
One person who was not called to testify in Murray's trial was Jackson's dermatologist. Dr. Arnold Klein recently spoke in an exclusive interview with Jean Casarez of "In Session" on truTV and what he had to say was shocking. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEAN CASAREZ, HOST, "IN SESSION": Do you think he was addicted psychologically to propofol?
DR. ARNOLD KLEIN, JACKSON'S FORMER DERMATOLOGIST: No. I think he was totally addicted to propofol. We know he could not sleep without it. Because I know that for a fact. Because, you know, you have to read Wikipedia about me, because I once chartered a jet plane to Las Vegas when someone told me he was there and a doctor was giving him propofol. I went in the room and I threw the doctor out of the room because he was giving propofol. I knew he had a dependency on propofol because he felt could not sleep without it.
And that's the reason why I and myself and my nurse slept on the floor of his room to prevent the plastic surgeon who was there from giving him propofol. I knew this problem existed. I did my best to prevent it. Wherever I could, I prevented it, but I'm only one man and I have to support my own life and take care of myself.
I knew the problem existed. We had long discussions about these matters. I told him it's terribly dangerous, you know. And he did it in New York once, and he had a very big problem with it. And I saved him because they gave him a drug with, made him go running down the street.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: To see the entire interview, tune in to "In Session" on truTV Monday at 9:00 a.m. Eastern.
He is best known as the first man who beat Muhammad Ali. Now boxing legend Smokin' Joe Frazier is battling his toughest opponent yet. He has been diagnosed with cancer.
And history in the making. Is Mississippi, a state with a troubled history on race, just hours away from electing its first African-American governor?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Two famous figures revealing serious health problems. First, the singer Andy Williams is battling bladder cancer. The 83- year-old singer revealed his illness during a performance in Missouri Saturday night. A reporter from the Branson Tri-Lakes News tells CNN that Williams told the audience that people with bladder cancer are, quote, "beating it and I'm going to be one of them."
Williams is best known as the host of the "Andy Williams Show" during the 1960s.
And former heavyweight boxing champion Joe Frazier has liver cancer. Frazier's manager says the 67-year-old is seriously ill and currently is in hospice care in Philadelphia. He was diagnosed just a few weeks ago. Fight fans will remember Frazier as the first man to beat Muhammad Ali back in 1971. But he also lost two later bouts with Ali.
The NBA has given the Players Association until Wednesday to accept a new collective bargaining agreement. Both sides met for about eight hours Saturday, their first meeting in eight days after talks broke off last month. The latest proposal would give players between 49 percent and 51 percent of revenues, but Commissioner David Stern says by Wednesday, that percentage will drop to 47 percent. The president of the Players Association says the players have tried, but their efforts don't seem to be recognized.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEREK FISHER, PRES., NBA PLAYERS' ASSOCIATION: You know, we obviously hear, number one, our fans, the people that drive this game. You know, it is our talents and abilities, but it is really the support of our fans that drive this business. And we have heard them loud and clear and that is why we continue to try and make moves to get this deal done. And that in a lot of ways are not in our best interest, but we have made the effort to do it. And it just doesn't seem to be good enough for this particular group of team owners.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: The NBA lockout has gone for 129 days.
Democrat Johnny DuPree is the first African-American to win the nomination for governor of Mississippi by a major political party. If he wins on Tuesday, he will be the state's first black governor, but Mississippi is a deep red Republican state. Can he pull it off? I traveled to Hattiesburg to find out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON (voice over): You thought that the Johnny DuPree for governor campaign would be celebrating except for Johnny DuPree.
JOHNNY DUPREE (D), MISSISSIPPI GOV. CANDIDATE: I've got all of the naysayers who say he can't do it because --
LEMON: Couldn't win the Mississippi primary because he is black man in a state stigmatized by racism, because he didn't have nearly as much money to spend as his white Republican opponent Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant.
DUPREE: And you can fill in the blanks.
