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American Morning
Students Riot After Penn State Football Coach Joe Paterno Fired; Rick Perry Makes Gaffe at GOP Debate; "I Stepped In It"; Joe Paterno Fired; Cain Accusers Considering News Conference; Fatal Quake in Turkey; Ashes of U.S. Soldiers Dumped in Landfills; "Occupy" Protest at UC Berkeley; Jacksons Outraged by Murray Interview; NBA Talks Resume Today; Emergency Alert Test Hits Glitches; Eddie Murphy Drops Out of Oscars; Perry's Brain Freeze Moment; Can Cain Overcome Sexual Harassment Allegations; Republican Candidates Seek Endorsement of Sheriff Joe Arpaio
Aired November 10, 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)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dr. Spanier is no longer president of the university. Joe Paterno is no longer the head football coach effective immediately.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: The end comes quickly for Penn State's legendary football coach as anger over Joe Paterno's firing pills into the streets.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. RICK PERRY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's three agencies of government when I get there that are gone, commerce, education, and the -- what's the third one there? Let's see.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: That was so painful. Rick Perry's meltdown. The Texas governor proving two out of three is bad at last night's GOP debate.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: And remains of U.S. soldiers routinely dumped in landfills. A painful admission from the U.S. air force on this AMERICAN MORNING.
COSTELLO: Good morning to you. It is Thursday, November 10. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. Good morning to you.
VELSHI: Up first, it's not what you expect on the way you would expect a football legend to leave. Penn State coach Joe Paterno fired effective immediately along with university president Graham Spanier over the emerging child sex abuse scandal. Just hours before Paterno had announced his intention to finish out the season and then retire, Penn State's board of trustees said no. Overnight students angry at Paterno's dismissal and apparently at the news media spilled on to campus streets. They tipped over a news van and clashed with police. Replacing Paterno as coach will be the team's defensive coordinator Tom Bradley. Rick Ericson will service as Penn State's interim president. CNN's Jason Carroll is live for us at state college. Jason What's the scene there after a raucous night?
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Very calm. Perhaps a lot of those students who were out here last night are finally getting some rest. But obviously a lot of those students, their attention and their passion focused on Joe Paterno.
A couple of things clear about Paterno, two things, specifically. he obviously wanted to stay on, wanted to be able to finish out the season. And, two, in retrospect, if he could have done things differently, it is very clear he would have done more and reacted differently to how he responded to those allegations of sexual abuse back in 2002.
Last night in front of his home he came out and addressed some of the students who had gathered in front of his home. Those students were very calm. He emotionally spoke to those students with his wife at his side.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE PATERNO, FORMER PENN STATE FOOTBALL COACH: Get a good night's sleep, all right. Study, all right. We still have things to do. I'm out of it maybe now. We'll go from there. One thing -- thanks and pray a little but for those victims.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: And Ali, Paterno also released a statement after the board of trustees' decision. I will read it to you here. It says "I am disappointed with the board of trustees' decision but I have to accept it. A tragedy occurred and we all have to have patience to let the legal process proceed. I appreciate the outpouring of support but want to emphasize that everyone should remain calm and please respect the university, its property and all of that we value.
To all of our fans and supporters, my family and I will be forever in your debt."
Obviously, Ali, hundreds of students did not hear that call from Paterno to remain calm. As you saw, they took to the streets in front of old main, tipping over a news van, vandalizing another van. Spoke to my truck operator Scott Garver (ph) who was out here last night. He was actually inside the van. And he said he never really felt threatened. Had said he felt the anger from the students who wanted to have their point heard. Now listen to what those students had to say last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are going after the wrong guy. And the justice system needs to take its course.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're pretty much making stand because we are in support of our school and Joe Pa. We think it is absolutely ridiculous he got fired over this sort of situation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think some people are making a mistake of putting Joe Pa in front of the actual situation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tears actually the second -- I wiped them off now but the second I heard it, tears were in my eyes. He has done so much for our university.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where here to get Joe Pa for our last home game. He is retiring this season. Let him play his last game, it's that simple. Everyone here is for that now. We all believe it. If you want to hear something right now --
We are --
CROWD: Penn state!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are --
CROWD: Penn state!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you!
CROWD: You're welcome!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: And Ali, I want to make another point about this. Even though you see all of these passionate students out here, we are out here last night, this passion on the other side of the issue as well. There are a number of students at Penn State who feel as though Paterno should not available to finish out their season. There are a number of students out here who feel as though the board of trustees made the right decision. Obviously those students not as vocal.
VELSHI: Thanks for pointing that out, because as it plays out on TV it looks a little absurd. They were turning over media trucks and there was nobody that thought this was a bad thing. Good to know there were some people that do think this is quite serious and that the attention should be possibly focused more clearly on the victims. Thanks very much, Jason.
ROMANS: And there's a candlelight vigil tonight after all the passion subsides.
