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Cain Denies Longtime Affair; Jackson Doctor about to be Sentenced; British Embassy in Tehran Stormed; American Airlines Files for Chapter 11; Reports: Facebook Targets $10B IPO; Herman Cain Denies 13-Year Affair; The Politics of Going to the Doctor; 73-Year-Olds Throw Down

Aired November 29, 2011 - 09:00   ET

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

TED ROWLANDS, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, ladies, enjoy the rest of your day.

Good morning, everybody.

This hour we begin with the new crisis dogging presidential campaign, the campaign of Herman Cain. He denies claims of a long- time extra marital affair and sits down with Wolf Blitzer even before the scandal breaks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WOLF BLITZER, ANCHOR, THE SITUATION ROOM: Was this an affair?

HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No, it was not.

BLITZER: There was no sex?

CAIN: No.

BLITZER: None?

CAIN: No.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Are you sticking by your original story that it was a sexual relationship?

GINGER WHITE, ALLEGES AFFAIR WITH HERMAN CAIN: Absolutely. I can only imagine -- I can't imagine him actually confirming. It's the name of the game, I guess.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROWLANDS: David Mattingly is here to look at the Atlanta businesswoman who is making the accusations and Joe Johns focuses on the beleaguered Cain campaign.

Let's begin with you, Joe, in Washington. Can this Cain train really keep on rolling here? Is this going to essentially kill his hopes of being president?

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Ted. Well, I think you have to say, number one, other politicians have survived allegations of extra marital affairs. Interesting to see what happens with Herman Cain because on top of that he's got all this talk about allegations of sexual harassment.

Still, Herman Cain's polling had already been trending downward. This certainly does not help him, but he does say he's not getting out of the race. Here's what he told Wolf Blitzer in "SITUATION ROOM."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: You're staying in this race, you're not dropping out.

CAIN: I'm not dropping out of this race, no. As long as my wife is behind me and as long as my wife believes that I should stay in this race, I'm staying in this race.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: The Cain campaign put out a statement saying, "Detractors are trying, once again, to derail the Cain train with more accusations of past events that never happened. The Cain campaign is not surprised that another female accuser has come forward due to the fact that earlier allegations were unable to force Herman Cain to drop his presidential bid to renew America."

So what do the latest polls show? They show Newt Gingrich leading and Herman Cain is sort of at the very bottom of the top tier. So he's doing pretty well, quite frankly, considering all the sexual harassment allegations, if you will. But that poll, of course, was taken well before these latest allegations came out -- Ted.

ROWLANDS: All right, thanks, Joe.

Let's hear more now from Cain's accuser, including why she claims she got involved with him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WHITE: It was pretty simple. It was uncomplicated and I was aware that he was married. And I was also aware that I was involved in a very inappropriate situation, relationship. I'm not proud. I didn't want to come out with this. I did not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROWLANDS: So why did she go public with her claims? For that we turn to David Mattingly.

David, what reason is she giving?

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, she says they had a 13-year affair. He says they were just friends. And it's all out there now in the court of public opinion.

Attorneys for both sides have already weighed in. The Cain campaign, as Joe was just telling us, released a statement implying that Ginger White is another detractor alleging events that didn't happen.

Well, we got that statement just as I was talking to White's attorney last night and he says that's not the case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: The Cain campaign describes this as more accusations of past events that never happened.

EDWARD BUCKLEY, GINGER WHITE'S ATTORNEY: No. I mean, I think that people out there will just have to decide whether they believe that, in fact, Mr. Cain is telling the truth or that they believe that Ginger White is telling the truth. But I believe that Ginger is telling the truth.

MATTINGLY: Does she have anything to gain by coming forward?

BUCKLEY: I don't think so. I think she has everything to lose candidly.

MATTINGLY: Is she asking for anything?

BUCKLEY: No, she has not. Nothing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: And Cain's own attorney says this appears to be an accusation of private, alleged, consensual conduct between adults. But notice that the wording here, he's not confirming that the relationship actually happened, but he goes on to say that no individual should be questioned about his or her private sex life.

It all comes now -- down now to credibility. White had legal problems with the former business partner. She's been unemployed in the past and recently she's had problems paying her rent. But she says she came forward because reporters were already seeking her out and, Ted, she said she felt like she should be the one out there telling her story.

ROWLANDS: And White is different in the sense that the other accusers that have come forward were accusing sexual harassment. What does she say about Herman Cain?

