more than 10. >> you may have known that already from the spinal tap movie. fans of the film are planning celebrations honoring his very special amp. >> this is a top to what we use on stage, but very, very special because if you can see the numbers all go to 11. look. right across the board. >> wow. oh, i see. >> 11 and -- >> amps go up to 10. does that mean it's louder. is it any louder? >> well, it's one louder, isn't it? >> it is one louder than ten. with that, we will leave you to the rest of 11-11-11 with martin savidge in the cnn newsroom. martin? >> thank you very much, good morning to both of you. good morning to everyone. penn state will take the field for the first time tomorrow since the end of the joe paterno era. the university says assistant

football coach mike mcqueary won't be at tomorrow's game due to threats. he saw jerry sandusky sexually assaulting a boy in the shower in 2002. the lawyer for sandusky is speaking out saying the former defense coordinator has been tried in the court of public opinion. the lawyer says that sandusky is devastated by what happened to paterno. and pennsylvania's two u.s. senators are taking back their support for the nomination of paterno for the presidential medal of freedom. and now another bombshell, new allegations against jerry sandusky coming out of san antonio, ftexas. cnn, jason carroll has that story for us. good morning. >> and good morning to you. this all coming from a man who is identified as victim number four in the grand jury report. apparently, martin, when he was

12 years old, he says that jerry sandusky took him to the alamo bowl in texas and sexually assaulted him. but, let's back up a little bit before that. according to prosecutors, they say that this all began with what they call grooming. apparently, showering the boy with gifts, such as nike shoes, clothing and a snowboard. then that progressed to a little bit more contact. what they called soap battles in the shower, close contact with a boy in the shower. this all leading up to an allegation that sandusky allegedly, once again, sexually assaulted the boy in a hootell room. the boy tried to resist, but sandusky threatened to send him home if he resisted his sexual advances. eventually, the boy was able to distance himself from sandusky. also, martin, the attorney general basically saying earlier this week that because sandusky had such close contact with so many young boys over such a long

period of time that it would not we out of the realm of possibility that more victims would end up coming forward in the progressing days or even weeks. but having said that, after speaking to sandusky's lawyer last night, i have to say that sandusky says that he, says that he is not guilty of any of these allegations and he is looking forward to defending himself. marten? >> cnn's jason carroll on the campus of penn state, thauk very much. the mother of one of the alleged sex abuse victims says she wants justice. the woman who did gnnot want toe identified said how she learned of the allegations against jerry sandusky. >> at some point he came to you and said he wanted information on how to look up sex weirdoes. >> yes. >> what did you think of that? >> i asked him who he was looking up and he said he wanted to see if jerry was on there. and i said, well, why would you look him up?

and he said, i don't know, he's a weirdo. >> and as jason reported, an attorney for jerry sandusky said his cliedisputes the allegation made against him. appealing for calm ever since wednesday night's rally which turned into a riot. coming up, we'll talk to t.j.'s plan to unify students. rick perry wants you to laugh with him, not just at him. one day after his disastrous memory lapse in the presidential debate, perry poked fun at himself on the late show with david letterman. paul steinhauser is in washington. pretty brave strategy, but better to laugh than to perhaps cry over all of this. >> martin, yeah, i guess humor or laughter is the best medicine. he started his damage control tour yesterday morning during all the morning shows, including our own "american morning."

he ended it on david letterman. take a listen. >> hey, listen, you try concentrating with mitt romney smiling at you. that is one handsome dude. i had a five-hour energy drink six hours before the debate. i wanted to help take the heat off my buddy herman cain. >> the number one rick perry excuse -- >> i just learned justin bieber is my father. >> not bad, not bad at all, i guess, for rick perry for the texas governor. you know, listen, he couldn't remember the energy department in that 54-second gap on wednesday night in that debate in michigan. but one thing maybe he did remember, maybe more important. take a listen to his wife, anita perry. >> everybody forgets something every now and then, but he remembered our anniversary last week. >> not bad. you got to remember your anniversary when you're a married man. i know that from personal experience. rick perry back on the debate stage tomorrow night. this is a showdown in south

carolina over national security and foreign policy. >> on the personal scale of things rb probably better to remember the anniversary. herman cain spent the last two weeks denying the sexual harassment claims, but it has not heard his fund-raising? >> this scandal has been very lucrati lucrative. his campaign yesterday saying they raised $9 million since october 1st. that is a lot of change. and a quarter of that has come just in the last week and a half since this controversy first struck. so, what's herman cain doing today, marten? raising more money. >> thanks, paul. we'll have your next political update in one hour. for all the latest political news, go to our website, cnnpolitics.com. it is veterans day in the united states and washington is mustering new help for the men and women who have served in the military. a newly passed senate to put more veterans back to work. alison kosik joins us to explain.

alison, how does this jobs bill work? >> to get veterans back in the workforce it gives companies an incentive to hire those veterans to give those employers tax credit. give a $5,600 credit for hiring a veteran who has been unemployed for six months. now, this bill also does some other things. it looks to expand existing jobs retraining programs for veterans so they get those skills that they need to get into the workforce. now, as to where this bill stands right now, the senate passed it yesterday and the house, martin, is expected to vote next week. >> and, alison, i heard that the reason this is needed that veterans tend to have higher unemployment rates, right? >> exactly. i mean, hundreds of thousands of veterans are out of work. the unemployment rate for veterans who left the military after 2001 is 12.1%. that's more than the national

unemployment rate sitting at 9%. now, here's the interesting thing. many veterans learn highly technical skills while they're in the military and not just combat training. i'm talking about computer programming, engineering, logistics and medical training. but the thing is, it's hard to get back into civilian life. this bill looks to make it easier by giving these employers some financial incentives to go out there and hire them. martin? >> good news. we'll check back with you for the opening bell, thanks, alison. still ahead, u.s. troops serve in some of the most dangerous places in earth. turns out they may be targets here at home, as well. new lawsuit may give you a whole new reason to get mad at the banks. and a major league baseball player has been kidnapped from his family's home in venezuela. washington national catcher wilson ramos ambushed by four gunmen. max foster will join us with more on that. i'm sorry, max, it's time now for this. tell us about the kidnapping. i followed this story.