LEMON: But primary voters made history by making Johnny DuPree the first African-American ever to have a real chance of becoming the governor of Mississippi.
DUPREE: It is awesome, isn't it? Isn't it awesome that we live in a place called America that allows things like that to happen that have never happened before. Isn't that awesome?
LEMON: But is it realistic in a race where not much distinguishes one candidate from the other? They disagree mostly over how to pay for universal health care and whether voters should show ID at the polls. And those two ideas are not enough to motivate voters, according to retired political professor Joseph Parker.
PROF. EMERITUS JOSEPH PARKER, UNIV. OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI: Most white voters in Mississippi vote for the white candidate and most black voters vote for the black candidate.
LEMON: Parker says to win as governor, Johnny DuPree would have to get all of the black voters and at least one-third of the white. He did it in 2001 when he became the first black mayor of Hattiesburg, but can he do it statewide?
PARKER: If he does, it will be like Moses rolling back the Red Sea.
DUPREE: I am here to talk to you about the color -- green. LEMON: The only color DuPree wants to address is money, something his state, the nation's poorest, desperately needs, something his opponent has a lot of, outspending DuPree 7 to 1, but DuPree is confident.
DUPREE: I have a 100 percent chance of not winning if I wasn't in the race. But I have a 50 percent chance of winning because I'm in the race.
LEMON: DuPree has proven the polls and the pundits and the naysayers wrong before, but with this much at stake, can he do it again?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Election day is this coming Tuesday, November 8th, and we will be watching. Make sure you tune in to CNN.
Also a programming note for you -- next Sunday, November 13th, Soledad O'Brien explores how some black entrepreneurs are risking everything to become the next big thing. Watch "The New Promised Land: Silicon Valley," a "BLACK IN AMERICA" special, Sunday night, November 13th. That's next weekend at 8:00 Eastern right here on CNN.
The star of the hit show "Supernanny" is fired up tonight. She is upset over this Texas judge who was caught on tape beating his daughter with a leather belt.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JO FROST, FORMER STAR OF "SUPERNANNY": We live in the 21st century, Don, this is not the 16th century. We are fully aware of what the damages are, how it breaks down relationships.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: That is still ahead this hour. But first, this is normally a day for religious celebration in Syria, but there was nothing happy about what happened there this weekend.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: New developments tonight in the political and financial crisis in Greece. Greece's political leaders are expected to name a new prime minister possibly by Monday. Current Prime Minister George Papandreou has agreed to step down, but there is a catch -- the Greek government must accept the $178 billion European bailout plan hammered out recently with other countries in the euro zone.
To the Mideast now where the Arab League is blasting Syria, saying it has failed to fulfill its promise to end a violent crackdown on anti-government protesters. Arab ministers have scheduled a meeting on the issue this week. There was more bloodshed Sunday on the Syrian streets even as the country marked an important religious holiday. Here is CNN's Arwa Damon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In the Damascus suburb of Kamo (ph), the sound of intense gunfire pierced the air as demonstrators scrambled for cover following dawn prayers on what should have been a moment of celebration. It is the first day of the Muslim holiday.
In other areas, they were spared the bullets, for now. But rather than commemorating one of Islam's most holiest times, demonstrators in Syria mourned new martyrs and the price they continue to pay for their dissent.
Last week, the Syrian government agreed to an Arab League proposal that would have ended the violence and would have seen the withdrawal of the Syrian military forces from cities. Instead, activists say, in many areas, the military beefed up its presence like the flash point city of Homs.
The voice on this clip alleged to be from Homs says these are the reconciliations the Syrian army promised us. In this clip said to be shot in Aleppo, the poster reads, what kind of Eid (ph) with my father detained?
While state news agencies reported the release of more than 500 political detainees, activists say that's a mere fraction of those who remain behind bars. Demonstrators carried an effigy of President Bashar al-Assad, the sign reading, "I am a liar, a criminal."
