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American Morning
Woman Publicly Accuses Herman Cain of Sexual Abuse; Michael Jackson's Doctor Found Guilty of Involuntary Manslaughter; Former Penn State Football Coach Accused of Child Molestation; Is Cain Accuser's Statement a Game-Changer?; Berlusconi Faces Key Budget Vote; Awaiting New Greek Prime Minister; Joe Frazier 1944-2011; Dr. Conrad Murray Found Guilty; Penn State Sex Abuse Scandal; Study: School Soda Bans Don't Work; Study: Higher Earners Eat More Fast Food; Substance Abuse High in Native American Teens; Sharon Bialek Interviewed Regarding her Allegations Against Cain
Aired November 08, 2011 - 06:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHARON BIALEK, CAIN ACCUSER: I want you, Mr. Cain, to come clean. Just admit what you did.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: She claims she asked Herman Cain for a job, and he wound up groping her. Now, Sharon Bialek is going public, and she'll join us live with her story straight ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Guilty of the crime of involuntary manslaughter.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: You heard it. The verdict, guilty. A dramatic end to the Michael Jackson death trial. Dr. Conrad Murray waking up behind bars this morning.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: More casualties (ph) in the Penn State child sex abuse scandal. Two school officials now accused of a criminal cover-up, and there are calls for the legendary football coach to step down.
VELSHI: And Mother Nature continues her assault on Oklahoma. Storm chasers capturing some amazing video heading right for a twister on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: All right. Good morning. It's Tuesday, November 8th, and welcome to AMERICAN MORNING, everyone.
COSTELLO: Yes. Happy Tuesday.
Up first this morning, new allegations of sexual harassment against Herman Cain. And for the first time, a face behind the accusation. His fourth accuser's name is Sharon Bialek. She's a single mother from Chicago who worked for the National Restaurant Association's educational foundation back in the 1990s when Cain headed up the organization. She'd just been laid off and claimed she went to Cain for help in finding a new job. Bialek with celebrity lawyer, Gloria Allred, standing by her side, gave this account of the encounter she had with Cain 14 years ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHARON BIALEK, CAIN ACCUSER: Instead of going into the offices, he suddenly reached over and he put his hand on my leg under my skirt and reached for my genitals. He also grabbed my head and brought it toward his crotch. Mr. Cain said, "You want a job, right?" I asked him to stop, and he did. I asked him to take me back to my hotel, which he did, right away.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Herman Cain striking back just hours ago on late-night television. We'll hear more from him later today. Mary Snow has more for us this morning, though. She joins us now. Good morning, Mary.
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol, Ali, and Christine. This afternoon in Phoenix, Arizona, Herman Cain says he'll set the record straight about accusations made Monday by Sharon Bialek and her attorney Gloria Allred. The Republican presidential candidate, in his words, there isn't an ounce of truth in the allegations against him. Cain spoke last night on "Jimmy Kimmel's" show. He said he watched the news conference yesterday in San Francisco. His wife was in Atlanta, and they spoke by phone after it was over.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HERMAN CAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You asked me earlier and you said did my wife watch that press conference today. She did. And you know what she said to me when I called her. She said "The things that that woman describes," she said, "That doesn't even sound like you and I've known you for 45 years." My own wife said I wouldn't do anything as silly as what that lady was talked about because she does know me. I've been married for 43 years to the same woman and I'm proud of it.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SNOW: Well, Cain's campaign came out with a statement addressing Bialek's accusations saying there's no record and no complaint filed to support her accusations. Sharon Bialek says she didn't file a complaint with the National Restaurant Association because she no longer worked for them when this alleged incident occurred. She had been fired by the NRA a month earlier.
So why come forward after 14 years? Bialek says she came forward to represent other women who claimed to have been sexually harassed by Herman Cain but either couldn't come forward or chose not to. She told CNN's Piers Morgan last night she's braced for scrutiny. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIALEK: To be honest with you, right now I haven't even watched any of the media. I know in the next two days is when everything is going to all hit the fan, so to speak. And I'm prepared for it. You know, again, I'm a strong woman. I can get through this, and this, too, shall pass. I don't like what's going to happen because I'm sure they're going to try to depict me in all kinds of ways. But that's the media for you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SNOW: Now, Bialek's claims come one week after it was disclosed the National Restaurant Association provided payments to two women who left after making allegations that they had been sexually harassed by Herman Cain while he was head of the organization in the 1990s. Now, an attorney for one of the women who has chosen not to come forward, he came out yesterday to say that there are similarities to his client's story after hearing what Sharon Bialek had to say, but he didn't elaborate.
