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CNN Saturday Morning News

Mitt Romney Holds Event in New Hampshire; Herman Cain to Open New Campaign Headquarters in Georgia; Political Analysts Assess Likely GOP Presidential Nominee; Tiger Woods Leading in Golf Tournament; Jerry Sandusky Gives Interview

Aired December 03, 2011 - 10:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Good Saturday morning to you all.

We are standing by for two live political events, a couple of things that we are following. We are expecting something to get going here in just a bit. On the left side of your screen. You are seeing what is supposed to be the new Cain campaign headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia.

We are expecting him to have a huge unveiling, but at the same time we're also expecting him to make a huge announcement about the future of his campaign. This comes, of course, after he had his first face- to-face meeting with his wife last night. It was the first since the allegations came up of a 13-year affair.

The other live event we're keeping an eye on, you saw on the right side of your screen just a moment ago, this just wrapped up, Romney just having a rally in New Hampshire. But he's also expected to answer reporters' questions. We're expecting that at any minute now and we will take you back there live.

But a lot going on on the political front a lot going on all over the country and the world. We'll bring it all to you from the CNN center in Atlanta. This is your CNN Saturday morning. I'm T.J. Holmes.

We want to head back out to our Shannon Travis who is standing by at the campaign headquarters for this event for the opening of this campaign headquarters. It's supposed to start here in under an hour from now. But we've been talking about in this morning. Is there any way someone makes a big announcement that he's dropping out on the same day that he's opening his campaign headquarters? That just can't happen.

SHANNON TRAVIS, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, it's Herman Cain, T.J., so anything can happen with him. Here is a guy who has been forging an unconventional campaign thus far. He's defied a lot of expectations. He's risen and fallen in the polls. This guy could come out here today and say, you know what, I'm going to thumb my nose at this latest accuser like I did at the other accusers in the face with all the cameras here and with everybody watching and say that -- again, deny that these allegations are untrue, say that they're untrue and say, you know what, I'm foraging ahead with this campaign. On the other hand, he could say, you know what, this has taken an amazing toll, not only on me but most importantly on my family and that could have been born out based on this meeting that he had with Gloria Cain, his wife of many, many years last night here in the Atlanta area. So it's really just anyone's guess.

You probably just heard right before we came on, there was a musical act, like a guitar player warming up the crowd. There's no sign of a crowd just yesterday yet. We did see some people screaming inside of the headquarters, looked like VIP type. Again, reading the tea leaves, would he invite prominent supporters and donors here to the Georgia state headquarters if he were going to drop out? It's just really hard to tell at this point, T.J.

HOLMES: OK, and give our viewers an idea of how this is supposed to work today. We know the event is supposed to start here within an hour, but we don't expect to see him until when? How is it supposed to go down?

TRAVIS: Yes. We're told we should expect to see him around 1:30. He will come out on this stage. We're told it's tentative. He might ride up on the bus, walk up on the ramp, hit that stage, hit the podium and address the cameras directly. It's anyone's guess whether he'll say right off the top what his decision is. Probably expect him to say a few words to his supporters and to everyone watching. But that's the game plan. It comes down around 1:30 and lets us and everyone watching know what his final decisions is about this reassessment period that he's been offered the past few days since these allegations broke, T.J.

HOLMES: Shannon, we will be talking to you plenty this morning from Atlanta, what's supposed to be the new unveiling of the Herman Cain headquarters. Thank you so much.

Also in politics today, we're expecting to hear from Mitt Romney. He just wrapped up an event, a rally up in New Hampshire. He's expected to take reporters' questions. When we get that back up live, we don't have that up just yet, so when he starts taking questions, we will take there.

But at four minutes past the hour, let's give you an update on another story. The Penn State sexual molestation scandal, the man at the center of that scandal is trying to set the record straight on his relationship with young boys. Former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky sat down in his lawyers' house for a four-hour interview with the "New York Times." This is his first extended interview since being indicted on sex abuse charges last month. Take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JERRY SANDUSKY, FORMER PENN STATE ASSISTANT COACH: If I say no, I'm not attracted to boys, that's not the truth, because I'm attracted to young people, boys, girls.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, but not sexually? Are you attracted because -- SANDUSKY: That's what I was trying to -- I enjoy spending time with young people. I enjoy spending time with people. I mean, my two favorite groups are the elderly and the young.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Well, you heard that voice off camera. That was his attorney jumping in trying to help him make it through that answer when Sandusky said he was attracted to young boys. The attorney stepped in and said, yes, but not sexually? And Sandusky changed his answer a bit.