Meanwhile on the very same day, the president himself makes a rare public appearance in the northern city of Raqqa as a crowd of supporters surrounded the mosque where he carried out his Eid prayers.
The imam praising the president during his sermon for his leadership in the face of foreign conspiracies and terrorist armed gangs. It is as if Syria was sprit in two realities, with both sides warning of civil war. The bloodshed not even stopping during what should have been a time of peace and forgiveness.
Arwa Damon, CNN, Beirut.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: A YouTube video of a dad beating his teen daughter with a belt has tempers flaring across the country. And what may be even more shocking -- this dad is a family court judge. We will show you the video that has caused such an uproar.
Plus, Jo Frost, also known as the "Supernanny," what she has to say about what this dad calls discipline.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: A viral video has set off a nationwide debate this week. When is a parent's discipline turn into child abuse? The footage that triggered it all shows a Texas family court judge beating his 16-year- old daughter with a leather strap. A warning -- the clip is graphic and it's disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bend over the bed. Bend over the bed.
UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: Stop. Stop. Stop.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bend over the bed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, parenting experts are in an uproar. Among them, the former star of the "Supernanny." Jo Frost has dedicated her life to helping raise other people's kids and she says the judge's methods in the video constitute child abuse.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JO FROST, FORMER STAR OF "SUPERNANNY": Let's not justify this behavior. There are alternatives of disciplining a child that allows you to have a healthy relationship with your children, trust, for you to be able to build your family dynamic in a way that is healthy and functional. And this is not functional. This is people calling in and going on Twitter and actually justifying what we know is abuse. We are living in the 21st century, Don, this not the 16th century.
LEMON: Is there any instance, any instance where corporal punishment is acceptable?
FROST: I don't think so at all. I have clearly shown certainly in America for the last eight years where families who have been raised to think that corporal punishment is fine and have asked me to come into the homes and recognized that parents have a choice in choosing alternative discipline that allows them to grow with their family, and to bond, and it is not acceptable by any means at all.
LEMON: OK. People know you as the problem-solver who has entered the homes of hundreds of families and turned things around, possibly thousands of families. If you were in this home, what would you have done?
FROST: I think the most important thing to do here is to understand that families need to be very clear in their communication with their rules and their expectations, and to understand that when we are dealing with 16-year-olds, it is about meeting those expectations, and understanding that we can take away their privileges when they have broken those rules.
LEMON: When you see the full seven minutes of the video, the father certainly very stern, scary to a lot of people, he is cursing and he puts his teenage daughter down --as he puts her down.
FROST: Yes.
LEMON: I want you to look at the clip, how he views what he did seven years ago when the footage was shot.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUDGE WILLIAM ADAMS, ACCUSED OF BEATING DAUGHTER: In my mind, I haven't done anything wrong other than discipline my child after she was caught stealing. And I did lose my temper but I've since apologized.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: OK. So he doesn't really have remorse. He has apologized.
So, how do children especially teens respond to this type of parenting, this severe scolding and here how he downplays it?
FROST: Don, he didn't apologize. He didn't apologize. He justified what he did. That's what he did.
And he knows -- he knows now that there are certainly other ways in how he could have done things better. That's the point here -- that America needs to recognize that.
As a spokesperson for the American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children where we know that addiction and bullying comes from families who do not break this mold. This is what we're going to see. It's not just about laying down rules and expectations. It's about how you nurture relationship. It's about how you build trust with your children. It's about validating their opinions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, Jo Frost is the spokeswoman for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Which reports last year more than 1,700 kids died from abuse.
Just Friday, police in Indiana arrested this father on murder charges. Investigators say Terry Sturgess bound his 10-year-old son with duct tape and beat him to death.
GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain going head to head with the media this weekend. Cain and some conservatives have called this a high-tech lynching. We address that accusation next in our "No Talking Points" segment. You definitely don't want to miss it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: It is time right now for "No Talking Points."