MATTINGLY: Well, she is different in that regard. She says that he was very nice to her. He flew her to hotels where he was staying. He bought her gifts. He -- says that he was never harassing her in any way. She described him actually as playfully arrogant saying, "Herman Cain loves Herman Cain."

ROWLANDS: All right, David Mattingly. Thank you.

Near the bottom of the hour, we're going to be looking at Herman Cain's latest scandal from opposite sides of the political spectrum. Roland Martin and Will Cain will weigh in at near the bottom of the hour. Now a developing story in Iran. Hard line Iranian students have stormed the British embassy in Tehran. They took down the British flag and threw stones at the embassy's windows.

Zain Verjee joins us live from London.

Zain, this is an extremely fluid and possibly dangerous situation. What are you hearing?

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: We're hearing that the Iranian press TV is saying that the police and security forces on the ground have the situation under control right now. What happened was just a short while ago, about 1,000 demonstrators, mostly students gathered outside the British embassy in Tehran and it was a demonstration that was mostly peaceful to begin with and then it turned violent.

They broke down the door. They started throwing stones at the embassy. They went inside and they started throwing all documentation and all paper around and also got rid of the British flag and planted the Iranian flag.

Why is this happening, Ted? Well, first of all, on Sunday the Iranian parliament decided to expel the British ambassador and they also wanted to downgrade diplomatic relations between Iran and the United Kingdom.

And the reason for that is, Ted, they're mad because the British government basically slapped new sanctions on Iran and cut off all financial ties to the countries. The first time they've ever done that, any kind of transaction with any bank, any business dealing with Iran, it's all over. So they're upset.

Also at an IAEA report that came out and expressed more concern about their nuclear programs. Iran has always says it's peaceful, but this is a worrying development targeting embassies on the ground in Tehran.

ROWLANDS: And clearly a developing situation on the ground there now. Thanks, Zain.

Air travelers may be checking their reservations with today's news that American Airlines is filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy.

CNN's Richard Quest has just finished speaking with American CEO. Richard joins us from London.

Richard, how did Thomas Horton come to this decision? Why are they doing this and why doing it now?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: They're doing it for one simple reason. The American Airlines cost base is considerably higher than United, Continental's and Delta, which merged with Northwest. Those other airlines did go through chapter 11 during the recessions and they managed to slash their costs. So now American has been struggling for the last few years, trying to get negotiations, trying to get agreements, trying to get its costs down, but frankly and finally with oil prices high, with growth slowing down and with so many other competitive disadvantages, Tom Horton told me a short while ago they really had no choice. It was time to push the nuclear button.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THOMAS HORTON, CHAIRMAN AND CEO, AMR AND AMERICAN AIRLINES: The folks at American have worked very hard and honorably to avoid that path over the last decade. But it became clearer to us that that gap was just too wide now and it had become untenable and it was time for us to address it and turn the page and begin to put our company on the path to a much more successful future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Ted, there's no doubt it is a dramatic development for a company that has several billions of dollars in cash that is reasonably successfully on its -- on its load factors. It has good, strong hubs. All in all, this is being done purely and simply, not because Americans going bankrupt. The planes are still flying, the champagne still being served in first class. All things will be normal. It's being done to get down the costs.

ROWLANDS: So if I have a ticket for an American flight, either today or in six months from now or over Christmas, no worries at all, is that what you're saying?

QUEST: Yes, look, you know, it's rare that I put my neck on the block. But I'm going to do it quite clearly. There is no danger that American Airlines is going to stop flying. Let's be absolutely clear. Crystal cut about that now.

And in the chapter 11 process, I think many travelers are used to this. They flew United in chapter 11, they flew Delta and US Airways and all the others in chapter 11, during those times.

Horton told me he hopes that chapter 11 will last less time than the other -- the average being 16 months. He hopes it will be less time than that.

The people who I think perhaps will be watching and be concerned, of course, are American's employees. No changes immediately. But longer term, they could expect to see some significant changes in their benefits and in their conditions of employment.

ROWLANDS: All right, Richard Quest live for us in London. Thank you, Richard.

Michael Jackson's doctor is about to be sentenced for involuntary manslaughter. Coming up, we'll talk to one of Conrad Murray's lawyers and see what he expects to happen in the next few hours.

Many people across the southeast waking up this morning to a rare November snowfall. We'll have details on that, as well, after the break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROWLANDS: Checking news "Cross Country" now.