It is hard to imagine, but one of the other Republican candidates for president has actually knocked Herman Cain out of the headlines. Texas Governor Rick Perry's bid for the White House on shaky ground this morning after his deer-in-the-headlights meltdown in the Republican presidential debate. Jim Acosta watched it unfold. He joins us live from Rochester, Michigan. Jim, wow, the analysis, the morning after analysis, is not good for Rick Perry. JIM ACOSTA, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: No. That's right, Christine. Whether you call at this time meltdown in Michigan or the Texas train wreck, or perhaps it's brain wreck, for Rick Perry this may have been a fatal moment for his campaign. It joins the league of infamous presidential debate moments from Admiral Stockdale of 1992 saying "Who am I? Why am I here?" To Lloyd Benson saying to Dan Quayle "You're no Jack Kennedy."
This was a bad moment for Rick Perry and it came towards the tail end of the debate when he tried to recall which three departments of the federal government he would eliminate and he could only think of two of the departments. And it was an excruciating 54 seconds as it all played out. Here's what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK PERRY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's three agencies of government that are gone when I get there that are gone. Commerce, education and the -- what's the third one there, let's see.
(LAUGHTER)
RON PAUL, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There are five.
PERRY: Five, OK. Commerce, Education, and the --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: EPA?
PERRY: EPA, there you go.
(LAUGHTER)
(APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Seriously, is the EPA what we are talking about?
PERRY: No, sir. We are talking about the agencies of government -- the EPA needs to be rebuilt.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But you can't name the third one?
PERRY: The third agency of government I would do away with the Education, the Commerce, and let's see -- I can't. The third one, I can't. Sorry. Oops.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: And he ended that moment with the word "oops." It may have been the "oops" heard round the political world. Governor Perry realized and his campaign realized that was such a terrible moment that the Texas governor quickly made his way into the spin room after the debate and told reporters that he has no plans to drop out of the campaign.
But he did send out this tweet last night saying "Really glad I wore my boots tonight because I stepped in it out there."
And if there was one winner at last night's debate it was Herman Cain, because after almost two weeks of facing accusations of sexual harassment, the spotlight was taken off of him last night basically because of Rick Perry's moment. And he was asked very briefly about those allegations and the audience, if you can just read the audience's reaction, you can see that perhaps Herman Cain may be putting this entire matter behind him and at least for the moment. Here is what happen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In recent days we learned four different women accused you of inappropriate behavior. Here we are focusing on character and on judgment. You have been a CEO.
(BOOS)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know the shareholders are reluctant to hire a CEO where there are character issues. Why should the American people hire a president if they feel there are character issues?
HERMAN CAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The American people deserve better than someone being tried in the court of public opinion based on unfounded accusations.
(APPLAUSE)
And I value my character and my integrity more than anything else. And for every one person that comes forward with a false accusation, there are probably -- there are thousands who would say none of that sort of activity ever came from Herman Cain.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: And if other Republicans feel this GOP dominated audience felt about that moment in last night's debate, Herman Cain may be on his way to put thing matter to rest at least for now. It is hard to say whether or not he's completely put the matter behind him.
But for Rick Perry, this may be very close to the end of his campaign. I talked to several strategists in that debate spin room last night, Christine, who said it is impossible to imagine how the Texas governor recovers from that moment. Christine?
ROMANS: Jim Acosta, thanks, Jim. We are going to ask Rick Perry what happened last night. He's our guest in about 20 minutes. So Rick Perry will try to explain that by all accounts disastrous performance last night.
COSTELLO: Just on a human level, you know, Rick Perry putting himself out there after that embarrassment on, you know -- he's on television, national television, doing that.
ROMANS: He is just not a good debater. VELSHI: He never said he is. So one wonders, because there's a lot of debates in this particular thing. We wonder about the impact of the debates and what he plans to do about that.
COSTELLO: It's sort of like a job interview basically with the American people. And what do the American people think about their -- the biggest job of the country, somebody that can't --
ROMANS: That does make you think whether he really passionately believes that these --
VELSHI: Three agencies should be cut?
ROMANS: Right.
VELSHI: He seems to think two should, or at least one, education and commerce.
COSTELLO: But he's talked a lot about the --
VELSHI: Did we ever get the third one?
COSTELLO: Energy Department. And he talks a lot about that.
VELSHI: He knows a lot about -- more about energy than many governors would, being from Texas. Good conversation either way.
COSTELLO: Yes, can't wait.
Also ahead, anger and shame on the Penn State campus as students react to the firing of legendary football coach Joe Paterno. Jon Wertheim from "Sports Illustrated is up next.
VELSHI: And a stunning admission from the Air Force. The ashes of fallen U.S. soldiers dumped in a landfill.
It is 11 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It is 13 minutes past the hour. Welcome back. Emotions running high on the Penn State campus after legendary coach Joe Paterno and university president were fired over a growing child sex abuse scandal. It sent angry students into streets overnight. They kicked over a TV news station's van. Police had to use pepper spray to disperse the crowd. Jon Wertheim, senior writer for "Sport's Illustrated," joins us live from state college, Pennsylvania. Welcome, John.