Tonight, who else? Herman Cain.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am not -- I wasn't even aware of it.
I am unaware of any sort of settlement.
I was aware that an agreement was reached.
And yes, there was some sort of settlement or termination.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: All right. There is no question that Herman Cain's talking points over past sexual harassment claims against him were haphazard or scattered to say the least.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAIN: OK? Don't even bother.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a good question, though.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you concerned about the fact that these women do want --
CAIN: What did I say?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you concerned about --
CAIN: Excuse me. Excuse me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Step aside, please.
CAIN: What part of no don't these people understand?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: The question is, what part of running for leader of the free world does Herman Cain not understand. You are going to be asked questions, a lot of them on just about everything you have ever said or done, especially sexual misconduct allegations. Just ask Clinton, Vitter, Weiner, Foley or Craig. Shall I go on? Hart, Lee or Edwards? You get what I'm saying. Yet, Cain keeps trying to block the reporters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAIN: Don't even go there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can I ask my question?
CAIN: No, because --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No gossip.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can I ask a good question?
CAIN: Where's my chief of staff?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm right here.
CAIN: Please send him The Journalistic Code of Ethics.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: The Journalistic Code of Ethics. I've got a copy right here from the Society of Professional Journalists. Maybe Mr. Cain missed this part, and I'm going to quote here.
It says, "Journalists should be free of obligation to any interest other than the public's right to know."
And Mr. Cain is innocent until proven guilty, of course. But at this point, Herman Cain is still fairly new to the national platform and a mostly unvetted political figure. There are still too many questions about what exactly what happened with him. These women and the circumstances surrounding the allegations.
And can you even imagine Clinton, Edwards, Weiner, saying, they were being targeted because they were white liberals? Even Democrats went after them. Or imagine if some of the same reporters who came, rebuff, had stopped asking questions to Vitter, Craig, or Foley or any of the other guys I've mentioned. The American people may never have learned the truth.
And as a journalist code of ethics, which Cain handed out, it states this, "The public has the right the know," especially if you want to be their president. And that is tonight's "No Talking Points."
A rocky night for people living in central Oklahoma. An earthquake strikes in the place that is not used to having them, and it leaves quite a bit of damage.
Plus, a Texas man is three days away from being put to death. Thousands are calling for his life to be spared, but it is up to one person to make that decision. A man who happens to be running for president.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Checking the headlines now. Supporters of a Texas death row inmate are calling on Governor Rick Perry to delay the execution for DNA testing. Hank skinner is scheduled to be put to death on Wednesday for the 1993 murder of his live-in girlfriend and her two adult sons. For ten years, Skinner has been asking the courts to allow DNA analysis on untested crime scene evidence which he says will prove his innocence.
A tragic fire at a home for disabled adult in Marina, California. Flames were roaring through the care facility by the time fire fighters arrive shortly after midnight. Five people died and three were declared dead at the scene, and a fourth died later at the hospital. A fifth body was discovered Sunday among the charred ruins.
Oklahoma has been shaking all day long after experiencing the strongest earthquake ever measured in the state. Since the 5.6 magnitude quake erupted just before midnight, Sunday, more than a dozen aftershocks rocked people there.
The epicenter was near the central town of Sparks. This was the second quake in less than 24 hours. The first had a magnitude of 4.7.
Jacqui Jeras is here to tell us about that and tomorrow's commute tonight.
Hello, Jacqui.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, there.
A lot is shaking.
JERAS: I know. And you know, unfortunately, what was a rough weekend for folks in Oklahoma, it's going to be a rough start to the work week as well. We have got a real powerful storm system. It's starting in the Pacific Northwest this weekend, and now it is going to be making its way into the plains states. And as it heads eastward, it is going to start to pick up some warmth and some moisture from the Gulf of Mexico. That is going to interact with some drier or cooler air back behind it. And we could see a significant outbreak of severe thunderstorms by tomorrow afternoon.