ROMANS: The story isn't over because now Herman Cain after saying he's not going to respond to anonymous, that he didn't know what he was responding to, really, now he has a face, specific allegations and accusations, he will responding in a news conference.
SNOW: Yes. And this is a big contrast to just a few days ago when he said he was getting back on message, end of story. Last night on "Jimmy Kimmel" he said, yes, I will address this firestorm and any future firestorms that may come up.
VELSHI: Clearly staying on message and not talking about that didn't go over well in any circles. He's been sort of attacked in the last few days by conservative commentator who say this just isn't going to do. You're going to have to come up with something better, particularly for a guy who was a bit of a media darling. He so enjoyed being in the media, and people enjoyed interviewing him, to all of a sudden a certain guy who didn't want to answer questions and started giving reporters instructions about how to ask questions, it didn't work for him.
COSTELLO: It will be an interesting news conference to see if he sits down and he outlines these allegations against him and goes through them one by one and saying this isn't true and here's why, this isn't true and here's why. I think many people want to hear that kind of thing from Herman Cain.
SNOW: Especially with these specifics coming out.
ROMANS: Thank you, Mary.
COSTELLO: And keep it on CNN all morning long because at 7:40 a.m. we'll be joined by Cain's accuser Sharon Bialek and her attorney Gloria Allred.
VELSHI: Two years after Michael Jackson's death, Dr. Conrad Murray found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAMMIE BENSON, JUDGE MICHAEL PASTOR'S CLERK: We, the jury, find in the above entitled action find the defendant, Conrad Robert Murray, guilty of the crime of involuntary manslaughter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Murray was stone-faced as he learned his fate. In the courtroom you hear Michael's sister LaToya let out a celebratory cheer as the family watched. Latoya later calling the decision a victory. Let's go to Casey Wian live in Los Angeles. Good morning, Casey.
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Ali. Well, it was clear with the reading of that guilty verdict yesterday afternoon in this courtroom behind me that this case is far from over. Prosecutors, of course, were very happy with the verdict, offering their sympathies to the Jackson family. But the defense team claiming that Conrad Murray did not get a fair trial and vowing to appeal. Let's listen to what both sides had to say after that verdict.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NAREG GOURJIAN, CONRAD MURRAY'S DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I was a little disappointed with the outcome. I can't say I was surprised. There was a lot of evidence that we wanted to get admitted that we felt was critical for the jury to hear to make an informed decision.
DAVID WALGREN, PROSECUTOR: I just thank the jury, and our sympathies go out to the Jackson family at this tomb for the loss that they have suffered, not a pop icon, but a son and a brother. And think that's most important to keep in mind today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIAN: Now, the basis for the defense's claim that Dr. Murray did not get a fair trial happened very early in the case, Ali, and that is that the judge did not allow a lot of evidence of Michael Jackson's previous drug use, testimony from some of his other doctors, and evidence of his financial condition. The judge early on ruling that that case was not going to be about Michael Jackson but specifically about the actions of Dr. Conrad Murray.
Now, sentencing in this case is scheduled for later this month, November 29th. Prosecutors are expected to ask for the full four-year maximum in state penitentiary. The defense is expected to say Dr. Murray should receive probation, perhaps a short amount of time in the county jail at the moment. They've got a long road ahead of them, though, because clearly the judge ruled yesterday or said yesterday that Dr. Murray is a threat to the public and that's why he sent him to jail right away, Ali.
VELSHI: He didn't even wait. We heard LaToya Jackson and her scream or her cheer in the courtroom. She later said it was a victory. How is the rest of the Jackson family taking the verdict? WIAN: Very, very happy, very, very relieved. They emerged that -- many of these family members throughout the case were in the courtroom watching it first-hand and they emerged after the verdict yesterday to a throng, hundreds of adoring fans. Here's what they had to say afterwards.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LATOYA JACKSON, MICHAEL JACKSON'S SISTER: Michael loves everybody out here. I love him. We all love him. And guess what, he was in that courtroom and that's why victory was served.
JERMAINE JACKSON, MICHAEL JACKSON'S BROTHER: Justice was served, yes. It wasn't enough time though.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIAN: Hours after that verdict, fans were still dancing in the streets to Michael Jackson's music, Ali.
VELSHI: All right, Casey, thanks very much. Casey Wian in Los Angeles.
ROMANS: The White House this morning is denying a report that Bill Daley is surrendering his main duties as chief of staff. The "Wall Street Journal" reported yesterday that presidential aide Pete Rouse would take over the day to day operation of the West Wing. But a senior administration official tells CNN that report from the "Wall Street Journal" is flat wrong, although Rouse has been come in and help improve the efficiency of the White House.