Parts of the south getting hit with a rare November snowstorm. Accumulations of two to four inches are possible in parts of Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama and North Carolina.

On New York's Long Island two more students accused in a college entrance exam cheating ring have surrendered to police. A total of 20 current or former high school students now face criminal charges in connection with the pay-for-testing scandal.

And a Utah professor is pleading not guilty to charges of watching child porn on a plane. The University of Utah has placed Professor Grant Smith on administrative leave and will fire him if the allegations turn out to be true.

Well, in less than two hours Michael Jackson's doctor will learn his fate. Conrad Murray's sentencing for involuntary manslaughter comes more than two years after the singer's death.

Joining us now on the line, J. Michael Flanagan, one of Dr. Murray's attorneys.

Prosecutors and the Jackson family are seeking the maximum here, Mr. Flanagan, four years. You're arguing for probation. What are you expecting that Judge Pastor is going to come up with in terms of a sentence?

J. MICHAEL FLANAGAN, CONRAD MURRAY'S ATTORNEY (via telephone): Well, Judge Pastor should follow the sentencing guidelines and evaluate the nature of the crime and the nature of the defendant, the nature of the victim. If you were to follow those guidelines, they would probably dictate low term of two years or -- probably from Los Angeles -- is recommending three years.

The Jackson family and the prosecutor want four years. We've been asking for probation. What do I anticipate will happen? I would imagine Judge Pastor will give him the four years, based upon everything that has gone on in the case so far.

ROWLANDS: If the judge does give your client four years, which like I say is entirely possible here. You're asking that because of budget constraints in California, that your client be basically detained in house detention or something like that.

Is that realistic in this case? And is it fair? I mean, after all, he was found guilty in the murder of Michael Jackson and the homicide.

FLANAGAN: Well, he wasn't found guilty of the murder of Michael Jackson. Murder is an intentional act.

ROWLANDS: Homicide, right.

FLANAGAN: He was found guilty of his involuntary manslaughter. That's an accidental death.

Since October in California, we've had an A.B. 109 bill which is called the Realignment Bill which indicates that nonviolent prisoners should be housed at the county level. State prison being reserved for violent offenders, sex offenders and people who might be a danger to the community. So, in all likelihood, Dr. Murray would be referred to at a county facility controlled by the sheriff.

The sheriff in L.A. County, Lee Baca. Lee Baca can make the decision as to whether or not he thinks Dr. Murray is a nonviolent offender or make a decision based upon he is a threat to the community and he can release him to an alternative type of facility.

ROWLANDS: Do you, you have talked to Murray. What is his state of mind and do you expect the Jackson family members to address the court today in a few hours?

FLANAGAN: Yes. I anticipate the Jacksons will be at least some of the family members will be making comments. Today, it's been represented to me by the D.C. last week that they were going to do that. I don't know exactly who and how many of them.

ROWLANDS: All right, Jay Michael Flanagan, attorney for Conrad Murray who will find out his fate in just a few hours in a Los Angeles courtroom -- thank you, Mr. Flanagan, for joining us on the phone this morning.

Well, how much is Facebook worth? Could be in the $100 billion in the next few months. The company is reportedly working on plans to go public and soon.

And going into the wild. Conservationists in Africa are using GPS collars and text messages to keep close tabs on lions in Kenya. We'll tell you how and why coming up after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROWLANDS: Forget the movie "Born Free." There are now African lions that keep in touch with text messages. Lions in Kenya are wearing GPS collars that calculate their exact location every hour and the data is sent by text message to conservationists who track their every move.

Zain Verjee is back with us for more on this.

Zain, I understand -- first of all, why are they tracking these lions so closely?

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, they keep wanting to say in the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion is sending texts. Why they're doing this is because the population of lions in Africa is actually really falling. Some conservationists say that it's used to be something like 100,000 and now it's gone down to 30,000. And part of the problem is that you have the Masai, which is a pretty big tribe in Kenya and they really live off their livestock.

And so, they're worried that the lions will attack the livestock and they won't have any food. So, what they do, they poison the lions.

So, this is pretty sophisticated and expensive technology. It's about $3,000 just for one of the collars. There are about 10 lions in the Masai Mara that have been outfit would these. And, yes, they send text messages every hour and then the information is aggregated in an e-mail and sent out and then it's displayed and kind of pinpointed on a satellite map.