JON WERTHEIM, SENIOR WRITER, "SPORT'S ILLUSTRATED": Thanks.
COSTELLO: Were you surprised to see such anger coming from the students last night?
WERTHEIM: Yes, I was, because if you had been around campus the last few days you heard a lot of anger and disgust towards Joe Paterno. He loses his job and then we have this mini riot last night in support of him. This wasn't about the allegations last night, it wasn't about the university president being dismissed. This was all sort of impromptu rally for Joe Paterno and that ran counter to what we'd been hearing sort of walking around campus on Tuesday and Wednesday.
COSTELLO: These students, the ones that were rioting last night, they wanted Joe Paterno to have a chance to coach a last game. But let's say the university allowed that to happen. I mean, it would have been an ugly scene, wouldn't it?
WERTHEIM: Oh, I think absolutely. I mean, this is ugly no matter what. I mean, this is a no-win situation.
But giving this iconic coach a last game under these circumstances would have just been so fraught and so awkward. And I think you're right, so ugly especially given how this plays out day to day. I think the board really had no choice but to do what they did last night.
COSTELLO: So Joe Paterno is out and so is the university president. They both have been fired. But the verdict is still out on the future of the Athletic Director Tim Curley and also that Assistant Coach, Mike (sic) McQueary, the guy who reported the initial 2002 incident. What's happening there? Do we know?
WERTHEIM: Well, I think the Athletic - I think the Athletic Director is out. And I think - I think McQueary, who is then the grad assistant, now an assistant coach, who first saw this 2002 allegation, I think a lot of people were surprised he wasn't put on some sort of leave.
I think this scandal is by no means done. I mean, you know, victims are coming out of the woodwork. And there are still investigations under way. We've already had major, major heads roll. This clearly this mandate for sweeping change and I - I think we're not done with personnel moves here.
COSTELLO: Well, there are some rumors that McQueary may be on the sidelines on Saturday's game.
WERTHEIM: Well, I think as of now he is. His name was not mentioned last night. Again, we have heard he was going to be put on some leave. That did not happen. I think McQueary will be on the sidelines on Saturday's game.
COSTELLO: You have to wonder how that will play out. Like - I don't understand that decision. So you remove Joe Paterno, but you don't remove the guy, McQueary, who witnessed that alleged rape in the shower in 2002.
WERTHEIM: Yes. Again, I think that was - in as much as there was a surprise last night that was it. But I just think the totality of this, coaches on the sidelines who were privy to this. You have the swirling allegation. You have, you know, the students aren't sure who their president is, Joe Paterno - I mean, this - this Saturday tableau will be something like - like football fans have never seen.
I think something - also, if you had come here a week ago, nobody knew about this. This is not a scandal that has been brewing. This is not something that's picked momentum. I mean, this has all been so sudden that I mean, I think Saturday's - Saturday's game will be fascinating in a variety of respects. It will be sad in other respects.
And I think this is just - this scandal is like nothing I've ever seen.
COSTELLO: Well, we've also heard rumors that some of the senior players will sit out the game and you have to wonder about security at the game given what happened last night.
WERTHEIM: Yes. I mean, this sort of riot downtown here subsiding. You had a feeling it was just students at some level letting off steam. It wasn't real rage and anger. You actually saw some football players here as well.
And I think that's an interesting component as well. How will the football players who uniformly supported Joe Paterno. They gave him standing ovation at practice yesterday. How will they respond coming out? This is senior day for some of these players their last home game. Penn State is a very good team. Now their season has been thrown into total chaos. How will the players respond?
So, again, there are callous plots (ph) here if they're going to play on Saturday.
COSTELLO: Jon Wertheim from "Sports Illustrated," thanks for joining us this morning. We appreciate it.
WERTHEIM: Thanks.
ROMANS: All right. Now to the big political story of the morning, Rick Perry says he's glad he wore his boots to last night's GOP debate in the suburbs of Detroit, because he sure stepped in it. The Texas governor talking about his brain freeze.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PERRY: And I will tell you, it's three agencies of government when I get there that are gone. Commerce, Education, and the - what's the third one there? Let's see.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You mean five?
PERRY: Oh, five. OK. So commerce, education, and the -
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: EPA?
PERRY: EPA. There you go. No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Seriously? Is EPA the one you're talking about? PERRY: No, sir. No, sir. We're talking about agencies of government - the EPA needs to be rebuilt. There's no doubt about that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But you can't name the third one?
PERRY: The third agency of government, I would - I would do away with, education, the -
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Commerce.
PERRY: Commerce. And let's see.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my.
PERRY: I can't. The third one, I can't. Sorry. Oops.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: Governor Rick Perry joins us live from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, with a smile on his face and he's laughing as he watches the 54-second exchange.
But, you're laughing, sir. A lot of people this morning are saying that was not a presidential performance.