COSTELLO: Attorney General Eric Holder is set to testify before the Senate committee. He'll be grilled about the failed ATF gun program dubbed operation Fast and Furious. Guns traced to the program were found at the murder scene of a federal agent. Holder is expected to say the program was flawed and should have never happened.
VELSHI: Still to come this morning, Penn State football coach Joe Paterno could make his first public comment on the child sexual abuse scandal that has rocked his program.
ROMANS: And Oklahoma cries uncle. Earthquake, aftershocks, and then a monster tornado. You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. It is nine minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Welcome back. Smokin' Joe Frazier has lost his battle with liver cancer. The former heavyweight champ was 67 years old. Frazier will be forever linked with Mohammed Ali for their three classic fights in the 1970s. He won the first and that made him the first fighter to beat Ali. And then he lost two, including the epic "Thrilla in Manila." In a statement Ali says the world has lost a great champion.
ROMANS: All right, Penn State football coach Joe Paterno will speak to reporters today for the first time since the child sex abuse scandal broke. Two school official are charged with perjury for failing to report the alleged abuse of boys by former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.
The 67-year-old Sandusky has been charged with sexually assaulting at least eight boys. It's called into question the action of Penn State officials, including Joe Paterno. Sara Ganim, reporter for Harrisburg's "Patriot News" spoke to the mothers of two of these alleged victims. She joins us now via Skype.
Good morning, Sara. You had an article out this morning. You exclusively talked to the mother of a boy known as "Victim one." He's called "Victim one" because it was his report in the spring of 2008 that finally launched this grand jury investigation. But he wouldn't have been a victim at all, his mother says, if Penn State Athletic Director Tim Curley and the senior VP of finance Gary Schultz had reported Sandusky to authorities back in 2002. You say this mother is furious that he is even a victim at all.
SARA GANIM, CRIME REPORTER, "PATRIOT NEWS" IN HARRISBURG: That's right. I mean, they really feel betrayed and let down by the system, by Penn State. They don't think that anybody is really on their side in this issue until that child came forward in 2009 and was finally believed. And, you know, he wasn't the first child to come forward and make an allegation, but he was the first child to be believed. There were actually two kids in 1998 who were interviewed by police in a six-week investigation, and nothing ever came of that.
So the other mother we talked to doesn't know victim one. Their children are several years apart. But she feels just horrendous and incredibly guilty, even though she doesn't have much to be guilty for. But she feels incredibly guilty that victim one is even a victim because her son came forward so many years ago.
ROMANS: So tell me about that case. Her son came forward in 1998 and told his mother what had happened, and there was actually a sting, and this mother actually confronted Sandusky, she says, with this allegation. What happened?
GANIM: It was really quite amazing. Sandusky -- it was Sandusky's idea, not a good idea, according to the grand jury statement. He came over to her house and before -- before he came, she told police. She had called police immediately when her son came home.
So the two police officers were hiding in her daughter's bedroom as Sandusky came over. She said, you know, if you could even imagine, her heart was pounding. She could barely hear anything. But he -- he said, he admitted that he had taken a naked shower with her son, admitted that there was some kind of contact and what he said to her, he asked her for forgiveness. He admitted that he probably wouldn't get it and then he said I wish I were dead.
ROMANS: And police heard this conversation.
GANIM: Police heard this conversation. The district attorney was told about the confession, the so-called confession but no charges were ever brought.
And there's kind of like a subplot to this story. The district attorney is Ray Gricar. He's missing. He's been missing for seven years and was declared dead over the summer so we can't ask him why he decided not to pursue that case.
ROMANS: And that's such a bizarre angle to that story. But here you have -- you guys have spoken to two of these mothers who have children obviously who are overwrought that this has happened.
And one of the sort of other strange parts about all of this is that Joe Paterno is having a press conference and the university says he's not going to talk about this. I mean maybe he'll give a statement.
Is there -- is there anything else that people want to know from Joe Paterno than what's going on at this football program, what's going on in this university and how -- how did this not -- how did the university not bring this up to -- to police right away?
GANIM: I mean I think there's a lot of questions that people have for Joe Paterno. The problem is that Joe Paterno says what he wants to say. I don't -- I don't -- even his handlers I think would -- would tell you that they can prep him all they want, but when he gets out there, he's going to say what he wants to say. And that's how Joe has always been.
So what he says today, I think, you know, is minute to minute, and we'll find out, but obviously people have a lot of questions for him. You know, fans are just incredibly hurt by this. And that's the feeling everywhere. Even the diehard bleed blue and white fans, I mean, really just feel let down by this icon, who, you know, criminally did nothing wrong, but they're questioning the ethics of his decisions.