Storms have already started developing here this evening. We are expecting that to continue into tomorrow morning, but late tomorrow afternoon and into the early evening hours is when we expect the worst of the weather to occur. So we are talking about places like Dallas/Ft. Worth and up towards Oklahoma City, possibly even nudging into parts of Kansas. That is for your Monday.
And then Tuesday, we will watch that move into the Mississippi river valley. And yes, that is snow that we're seeing on the back side of it. So as you get ready to go to bed tonight and get ready for your commute tomorrow morning commute, tomorrow's commute tonight looks like tonight.
City number 5, looking for some delays at the airport and some slick roadways, especially late in the day because of some of those snow showers out there.
City number four, we are looking for showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon for you in St. Louis.
Kansas city, pretty much the same story for you, showers and thunderstorms, but they're going to start a little earlier in the day than they will in St. Louis.
Number two, Dallas, strong thunderstorms. Some of those could be severe.
And city number one, yeah, you got a little cleanup from the earthquake, but I think the severe weather will end up being the biggest story for many more people so watch out for that. And also some gusty winds expected.
I'm filling in for the Chad Myers tomorrow, so I'm going to be here through those storms so make sure you keep it here. We will keep you up to date.
LEMON: I will see you because I'll be filling in for Suzanne Malveaux.
JERAS: All right. You and me, buddy.
LEMON: Well, see you in the morning.
JERAS: I love it.
LEMON: Yes, a little sleep for us, huh?
JERAS: I know. It is all right.
LEMON: Thanks, Jacqui.
JERAS: Sure.
Now the big stories in the week ahead from Washington to Wall Street. Our correspondents tell you what you need to know. We begin tonight with what's ahead at the White House.
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dan Lothian in Washington. Just back from his overseas trip to the G20, President Obama will hit the road again this week. On Tuesday, he will tour a Head Start school in the battleground state of Pennsylvania. Then later in the week, on Friday, he heads to San Diego to attend the NCAA Carrier Classic basketball game between Michigan State and the University of North Carolina. From there, he heads to Hawaii to attend the APEC forum where trade and the economy will top the agenda.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: I'm Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, and, of course, Veterans Day is coming up. It is expected to be the last Veteran's Day to see U.S. troops at war in Iraq. Most of them expect to be out of that country by the middle of next month. But for U.S. veterans, it is still a very tough road home. Unemployment for veterans now at double-digits. And in Congress still a struggle from both Democrats and Republicans to pass a long-awaited jobs bill to help American veterans.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: I'm Paul Steinhauser at the CNN political desk. Mitt Romney returns to Iowa tomorrow. The Republican presidential candidate hasn't spent a whole heck of a lot of time stumping in the state that kicks off the primary caucus calendar. But regardless, he is tied at the top there in the most recent polls with businessman, Herman Cain. Wednesday, the major presidential candidates team up in a CNBC debate in Michigan, which will focus on the economy.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM CORRESPONDENT: I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. Well, coming up this week on Wall Street, we will have earnings from General Motors, Disney and Cisco. Retailers will also be in focus with numbers coming out from Nordstrom, Macy's and Kohl's. And then on Friday, we'll get the most recent look at consumer sentiment heading into that all-important shopping season, which is when retailers want consumers to feel very confident in the economy and spend more money. Also on Friday, it is Veteran's Day, but the stock market will be open. We will track it for you all week on "CNN Money."
A.J. HAMMER, HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": I'm "Showbiz Tonight's" A.J. Hammer. Here's what we are watching this week. It's verdict watch, of course, for the Michael Jackson death trial. We, of course, will be there when the jury announces Dr. Murray's fate. And Lindsay Lohan goes to jail. We're going to have wall-to-wall coverage of her surrender to L.A. County authorities. Be sure to catch "Showbiz Tonight" exclusively week nights at 11:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific on HLN.