PERRY: I wasn't getting a lot of help from my - my friends on either side. That was for sure.
Listen, in all seriousness, federal agencies of government, I be that there a lot of Americans out there that would like to forget some agencies of government, too, that are costing them their jobs and that's tearing this economy up.
And that's the seriousness of what we have here. Not because I had a brain freeze, as you said, and failed to remember an agency of government that - that we do, frankly, need to do away with in the form of the Department of Energy.
ROMANS: But you are the - you are the governor of an - of an Oil State. I mean, that - that you feel so strongly that the Department of Energy and you have on the campaign trail should be one of the agencies that's gone that you couldn't remember it makes me wonder, you know, do you have a real plan for how you wind it down and what you would do in its place if you couldn't even remember the agency?
PERRY: Oh, absolutely. And, you know, we did that same thing to the Department of Commerce in Texas back in the 2000s. It was standalone agency and had its own governing board and we consolidated it down for the savings, obviously. But it's also functioning substantially better now.
ROMANS: But this -
PERRY: So Washington, D.C., and the Department of Energy is - it's the same from that standpoint. The amount of money, this administrative overhead taking those agencies and consolidating them down, doing away with them. In the case of education and commerce and in energy and it makes a lot of sense.
And that's one of the reasons when we talk about the seriousness of this campaign, you know, there are going to be people making mistakes. There are going to be folks who stumble over words or can't remember an agency as I did. But the seriousness that's gone on in this country, where there's 14 million people out of work.
ROMANS: Right.
PERRY: Where there are individuals who are sitting at home last night watching the debate going, who is it that has a tax plan, who's got a way to balance this budget, who can -
ROMANS: But the substance of that has been lost.
PERRY: -- put this country back on track.
ROMANS: But, Governor, the substance of that has been lost in the analysis of your debating skills. Because people look at that and say you're talking about peace in the Middle East. You're talking about dealing with delicate diplomacy on the economics front with China. You're talking about dangerous moment in Europe.
And that's the performance they see and they wonder if you have the ability to handle the world stage the way you handled that debate stage last night. So my question to you is how's this not the end - convince us that this is not the end of - of your candidacy?
PERRY: Well, we're going back to those primary states and talking about our tax plan and talking about how we get America back working again. I may not be the best debater, the slickest politician on that stage. But what they do know about me is that for 10 years I've been the Chief Executive Officer of the state that created more jobs than any other state in the nation while America lost 2.5 millions.
What they're looking for is substance, not necessarily the slickest debater. So that's what we're going to be focused on and talking about our plan that not only allows our taxes to get simple, 20 percent, they take their deductions, put it a post card and send it in and end the IRS as we know it today. And get up every day and share with people that my goal is to make Washington, D.C., is inconsequential in their lives as we can make it and getting rid of some of those agencies that we were making remarks about last night is a good start.
ROMANS: The criticism is pretty fierce this morning. I mean, across the board, you're hearing folks say that this was one of the worst, if not the worst debate moments, those 54 seconds, you know, in modern primary history.
You can dispute - if you want to dispute that, go right ahead. That's fine. But my question is, are you worried at all going forward about what it means for raising money? For your supporters? If you're worried about wavering support among your supporters?
PERRY: Well, again, we're going to go back and talk about what's important to the people of this country, not one or two debate performances. Americans are looking for someone who has the substance, who has the governing track record of creating jobs. And that's what our campaign was always about and that's what it will always continue to be about.
And as a matter of fact, I imagine there are a lot of Americans that were like me last night. There are some agencies of the federal government that they would like to forget. As a matter of fact, they can go to rickperry.org today -
ROMANS: To vote for the agency they'd like to -
PERRY: -- and they can vote on the agency - federal agency that they would like to get rid of the best.
ROMANS: Let me ask you here. You're going to - you're going to debate again on Saturday. What do you - what are you going to do different? I mean, if you're not - you say you're not the best debater out there. But, you know, pretty much debater in chief is what the President of the United States is.
PERRY: Look, we've got a Debater in Chief right now. And you've got to ask yourself how is that working out for America? I mean, if the fact is that the Americans want a great debater -
ROMANS: No, but you have to debate - you have to debate on a global stage -
PERRY: I'm probably - I'm probably not their guy.
ROMANS: -- no matter who the president is. I mean - and what I'm saying is that you have to be debating the Chinese. You have to be debating in the Middle East. You have to be debating what kind of - what's the way forward for Europe, I mean - the skills that you need on that stage many would say you need as president.
PERRY: I would just suggest to you that we need substance more than we need style. I mean, and if - if what we've got today is reflective of the style and the Americans are looking for, then, you know, $4 trillion of debt on America that has 14 million people out of work, got almost half of our country, that's taking some type of government benefit, I mean, that's what this campaign is really about.
And we got to focus on the substance of what's killing America. And it's Washington, D.C. with too many agencies and spending too much money and creating too much debt for future generations. That's what we got to stay focused on.