ROMANS: Sara, I mean, there's the morality of this whole thing and there's the legality of this whole thing, and when you say that victim number one, who isn't the first alleged victim, the first one to be believed, why didn't anybody at Penn State believe parents and boys who were saying they were in these very -- at the very least inappropriate, at the worst criminal situations with a coach there?
GANIM: I mean we don't know. We don't know why they weren't believed. The paperwork is sealed. It's part of a criminal investigation and we can't get a hold of it. We can only really know what the -- what the mother has told us in 1998 and what the testimony was regarding that 2002 case.
So, you know, but I do think that there was -- it's probably a combination of a little bit of loyalty and a little bit of -- you've got to remember that in 1998 and in 2002, Jerry Sandusky was second only to Joe Paterno. I mean, he was huge. He was a big deal on the field and off the field because of his charity work.
ROMANS: Right. GANIM: And so I think a lot of people probably had a hard time getting their heads around the idea that he could be doing something so horrible and minimize it.
ROMANS: All right. Sara, thank you so much. Sara Ganim, crime reporter at "The Patriot News" in Harrisburg. Thanks for your reporting. We will continue to follow it. Thanks, Sara.
GANIM: Thank you (ph).
VELSHI: Well, people in Oklahoma can't catch a break these days. Rob Marciano is in the Extreme Weather Center. Rob, an earthquake and then a tornado?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Yes, a bad tornado. And they even had a 4.7 aftershock last night.
But here's the video of the tornado you're speaking about. One of them touched down. Only one, but the storm chaser got it on tape. And this thing was at least an EF-2 with a serious signature and obviously at least a half mile wide funnel there tearing up the ground. Most of your structures -- no injuries thankfully in the rural part of Oklahoma.
The entire line, the entire system obviously moving off to the east. Dallas will be under the gun over the next couple of hours and then this shaded area, more so damaging winds and large hail. Less of a tornado type of a scenario this afternoon, but can't rule that out of the question. That's for sure.
All in the read will see a threat for severe weather. And then rainfall getting up towards Chicago, maybe some thunderstorms here. A little bit of snow on the north side of this. And, again, a fairly quiet across parts of the eastern third of the country, east of that.
Subtropical Storm Sean, we're still at hurricane season. It's kind of a hybrid situation here. It's got winds of 45 miles an hour. Its forecast track once it gets going again, will be, of course, to head out to sea this time of the year. That's what happens, 50-mile- an-hour winds. That may be skirting towards Bermuda. Hurricane season, guys, going all the way to the end of this month and we got all the way to "S" storms.
Back to you.
ROMANS: All right. Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: All right.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Rob.
Now is your chance to "Talk Back" on one of the big stories of the day. The question for you this morning, "Is the Cain accuser's statement a game-changer?"
After days of blaming the media, Rick Perry and all those women named anonymous, Herman Cain can at last point to an accuser with a face and a voice. Sharon Bialek, a former National Restaurant Association employee, accused Cain of groping her sexually in 1997 when she asked him for help in finding a job.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHARON BIALEK, CAIN ACCUSER: I want you, Mr. Cain, to come clean. Just admit what you did. Admit you were inappropriate to people. America is in a -- and then move forward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Bialek says she is ready for the media onslaught, and it's already begun.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUSH LIMBAUGH, HOST, THE RUSH LIMBAUGH SHOW: I assumed it was Bialek, but Gloria Allred says her name is Bialek, as in "buy a lick."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Bialek is also criticized for her choice of lawyers -- Gloria Allred, a celebrity, whose last client was a porn star who received sexts from former congressman Anthony Weiner.
Herman Cain is denying Bialek's claims and fired off this statement. And this is a quote from his statement, "Just as the country finally begins to refocus on our crippling $15 trillion national debt and the unacceptably high unemployment rate, now activist celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred is bringing forth more false accusations against the character of Republican front-runner Herman Cain," end quote.
But Bialek's claims go beyond sexual harassment. CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin says Bialek's allegations amount to assault, and, he says, Cain may never recover.
So, the "Talk Back" question for you this morning, "Is the Cain accuser's statement a game-changer?" Facebook.com/AmericanMorning. Facebook.com/AmericanMorning. We'll read your comments later this hour.
ROMANS: All right, still to come this morning, Herman Cain's new accuser, she claims she went to him for help 14 years ago when she needed a job, but he responded by groping her. Sharon Bialek joins us live in our New York studio.
Twenty-two minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Twenty-five minutes after the hour. Welcome back. "Minding Your Business" right now.
Investors are breathing a little sigh of relief as Greece works to get its financial house in order. U.S. stock futures are trading higher this morning after word that Greece will announce some time today who's replacing Prime Minister George Papandreou.