this is the first time we've seen an actual sports person taken as opposed to family. >> you have to realize, it's a massive sport in venezuela where much of that region football is a big sport. he's from central venezuela and, well, on his doorstep on wednesday night. an suv drove up and an armed gunman took him away. that's all the information we have, from his agent. they did find the car abandoned in a nearby town and they have the best investigators on their case but they haven't heard anything, martinx from the abductor. the family hasn't been contacted and they don't know what they want. >> they believe he's still alive. do we have any idea why they're so certain? >> kidnappings are on the rise in venezuela and big sports stars are an obvious target and he was on his doorstep and didn't have any protection.

that's all we know. presumably they want money out of him. they need to come to the authorities or the family to ask for that and they haven't done that. everyone is really worried about this and going to the top level of government and doing what they can. >> thanks, we'll continue to stay in touch with that story through you. penn state students come together after being rocked by the alleged sex abuse scandal. just ahead, we'll talk with the student body president about an event to bring closure. and prince william and kate glam it up for good. that's not a phrase i'm used to. raising money for military veterans. we'll go back to london for more on that. mine was earned over the south pacific in 1943.

vietnam, 1967. i got mine in iraq, 2003. u.s.a.a. auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation, because it offers a superior level of protection and because u.s.a.a.'s commitment to serve the military, veterans, and their families is without equal. begin your legacy. get an auto insurance quote. u.s.a.a. we know what it means to serve.

all right. let's get a check now of stories across country. near tacoma, washington, the military court found calvin gibbs guilty of killing three afghan civilians. he was given life in prison. gibbs, the highest ranking of five soldiers charged tried to make the victims appear acetal been fighters who died in combat. in tigard, oregon, he was cleared. the driver of the other car will be cited for not yielding to an emergency vehicle. here's some cool time lapse video of the flight deck of the "uss carl vinson" which i actually stood on getting prepared for tonight's college basketball game. the north carolina tarheels take on michigan state. tipoff set for 5:00 p.m. eastern. penn state students are talking about the alleged sex abuse scandal and not just how it has affected the football

program. we want to keep the focus on the alleged victims, the boys. student body president t.j. joins us from the campus this morning. t.j., when you were on with us yesterday, you talked about the importance of remembering the children. you and other student leaders spoke with students yesterday and i'm wondering how that went. >> yeah, we chose to address the students for the first time. in all of this, the students weren't directly addressed. a lot of the student leaders from major organizations on campus and truly were able to address the students for a change ask and it was really, really good to remind them of the honors and traditions of penn state. >> the rioting of wednesday night, of course, shocked many people nationally and i'm wondering what the students are saying about that now. >> i think the students, it was definitely a frustrating time for me, personally. but the students were really,

really emotionally charged. we didn't have a lot of guidance. they were emotionally wrapped up in feeling for the victims and frustrated that this even happened and, obviously, their emotions are on joe paterno and without guidance, i think the students just didn't really know how to react and it was unfortunate. it was uncalled for and i think students are really, really realizing that was not an appropriate way to react. >> you think there is a lot of remorse from students now who may have participated? >> absolutely. i think they realized that they really detracted the attention from the victims and their families and that's been really the goal of the student body and my feelings on the past couple of days. i know today we're having a candlelight vigil at 9:30 tonight to hawner the victims. a lot of organizations and grassroot movements from the alum alumni. a website raising money for child abuse. in the past day, they raised over $50,000. it's phenomenal what this community can do and it's important that we turn the

attention back to the victims and their families. >> all right, t.j., thank you for joining us this morning. t.j. bard, thank you. coming up, shock, anger and allegations of fraud. >> it's incomprehensible to me that the banks would do this to veterans. >> a lawsuit accuses banks of preying on the men and women who serve in uniform. why, you ask, because they can. we'll talk to the whistleblower, straight ahead. and she wore her poppy to honor veterans, but it's kate's dress people are talking about, what it might be hiding. palace pregnancy rumors. they're up next, as well. some call me the mayor... and i love it. and, i make everybody happy. i keep my business insurance with the hartford because... they came through for me once, and i know they've got my back. for whatever challenges come your way... the hartford is here to back you up. helping you move ahead...

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as prince william and his wife honor those very close to their hearts, veterans, a lot of focus that was actually, well, some place else. kate's stomach. those palace pregnancy rumors, those pesky rumors. max foster joins us with all the chitchat. max, were you there, by the way is the. >> i wasn't. i was on air. yeah, all this talk about a pregnancy. what can i say, it's rumor. hasn't been denied, but, as you can see from the pictures, not looking particularly pregnant. if she is, very early days. all goes back to an event last week when she refused some peanut paste when everyone else in the room took some. it could be unhealthy for pregnant mothers. her dress, grecian style by jenny packham and everyone is

talking about that. but this was an event to raise money for an event memorial and the duke made some comments about that. important subject today and he's setting off to the faulklands next year be there for six weeks for a search and rescue pilot and 30 years since the war and the argentinians has something to say about that. a busy day from yesterday. >> maybe it's just time insensitive, but i don't see anything indicating pregnancy there. >> no, and ali velshi does point out that he looks more pregnant than she does. so, maybe the story's there. >> maybe it is, indeed. thank you, max, always, for opening your eyes. opening bell set to ring in just a few minutes. right now the new york stock exchange is observing a moment of silence in honor of veterans day.

you're looking at the new york stock exchange as they observe a moment of silence in honor of these veterans day before a very busy day begins. we'll listen. ♪