LEMON: All right. We are exactly one year from Election Day 2012. What can we expect from the presidential candidates between now and then? Well, you might have to look to the past for help answering that question.
Mix numbers on unemployment. Student loan debts will just keep climbing, and Starbucks tries to boost small businesses.
Alison Kosik has more on this week's "Getting Down to Business."
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: The October jobs report shows the economy is not headed back into the recession. The unemployment rate fell from 9.1 percent to 9.0 percent as the economy added a modest number of new jobs last month, 80,000. The Labor Department report also revised up the number of jobs created in September to 158,000. Almost 14 million Americans are still out of work.
And recent college grads have rung up more in student loan debt than ever before. Two-thirds of college seniors graduated with loans of more than $25,000 last year up 5 percent. These 20-somethings are also facing the highest unemployment rate in recent history.
A coffee company is trying to brew up some jobs. Starbucks is asking customers to make a donation of at least $5 for small business investment. According to the industry experts, a new job could be created or saved for every $3,000 donated.
That's this week's "Getting Down to Business." Alison Kosik, CNN, New York.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
One year from right now, we will be close to learning who will be the nation's president for the next four years. A re-elected Barack Obama or a Republican yet to be decided.
And if the past few months are any indication, the Republican primaries will be wide open and full of political drama.
CNN's chief political correspondent Candy Crowley has a preview.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe in America. And I'm running for president.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Even before his June announcement, Mitt Romney had a moniker, weak front-runner. He still is. Technically speaking, that is in the polls, Romney isn't always first, he has often run second to different people with one thing in common, no staying power.
REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You have just sent a message that Barack Obama will be a one-term president.
CROWLEY: Congresswoman Michele Bachmann was the summer rage, but the day she won the Iowa Straw Poll in August, she began to lose her foothold.
GOV. RICK PERRY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Sometimes it take me a while to get into something, like this presidential race, but let me tell you when I'm in, I'm in all of the way.
CROWLEY: Like Bachmann, Texas Governor Rick Perry is what many Republicans think Romney is not, a fiscal and social conservative. Perry was an overnight sensation and front-runner, but let's just say, though, debates are not his forte.
PERRY: Was it was before, he was before for the social programs from the standpoint of he was for standing up for "Roe Versus Wade" before he was against "Roe Versus Wade"?
CROWLEY: Perry has dropped like a stone giving way to the next not Mitt Romney.
CAIN: Bottom line, folks, 9-9-9 means jobs, jobs, jobs.
CROWLEY: Conservative, likable, breezy, different, businessman Herman Cain caught fire with his 9-9-9 tax plan and then --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you concerned about the fact that these women do want to come forward. Are you concerned about --
CAIN: Excuse me. Excuse me. Excuse me.
CROWLEY: It's yet to be shown that Cain will suffer the downward spiral syndrome of Bachmann and Perry before him, but some politicos aren't waiting for absolute proof.
TOM DAVIS, FORMER REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN: Yes, he was flavor of the month. I think this month is up.
CROWLEY: Now some caveats. Even when his closest Republican competitor is imploding, Romney does not rocket back to first, he drifts up and never much higher than about a quarter of the Republican vote. There is talk of a Romney ceiling. And at this point in the 2008 presidential race, Rudy Giuliani was leading the Republican field.
It is why there are still eight people running for the GOP nomination, holding on for a run at Romney with some staying power. RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Running a field of dreams campaign, which is, if you build it, they will come.
CROWLEY: Rick Santorum doggedly meeting and greeting voters in all of Iowa's 99 counties. Ron Paul, a Straw Poll favorite, was arguably the most passionate base and the money to go some distance. Former speaker Newt Gingrich gaining enough steam recently to push him into double digits and single-digit Jon Huntsman betting it all in New Hampshire.
JON HUNTSMAN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is the state where conventional wisdom is always upended.
CROWLEY: Amidst all of the above, the weak front-runner has played it like a mortal lock.