But there's concern about Italy as Italian bonds yield closer to record highs. They're up close to the dangerous seven percent level. Investors are rushing away from government bonds in Italy, showing concern that Prime Minister Berlusconi will not be able to get the country's debt problems under control.
The global bond market is about twice the size of the stock market, by the way.
The European debt crisis has many investors rushing to the security of gold again. It's close to $1,800 an ounce right now.
Another dent in Toyota. Japan's biggest auto maker saw its net profit sink more than 18 percent in the second quarter. Toyota is battling a strong yen, supply shortages from the March earthquake, and the current flooding in Thailand.
And did you have any trouble getting online yesterday? If you did, you're not alone. Millions of people across the globe couldn't log on yesterday because of a software glitch that essentially crashed a number of routes and took key Internet pathways down with them.
AMERICAN MORNING will be back right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think it was beyond -- it would be beyond the realm of possibility that there are other victims that exists here.
ROMANS (voice-over): A grand jury investigation identifying eight boys sexually assaulted by a former Penn State football coach. The attorney general says there could be more, on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: And good morning to you. Time for our top stories. It's 30 minutes past the hour.
Italy is trying to get a better handle on its staggering $2.6 trillion debt. Right now parliament is debating a budget, which it's expected to vote on in about two hours. It's still unclear if Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi can muster up enough support from his own party to pass that bill.
Berlusconi is also being urged to step aside from one of its closest political allies in Italy.
VELSHI: And before there was Rome, there was Athens and at any moment, we could learn who will replace Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou.
The government has said an announcement will be made today. Papandreou announced he would step down on Sunday to make way for a unity government.
Its biggest task will be to implement the E.U. bailout package, which is aimed at preventing Greece from defaulting on its massive debt.
ROMANS: Mohammed Ali says the world has lost a great champion. He's talking about his fellow heavyweight legend, Smokin' Joe Frazier who died last night after a battle with liver cancer.
Frazier was 67. The two will be forever linked for their three classic fights in the 1970s. Frazier was the first man to beat Ali winning the first of those bouts the so-called "Fight of the Century" in 1971.
COSTELLO: Dr. Conrad Murray behind bars and reportedly on suicide watch. He's been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson. Faces four years in prison when he's sentenced at the end of the month and he will likely lose his medical license in three states.
VELSHI: In just a few hours, Penn State football head coach, Joe Paterno, will meet the media for his weekly press conference. It's his first appearance since the Penn State program was rocked by a child sex abuse scandal.
A former assistant coach charged with sexually assaulting at least eight young boys. CNN's Jason Carroll following developments on the ground in State College Pennsylvania. Good morning, Jason.
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Ali. Penn State officials released a statement basically saying that Joe Paterno would not answer questions about the sex abuse scandal, but anyone who knows him knows that he is his own man.
So we'll have to see what happens at that press conference. Meanwhile, two school officials who posted bail late yesterday, the minute they came out of court, their attorneys came out as well and directed their anger at the attorney general.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL (voice-over): Two Penn State officials charged with perjury were each released on $75,000 bail. Athletic Director Timothy Curley and Senior Vice President Gary Schultz resigned in the wake of a sexual abuse scandal involving former football coach, Jerry Sandusky.
Sandusky is accused of sexually abusing eight boys. The attorney general says Curley and Schultz failed to report one of the incidents of sexual abuse to police and lie to grand jurors. Their attorneys say the charges are bogus.
CAROLINE ROBERTO, ATTORNEY FOR TIMOTHY CURLEY: It is a distraction in this case, the charge of perjury. And it is unconscionable that the attorney general's office would level such a weak case against a man of integrity like Mr. Curley.
THOMAS J. FARRELL, ATTORNEY FOR GARY SCHULTZ: This is disappointing because rather than follow the law. The attorney general's fabricated a fiction.
CARROLL: The attorney general stands by the accusations laid out in a 23-page grand jury report, which alleges Sandusky used his position as a former coach and founder of an organization to help troubled youths to befriend young boys so he could sexually assault them.
Sandusky maintains he is innocent. Prosecutors say that Penn State officials reported the allegations of abuse to police, which is required under Pennsylvania law. It would have stopped Sandusky from allegedly finding more victims.
Eight boys are described in the report, but prosecutors say their investigation is not over.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think it would be beyond the realm of possibility that there are other victims that exist here.
CARROLL: Head football coach, Joe Paterno, is not charged in the case. In 2002, a grad student reported seeing Sandusky sexually assaulting a 10-year-old boy in the shower at the university.
That student reported the incident to Paterno who in turn told his immediate supervisor, Timothy Curley. The prosecutors say in the eyes of the law that was enough.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wouldn't even characterize how I feel about like Joe Paterno or any other individual in this case. All the sympathy I have is directed towards the children.