So, they can see exactly what the lions are doing and they can study things like social structure, mortality, their locations, exactly where they are.

ROWLANDS: Wow.

VERJEE: You know what lion is in Swahili, right, Ted? You watched "The Lion King."

ROWLANDS: No, I have watched "The Lion King."

VERJEE: Simba.

ROWLANDS: Oh, Simba. Of course I know Simba. My kids are going to kill me. Yes. Daddy, you didn't know Simba.

I understand you had a little run-in with a lion recently.

VERJEE: I did, actually. I did. I was in Nairobi, which, by the way, has the only national park in the world that's actually in the city and, you know, I do what I do every Sunday afternoon, which is go through the national park and I did stumble upon a lion that was in heat with a female and that's really dangerous.

This is him. It's really dangerous. He was very, very protective and so he's looking at me in the car and if I had gone any closer, there was a danger that he could have attacked the car and busted in.

But, nonetheless, I watched for a little while and then gave them a bit of privacy.

ROWLANDS: Did you take that picture?

VERJEE: I did. I did. I actually only had my BlackBerry, so, I took that. But that is the Simba staring directly at me about 10 minutes from my house.

ROWLANDS: Wow. All right, Zain Verjee, alive to tell her tale -- thank you, joining us from London. Thanks, Zain.

(MUSIC)

ROWLANDS: Well, Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange.

We're talking, once again, about the swirling rumors concerning Facebook. Any word on timing when Facebook will actually go public? We could figure out how much this company is actually worth.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes. And those are all good questions, Ted. You know, this could wind up being a real biggie. It could wind up being the biggest tech IPO ever. There are reports saying that Facebook is looking at raising $10 billion in its IPO. That represents 10 percent of the company's stock.

And when you do the math there, that would value Facebook at a whopping $100 billion. "Wall Street Journal" says that is twice as big as Hewlett-Packard and 3M.

Now, Ted, you did ask about the timing. Word on the street right now is that Facebook is looking to make its public debut some time next year. Here's why: Facebook at this point is getting so big that it's going to be forced to report its financial results to the SEC by April. So, hey, it's probably thinking, you know what, may as well reap the rewards, go public, make some money.

Now, Bloomberg is saying it could be earlier that Facebook could go public before the end of the year. But either way, you look at it, Ted, whenever this company goes public the founder, Mark Zuckerberg, is going to be a very, very rich man.

ROWLANDS: Absolutely. After yesterday's big rally on Wall Street, what are we expecting today?

KOSIK: Stocks look like they're going to have a slightly higher open in five minutes. Nothing huge, but, you know, they're moving in the right direction. There's continuing hope that Euro zone leaders are making more progress in addressing the debt crisis there.

But there is a trifecta of bad news that could limit the gains today. For one, Moody's is warning that almost 90 European banks could be downgraded. Borrowing cost in Italy, they continue to soar. And also Fitch cut its outlook on U.S. debt to negative.

And what that does, is it increases the likelihood of a downgrade for the U.S. over the next two years. But as far as futures go, it looks like at this point, they're shrugging off the bad stuff and try to focus on the good -- Ted.

ROWLANDS: All right. Good news. Thanks, Alison. We'll check in with you later -- Alison Kosik for us at the New York Stock Exchange.

And Atlanta woman says she was Herman Cain's mistress for 13 years. He says it's just not true. But can Cain survive this latest allegation? Roland Martin and Will Cain gives us their take coming up next.

Stay with us.

Miley Cyrus sings her support for the Occupy Wall Street protesters. Your showbiz headlines coming up, as well.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROWLANDS: Checking top stories:

Now, Egyptians are still pouring to the polls in the country's first election since President Mubarak was ousted. Officials say turnout has been, quote, "massive and unexpected."

Nearly four months after Robyn Gardner disappeared, Aruban authorities are releasing their main suspect. A judge ruled there's not enough evidence to keep holding the American, Gary Giordano.

And the Syracuse basketball team is prepping for its first home game without Bernie Fine. The assistant coach was fired on Sunday amid a widening investigation into alleged sex abuse. The Orange host Eastern Michigan tonight.

(MUSIC)

ROWLANDS: Well, Herman Cain comes out swinging, insisting he did not have a 13-year affair with an Atlanta businesswoman. Here's what he told Wolf Blitzer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Tell us about the nature of your relationship with this woman.

HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Friend and trying to help a friend because, not having a job, et cetera, and this sort of thing. That's all there is to the relationship. And here again, I don't know what's going to be claimed in the story. It was someone who was supposed to be a friend, but obviously they didn't see it as a friendship.

BLITZER: And when you say friend, was it -- I mean, I'm asking -- these are awkward questions, but I'll ask you the questions you're going to be asked. Was this an affair?

CAIN: No, it was not.

BLITZER: There was no sex?

CAIN: No.

BLITZER: None?

CAIN: No.

BLITZER: Have you spoken to your wife and family about this?

CAIN: Yes, I have spoken to my wife.

BLITZER: How did they react?

CAIN: My wife's reaction was very similar to mine: "Here we go, again."

And when I told her what little information that I knew about it, her response was the same as mine. And that was, here we go, again. We will basically show when the details become available that I didn't do anything wrong.

BLITZER: But you're staying in this race. You're not dropping out?

CAIN: I'm not dropping out of this race, no. As long as my wife is behind me and as long as my wife believes that I should stay in this race, I'm staying in this race.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROWLANDS: This is the woman at the center of this, Ginger White. She told Atlanta TV station WAGA that the affair ended just eight months ago when Cain jumped into the race for the White House. She also showed the interviewer her phone records showing 61 calls and text messages she claims are from Cain's private cell phone.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GINGER WHITE, ALLEGES AFFAIR WITH HERMAN CAIN: It was pretty simple. It was uncomplicated. And I was aware that he was married. And I was also aware that I was involved in a very inappropriate situation, relationship.

I'm not proud. I didn't want to come out with this. I did not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROWLANDS: CNN political analyst Roland Martin and CNN contributor Will Cain are joining me live now.

Will, Cain says he's staying in the race and the latest polls show he's still basically in it. Of course, those were done before this latest news. He's statistically tied with Romney. Iowa is just a little over a month away.

Why not just ride it out if you're Herman Cain?

WILL CAIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes. You know, I mean -- but the thing about it is, this seems to be another hole in what is already a leaky vessel, you know? This isn't going to sink Herman Cain's campaign, but it's certainly going to allow more water to rush in. You know the problem here is Herman Cain. It's not who he sleeps with, it's his ability to tell the truth.

In order to believe that Herman Cain tells the truth now, we have to believe not one, not two, not three, but five women are lying about Herman Cain in some capacity. In order to believe that, we got to believe there is some sort of conspiracy virtually to get Herman Cain out of this race.

What the Republican establishment, what the Obama establishment doesn't want Herman Cain in the race? That's a hard thing to believe. I believe they would love to have Herman Cain as their opponent.

ROWLANDS: Roland, who stands to gain from this? Gingrich, of course, has his own marriage issues.

ROLAND MARTIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, first of all, anybody who is running behind Mitt Romney stands to gain. But here's the fundamental problem that Herman Cain has to deal with.

Let's just assume that Will Cain is his brother from another mother. These are the kind of questions he's going to have to get:

Will, how long did you know this woman? How did you become friends? What kind of support were you providing? How long were you providing support to her? How much money have you given her over the years?

She said that you flew her to various places to join him. Is that true?

He is going to have to answer a litany of questions, and then he's going to have to deal with his statement on CNN compared to his attorney's statement which sounded absolutely unbelievable.

And so, at the end of the day, Herman Cain is not going to be able, over the next couple of weeks, to be able to talk about 999 or anything else because he is going to have to answer these charges and going into Iowa where you have social conservatives, it is not going to be a good thing for Herman Cain.

ROWLANDS: Will, do you agree with that? Can he get any other message out or is he pretty much done?

CAIN: Well, it's going to be tough. But -- and this goes to original question you asked me. Why not just stick in? We are answering these questions assuming that Herman Cain is running for president.

I think that's a big assumption at this point. We're not clear that Herman Cain is actually running for president. We don't know he might be on some kind of extended book tour or reputation enhancer, some kind of high-profile issue here.

I'm just not convinced now with all of these issues -- here's the thing, are you telling me he didn't know this was out there? That this potential affair allegation didn't exist? I mean, that shows supreme amount of either arrogance or ignorance, that you want to have to encounter this issue.

MARTIN: Now, Will, that last question has already been answered. He is running for president. Republicans are going to have to claim him. He has been participating in various debates. He has people out there.