♪ >> alison kosik joins us now and members of the military will ring the opening bell, right, alison? >> exactly, martin. those opening bell honors go to major marine corps and also members of each branch of the u.s. armed forces are going to be ringing the opening bell, as

well. so, each branch of the u.s. armed forces will be represented. you know, what's interesting about the new york stock exchange, a lot of the traders here on the floor, they're a patriotic bunch. any time anyone from uniform steps on the floor, they get a round of applause. today is no exception. later today at around 11:00, another moment of silence, martin, but trading will not stop. martin? >> all right, alison, thank you very much as we hear the national anthem. as we mentioned earlier this hour, today is, of course, veterans day and that makes the next story all the more outrageous. two whistleblowers say some of the nation's biggest banks are specifically targeting men and women who served in uniform and ripping them off. brian donnelly spent three years in the army, so he was shocked by what he saw. not on a battlefield, but a bank loan document. >> at that point the light went off and it was just really

apparent. >> reporter: donnelly a mortgage broker said it was clear the bank was deliberately ripping off a veteran who was trying to refinance his home. >> where the veteran didn't see it, the v.a. didn't see it, i mean t was really slick how they did it. >> reporter: donnelly and fellow mortgage broker went through other loan paperwork. >> all the lenders were doing the same thing. >> reporter: how the alleged fraud was done. under veteran affair rules, pay attorney fees for all refinanced loans. that's why the line for attorney fees on this document is blank. but the v.a. does allow banks to charge veterans other fees for title, which should cost between $125 to $200. this form shows the cost charged to the veteran was a whopping $950. >> they're taking that fee they should have paid and put it into an allowable fee.

>> how many loans are we talking about here? >> over a million. i think approximately 1.2 million of these particular refinancing loans that are called rril loans over the last decade. >> attorney marvin willbanks said up to 99% of them may have had fraudulent fees. >> were you surprised by how brazen it appears this alleged fraud was? >> yes. stunned is a better word. it's incomprehensible to me that the banks would do this to veterans. >> they filed suit in federal court charging that veterans and taxpayers had been defraud bide some of the nation's biggest banks and mortgage companies. with so many veterans victimized that the u.s. justice department would join the case. that didn't happen. instead, they're taking a wait and see approach. the dozen or so banks declined suit but in the e-mail called without merit. if the feds aren't in of it,

then the case can't be that strong to which the attorney for the whistleblowers had a simple reply. >> we will see them in court. >> but it may be a while before those two sides actually do face off in court. in fact, the attorneys say it could be a number of years before it actually gets into a courtroom. meanwhile, coming up as penn state comes to grips with its disturbing alleged abuse scandal, the state is pressing ahead with its case. we'll talk to bernstein about what comes next. ashton kutcher set a tweet about joe paterno that caused him to shut down his twitter account. we'll have all the details.ogre s new loaded potato with bacon. it's good. honey, i love you... oh my gosh, oh my gosh.. look at these big pieces of potato. ♪ what's that? big piece of potato. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup.

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checking top stories right now. just minutes ago greece swore in a new prime minister. he will try to lead the nationunation

out of its debt crisis. in turkey, rescuers pulled 30 people from the rubble of wednesday's earthquake. that death toll stands at 19. it is expected to grow. in california, the "occupy oakland." the city's mayor says the threat of similar violence means the had encampment has to come to an end. no end, though, to the penn state's alleged sex abuse case. it continues to widen. school officials are now taking steps to protect themselves. nbc news is reporting that ousted football coach joe paterno just reached out to a prominent defense attorney. joining us now to talk about the case and what might come next trial attorney b.j. bernstein. nice to see you, but not under these circumstances. >> no, very serious allegations and a lot more coming. >> well, let's talk about that. what happens next in the investigation? >> well, we have this indictment, which is incredibly

detailed. if anyone has not take on the time, you do need to read this indictment because it explains why this is just not like any other story that explodes overnight. >> but it's nomfor the weak of heart. >> not for the weak of heart. it's something, again, when we try to deal and fight child abuse, we have to talk about these realities and this indictment does that. this indictment is just the beginning of the charges. as you've heard, there's going to be, you know a criminal case moving forward and looking at the indictment, it's clear that this assistant coach mcqueary who had witnessed things and went to paterno was a critical witness before this grand jury and a critical witness in this case, not only against sandusky but the two schultz and curlerk who worked at penn state and received the reports and critical to show that they failed to report as required by law and lying to the grand jury. >> but a lot of criticism of him and i'm wondering, do you think there should be charges brought

or is he going to become a star witness in this case? >> i think he's a star witness in this case. again, right now, we're all in shock and before we, you know, no one has been convicted and we do have to hold back a little bit and say, look at the context of all this. look at, he was 24 years old approximately when this happened, when he saw this. look at the culture that was there that allowed this to happen. he goes to paterno, paterno goes to apparently these other two officials, one of which was the police officer in charge. and they do nothing. this is not the first time penn state had heard about it. remember, this dates back to 1998 when the district attorney was involved and still ignored it. so, with that culture, i think we have to be careful not to burn him immediately and understand that right now this attorney general needs witnesses who can convict. it's not enough just to tear down the problems but to actually convict those who need to be convicted. >> sure, what about coach

paterno. we understand, we just reported he's hired a criminal defense attorney. do you charge him? >> again, he definitely should talk to a lawyer because reading this indictment he could play a pivotal role. this is truth time for him. does he tell a real jury and testify against the others and tells everything he knows. i have even heard from friends who live in pennsylvania that there have been rumors broader than just this tight, few people who have been charged that you don't go near sandusky, that there were problems with him. in today's paper in that local area, there's information about the adoption of a son by sandusky and that he was a foster parent and that the official with the foster commission there had recommended that the young man be taken out of the home because he had tried to commit suicide and that young man and his natural mother also testified before this grand jury. so, that's why i mean there's

going to be more there and we have to reserve judgment that way and let this attorney general who's doing their job, finally, to see where it falls. >> b.j. bernstein, thank you for walking us through it. we'll stay in touch. >> okay. next hour, we will talk about the case with pennsylvania sports radio host mike missanelli. he will join us at 10:10 eastern time. the new starbucks is looking to do for juice what it has done for coffee. make it an experience. the coffee giant is jumping into the juice business. we'll go to the new york stock exchange for details on that. oet un-stuff your nose. really? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus liquid gels fights your worst cold symptoms, plus it relieves your stuffy nose. [ deep breath ] thank you! that's the cold truth!