CARROLL: Sandusky, once celebrated as a hero, he was carried off the football field during the Alamo Bowl in 1999. Now he is out on $100,000 bail and facing life in prison if convicted on all counts.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: And Sandusky is expected in court tomorrow. That court appearance, though, might get postponed. As for Paterno, once again, he is his own man, that press conference scheduled for noon.
Once again, even though Penn State officials say he's not going to be answering questions about the sex abuse scandal, there are going to be a number of people attending that press conference who say they are going to ask the questions anyway.
VELSHI: Yes, and we've seen lately not a lot of success where people saying they're not going to answer questions about scandals. I mean, whether or not Joe Paterno survives this as you said, he did the legal minimum necessary is separated. Apart from the fact, that if they mishandled this, they're going to have another problem on their hands. I think that will build up a lot of furor around it.
ROMANS: And if Joe Paterno is having a press conference, there is nothing that anyone wants to hear from Joe Paterno that does not have to do with humongous scandal.
COSTELLO: He often brags about the clean program that he runs. If he doesn't answer these questions he will appear hypocritical, right?
CARROLL: Absolutely. You have to remember that this is the man who's been the face, the foundation of Penn State football for generations.
And when something like this happens and for him to hold a press conference and not say something when he's been the face, the voice for so many years, quite frankly, in the eyes of many people, it's going to look hypocritical.
VELSHI: All right, Jason, we'll stay on top of it with you. We'll be following the press conference very closely. Where do we get in the world where people hold press conferences and don't answer questions that are being asked? How did that happen?
COSTELLO: I think that's been there since time began. Maybe I don't know, but you're right. Why hold a press conference if you're not going to answer questions.
Still ahead live in our studios, the Chicago woman who says she went to Herman Cain 14 years ago to ask for help in finding a job and wound up -- well, she'll tell you her story. Sharon Bialek and her attorney, Gloria Allred will join us live next.
ROMANS: Also ahead, which teens are most likely to turn to holistic drugs and alcohol and marijuana, cocaine, pain killers? Which drugs are the most popular? You might be surprised. It's 37 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Good morning, New York City, sunny and 55. Later on today, it will be 60 degrees.
COSTELLO: Just like heaven.
VELSHI: Lovely fall day.
COSTELLO: Just like L.A.
It's time for your "A.M. House Call." A new study says soda bans in public schools are having virtually no impact on child obesity rates because kids are drinking more sweetened fruit and sports drinks instead and also getting their sugar fix someplace else.
The author of the study says schools need to add comprehensive bans on all sugar drinks. The problem is the sale of those drinks provides a lucrative revenue stream to many struggling school districts.
VELSHI: It may seem counter intuitive, but Americans earning higher salaries are consuming the most fast food. That's counter intuitive to me. That's according to a study by a professor at the U.C. Davis Medical School.
He says his research debunks the myth that fast food restaurants are the chief cause of obesity in America. The professor pointed out that white fast food has a reputation for being cheap.
A steady fast food diet is too expensive for people living in truly impoverishing conditions, especially those who need food stamps to get by because you can't find prepared foods with food stamps.
COSTELLO: Right, so what's he saying about the obesity problem?
VELSHI: I'm not sure.
ROMANS: All right, native American teen hangers have the highest rate of substance use and abuse in this country while African-American and Asian teens have the lowest. That's according to a study done by the Duke University Medical Center.
Researchers also report 37 percent of 12 to 17-year-olds admit to drug or alcohol use in the past year. The study found marijuana was the most frequently used drug and prescription painkillers moved up to number two on the list.
VELSHI: Amongst 12 to 17-year-olds, prescription pain -- wow.
ROMANS: Well, you know, they used to say lock your liquor cabinet at home. And now like all of the drug control experts and the family experts say lock your medicine cabinet.
VELSHI: Right.
ROMANS: They really say you should think about locking up your painkillers and prescription drugs like you used to lock up your bottle of scotch in the '70s.
COSTELLO: That's good advice actually.
Morning headlines coming your way next, plus the Chicago woman who says she went to Herman Cain 14 years ago to ask him to help her find a job and ended up a victim of sexual harassment. Sharon Bialek and her attorney, Gloria Allred will join us live.
ROMANS: And today's Romans' numeral 201,700 miles. Here's a hint. Look to the heavens because we're about to have a close encounter. It's 42 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ROMANS: It's 45 minutes after the hour. Here are your morning headlines.