Also, in that interview, Sandusky says Coach Joe Paterno never spoke to him about the allegations or any misconduct. He also says Second Mile, the charity, never restricted his access to children until 2008. He also says that his intentions were good, yet misunderstood, and I quote, "They've taken everyone that I ever did for any young person and they have twisted it to say my motives were sexual or whatever. I had kid after kid after kid who might say I was a father figure and they just twisted that all."

We turn now to the scandal around Syracuse University and its basketball program. The head coach, Jim Boeheim, he made an emotional apology last night. He said he's sorry for being angry and defensive and standing up for longtime assistant coach Bernie Fine. Fine is the one accused of sexually molesting three boys. Boeheim made the remarks during a postgame press conference.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM BOEHEIM, SYRACUSE MEN'S BASKETBALL COACH: I believe I misspoke very heavily in my response to the allegations that have been made. I shouldn't have questioned what the accusers expressed or their motives. I am really sorry that I did that and I regret any harm that I caused.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: You may recall that Boeheim said some of Coach Fine's accusers may have been after money. Fine, who had been a coach at Syracuse for 35 years, was fired last month over the abuse allegations.

It's seven minutes past the hour now. Country music singer Mindy McCready and her son were finally found. Where? Hiding in a closet in Arkansas. Police had been looking for the two since late last month when McCready took off with her five-year-old son. McCready's mother and stepfather have custody of her son. McCready does have visitation rights. She lost custody while battling drug addiction. Police plan to send the boy back to his grandparents in Florida.

Also in San Francisco, police there want Occupy protesters to move their campsite. The camp is on the waterfront now. The offer of another location after police found sharpened stakes stuck in the ground with the pointed side facing up. They said it was a dangerous situation and set up barricades around the camp that led to confrontations between police and protest hers. One officer was injured and at least one protester was arrested.

Also in California, they continue to get hit by the Santa Ana winds, winds with strength equal to that of a category four hurricane. Trees uprooted, cars damaged, power lines were knocked down as well. More than 200,000 customers were without power.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we're so busy, my crew is on a couple other jobs rights now. We'll get another call on this giant fir tree right on the house. The lady was really lucky. She was a foot and a half from where it hit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: We'll be talking more about those winds, which are not done just yet. Reynolds Wolf will have the latest on that for you. He's going to join me after the break.

Also this morning, if you haven't decided what to get the little ones for Christmas, you'll need to see this. How you can get the toys for less than full price. There's a bit of a catch, but it might work out for you anyway.

Also this morning, shocking -- which cities do you think have the most shoppers year-round? New York and L.A. two on your list? They didn't even make Bundle.com's survey. Number five on the list, Dallas, where residents spend an average of $228 a month on clothes. Scottsdale, Arizona, what are you all doing out there? Nashville, Tennessee, it's third where residents there spent $251 on average. And the top two cities with the most shopaholics? You might have been surprised. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Before the break, we were telling you the story of the top five cities with the most shopaholics. This is according to the website, Bundle.com. They put together a list. It's based on spending info from the census. Dallas, Scottsdale, Nashville, but number two on the list is Arlington, Virginia. The people there spend $254 a month on average on clothes. What?

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I thought it would be west Memphis, your hometown, man.

HOLMES: There's not a lot of places to shop in that town. Number one on the list is the folks in D.C. People there spend on average $263 a month.

If you haven't figured out exactly what you're buying for under the tree for the kids, here is an option for you. You can now just rent the toys. There's a Web site called Toygaroo. It's offering toys for less than what they cost to purchase. You rent the toys for a month and you can ship them back if you don't like them. And if your kid gets attached to a particular toy so you want to keep it, you can buy it at a discounted price. Parents liking this. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's an ideal situation for the holiday time where you can stuff toys under the tree for under $50. And if you're out there buying them, there's no way you can do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: The website is aimed at younger children and you can choose a plan to get a toy every month or every other month. Why are you shaking your head?