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want to give you a quick look now at stories making news this veterans day. at 11:00 a.m. eastern president obama set to speak at arlington national cemetery. veteran ceremonies will get under way at 3:00 eastern time.

a little after 7:00 p.m. eastern the first ever carrier classic tips off. spartans face number one ranked north carolina tarheels. that taking place on the flight deck of the "uss carl vinson." i want to be there. sometimes you can find solutions in the most unlikely places. when searching for ways to treat veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, someone thought of music. and, guess what, it works. this morning a group called guitarists for vets puts our vets in focus. >> i have been playing guitar since i was in the seventh grade. i just love doing it to freedom when i play guitar.

i could take every emotion i had, mad or glad and put it out in a song. my name is mike and i'm one of the instructors with guitars for vets. >> i went to the first gulf war in '91 and the second one in '03. >> based out of norfolk, virginia. >> i'm not a strict teacher. we hang out and we talk. >> when i feel like i'm going to slip away and get into that, i don't feel like doing anything any more. i look across the room and put out the guitar and pull out the sheet music and the tabs and start playing and i just get lost in it. >> it soothes me. it makes me feel comfortable. >> one of my guys told me, i don't get out of bed because i'm depressed. now he's playing guitars. like i have an excuse to get up because i can go play my guitar and gives me something to do in

my idle time. >> i just can't stop. once you pick it up, it's hard to put it down. i really enjoy it. >> i like rock. >> country. >> blue grass. >> you know, it's more than just guitar lessons and that's the vehicle. it's about human interaction. it's about trust. goal setting. accomplishment. >> it's not that easy. >> getting your fingers in the right position. >> stretching your fingers for the chords. >> that's the hardest part for me. >> once they've completed the chorus, washburn has donated guitars and they have guitars and tuners that are donated to them. >> it's fun. i'm learning something new and, you know, we should all be students in some shape, form or fashion. >> guitars for vets, this is just another stepping stone for me. something to better myself and hopefully carry back to my community. >> just a great feeling to know

that you're doing something to give back to people who have given so much to us and no one can take the music away from them. they'll always have that. mine was earned over the south pacific in 1943. vietnam, 1967. i got mine in iraq, 2003. u.s.a.a. auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation, because it offers a superior level of protection and because u.s.a.a.'s commitment to serve the military, veterans, and their families is without equal. begin your legacy. get an auto insurance quote. u.s.a.a. we know what it means to serve.

just want to give you a reminder, the penn state board of trustees will meet in a few minutes and when that meeting gets under way, we hope to bring it to you live. stay tuned for that. checking stories across country. right now. in atlanta, big concerns that two members of the local occupy movement may have contracted a drug resistant strain of tuberculosis. the group's leader said the two cases involve residents of a homeless shelter where demonstrators have taken refuge since their eviction from a city park. the national park service has begun weatherizing the washington monument. park officials say it is critical to temporarily that is fill in the cracks created from, remember the earthquake in august? they add that the quick fix won't hinder the restoration. check out what arrived in madison, wisconsin, yesterday. two alligators flown in from

pennsylvania for veterinary treatment. they belong to a man's private zoo that was recently burglarized. both gators were hurt during the break-in and one suffered a broken leg. no word what happened to the burglar. time for your "showbiz" headlines. the oscars have found an old pro to replace eddie murphy as host. a.j. hammer is here. so, a.j., who has the job? >> well, billy crystal's coming back, martin, after eddie murphy exited his hosting gig. on wednesday the academy of motion picture arts and science really had to make quick work of finding a replacement and they did. they went with a familiar face. crystal's ninth time hosting the award show, not including when he did it back in 2006. let me read to you what he tweeted. i'm doing the oscars so the young woman in the pharmacy will stop asking my name when i pick up my prescriptions.

looking forward to the show. taki taking nothing away from billy crystal. the folks are disappointed with how everything went down because they were looking to shake things up this year. however, martin, for my money, you still can't go wrong with billy crystal. >> i'm in absolute agreement with you on that. let me ask you, ashton kutcher it is good to have an editor. tell us about this twitter controversy. >> you know, ashton kutcher is learning something about twitter that we have known as far as it pertains to celebrities. it can be your best friend and your worst enemy. he sent a tweet defending joe paterno without knowing the whole story. and there was a resulting firestorm which has him now changing the way he manages his twitter account. how do you fire joe paterno? # no class.

kutcher has since apologized. he posted a picture of himself with a sign saying, i am with stupid. he now says as a result he's turning over his twitter account to his professional media advisors, which is probably a smart thing. kutcher, of course, was one of the first celebrity to really endorse twitter. more than 8 million followers. i'm a bit surprised that he didn't know more about the story. but he claims he just thought that paterno got fired and didn't know the whole back story there. i can't imagine nobody doesn't know the whole back story by now. we'll hear from ashton in a different way, martin. >> he knows more cnn. thanks, a.j. you'll be back next hour with more "showbiz headlines." howard stern could be moving to network television. where he might be headed next hour. we also want to remind you that we are continuing to, well, take a look inside here at the penn state board of trustees will meet in just a few minutes, we understand. we'll be allowed to listen in.

we'll be bringing that to you live when it happens. ♪ imagine me and you, i do ♪ i think about you day and night ♪ ♪ it's only right ♪ to think about the girl you love ♪ ♪ and hold her tight ♪ so happy together [ male announcer ] when life changes, so can your insurances needs. use travelers free guide to better coverage to stay prepared. is your auto and home insurance keeping up with you? contact your local travelers agent, or call 800-my-coverage.