ROMANS: And I know that's where you're trying to put the focus back on, you know, back on that today. And you have been making the rounds at the morning talk shows to try to sort of get back on the substance in away from the debate performance last night.
Just so honestly when you watch the 53 seconds, do you cringe or do you laugh? I mean, what are your emotions when you watch it?
PERRY: Well, obviously I stepped in it. But, again, I go - I have my moment of humor with it and I press on. And understand that there are a lot more serious things -
ROMANS: All right.
PERRY: -- facing this country than whether or not I could remember the Department of Energy at an inappropriate time.
ROMANS: All right. Governor Rick Perry, thank you so much for joining us this morning, sir.
PERRY: You're welcome, Christine.
ROMANS: We'll - we will be watching this weekend again. Thank you.
Top stories just ahead. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Just about 30 minutes past the hour. Time for your top stories.
A seismic shake-up at the Penn State, legendary football coach Joe Paterno and university president out over the school's handling of child sex abuse allegations against one of Paterno's former assistant coaches. Angry students responded by tipping over a news van and clashing with police.
VELSHI: Karen Kraushaar and Sharon Bialek, two of the four women who accused Herman Cain of sexual harassment are considering holding a joint news conference. Kraushaar's attorney says, he hasn't been able to contact two other alleged victims to join them.
ROMANS: New video from Eastern Turkey, rescue crews pull a man to safety and performed CPR after being trapped under the rubble overnight. This after a 5.7 earthquake hit the area. Two hotels came crashing down. At least seven people died. This is the second fatal quake to hit that area in a matter of weeks.
COSTELLO: A stunning admission from the U.S. Air Force. The ashes of cremated body parts belonging to U.S. soldiers were routinely dumped in landfills until 2008. Family members never told.
ROMANS: Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr here with us in New York this morning. Barbara, a difficult story for families and for the military, I'm sure. How long did this go on?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, what they are telling us now, the Air Force is telling us that it was from about 2003 when the wars really ramped up until June of 2008. It is difficult to explain all of this in a way that isn't going to upset people. But let's just weigh it out there on the table. We are talking about remains after someone is killed in action. We are not talking about bodies. We are talking about bone fragment, tissue, what is left after these terrible explosions in the war zone.
So they bring it home. They identify it. They tell the families it has to be disposed of and then what the Air Force did at Dover Air Force Base mortuary is cremate it, incinerate it and then disposed of it in a landfill.
They say according to Medical Waste Regulations, they basically treated this DNA material as medical waste. In June 2008, Dover says this is not right. This is not how this nation should be treating its fallen. And they stop it and what they have been doing since then, is putting it in sea salt urns, taking it on Navy ships and having it buried at sea.
But the families didn't know. But this is, you know -- this is -- you can make the case that it is material treated as medical waste. This is what happens --
COSTELLO: Wait a minute. During 9/11, they carefully went through every bit of dust and dirt, finding little pieces of remains because the family really cared about that.
STARR: Well, this is --
COSTELLO: I mean, how can you ever excuse this behavior?
STARR: Well, you know, this is going to be something that the military is going to have to deal with because, of course, this isn't the first time that they had, you know, these issues.
We were talking earlier this week, huge scandal already at Dover because they had lost some body parts. I mean, this is all -- we can refer to them as body parts. Who can believe any of this?
That this goes on. So the issue is that this is not how this country treats its fallen off the battlefield and this is not appropriate. The Air Force can make the case that it should fix the problem in 2008.
But the bottom line is the families were never told. The country was never told. This is something that the Air Force has only very recently this week --
ROMANS: The defense secretary, what does he say? Leon Panetta?
STARR: Well, this is the question now, at 3:00 today, back in Washington, and we will be there, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is having a press conference.
He will meet with the Pentagon press corps. He may want to talk about the budget. He may want to talk about spending cuts. I think the press corps is going to want to talk about something else. This is not the first time there have been scandals about mismanagement at Dover.
COSTELLO: Well, Arlington National Cemetery.
STARR: At Arlington, Walter Reed treating the wounded. I think the question Panetta is going to have to address is this really the end of it or is there more? How does he not know whether there is more out there or not?
VELSHI: Right.
STARR: How convinced is he that this is being handle.
ROMANS: All right, Barbara Starr. Thank you, Barbara. Nice to see you in New York.
COSTELLO: How violent clash between police and "Occupy" protesters in California. Police in riot gear ordered protesting tuition hikes to take down their tents on the Berkeley campus last night.
The students instead formed a human chain by linking arms and boy, that's when things got ugly. Police using their baton shoved for forward to reach the camp, but there are reports of more than several arrests.
VELSHI: The Jackson family totally blasting NBC and its parent company, Comcast for planning to air an interview with Dr. Conrad Murray just days after he was found guilty in Michael Jackson's death and led away in cuffs.