Investors keeping a close eye on developments in Europe, especially Greece and Italy. Right now U.S. stock futures are higher as we await to learn who will replace Greek prime minister George Papandreou. It's Election Day and we could be in for a preview of next year's battle for the White House. A lot of attention focused on Ohio where voters will decide on an anti-collective bargaining measure and a mostly symbolic referendum to exempt Ohio resident's from President Obama's health care reform.
Is a fertilized egg a person? Mississippi voters go to the polls today to vote on a measure that says life begins at conception. If amendment 26 passes, critics say all abortions would be outlawed, even in cases where women are victims of rape or incest.
Dr. Conrad Murray found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson. The judge denying bail. Murray will stay in jail until his sentencing at the end of the month. He faces four years in prison.
Penn State football head coach Joe Paterno could face a barrage of questions at his news conference today about the child sex abuse scandal involving his former assistant. Prosecutors say eight young boys were abused by former defensive coach Jerry Sandusky, and they say more victims may well be out there.
Herman Cain will hold a news conference later today to counter accusations of sexual harassment by a single mom from Chicago. Sharon Bialek, the candidate's fourth accusers, says Cain groped her in the 1990s after she went to him to ask for help finding a job.
Connecticut Light and Power sets another goal, this goal to restore power to all of its customers by tomorrow night. This after the utility company missed its Sunday deadline, leaving tens of thousands of homes still in the dark nine days after Halloween.
Close encounter -- an asteroid the size of an aircraft carrier will fly near earth today. But don't worry. NASA says it's not a threat.
Which brings us to this morning's "Roman Numeral," a number in the news today. The number -- 201,700 miles. Oh, yes, that's the distance of the asteroid as it speeds past earth today, closer than the moon. Again, no real threat. Scientists say if it were to crash into the earth it would cause a 4,000 megaton blast and a magnitude seven earthquake. If it fell in the water it would cause a 70-foot high tsunami. Don't worry.
That's the news you need to start your day. AMERICAN MORNING is back right after this break.
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COSTELLO: Good morning, Washington, D.C. Sunny right now and 43 degrees. It's going to be a beautiful day actually. Sunny later, too, with a high of 68. Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.
Four women have now accused Herman Cain of sexual harassment, but only one has come forward, a single mother from Chicago who said she did it for the other women who could not or would not come forward.
So joining us this morning in our New York studios, Sharon Bialek, who said Herman Cain groped her when she went to him for help finding a job 14 years ago. And her attorney joins us, too, Gloria Allred. Welcome to you both.
SHARON BIALEK, ACCUSES CAIN OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT: Thank you.
GLORIA ALLRED, ATTORNEY FOR CAIN ACCUSER: Thank you, Carol.
COSTELLO: So Sharon, I'll start with you, because you said yesterday that you are ready for this media onslaught, and it has already begun. Rush Limbaugh on his program yesterday said some not so nice things about you. He mispronounced your name and he made this not very attractive sound with his mouth, and I won't explain it to you because it's not really worth it. But how is that sort of thing feeling to you now?
BIALEK: I expected it, and I still knew I had to come forward. My biggest concern and my biggest fan is my son. And actually the night before I was about to do this I called him. He was with his dad. And I said, Nick, what do you think I should do? He knew about this. He had heard me speaking to Gloria, and I said, what do you think I should do? He's 13, he said, mom, you need to do right thing. I think you need to tell on him. So that confirmed it for me. If my son is saying it, I want to be the role model for him and other kids growing up and set the example that this is not appropriate behavior. It starts when it is about their age.
COSTELLO: Supporters of Herman Cain saying you're not telling the truth, that you're coming forward for financial reasons because you have bankruptcy in your past. So have you? Are you coming forward for the money?
BIALEK: Let me set the record straight. I have had bankruptcy, and it was after the death of my mother to help my father pay for medical bills and a custody battle. And, like millions of other people out there, you know, I'm struggling. And I could have actually sold my story, but I didn't, because I want to -- my whole objective is to tell the truth and also help other people out there who may have been in similar situations. And initially I went into this hoping every hope of hopes that Herman would just step forward. That was my actually primary goal. Just admit it, step forward, admit it, and move forward.
COSTELLO: A lot of people are wondering why you chose Gloria as your attorney.
BIALEK: Well, one of the people who will vouch for me said Gloria's the best and you have to go to her and she will walk you through this, and she has. I couldn't have done this without her. And, you know, we support different parties. I'm a Republican and, so, I think that right there, if anyone says what Gloria is doing this for just totally, that theory is --
COSTELLO: We'll pose that question to you, Gloria, because Cain supporters say you're a celebrity attorney to represent women to make men look bad. They say that you have donated thousands of dollars to the Obama campaign and this is your opportunity to make Herman Cain look bad.