ROMNEY: I think the greatest threat to my success would be President Obama, but I'm planning on beating him soon.
CROWLEY: Looking beyond the Republican primary, he is cool, largely above the fray with polished debate performances and selected, limited exposure to the media. Careful, careful, careful. Mitt Romney waits patiently for Republicans to gather round.
Candy Crowley, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Well, there isn't much good news that comes out of a weak economy, but we found some, and you will see it the next time you fill up at the gas pump. Your top stories are next.
The big banks are backing off. They are calling off plans to charge customers a fee for using their debit cards.
CNN's Christine Romans talks about it with Pete Dominic of Sirius XM radio and CNN contributor Wolf Cain.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: So much of that Bank of America $5 a month debit card fee. BofA released a statement this week, "We have listened to our customers very closely over the last few weeks and recognize their concern with our proposed debit usage." And with that the fee went away.
Is this an example that the customer wins? That a company, a corporation is caving to public pressure? It wasn't good business to make everybody so mad?
WILL CAIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: But wait, is this an example of the free market at work?
PETER DOMINICK, HOST, SIRIUSXM'S "STAND UP": Yes, yes, both. Both. I mean, yes. The people -- we are screaming. We are protesting. They -- ROMANS: They were walking.
DOMINICK: Right. And they're walking.
ROMANS: The people were walking. Hundreds of thousands of people have gone and joined credit union --
DOMINICK: This is the weekend the "Move Your Money" weekend. That hold --
ROMANS: I know. You've been tweeting about it.
DOMINICK: I'm loving it. That holds the campaign. But, listen, Bank of America, this is just one of their problems of the $5 fee. They foreclosed on military families. They paid huge fines. They've done lots of illegal things. There are tons of reasons not to be a Bank of America customer.
CAIN: The theme was that we got to do something about this. Can you believe they are putting these fees on to these consumers? Well, you know, the free market just solved it. Don't lament the need for government intervention. The free market just solved your problem.
ROMANS: There you go. You, guys, agree that it is a good thing that Bank of America dropped its fee. I don't know anybody who was saying it wasn't a good thing that they were -- I mean, people were outraged and they were going to lose customers. No question.
DOMINICK: Well, there is a lot more. We talk about this last week. There's lot more to this and, Will, made the point last week about Dick Durbin and Dodd Frank, and why they had to do this. Why they decided they have to do this.
The truth is, I said last week and I stand by this, do you side with retailers or with banks? I side with Mike's Hardware over Bank of America. I want the retailer to get more in the transaction than the bank.
CAIN: I place myself on the side of the voluntary interaction. Not the one with the government revision forces an agreement.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: I want to check your headlines. Former heavyweight boxing champion Joe Frazier has liver cancer. Frazier manager says the 67-year-old is seriously ill and currently in hospice care in Philadelphia. He was diagnosed just last month. Fight fans will remember that Frazier was the first man to beat Muhammad Ali in 1971, but he lost two later bouts with Ali.
The NBA has given the players association until Wednesday to accept a new collective bargaining agreement. Both sides met for about eight hours Saturday. Their first meeting in eight days after talks broke off last month. The latest proposal would give players between 49 and 51 percent of revenues, but Commissioner David Stern says by Wednesday, that percentage will drop to 47 percent. The president of the players association says the proposal is, "unacceptable.
Good news at the gas pump to tell you about. There has been a four cents per gallon drop in gas prices over the last week. That is according to the latest Lundberg survey. It is the first drop since early October with the average price falling to just under $3.43 per gallon.
And today's ING New York City marathon was one for the record books. Kenyan Jeffrey Mutai, well, he set a new course record shaving nearly three minutes from the previous record set in 2001. This year's 47,000 runners is a far cry from the 127,000 who ran when the race started in 1970.
Congratulations to everyone who participated. Everyone.
I'm Don Lemon at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. I will see you back here next weekend. Have a good night. Thanks for watching.