WOLF: I don't like that. If I'm a kid and I had a G.I. Joe with the kung fu grip, no one else is getting him. He's mine. If I have Stretch Armstrong, I'm not renting him. I'm keeping him.

HOLMES: But kids, you know, they're fickle. They say I like it now but I don't like it in two weeks.

WOLF: I see that point, but I can't speak for my kids. I'm going to speak for myself. You know what I'm saying?

HOLMES: I got confused there. We'll stick with the toy theme and go out to San Francisco for this. Happy meals without the toys, that just doesn't seem right, does it?

WOLF: That doesn't make them happy any more.

HOLMES: But a new law has kicked in in San Francisco. It kicked in Thursday. The point of this, they're trying to prevent fast food joints from giving away toys unless the foot food meets certain nutritional requirements. They think the food is too much of an enticement for a meal that's not full of nutrition.

WOLF: Let the parents be parents. Let the parents make that choice.

HOLMES: The parents now, this is what the fast food places have done. They offer the toys still. You have to pay 10 cents for them.

WOLF: Ten cents?

HOLMES: So the new law aimed to fight childhood obesity, they found a way to get around it. The kids can still get their toy.

WOLF: I don't know. I think they need to have happy meals specifically geared towards adults. That is what I think.

HOLMES: You don't like any of that segment, you didn't like --

WOLF: No, no, it was great. It's definitely a conversation kind of thing. It's a conversation and it's fun to have, but yes, I guess I could see both sides. It makes sense.

(WEATHER BREAK)

HOLMES: I want to remind our viewers of something we're standing by for, a couple live events actually, but the one more immediate set to take place, Mitt Romney is going to be taking questions from reporters. I'm told he has stepped up now. It looks like he's make something comments. He's supposed to be taking questions.

I'm going to go ahead and listen in to Mitt Romney now.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're expecting 20,000 calls today we're going to make, this team here, and about 5,000 doors we're going to knock on. I'll get the chance to knock on a few doors myself.

This is a campaign about earning it. We need the White House back, we need the Senate back, we're going to hold on to congress, make sure the principles that made America great are the principles that will keep us great in the future, we don't make a sharp left turn in this country and become like Europe. So I am proud to be here with so many friends who are willing to knock on doors and do the hard work it takes to win elections.

With that said, I'm happy to turn the questions to the members of the media.

QUESTION: Governor, do you have any thoughts we're hearing about (INAUDIBLE) do you have any thoughts on how that might affect the race in terms of his supporters maybe going to bat Newt Gingrich?

ROMNEY: I don't know if Herman Cain's support goes if he decides not to stay in the race. I wish him well. If he doesn't stay in the race, those folks will take a good, hard look at all of us. I don't think folks have settled down in terms of who they're going to support. I hope that they give us a look and recognize what America needs right now is a leader. And I hope as they evaluate the various candidates they'll conclude I'm the leader that America needs.

QUESTION: What would you say about his record?

ROMNEY: Well, Speaker Gingrich has been a legislator and has worked in government affairs, and I think he can describe his own background. My own background I can describe much more fully. I have led four different organizations, two different businesses, the Olympics, and the state. And I think people who have had that experience in leading and guiding enterprises and changing them in dramatic ways is the kind of leadership that the people in America are looking for.

QUESTION: Governor, you talked about background of speaker Gingrich in terms of his background. What about issue positions? What are two issues where I think your differences with Newt Gingrich are germane to what voters look at?

ROMNEY: I think over time the speaker will lay out his positions and I can look at those and see where we have differences. I don't know a lot of those. He said I think last week something about repealing portions of the child labor law, and there may be some positions over time that he and I disagree on. QUESTION: When Governor Perry disagreed with you about immigration, you were pretty outspoken about that. Do you disagree with Speaker Gingrich on immigration?

ROMNEY: Well, he talked about concept or a principle, but he hasn't laid out his own plan. So rather than go after his program, I'd like to hear it fully before we get a chance to react to it. There's some other places. He believes we should have zero tax on capital gains for people regardless of their income. I believe that should be focused on people with middle income, and we'll probably get a chance to talk about that.

But we have similar views on a whole host of issues. There are some places I'm sure there's are differences. But I happen to think that the biggest difference is our life experience and that that experience will be taking into people's consideration as to who should be the nominee.