CAIN: Roland, I'm talking about his motivation. What is his motivation?

MARTIN: No, no, here's the deal, though: but the question is -- is he running for president? He is. He was allowed to the last CNN debate. He is running for president. And the question is, can he actually win? Can he compete in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina? That's a whole different question.

CAIN: I understand.

MARTIN: I think, clearly, these issues are really going to just suppress his candidacy even more so. I just don't see how he recovers because he will be dealing with this and not economic or foreign policy.

CAIN: Let me see -- I think technically he's running for president. I'm not sure inside his mind he ever really meant to run for president and win this thing.

Let me just say one last thing and that is the lesson is not you vet somebody by prior elected experience. That's not Herman Cain's mistake. It's not that he was a career politician. Many people come out and say that now. They'll say, we need people who held some elected offices, as mayor of Atlanta first. So, they're properly vetted.

Nonsense. The issue here is how competent and prepared you are to handle the issues that might come up when you run for president.

ROWLANDS: All right, Roland Martin and Will Cain, spirited discussion. That was easy, I didn't have to ask any questions. Thank you, gentlemen.

(LAUGHTER)

MARTIN: It's a Texas thing. Hook 'em horns.

CAIN: One hundred fourteen years, it goes down the way it always should.

MARTIN: Yes, SEC.

ROWLANDS: Thank you, gentlemen.

Before the scandal went public, Herman Cain sat down exclusively with our Wolf Blitzer. The veteran newsman is going to join us to talk about the circumstances around that, next hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROWLANDS: Miley Cyrus giving a shout-out to protesters occupying cities around the globe. A.J. Hammer is here with all the details.

Hey, A.J.

A.J. HAMMER, HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Hi there, Ted.

Yes. Unlike some of the other controversies, Miley is intentionally stirring things up. She's rededicating one of her songs to the Occupy movement. She did a video remix of her song liberty walk and posted it on her official YouTube channel. And the caption says this is dedicated to the thousands of people who are standing up for what they believe in.

Now, the new video shows footage from Occupy protests around the world. All the footage that we've seen on CNN, the angry marchers, police confrontations with pepper spray. And the last image is a sign saying we can change the world. Imagine.

The video has already been viewed by about 325,000 people on YouTube. Comment section has been filled with people both criticizing and supporting Cyrus, but, Ted, she is certainly a long way from Hannah Montana and getting politically active.

ROWLANDS: Yes.

OK. Now to Kim Kardashian and the workout that caused her new husband to, low, we're all dying to hear about it, naked yoga -- A.J.

HAMMER: Ted, I know you're dying to hear about this. This was actually a part of the opening episode of the Kardashian reality show, "Kim and Kourtney Take New York." Kim's soon-to-be ex-husband Kris Humphries discovers Kim and his sister-in-law Kourtney conducting a yoga class in their apartment with a naked male instructor.

It's pretty normal, right? Well, Humphries blows up in the episode and he decides to leave Kim and Kourtney in New York. He then returns home to Minnesota to train. He's an NBA player and thought it was all too distracting with the naked men in the apartment.

Kim was tweeting as the episode aired. She sent out this tweet, "Oh, no, naked yoga, has anyone heard of this before? I can't take it."

Well, I'm sure the naked yoga encounter was a ratings draw, Ted. People are tuning in to see the short-lived marriage of Kim and Kris.

And if you thought that Kim's divorce announcement, you know, just 72 days after having her televised fairy tale wedding is going to cause people to boycott the show, you can think again. Preliminary ratings for the premier are out. They topped all previous season openers for the show, Ted. Just under 3.2 million people tuned in to see what kind of clues they could find that this new marriage was in fact duped.

ROWLANDS: Surprise, surprise. Everybody says, "I'm never watching that again," then, sure enough, they're tuning in. Thanks, A.J.

A.J. is going to be back next hour with more headlines. He'll tell us about Tyler Perry's letter to a man caught up in the Penn State scandal. The filmmaker, himself, a survivor of childhood sexual abuse.

When your nose is running or your throat feels a bit scratchy, you're probably not thinking about politics. But L.Z. Granderson thinks you should. And he does. Why he says it's time to fix health care, coming up.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROWLANDS: Checking news across country.

People across the southeast waking up to a rare November snowstorm. We are looking at live pictures from Huntsville, Alabama. Accumulations of two to four inches possible from Mississippi to Alabama into Tennessee and North Carolina.