The state says they want to know how much he was paid. Katherine Jackson's lawyer is vowing the, quote, "most aggressive action possible," end quote to stop Murray from benefiting. A spokesman for NBC had no comment on the story.
ROMANS: Locked out NBA players and owners will be back at the bargaining table at noon today after they wrapped up some 12 hours of talks late last night with no new deal.
Commissioner David Stern had a -- set a deadline of 5:00 p.m. yesterday for players to accept new contract. Games through Christmas may be in jeopardy if they don't agree on something very soon.
COSTELLO: You may have seen the first ever nationwide test of the emergency alert system yesterday, but there were reports of some major glitches. The SEC says most of the stations received the alert, but many more did not or the signal aired longer than 30 seconds.
Officials say they will pinpoint the flaws and fine-tune the system. The system is designed to allow the president to address the country in a crisis.
VELSHI: And Eddie Murphy quits the Oscars. Murphy saying he's decided to drop out as host of the academy awards. This decision came a day after Producer Bret Ratner quit over a gay slur that he made over the weekend.
There's talk of Billy Crystal coming back. There's even a baseball page campaign for the Muppets to save Hollywood's biggest -- would they host it, the Muppets?
COSTELLO: I think that's the best idea yet.
VELSHI: I would watch.
COSTELLO: Go Elmo.
ROMANS: It's 36 minutes after the hour. Rob Marciano is in Atlanta for us.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, didn't they do it the last year, couple of years ago? That was Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin. Good morning, guys. I want to show you some video out of Alaska. This is no joke.
The worst storm these folks have seen since 1974, told you about it all day. Boy, it was a monster over a thousand miles in size and some of the waves crashing on the shore, well, up over 20 feet, a 40, 50 footers offshore, big-time coastal, blizzard conditions.
It was a rough one. Even for our hearty friends on the frontier of Alaska. An 80-mile-an-hour winds in Wales, Alaska, Tent City, 85-mile-an-hour winds. A storm that rolled through Oklahoma, rolled through Wisconsin and Iowa with snowfall totals in parts of Wisconsin up and over a foot yesterday.
It is now weakening and heading across the Allegheny and Appalachians in Central New York and Central Pennsylvania. It will team up with a little bit of moisture from this. Tropical storm Sean, winds of 65 miles an hour.
This thing is almost a hurricane. It will run the gut here between Bermuda and the states obviously some rough seas, but will also bring in some moisture, some of that training into this front.
So heavy rain expected, eastern New England tonight and into tomorrow, Maine and up through parts of Quebec and Canadian Maritimes. Fog, though, has been an issue this morning from the entire -- D.C., Baltimore and Boston.
Ground stop for New York because of fog and -- is this how you say it? I wrote this. I wrote it to myself earlier and still --
VELSHI: That's where you have --
MARCIANO: That does sound like a Sesame Street character. If you are traveling this morning, though, -
VELSHI: To the Washington area.
MARCIANO: And you will be dealing with some travel delays.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Rob.
VELSHI: OK, still to come this morning, it's never good when you have to ask your opponents for help. More on Rick Perry's brain freeze moment and whether this is the end of the line for his White House bid.
ROMANS: And GOP candidates courting Sheriff Joe, the face of Arizona's illegal immigration crackdown, but could that backfire? It's 38 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Welcome back. Everybody is talking about Rick Perry this morning. He probably wishes we weren't talking so much about him. He suffered from a -- what some are calling a brain freeze at last nature's GOP debate when he couldn't name the third government agency that he himself vowed to eliminate. If you haven't seen it yet, listen in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PERRY: Third agency of government I would do away with the education, the -- commerce, commerce. Let's see. I can't. The third one, I can't. Sorry. Oops.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Oops. Second time, by the way, he had a chance to answer that. Perry admitted in his words he really stepped in it last night. He tweeted that up this morning.
So can he recover from this? Joining us now CNN contributor, John Avlon, Republican strategist, Karen Hanretty and columnist Ruben Navarrette. Welcome to all of you.
Let's start with you, Karen. You are a Republican strategist. What should he do?
KAREN HANRETTY, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, I think he's -- I actually think he is doing the best thing he can do this morning. He's going out there and he's -- you know, all of the -- morning programs.
And he's taking it in good stride. He's using -- sense of humor trying to get back on message. I think it is the best thing he could do. You fall off the horse and get back on. I do think this is going to have significant long-term consequences for a campaign that was already, you know, flailing.
VELSHI: Rubin, let me ask you this. What -- Karen says he is doing what he can do. Does his campaign continue?
RUBEN NAVARRETTE, COLUMNIST: Well, it continues, I think, he's going to continue on, but she's absolutely right. This will be a major hit. This is something he's going to pay for a long time. Because it reinforced this narrative that people have, this idea that people have of Perry that he is not very bright. I don't think that's true. I don't think that's accurate.
This is a campaign who's won 11 different races in Texas. He is a good campaigner. He's very bright. But in this case, I think it was a bad moment for him. It's one that he won't live down for some time.