QUESTION: Governor, how long have you wanted to be in politics to be a --

ROMNEY: I'll let you make that assessment, but four years as a governor does not make me a lifelong politician. I spent 25 years in business. If I could live 150 years, I would do a lot of things, but 25 years in business, starting at the ground level, working my way in that enterprise, ultimately leading it, and then starting a business of my own and then going on to the Olympics, which was going in one direction web changed the direction and made it highly successful.

And I say leaders know how to build a team of extraordinary people who collectively are able to accomplish great things. And in the state of Massachusetts, it's a state where there are a few Democrats and in the population, I was able to lead in Massachusetts and get our state on a stable financial base. That kind of experience, that executive leadership is, in my view, a critical and valuable capacity to have if you're going to lead the country.

The United States of America is, after all, the largest enterprise in the world. And it does help to have somebody with that experience leading enterprises. And I have. Right now we have a president who has no experience leading. He's not led an organization. And I have. And I believe the capacity to lead, to bring real change and to bring America back to the principles that have always made us great is essential and that's why I think it's important for me to become a nominee, and hopefully I'll bet able to convince just enough people of that to become the next president of the United States.

(APPLAUSE)

QUESTION: Governor Romney (INAUDIBLE) personal life and personal character defines that ability to lead?

ROMNEY: You know, I think people will make their own assessment. I don't try to give advice to the American people as to what they look at and what they don't look at as they make their assessment of what they support. They'll get a chance to understand me, my family, my faith. Americans and they'll do that with the other candidates.

QUESTION: Governor Romney, you let Chris Christie campaign on your behalf next week. Do you need to be there more yourself to win Iowa? Can you win Iowa?

ROMNEY: Gosh, I've been there in the last few weeks twice and I'll be there again next week and the week after. I'll be in Iowa just like I'm here in New Hampshire and South Carolina and Florida. There are a lot of primary states and I'll be spending as much time as I can in each one of them.

And I said from the very beginning we were going to play Iowa and every state. We're playing in Iowa, we're playing here in New Hampshire and likewise South Carolina, Florida. I'd like to win them all. I don't think that's extremely likely, but I hope to do very well in all the states and get enough support to show that we're serious and that we intend to take back the White House.

QUESTION: Thank you, governor.

ROMNEY: Absolutely.

(APPLAUSE)

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) -- Gingrich has surged as much as he has to become a two-person race?

ROMNEY: Over the last few weeks, as you know, there have been various people who have surged, and I've been steady throughout the storm. I'm happy to see people come and get a chance to be carefully viewed. As those comparisons have been made, I've been able to with stand the scrutiny and still remain a strong contender. I hope that continues to be the case.

I believe in the final analysis as people get a charitable look to this race, whether there are two contenders or eight -- and by the way, I almost always comes down to two -- I hope to be the last person standing. And people in this country say, we know Mitt Romney well, they know what I believe, they know my family, and the people of this country know we need to have a leader who understands America and has the capacity to lead and get America strong again.

(APPLAUSE)

HOLMES: Well, we're seeing Mitt Romney just wrap up, taking a few questions at a rally there in New Hampshire just a short time ago, followed that up with some questions from reporters there.

The first question was about Herman Cain. Herman Cain is going to be another big story of the day. We're expecting to hear from him in just a little bit. In just about 30 minutes from now he has an event in which he's going to be opening that headquarters, his Atlanta headquarters.

A lot of people questioning about whether or not you can open a headquarters and then get out of the race on the same day. That does not seem to be likely, but he says he has a big announcement he is going to make today after meeting with his wife face-to-face for the first time last night since allegations of a 13-year affair.

That event just about to start in about 30 minutes from now. And then we'll hear from Cain in just a little bit. We are covering that for you.

We do have in town, as always, we always use this hour, 10:30 eastern hour, Lenny and Maria, our good friends here on CNN Saturday and Sunday morning. But I don't have to talk to them from satellite today. They are actually in Atlanta. They picked a heck of a weekend to be here. There's a lot going on in politics. We'll be talking to them in just a moment about all the political happenings. Good to have you guys in town.

MARIA CARDONA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Always fun.

LENNY MCALLISTER, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Always fun.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right, we're at the bottom of the hour now. And look, look, this is the time every Saturday where we see Lenny and Maria, our good political friends. We got them down to Atlanta, got them in the billion. It's really good to have you guys here.