"Occupy" protesters in Oklahoma City are defying an order to leave a downtown park. The city told them to be out by 11:00 local time last night. The city is also refusing to renew the daily permit protesters have been using to stay in the park.

The nation's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is marking 50 years of service. 1,000 former crew members of the "USS Enterprise" took part in two days of celebrations in Norfolk, Virginia.

Well, if you've ever had an ache or an ailment that just wouldn't go away and no matter what you tried. L.Z. Granderson feels your pain. He writes in a new op-ed CNN.com piece "curing what ails you can be frustrating and expensive" and L.Z. you say it only gets worse when politics get in the way of medicine. How?

L.Z, GRANDERSON, CNN.COM CONTRIBUTOR: Well, you know, let's face it. The conversation that we've heard repeatedly the importance of repealing Obama care. At least that's the conversation coming from the GOP and what I've heard of a lot of during the debates. And while I certainly see there's a lot of flaws in the health care reform law, I think there is a lot of good in there, as well.

And so, what I would like to see and what I think is important for the country is that instead of just saying, we're just going to repeal the entire thing, you actually take an intelligent look at it and dissect it and take out the good bits because we do need what's good in that bill because the American health is approaching a crisis, if you look at the numbers.

ROWLANDS: Well let's be honest I mean, this -- President Obama's health care reform law is such a divisive issue. Right now the Supreme Court is looking into it. How much do you think that health care is going to factor into this 2000 race when you think about a potential non-Romney candidate or if it's Romney because Romney, of course, has a track record with certain elements of the health care bill that or the law that Obama pushed.

How do you see the difference playing out in the general election depending on who is up against President Obama? GRANDERSON: Well, it depends on how the conversation is being framed. If it's a conversation about health care and about health care reform, then we can look at things like the ten unhealthiest states also happen to be among the ten poorest states and we can start having a more intelligent conversation about how mortality and social economic play a part in a person's life.

But if we frame the conversation politically and talk about Obama care then all of a sudden we're not really focused on the American people or even the conversation of health care, but were focusing in on Obama and his policies and whether or not we believe that's -- has been what's best for the country.

To me, those are two totally different conversations. What I would like to see is that we separate the politics, which is Obama care and talk about health care reform because of regardless who's in the White House in 2012, the issues that are affecting us in terms of health, they aren't going away and repealing that law is not going to change that.

ROWLANDS: All right, L.Z. Granderson, thank you. You can check out L.Z.'s op-ed "Don't take away America's health care lifeline" at cnn.com/opinion.

An astronaut plays a game of space ball. Not only does he throw the ball, but he floats to the batter's box and hits it. You've got to see this. We'll have that coming to you in sports. Seven minutes from now.

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ROWLANDS: Checking stories making news later today.

Dr. Conrad Murray will be sentenced at 11:30 Eastern for his involuntary manslaughter conviction in the death of pop star Michael Jackson.

Also at 11:30 Eastern, a man accused of killing eight people in a southern California salon is set to be arraigned in an Orange County courtroom.

And at 8:0 Eastern, Gary Giordano, the Maryland man jailed in Aruba since August in connection with the disappearance of his traveling companion, is due to be released from custody.

We're following lots of developing stories in the CNN NEWSROOM next hour. Let's check in first with David Mattingly here in Atlanta -- David.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: She says they had a 13-year-long sexual affair. He says they were just friends. Well, regardless Herman Cain's latest accuser is putting her story out into the court of public opinion, and I'll have more details on that in the next hour -- Ted.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hi, I'm Zain Verjee in London. Students, hard-lined students have stormed the British Embassy in Tehran. The situation is fluid, it's developing, it turned violent. I'll give you more details at the top of the hour.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Deborah Feyerick in Syracuse where embattled ex-coach Bernie Fine and his wife laying low as federal authorities try to get to the bottom of the sex scandal.

ROWLANDS: All right thanks guys.

Less than half an hour from now the hidden dangers of soccer. A new study raises troubling questions about a sport long embraced by parents. Dr. Sanjay Gupta will explain.

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ROWLANDS: Well, can anybody beat the Pack, the Green Bay Packers from winning another Super Bowl? Jeff Fischel, last night the New Orleans Saints sure looked pretty good. They might be able to go toe to toe.

JEFF FISCHEL, HLN SPORTS: Yes, they were dominant last night against the New York Giants. Of course the key in the NFL is having a great quarterback. The Packers have Aaron Rodgers, the Saints have Drew Brees, and once again he was phenomenal.