ALLRED: Well, actually, Carol, I've been a women right's attorney for 36 years. We have won hundreds of millions dollars for women, who have -- - the majority of whom have been victims of sexual harassment or sexual abuse by men. And we're proud of our record of standing up for women, empowering women, and supporting women, and that's what we do in our law firm.
Having said that, let me say that I speak out in support of my clients and in support of women whether those men are Republican, Democrat, libertarian, or no party at all. I criticized Democrat Congressman Anthony Weiner recently in New York with another client who said he should resign, and he did the next day because he had engaged in inappropriate text messaging with her. And I criticized President Clinton over the Monica Lewinsky issue when he lied to the American people and lied under oath, and he was a Democrat and I was a democrat. In fact I was an elected Hillary delegate to the Democratic convention. So it doesn't matter the party of the man.
And of course all of that is to deflect Mr. Cain -- it's a deflection by him because he doesn't want to deal with the sexual harassment issue. He needs to admit in specific detail what he has done. Who are we to believe, these four women who have independently alleged sexual harassment, two of whom who have filed allegations of sexual harassment and entered into settlements with their employer, the National Restaurant Association. These four women, and I know she doesn't know any of them, neither do I, or the one man, Herman Cain, who has the motive to deny because he wants to be president of the United States. I think the public can make that decision.
COSTELLO: One more question just about money issues. How are you paying? A lot of people wonder how you are paying.
BIALEK: I was very up front and said I couldn't afford this, so I don't know what we can do. And she said, Sharon, I would be glad to take your case pro bono, and that means she would do it out of her courtesy.
ALLRED: Pro bono is for the public good, and we as attorneys have a duty to help where we can and do cases pro bono without charge if that's possible.
COSTELLO: You know that Herman Cain appeared on a late night show.
BIALEK: I saw it.
COSTELLO: You saw it, you watched it. We'll allow our audience to watch it and then we'll discuss on the other side.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HERMAN CAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They could see steam coming out of my ears. And the feelings that you have when you know that all of this is totally fabricated, you go from anger, then you go -- you get disgusted. You try to control yourself to make sure you watch this thing all the way through. And I was listening very closely, and then when it was all over with I said, I know what I have to do, because there's not an ounce of truth in all these accusations, and my team is putting this stuff together. That's why I'm willing to do a press conference tomorrow to set the record straight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So, Sharon, essentially Mr. Cain is calling you a liar.
BIALEK: It's funny, for the very first part of what he said, anger, frustration, that's exactly how I feel. Scratch the end, though, because, you know what I want to say to Herman is, if not for yourself, OK, to come forward and admit this, what is his wife going through? You know, that's who I feel for the most in this whole thing.
COSTELLO: He mentioned his wife. He said his wife doesn't believe you either and he's supportive of him.
BIALEK: Well, I hope that's the case. But I have to believe she's going through her own personal turmoil. If not for himself, for the women that he's done this to, just for Gloria, that's his wife, too, so he should.
COSTELLO: Just a final thought about, you know, a lot of people say, oh, you didn't file any charges, you did tell two people, your former boyfriend and your mentor. I know you have sworn affidavits from them. But you didn't file any official charges anywhere and you didn't really talk about it in the interim much. And many people wondering, why not? If you felt so strongly about this, why didn't you come out about this before?
BIALEK: Well, a couple reasons. One is that, you know, the statute, before initially I didn't come out because I was embarrassed. I mean, who wants to talk about kind of ironing these things out in public? I was embarrassed. And second of all, I wasn't employed by the restaurant association so I didn't know that I had any kind of recourse from that.
COSTELLO: And all those years ago, was it easy to talk about sexual harassment?
BIALEK: No, that's the other thing, too. And it's a shame, too, because here we are today, you know, going through, having the same difficulties and it's amazing that we, as women, still are fighting these things and are embarrassed to talk about these things as we were back then.
ALLRED: That's why I'm so proud of Sharon, that she's come forward and willing to speak out and suffer the unwarranted attacks against her. She's a real hero, and I hope she does inspire other women to have the courage to speak out against sexual harassment.
I would say to Herman Cain, sexual harassment is not a joke. So for you go on late-night television and make jokes about it, it's not funny. It interferes with women's right to equal employment opportunity. If you were elected president you would be the head of the largest employment task force in the country, several government employees. So stop making jokes. Women have a right to be free of sexual harassment, and that is why Sharon is standing up to fight back.
COSTELLO: We'll see what Herman Cain says later this afternoon in Arizona, 5:00 p.m. eastern is the time. And thank you, both, for coming in this morning. We really appreciate it.
Top stories coming your way, next. It's three minutes to the top of the hour.
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