CARDONA: It's great to be here, T.J.

HOLMES: It's so good to argue in person.

CARDONA: Absolutely.

(LAUGHTER)

MCALLISTER: That's extra fun, right?

HOLMES: We just saw this. Romney, he took some questions. And it's perfect to talk about Romney right now because we got into it again in the makeup room where you were asking the question, does Romney even matter at this point? Is he even in the game? What are you talking about? I said of course he is. The guy has been at 20 percent for the past five years.

MCALLISTER: And that's the problem. And even with what some of his comments were, what's the first question he got inspect Herman Cain, asked about contracts with Newt Gingrich. He's avoiding contrasting himself with Gingrich right now. He had a chance to go mano-a-mano with Gingrich.

When you're staying satisfied with that 20 percent, and he's kind of, you know, a little wishy-washy about Iowa, and we're already looking at Gingrich ahead in Iowa, Gingrich will probably win South Carolina, and Gingrich is smoking him in Florida, Romney has to do something different now or else it's game, set, match, before we get to super Tuesday.

HOLMES: But Maria, what is wrong with 20 percent?

CARDONA: He certainly has been consistent at 20 to 22 percent to 25 percent. But the problem is his whole political life that's the only thing that he's been consistent about. And that is the problem with his ceiling, because a lot of conservatives do not trust this guy. They just don't see him as being a real conservative. And frankly, a lot of independent voters don't see him as somebody that is trustworthy. Why? Because he has been literally on the opposite side of every major issue that has faced this country in the past 10 years.

HOLMES: OK. Listen to you two. You sound like this is now Newt Gingrich's to lose.

MCALLISTER: Right now it is.

HOLMES: Are either one of you going that way?

CARDONA: I wouldn't go that far. I certainly would not go that far because, again, Newt Gingrich is somebody who -- it all depends on what he does with his surge and it all depends on which Newt we see. Is it good Newt, new Newt, is it bad Newt, the old Newt --

HOLMES: What's bad Newt?

CARDONA: The bad Newt is undisciplined. And frankly we have seen, thus far, the Newt that thinks he's better than anybody else. He's already talked about himself, about being the inevitable nominee. We saw him a couple of dates ago talking about how really poor children only -- you know, don't know what it is like to have an honest day's work. Yes. So those are the things that are going to get him into trouble.

HOLMES: Is that a bad Newt, necessarily? Will that play well for the voters he's going after right now, the conservative voters?

MCALLISTER: In a sound bite, it is bad Newt. In the full context, it's not as bad. And it is his to lose. The bottom line is we've gone through the iterations of other candidates. Right now, it's not going to be Paul. It's not going to be Santorum. It is Gingrich's to lose. If he loses largely and this 30-point lead all of a sudden becomes a 12-point lead within the next couple of weeks, that's when you can say he's lost it, bad Newt has come out, if you will, and now we don't know who the nominee is going to be.

HOLMES: And nobody can have a second surge, in your opinion?

MCALLISTER: Romney has the organization to have a second surge, but he doesn't have the momentum or the energy.

HOLMES: We're talking about like a Bachmann or Cain is a different story now, but Perry. They had their moment in the light.

CARDONA: What can happen with Jon Huntsman? He hasn't had his surge yet. Exactly. So maybe he's next in line.

But what's interested to note here, also, in terms of Newt Gingrich, he has a lot of baggage, but people understand what that baggage already is. And so to a certain extent he kind of gets a pass on that. The issue, though, is, again, which Newt is going to come out? And when is that Newt going to come out? Lenny is right in terms of the momentum and the surge is happening at exactly the right time for Newt and exactly the wrong time for Romney. And we're seeing Romney sort of -- we've talked about this and have heard of his staff talk about how they are even -- they don't know how to deal with the Newt surge because this was never in their plan.

HOLMES: All right, you all stay with me. I'm going to take a quick break. I need to remind our you viewers here what I'm talking to them about whether we come back and also something we're standing by that's taking place in about 25 minutes from now. Herman Cain is going to be opening his Atlanta campaign headquarters on the same day he's supposed to make a big announcement about where his campaign is going to go moving forward. Some are speculating he may even drop out of the race today.