that meeting by the penn state board of trustees is under way and we will listen in now. >> good morning, everyone. >> thank you, chairman. i am humbled and honored by your appointment of me as president of penn state university. thank you for placing your confidence in me and the other members of penn state's administrative team as we move forward. we are indeed a team, one that pulls together, day in and day out. i'd like to take the opportunity

to introduce my wife, sherry, who is a wonderfully loyal penn stater, despite being a university of iowa hawkeye. i'd also like to introduce my son, jeff, who is here today, who is a penn state graduate. as many of you know, i've been with penn state for more than 34 years now, and i am deeply committed to this institution. first and foremost, to our students and to those who make it happen every day. our faculty and staff, and to those who have great pride and a sense of family in penn state. our alumni and friends. >> so this is the penn state board of trustees meeting and a new president has clearly been named and that's who you're listening to now.

i apologize, i don't have his name off hand. that was before we came to air. mary snow is standing by. she's been following events. what do we know of this? >> we know the meeting is expected to last several hours and we have heard earlier this week that what's expected to happen today is the announcement of a special committee. >> i'm going to interrupt you. i'm sorry. the allegations are being spoken of now. >> -- to come to grips with the full magnitude of all the damage that has been done. i want to thank the board of trustees for your leadership and guidance through this difficult time. your deliberations and decisive actions have now set a course for the university's future. later today, we will vote on a proposal to form a special committee, to undertake a full and complete investigation of the circumstances that gave rise to the grand jury report. healing cannot occur until we understand how responsibilities

to these children failed and how we can prevent such tragedies in the future. i am grateful for the board's commitment to penn state's mission and your stewardship of the university. each of you shares my personal resolve to reenergize our commitment to be the best that we can be -- individually and collectively -- to strive for excellence in everything that we do and to represent the highest standards for honesty and integrity. it is beholden on everyone now to carry on the work that so many of us have dedicated our lives to doing. we have 96,000 students, 46,000 full and part-time employees, and more than 500,000 alumni. we are a learning community, and we must continue to deliver outstanding teaching, research, and service. our work is as important to society's future today as it was

last week, perhaps even more so. this board helped to craft the strategic plan that continues to provide the road map for setting priorities and pursuing strategies to achieve our objectives. we are certainly not adrift or without a vision going forward. in the days and weeks ahead, i will be meeting with representatives from the faculty senate, student leadership, staff, alumni groups, donors, and friends, as well as officials from state government. my purpose will be to listen. i want to hear their concerns and their ideas for penn state. my purpose will be to reassure. i want penn staters to understand that the actions of any individual do not represent our university. i want to help rebuild our confidence in who we are. my purpose will be to reaffirm. i want all penn staters to know that our future is still bright.

and my purpose will be to talk about our core values. our values will define this university long after we're gone. for more than 150 years penn state has been committed to its core values of honesty, integrity, excellence, and community. now more than ever we need to articulate these values in everything we do, and we need to live them in our work, our service, our extracurricular activities, and our place in the community. i know we can do this. we are resilient. we are a university that will rebuild a trust and confidence that so many people have had in us for so many years. i have not accepted this appointment as your president to be a caretaker. during my time in service i will commit to seeing us move forward and that penn state continues to deserve a reputation as one of the finest educational institutions in the world.

again, thank you for your trust and confidence in me. >> rodney erickson the interim president just taking the podium there. let's bring in mary snow. i apologize. i interrupted you as you were starting to talk about this. tell us again. >> what we do know, what rodney erickson had just mentioned in his opening remarks, is that a special committee is being formed to look into the university's response to the sexual abuse allegations, to find out who knew what when. and, of course, after the swirling controversy about the failure to take any action, any more action beyond going to others within the university after the sexual abuse allegations first came to light. we do know that this meeting is

expected to last several hours today. we were told early on that it's not anticipated that questions will be taken from the public, but we're also told that there may be an exception to today's meeting. so that is what we know so far about this board of trustees meeting. of course, the first one after wednesday night's meeting when of course graham spanier the president of penn state and joe paterno were both ousted. >> do we know who is going to be on the committee? the committee is separate from the legal investigation that is under way, correct? >> i believe yes and i don't have the answer in terms of who is going to be on this committee. >> okay. all right, mary snow, thank you very much. we'll have much more on the penn state next hour and what is going on there. also next hour you will meet the founder of a program that is taking homeless veterans off the streets and putting them in new, permanent housing. could you please not honk while this guy's telling me about his chevy volt?

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over those mashed potatoes and dinner is served. four minutes, around four bucks. campbell's chunky -- it's amazing what soup can do. delivering mail, medicine and packages. yet they're closing thousands of offices, slashing service, and want to lay off over 100,000 workers. the postal service is recording financial losses, but not for reasons you might think. the problem ? a burden no other agency or company bears. a 2006 law that drains 5 billion a year from post-office revenue while the postal service is forced to overpay billions more into federal accounts. congress created this problem, and congress can fix it. what's vanishing deductible all about ?

guys, it's demonstration time. let's blow carl's mind. okay, let's say i'm your insurance deductible. every year you don't have an accident, $100 vanishes. the next year, another $100. where am i going, carl ? the next year... that was weird. but awesome ! ♪ nationwide is on your side good morning, everyone. penn state takes the field tomorrow for the first time since the end of the joe paterno era, and there are new developments this morning, surrounding the alleged child rape scandal. the university's board of trustees meeting right now and they are talking about creating a committee to investigate the allegations surrounding former defense coordinator jerry sandusky. penn state says the assistant coach who allegedly witnessed

the victim being sexually assaulted in a shower will not be at tomorrow's game because of multiple threats. cnn's mary snow joins us now from state college, pennsylvania. what is standing out to you so far from that board of trustees meeting? >> you know, it really is that message of how to move forward, how to get past this, as so many people have been saying this week here at state college that penn state is so much more than this dark scandal that has engulfed this university right now. the new interim president, rodney erickson, addressing just a few moments ago the board of trustees at this meeting, the first meeting since both graham spanier, the university president, and joe paterno, were both fired, stressing that he hopes to rebuild confidence in this university. here's a little bit of what he had to say. >> i accept this new leadership role under circumstances that i

never could have imagined. it has been truly difficult to comprehend the terrible nature of the allegations that were revealed in the attorney general's presentment last week. my heart aches for the victims and their families and my mind searches for answers like millions of others across the nation. >> and one thing that also stood out is when rodney erickson was saying that one of his -- the big purpose right now for him or one of them is to listen and to hear concerns among the faculty, among the students, among the alumni. you saw there was anger on this campus for a number of reasons cited by students but a number of them have been saying that they are very angry that the focus has not been placed more or emphasized more on the victims of these sexual abuse allegations and that this is so much bigger than football and football of course, many will say, really defining penn state.