Brees, early on, already up 14-3 finds Jimmy Graham. That makes it 21-3. Then it's Brees again. This time he finds Lance Moore on the right side. Brees four touchdown passes, he threw for more than 350 yards. And, you know, Brees can also run. He ran for a score. Watch him now. He takes it in the end zone. And you know, his idol growing up was Michael Jordan, he thinks he's going to dunk over the cross. He goes up and not quite. Not even close.

New Orleans win 49-24.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have fired Coach Jack Del Rio. We just found this out in the last hour. Del Rio took over as the second coach in team history in 2003. The Jags are 3 and 8 years. They haven't had a winning season in four years. Defensive coordinator Mel Tucker takes over as interim coach.

All right. Did you see this? Thanksgiving Day, the sideline collision between the Dallas Cowboy's Jason Witten and cheerleader Melissa Rae Kellerman. It started a Twitter mystery, right. The day after the game, this is what Kellerman tweeted. "Not hurting today like some of you all thought I would be. Our tight end isn't as tough as he looks. That or I'm way tougher than I look."

Then Kellerman's Twitter account went silent.

ROWLANDS: Oh, the man came down on her.

FISCHEL: That led a speculation the Cowboys had pulled her account, right? The team denies it now and says Kellerman's tweeting again. She said she shut the account down herself because she wanted to spend the holiday weekend with her family and not her Twitter account. Some are still suspicious.

ROWLANDS: The conspiracy theorists are saying no. Well, you know what; I take her at her word and actually it's very nice that she took Thanksgiving weekend off from tweeting.

FISCHEL: That was a good idea.

Let's get to this. Life can get tedious for the International Space Station. Check out Japanese astronaut playing a game of baseball by himself. First he pitches it, then Tutoshi Forakawa (ph) glides faster than the other ball, goes to the other side, picks up a bat, and ready, and he finds enough time to hit it, and then he's not done. He actually jumps in the air and catches it, too.

Bugs bunny first base, bugs bunny second base. Forakawa has since returned to earth. He said everything seems twice as heavy back on earth. .

ROWLANDS: Bet I would have won.

Thanks Jeff.

FISCHEL: All right.

Rowlands. A grudge going back almost 50 years, just exploded into a senior citizen smack down. All of it caught on camera. CNN's Jeanne Moos calls the fight.

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JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Throw the flag for unnecessary roughness. Two former football greats go at it over an ancient grudge. Emcee Ron James called it --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A couple of septuagenarians duking it out.

MOOS: Others call it a geezer fight.

It started at a Vancouver luncheon when former quarterback Joe Kapp took a flower from a centerpiece and extended it to his rival who responded -- half swatted Angelo Maska with a flower. Maska used his cane to knock Kapps glasses off, then Kapp decked him with a one-two punch.

Ironic that Maska's new book is entitled "Tell me to My Face". Even more ironic was the words out of Kapp's mouth after the fight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sportsmanship.

MOOS (on camera): Maska says once he was knocked down, Kapp still didn't stop.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm 74 years old and I don't walk very good with a cane. I have no balance. When I went down, he kicked me. MOOS (voice-over): See if you see it. Not that Maska haven't kicked a few guys in his days as a wrestler after retiring from football.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Angelo King Kong Maska.

MOOS: But King Kong Maska wasn't beating his chest after this one.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's absolutely ridiculous it ever happened.

MOOS (on camera): The grudge goes back 50 years; it was a Canadian football league championship game.

(voice-over): Then quarterback Kapp was mad because Maska made what was widely considered a dirty hit that knocked one of the Kapps teammates out of the game.

Fast forward almost five decades --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not going to sit there and have someone stuff a flower in my nose.

MOSS: Later Kapp told a weird story, quoting the player Angelo Maska injured 48 years ago.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I named Angelo, and I kick this (EXPLETIVE DELETED) every day.

MOOS (on camera): A couple grumpy old football players. It's like a scene right out of the movie "Grumpy Old Men".

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can shut that coal.

MOOS (voice-over): Only in grumpy old men, the weapon of choice was a fish rather than a flower.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All I can do is apologize.

MOOS: Before the fight, Maska offered his hand and Kapp ignored it. After the fight, it was the other way around. A YouTube poster summed it up this way, "Toothless but Still Ruthless.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

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