VELSHI: John, he loves to point out that debating is not his thing. That it's not a necessary skill. It is not his skill. The president of the United States has to have other strengths. Christine asked him very clearly, but you have to be the debater in chief. Because everything do you as president is a debate.
JOHN AVLON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Says he is not good at debates and keeps on going out and proving it. So, I mean, this was an epically bad brain freeze. This was the oops heard around the world. The thing is what can he do now? He can win Iowa.
That's all he can do. He's got to double down, if he is such a great retail politician, as Ruben was saying. He won all these races. Go out and prove it in Iowa. If you can Iowa, he can change the narrative overnight. This won't matter.
VELSHI: Speaking of changing the narrative, Karen, it's the only thing that took Herman Cain out of the news for a little while. But at the debate last night, Maria Bartiromo of CNBC did asked Herman Cain a question about the controversy surrounding him. She was booed by the audience as she asked the question. But listen to what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The American people deserve better than someone being tried in the court of public opinion based on unfounded accusations.
And I value my character and my integrity more than anything else and for every one person that comes forward with a false accusation, there are probably -- there are thousands who would say none of that sort of activity ever came from Herman Cain.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: So, Karen, he probably went in a little nervous. Knew somebody would ask him something about this. Ends up getting audience support, which bolstered him. And this Rick Perry thing happens. Is he the happiest man live today?
(LAUGHTER)
KAREN HANRETTY, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I think he -- well, I think Herman Cain is always the happiest man live. This is -- this is a guy that's having a lot of fun with his candidacy. I honestly don't think -- you don't think he thought he would get this far. He is having a good time.
One thing that bothers me, every time he goes out and says these unfounded accusations, we already know there were two settlements. And I tell you what, there's nothing like pushing the buttons of a woman in -- calling her basically a liar. And every time he does that, I think he ups the ante for these women coming out and saying, you want to call us liars? Here's our side of the truth. That would not be good for him.
VELSHI: Let me ask you this, guys. What we -- there are a bunch of people now saying, as Karen is saying, Herman Cain is kind of done. He wasn't really there in a meaningful way but he's probably going to be done as a result of this. There are people saying this morning that Rick Perry may be done. We all know that this benefits -- benefits Romney a good deal. Tell me about Gingrich and Huntsman, two guys that suggested that they get something out of this. Poor Huntsman can't crack 1 percent in the polls.
AVLON: No, but in New Hampshire he can. And that's really Huntsman's play. He has to put all of his chips on New Hampshire. Hope he can put a dent in Romney's dominating lead there.
But look, last night is the night where he should have shown. Because he does have a serious economic story to tell.
VELSHI: Sure he does, yes.
AVLON: I mean the "Wall Street Journal" has backed his economic plan. So there's that side of things. Then Gingrich keeps going and playing -- doing the same play. We're going to put the media on trial. Throw some red meat and hope he benefits as the last conservative alternative to Romney standing.
But there -- you know, they are still going to have to be numbers behind this. People betting on Cain's complete implosion are not paying attention to what happened in that crowd last night. For better or for worse, there is still this rally around this flag. His numbers going to erode. I think he has put himself in a difficult position by making blanket denials. But he's still going to have a core base that rallies around him.
VELSHI: Sure, he does. And they've been giving him some money.
AVLON: Yes.
VELSHI: Ruben?
NAVARRETTE: I think Cain will do very well because what you saw in the debate, there is a sort of visceral dislike of the media, particularly in places like Iowa. They say, I will tell -- we haven't cast a single vote yet and you have already chosen a nominee. They resent the fact that we are making this a much bigger story than they want it to be. And I just -- I have never seen this before, where questioners are booed by the audience and basically saying --
VELSHI: That's the first time it's happened. NAVARRETTE: -- get back to the economy. Talk -- talk about something else.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Karen, this has happened a couple of times.
HANRETTY: Yes.
VELSHI: I remember it happened in Tampa. It's happened in a few places.
HANRETTY: Look, there were some pretty dumb questions asked. I mean, you want to talk about the fact some of these guys aren't very good debaters, I think we need to raise the quality of the level of some of the questions being asked.
When you ask, you know -- this is -- CNBC is a financial business network. That's all they do. And they are asking a stupid question like, can you make a profit and hire -- and create jobs at the same time? That's a ludicrous question. Ask more about what -- how does Europe -- what's happening in Europe affect the markets in America? What are you going to do about it? There are some serious, deep economic issues these candidates need to sort out and owe us an answer to. They are not being -- they're not being asked good solid questions.
VELSHI: Right.
And to your point this morning, we are -- we are discussing Herman Cain and Rick Perry because of things that happened in the questions. But there was not --
HANRETTY: Which is fair.
VELSHI: -- a lot of substance to the discussion overall.
HANRETTY: No.
VELSHI: So good discussion with the three of you, however. Thank you for the substance here.