>> mary, we're hearing from the mom of an alleged victim for the first time, right? >> yes, and this is victim number one outlined in the grand jury report. and if it had not been for a young boy who was 11 at the time, that he alleged this sexual abuse occurred, this investigation might not have started that he came forward. his mother spoke to abc's "good morning america" earlier today talking about how her son first brought to light that something was terribly wrong. take a listen. >> and at some point he came to you and he said he wanted some information about how to look up sex weirdos? >> yes. >> what did you think of that? >> i asked him who he was looking up and he said he wanted to see if jerry was on there and i said, well why would you look him up? and he said, i don't know.

he's a weirdo. >> jerry, of course, referring to jerry sandusky the former coach who's been charged with sexual abuse charges, his attorney telling cnn that sandusky is maintaining his innocence. martin? >> cnn's mary snow on the campus of penn state, thank you very much for the update. joe paterno is facing no criminal charges in the alleged sexual abuse case, but nbc news is reporting that he has reached out to a criminal lawyer. we'll talk about this development with attorney and sports radio talk show host in 15 minutes from now. rick perry, well, he wants you to laugh with him not just at him. one day after his disastrous memory lapse in the presidential debate perry poked fun at himself on "the late show with david letterman." >> hey, listen. you try concentrating with mitt romney smiling at you. that is one -- i had a five-hour

energy drink six hours before the debate. i wanted to help take the heat off my buddy herman cain. >> and the number one rick perry excuse. >> i just learned justin bieber is my father. >> oh, my. >> all right. funny stuff. senior political editor mark preston is in washington. i guess a brave strategy but is it really smart? >> yeah, i mean, look. he had no other choice, martin, except to go out there, try to embrace this, and to try to turn around his campaign. i'll tell you, when that moment happened on wednesday night if you were following social media you would see that everybody was saying his campaign was over. however, his campaign is not saving that. and, in fact, not only did we see him go on late night last night to try to poke fun at himself and turn his whole campaign around. he also did interviews with all the networks yesterday morning, something we hadn't seen from rick perry before, trying to get out in front of this. what people are not discussing right now, though, martin, is the fact that rick perry still can do very well in iowa.

could potentially win iowa, which is the first state that will vote in the republican presidential nomination, and rick perry has a lot of money. so while this was terribly embarrassing, i don't necessarily think it is devastating and will knock him out at this point. >> agreed. on deck, president obama will be aboard a very special aircraft carrier tonight. tell us why. >> he will be leaving washington after the replaying ceremony over in arlington. of course for veterans day he'll be heading out to san diego to watch a basketball game. it will be between unc and michigan state and is going to be aboard the u.s.s. carl vincent. what is significant? of course it is veterans day but the u.s.s. carl vincent is also the platform that was the platform when osama bin laden's body was buried at sea. so a very symbolic night tonight and of course because of veterans day a very interesting way to honor it. >> and also it'll be the start of a new economic summit and an important one. thank you very much for the update. kidnappings for ransom have

become more kpon in recent years in venezuela. even the families of major league baseball players have now been targeted but for the first time an active roster major leaguer has been abducted. cnn's don riddell is following the story from london. who is the player? >> reporter: it's the washington nationals catcher wilson ramos and to be honest with every hour that passes the more worrying it becomes. it was more than 36 hours since he was snatched from his parents' home in venezuela. he was abducted by armed men and driven away and nothing has been heard from the kidnappers since, which is incredibly worrying for his family, for his friends, and, of course, the fans of the washington nationals and, of course, the team he was playing for in venezuela. he's had an incredible season, martin. he is only 24 years old. he was a rookie with the nationals this year, but he quickly established himself as their number one catcher with a batting average of .267.

he hit 50 home runs and 52 rbis and of course everybody is just desperately waiting for some sort of word from the kidnappers. his sister has appeared outside the family home and said that she believes he is alive but we've heard no concrete evidence to actually back that up. >> we certainly hope that is true. give us the history here. i mean, in the past we know that family members have been kidnapped. what has usually been the result? >> well, it has happened, hasn't it? this is the fourth major league player to have been touched by kidnapping in venezuela. on three previous occasions it was relatives of the players that were taken. on two occasions, thankfully, those relatives were returned unharmed. but sadly, in 2008 the arizona diamondbacks player henry blanco had his brother kidnapped and killed. so, of course, a worrying trend. it does seem to be a growing problem in venezuela and, of course, these guys are targets. they're heroes in their community.

they're idols to their fans, but very public. they have a high profile and they're very well paid. and so, of course, in countries like venezuela where kidnapping is a problem, players like this are going to be targets. >> right. don riddell reporting to us from london, thanks very much. well, after a four-year competition, we are about to find out the seven newest wonders of the world. millions of people around the globe have voted and for their favorite natural wonder that is. max foster joins us now with more on this contest and some of the favorites. max, are you on the list? >> yes. well, this is an unbelievable event. i have to say. i mean, i just had an update from the organization that organized the new seven wonders. the count on the votes is going on right now but their projection is a billion votes for this new set of wonders and once, the thing that is quite interesting is a huge number of votes cast by a small frame from asia. so it will be really interesting what comes through from this.