But again, this event is starting in about 25 minutes from now. We'll be talking about Cain and also talking about President Obama, taxes. We're going to talk to him about everything. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: It's 38 past the hour. We're back with our political strategists, Democrat Maria Cardona and Lenny McAllister, Republican.

We were talking about Herman Cain. He's expected to open his Atlanta headquarters today. This is the same day he is making some big announcement. Some speculating that he could drop out of the race. Just had his first face-to-face meeting with his wife last night since the allegation came out last week about a 13 the-year affair. Is there any way you have a grand opening and a grand closing of a campaign headquarters in the same day? That's not going to happen, is it?

MCALLISTER: Not the same day, I don't think. It goes back to what we were talking about before, saving face, trying to leave the campaign with grace.

We oftentimes focus on these candidates and what they've done and how they've screwed stuff up. But we don't look at the people behind the candidates, the people that have given time and money and confidence and hope. How do you transition out when you've let those people down? That should go into the process, as well, which is why there should be a delay for opening and closing.

HOLMES: That's offensive. You can't get all these people together and say stick with my campaign and he knows he's going to get out. He has big time people coming in for this thing.

MCALLISTER: You can say you're going to suspend the campaign, though.

CARDONA: The problem is, unfortunately, I don't think that Herman contain is doing any of this for those followers at all. And I have had this theory about Herman Cain from the beginning. He was never in this to win this. And I think that's the big reason why he finds himself in this situation. I think he was in this to sell books. He was in this to maybe get on the speaking circuit and make a lot of money.

The surge we have seen has surprised you, me, Lenny, but most of all, I think it has surprised Herman Cain. He doesn't know how to deal with it. I don't even know that his thought process has brought him to can he quit the campaign and open up the headquarters in the same day. And his staff is not an experienced staff that has ever run a presidential campaign. So I don't think any of those thought processes, unfortunately, are going through Herman Cain's or his staff's minds right now.

MCALLISTER: I don't know. Part of the reason Herman Cain rose to the top is because of the Tea Party movement. Because of that, it is the bizarro type of campaign we talked about. When you're talking about a Tea Party candidate that went from one percent to two percent to the top of the polls, is there a template of how you get out of that campaign? Maybe it's I suspend my campaign for two weeks and then you make an announcement that you come out, or maybe you sunset the way I mentioned previously.

HOLMES: A lot of people will sit here and say this is a guy, no matter where he was in the polls, he's not going to get the nomination. But he's commanding so much attention right now. That maybe our fault, the media's fault, but at the end of the day, is he relevant in any way in this campaign as you see it other than maybe his followers are going to go to somebody else? But it looks like most of them are going someplace anyway.

CARDONA: I think the only relevance is how not to run a presidential campaign. And it becomes a textbook case for anybody in the future who is looking to be a serious candidate, how not to do it.

MCALLISTER: I don't know. There's a little bit more relevance in this. Now what they're going to do is look at other candidates in the GOP field and say did we vet Cain enough? We drove him to the top of the polls and look what happened.

HOLMES: So you're saying a lesson learned?

MCALLISTER: It may be a lesson learned. Maybe they actually are a little bit more thorough with how they give their support moving forward.

CARDONA: But I think one thing that we have to take into consideration is the reason that Herman Cain I know surged in the first place is Republicans were so desperate to find the anybody-but- Romney, and they are still desperate to find the anybody-but-Romney, and Gingrich has been the beneficiary of that.

HOLMES: All right, guys, Lenny and Maria will be with us throughout the morning. They will be with us tomorrow, as well. We're waiting on this event to take place with Herman Cain. It's supposed to get started in about 20 minutes, opening a campaign headquarters. Big announcement coming from Herman Cain. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER BREAK)

HOLMES: We're about a quarter of the top of the hour now. Tiger Woods, as you know, hasn't won a tournament for quite some time, but he is on the verge of winning one right now. At the top of the leaderboard, a lot more golf to be played. A lot of people asking, can he hold on? And everybody is asking, is he back? Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: About ten minutes to the top of the hour. You see people starting to gather for an event set to get under way here in just a few minutes. This is the opening of the headquarters here in northwest Georgia, the headquarters for Herman Cain, campaign event getting under way.