John Avlon, CNN contributor and senior political columnist for "Newsweek" and "The Daily Beast"; and Karen Hanretty is a Republican strategist; Ruben Navarrette is a columnist and a member of the "USA Today" board of contributors.
Still to come this morning, Carol?
COSTELLO: He's made a name for himself for taking a tough stance on illegal immigration. GOP candidates want to be seen with Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Why he could be the kingmaker of the primary season.
It's 48 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ROMANS: Here's what you need to know to start your day.
Early retirement for 84-year-old Joe Paterno. The legendary Penn State football coach fired last night, effective immediately, along with the university president. They're the latest casualties in a growing child sex abuse scandal there at Penn State.
Karen Kraushaar and Sharon Bialek, two of the four women who accused Herman Cain of sexual harassment, they're considering holding a news conference. Kraushaar's attorney says he hasn't been able to contact two other alleged victims to join them.
And brand-new this hour, Lucas Papademos has been officially named as Greece's new prime minister after four days of intense talks to form a coalition. Papademos is a former banker and European Central Bank vice president. His government now aiming to approve the $177 billion E.U. bailout deal to save that country from economic collapse.
A 5.7 earthquake strikes eastern Turkey. Rescue crews searching for survivors. At least seven people were killed when two hotels came crashing down. Dozens of others still trapped in the rubble. This is the second fatal quake to his that area in a matter of weeks.
You're caught up on the day's headlines. AMERICAN MORNING, back right after a short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: The Republican candidates are practically shoving each other out of the way for what could be one of the biggest endorsements of the primaries -- Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
COSTELLO: Arpaio famous, or infamous, depending on who you ask, for his illegal immigration raids. Many Democrats say his resume is not only toxic, but illegal.
CNN's Ed Lavandera has more on this latest controversy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE ARPAIO, SHERIFF, MARICOPA COUNTY, ARIZONA: That's going to be a little controversial probably.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Joe Arpaio, the most popular kid on the playground of Republican presidential politics.
HERMAN CAIN, (R), FORMER GODFATHER'S PIZZA CEO & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Let me say this, thank you, Joe.
REP. MICHELE BACHMANN, MINNESOTA & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Sheriff Joe is the nation's sheriffs. He is one of my heroes.
LAVANDERA: The candidates are lining up to see him, so we, too, sat down with him. These are interesting times for Arpaio. Critics are clamoring for his resignation.
ARPAIO: I will tell you right now, you will not drive me out of office and I will not resign. I will not resign and I'm going to keep fighting.
LAVANDERA: Arpaio's crusades against illegal immigration, a sheriff who revels in making county inmates wear pink boxer shorts. But this election season, Arpio could become kingmaker in the Republican presidential primary.
Cain, Bachmann, Romney and Perry have all come calling, looking for his coveted highly coveted endorsement. All this, despite his cloud of controversy hanging over the sheriff. County officials accuse the sheriff of misspending $100 million over eight years to fund, in part, his controversial immigration raids.
(on camera): Sheriff Arpaio is under also under a wide-ranging federal investigation. The U.S. attorney's office here in Phoenix tells us that it and the FBI are looking into allegations that the sheriff and his top deputies abused their law enforcement power. They're also looking into civil rights violation that inmates in the sheriff's jails were mistreated and allegations of racial profiling in those highly publicized illegal immigration raids. Those are the same raids that have made Sheriff Arpaio so popular and so controversial at the same time.
(voice-over): Arpaio says he's clean and unapologetic as ever. He's running for a sixth term as sheriff.
(on camera): Is there a cloud hanging over your department?
ARPAIO: I'm higher in the polls than ever before because they know I do the job.
LAVANDERA: So if they charge you with anything with having to do with abuse of power?
ARPAIO: I don't know what abuse of power is. I don't even think there's a law.
I am the guy being abused, over and over. Even you are abusing me. I'm the guy being abused. But, you know what, that's part of the job. You take it.
MITT ROMNEY, (R), FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you, Sheriff Arpaio. It's an honor to be here with you.
ARPAIO: Why are you concerned with what he said?
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Politicians usually run away from other politicians shrouded in controversy, but this endorsement could help someone like Rick Perry. The governor offered in-state tuition to children of illegal immigrants. The issue sent Perry spiraling down in the polls. Arpaio tweeted he had a great conversation with Perry about immigration. That could boost the Texas governor's immigration credentials.
The sheriff loves being in the middle of it all.
ARPAIO: I will not be riding off in the sunset.
LAVANDERA: So stay tuned. Arpaio says an endorsement could come very soon.
Ed Lavandera, CNN, Phoenix, Arizona.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI: First time I ever heard anybody accuse Ed Lavandera of bullying them, no less a sheriff.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: Just sitting down and asking him questions, which the sheriff, I guess, has a right to determine what it was in his mind.
Just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, a student revolt. An overnight riot at Penn State, a storied football program and a coach tarnished by a sex abuse scandal. We'll talk to a former Penn State player about Joe Paterno's legacy now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