some of the favorites coming through, the grand canyon, that's really popular. lots of people voting for that. a lot of them are ones you might expect as well from around the world. you've got the great barrier reef, the dead sea, what you've got coming through is this big surge of votes for certain places, the german black forest, the maltese coming through. i've also just been told that in about an hour, 4:00 p.m. in the uk, but an hour from now, they're going to narrow it down to 14 finalists from 28 and then at 2:00 p.m. eastern time you'll get the final seven. so it's pretty interesting. the numbers are massive. >> a billion of anything is a lot. and certainly to hear the newest wonders is always interesting to get people's take on what they like. max, thanks very much. we'll wait for the updates to come in. meanwhile, coming up, the mortgage giants fannie mae and

freddie mac. your tax dollars save them from collapse, so why in the world is millions being doled out as a reward? alison kosic has the story straight ahead. [ male announcer ] indulge all you want. now there's no need to hold back. new revolutionary scope dualblast obliterates strong food odors leaving your breath minty fresh. hey. [ male announcer ] so there's no trace of evidence... new scope dualblast.

i tell you what i can spend. i do my best to make it work. i'm back on the road safely. and i saved you money on brakes. that's personal pricing. fannie mae and freddie mac are not just friends but financial friends many people know well largely because of the huge bailouts they got during the recession. now the companies are doelg out millions in executive bonuses. alison kosic is at the new york stock exchange and how much money are we talking about here?

>> reporter: martin, we're talking about a lot of money, $13 million in bonuses for ten executives at fannie mae and freddie mac. that equals about $1 million for each person. and this is after fannie and freddie got bailouts of $180 billion combined. now, the federal housing finance agency, that's the regulator that oversees fannie and freddie, he is defending these bonuses. his name is edward demarco. he wrote a letter to lawmakers saying these bonuses actually help retain top talent. and here's what he said. he said i need to ensure that the companies have people with the skills needed to manage essentially trillions of dollars and make sure that basically that there's a good watch dog over what the american taxpayer is supporting. but, martin, tell me if i'm wrong here. you know, you try telling that to millions of americans who are still struggling to make it through the housing crisis especially after fannie and freddie lost billions of dollars in the last quarter and just asked congress for more money. >> that is exactly the line

always given. you need this money to keep them. do you really want to keep them is the question sometimes. what is the government doing about this? >> reporter: well, you have to remember this, that these bonuses were approved by the government, the fha, it is government agencies but a lot of lawmakers are upset about this. there is a senate banking committee happening -- senate banking committee hearing happening next week that is going to look into this issue of the bonuses. demarco is going to testify and defend them. he also notes that fannie and freddie executives had their salaries cut by 40%. by the way, martin, fannie and freddie are not commenting. >> not surprising. how are the markets doing today? it's friday. >> markets are looking good. the dow is up 222 points. greece just swore in its new prime minister. italy is pushing through some tough austerity measures through its government system, so what the markets see is things are happening in europe to try to get a handle on the debt crisis there. that is why you are seeing the markets really jump today.

martin? >> all right. let's hope it continues for the day. thanks, alison. coming up, a penn state grad and sports talk show host. he describes how difficult the scandal has been for him. ♪ it was the best day [ whooping ] ♪ it was the best day ♪ it was the best day ♪ ♪ it was the best day ♪ 'cause of you

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joe paterno faces no criminal charges but nbc news is reporting the fired coach has contacted a criminal defense attorney. let's talk about that with mike, the author of "the perfect season" chronicling penn state's legendary 1986 season. mike has an afternoon drive time show on philadelphia's 97.5, the fan att penn state grad and attorney makes him perfect to speak to. as an attorney itself it's probably good advice?

>> well, i would think that it's prudent for anybody to back themselves up with an attorney in a situation, but there is a discrepancy, martin, on whether he has done that. his son in fact, jay paterno, who is one of the offensive coaches on the team, denied that to reporters who came to the paterno house yesterday. there is no question that penn state has opened themselves up and paterno specifically to civil suits. so i would think that it's only prudent for him. as far as the criminal charges, the grand jury had a chance to indict him and chose not to. i don't know if they did that because he is so large in that area or whether they thought that 85-year-old man, it's not prudent to prosecute him at this stage of his life, that he is going to kind of wither away. but the attorney paterno connection is still kind of wide open. >> you came out earlier actually calling for paterno to be fired. and having covered him for years, i'm wondering, was that a difficult call for you to make? >> no.

it wasn't a difficult call because to me the situation for joe paterno has nothing to do with football coaching. he is a great coach and will leave a great legacy as a football coach. clearly, people were delinquent in this situation. and, in fact, i thought paterno really was selfish when he didn't resign on wednesday, when the heat got hot to the point where there was nowhere else to turn. sometimes the jig is just up. and you see it in front of you. he launched a preemptive strike to say i'm going to retire at the end of the year. thereby trying to buy himself three more games of the football season which were meaningless at that point and he should have realized that. because he didn't resign the board of trustees had to come out and fire him in that dramatic press conference and that nearly incited a major riot among students. it turned into a mini riot, a news van was knocked over. clearly, joe paterno, a man of wisdom, an educator, could have foreseen that kind of thing would have happened. >> right. it almost seemed as if ego dominated more so than what needed to be done. you interviewed jerry sandusky for that book of yours and i'm

wondering, what were your impressions? >> you know, i've been asked that question a lot, martin. i think people want to hear the answer to that. you kind of thought something was funny. i spent a couple days with jerry sandusky because he was a prominent part of that book, this great defensive architect. the school has called -- the football program is called linebacker u mainly because of him. i didn't get any inkling at all that anything strange was going on with this man and i've talked to many players who know him a lot better than i do including players like matt millen and todd blacklidge and all these great penn state players who not only were recruited and played for him but were associated with him later on as part of the second mile charity which was a very good charity and provided a lot of opportunity for kids. none of them said that they could have seen that side. sometimes you get a vibe there is something strange. i did not in the case of jerry sandusky. >> the name of the book, the perfect season. thank you very much for joining