But at the same time, this is the same day we're expecting at the same event that Herman Cain is going make some type of major announcement about how his campaign is going to move forward, a lot of speculation about whether or not he could drop out of the race after those allegations of a 13-year affair. He met with his wife last night for the first time since those allegations. Don't know what came of that conversation.

But Herman Cain has now left his home in the Atlanta area, presumably headed to that campaign event set to get under way shortly. But we are told by our people, they are outside of his home or near his neighborhood, that he has now left him home and, again, presumably on the way to the event. We are watching it all closely.

In the meantime, we'll say good morning once again to our Joe Carter. People keep asking, is Tiger back? Every time we see those flashes of brilliance, is he back?

JOE CARTER, HLN SPORTS ANCHOR: Love him or hate him, he is the most important player in the sport of golf. You know, I don't know. It looks like he's possibly going to put these four rounds together. This is a tournament that he's been successful at before. He played great golf yesterday. He really only faltered on one hole yesterday. He's coming off a couple of good tournaments. Three weeks ago he played his best tournament of the year, finished third in the Australian Open. He followed that up with a strong close at the president's cup. His putter was the reason why the United States won that.

And now after 36 holes at the Chevron, he has a three-shot lead. Will he hold on and get his first win in more than two years? He's been playing consistent. He shot in the 60s in eight of the last nine rounds. He's driving the ball well, putting the ball well. But it's only two rounds. We'll see. Like I said in the beginning, golf needs him to win again. Love him or hate it him, he is important to the sport of golf. HOLMES: The other thing, NASCAR drivers, they had some downtime. It's not dangerous enough to be going around at 200 miles an hour at an oval?

CARTER: Jeff Gordon in Los Angeles at the Hard Rock Casino is asked to break dance as a dare. And look, he does it. The guy is 40. He's showing the young guys, look, I still have moves like Jeff.

HOLMES: He must have a reputation for break dancing or something.

CARTER: He must have done it in the past or been known for doing it. But I don't think I could do that. Plus he's in jeans and a tucked in shirt. Looks good.

HOLMES: He looks great.

CARTER: Forty is the new 30 for Jeff Gordon.

(LAUGHTER)

HOLMES: Always good to have you. Thank you so much. We're about seven minutes to the top of the hour. Don't go away. We're going to have the latest on all the stories making headlines today when we come back.

Also, keep in mind, we're just a few minutes away from an event set to take place. You're seeing it there. It's supposed to start in just minutes. But the opening of the Georgia headquarters of the Herman Cain campaign coming on the same day many speculated he might get out of the race. Today, a big announcement from Herman Cain. Stay with us. We are following it for you.

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HOLMES: So as we get close to the top of the hour, we are getting close to a live event happening not too far from us here in downtown Atlanta, at our CNN headquarters, another headquarters opening, this for the Herman Cain campaign. Opening a Georgia headquarters where this is coming on the same day he is expected to make a big announcement. He says he's going to make a big announcement about the future of his campaign. Are you really going to open the campaign headquarters on same day you drop out as some are speculating? We are following that. But again, the event set to get under way in just a few minutes, and then we're going to hear from him later. Stay with us for that.

Also, some sad news about the older sister of executed Georgia inmate Troy Davis. Her name is Martina Davis Correa. She died Thursday after a long battle with breast cancer. She was 44-years-old. She spent 22 years working to clear her brother's name. Troy Davis, as you know, was executed in September for killing a Savannah police officer despite thousands of supporters worldwide who believe he was wrongfully convicted. We had her on our show here over a number over years. She was hurting so much in physical pain over years, but she never stopped fighting and showing strength for her brother. But Martina Correa dead at the age of 44 after a long battle with cancer. Also now the Syrian government has reportedly banned the use of iPhones in the country. According to the "L.A. Times" and other reports, it's an effort by the government to prevent activists from documenting the uprising and violence. The U.N. says more than 4,000 people have been killed since that government protest started in March.

Also, results are in, some results, at least, from the election in Egypt. It's the first election in Egypt since Hosni Mubarak was forced from power. Two major Islamist political parties won about 60 percent of the vote this round of elections, the first of several to help decide who will get seats in the lower house of parliament.

We're getting close to the top of the hour, just minutes away from the start of that Herman Cain campaign event that's taking place. Quick break. We're going to reset things for you right at the top. Stay with us.

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