us today. >> thank you. appreciate it. still ahead the charity that we just spoke of there that jerry sandusky founded. a good cause that may have had an evil purpose. >> these predators identify a child, become mentors, they're usually children that have had -- are having a little difficulty. they're at risk children. >> police say sandusky preyed on those children most vulnerable. that story is coming up. each week we are calling on friends of cnn heroes to shed a spotlight on our top ten honorees and their work. as you vote for the one who inspires you the most. the cnn hero of the year. today army veteran and actor j.r. martinez introduces us to a war awidow who is reaching a ne generation of grieving spouses turning their grief and loss into triumph and survival. >> hi. i'm j.r. martinez. as a proud supporter of

operation finally home, an organization started by 2010 cnn hero dan wallrath i am committed to helping wounded service members receive a mortgage free home. now i am thrilled to help introduce one of this year's top ten cnn heroes. >> my husband corporal michael davis was killed in baghdad, iraq. even four years later people still don't really know how to react when you say, hi. i am a widow. i just wanted to talk about it with other widows. they're not going to judge you for laughing. they're not going to tell me i'm grieving wrong. i just wanted to create what i was searching for and just hope there were others out there that could come and help me build it, too. i'm taryn davis and i invite a new generation of military widows to share their love, their sacrifice, and their survival. there are moments where they can all reflect. >> his impact will continue to affect us all for the rest of our lives.

>> followed by that time where they're living life to the fullest. >> you get up that high you see the world a different way and i think as widows we see our lives a different way too. >> a new life again. they teach me so much and show me how far i've come until one day another widow is going to come along and they're going to be the one that's changing that widow's life and that's pretty amazing. >> vote for cnn hero, the one who inspires you the most at cnn heroes.com. all will be honored live at cnn heroes, an all star tribute on december 11th hosted by anderson cooper. save the date. why so many people have today circled so prominently on their calendars. [ nurse ] i'm a hospice nurse.

britta olsen is my patient. i spend long hours with her checking her heart rate, administering her medication, and just making her comfortable. one night britta told me about a tradition in denmark, "when a person dies," she said, "someone must open the window so the soul can depart." i smiled and squeezed her hand. "not tonight, britta. not tonight." ♪

political buzz is your rapid fire look at the best political topics of the day. three questions, 30 seconds on the clock. patricia murphy and republican strategist and columnist for "the hill", sherry jacobis. two senators saying they are withdrawing their nomination of joe paterno for the presidential medal of freedom. other lawmakers haven't said yet if they will yank their support. so how much of a political liability is former penn state coach, the coach right now? >> maria? >> it could be a huge one. because i think this is a situation where you look at it and you say, regardless of how good joe paterno was as a coach, he let this tragedy happen by looking the other way.

and i drive completely hard line on this, martin, because as the mother of a 7-year-old boy i cannot imagine anything worse than somebody who actually let this happen and have let other little boys suffer this huge tragedy. the presidential medal of freedom is reserved for somebody who shows the utmost of character and that's exactly the opposite of what joe paterno has shown in this case. >> sherry? >> i would agree. we have the pennsylvania lawmakers taking the lead on this. the fact that others haven't said anything doesn't mean they won't. i think they certainly will. they've just lagged behind a little bit. people are still trying to comprehend the enormity of this. it's really rather unbelievable. i think we're all still in shock. but i can't imagine too many elected officials wanting to, you know, keep supporting him. there would be no excuse. so in terms of political liability only if somebody wants to come out and stand behind him and offer support or give excuses. i don't think that'll happen. >> patricia? >> yeah. well, i think right now this is not just a scandal. it's really a human tragedy.

there is no way to comprehend how much damage has been done in this case. we also don't know all the facts of the case, the facts that we do know are highly, highly disturbing. no politician, listen, they just want to get re-elected. no politician is going to put himself out there right now. what we do know is unbelievably terrifying, so in terms of a political liability it kind of goes beyond that. this is something that people need to get their heads around. there is no politician who is going to go near joe paterno at this time. >> human damage far outweighs political. rick perry. still doing his own version of damage control from his big debate oops moment. >> there were three reasons i messed up last night. one, the nerves. two was the headache. and three, um -- um -- oops.

el nino? i just learned justin bieber is my father. >> all right. so he made the jokes. he did the morning show circuit. and he says he is pressing on. so what should perry's battle plan be moving forward? >> you know, i think it's great that he can poke fun at himself but i think he should make a graceful exit. he's been a great governor. he has plenty of time. he can be very valuable for fund raising. right now we have a president who can't seem to manage without a teleprompter and a vice president we wish would. i think republicans want to put forward a candidate who at least can meet that minimum standard because obama and biden both are a disgrace on the national scene with their inability to communica communicate. so, you know, if perry -- if we didn't have that situation perry might be okay but we're so sensitive to the fact that again, a president and a vice president who barely can function on a national stage, i think we need to have a higher standard. >> maria? >> i actually think we need to give kudos for perry in terms of poking fun of himself last night. and in terms of fixing what he did at the debate, he's doing all the right things -- coming

out and doing all of the shows, talking about the reasons why he had the brain freeze, being a total self-deprecating moment and from a crisis communication standpoint he is doing all the right things but it wasn't a message discipline issue and it underscores everything that all of his critics and those who had a feeling that this guy was just not ready for primetime, that moment underscores that and i don't know if he'll be able to get over it. >> patricia? >> well, i think in a situation like this a little humor goes a really long way. i don't think that he needs to be on every morning show and every late night comedy show to reinforce what we already are feeling about him. this guy isn't ready for primetime. what i think he could do, i don't think he needs to drop out, there is a difference between memorizing something and believing in something. and i think that's why barack obama is having a hard time right now because people don't know what he believes and they want a president who believes in something and will take them somewhere. if rick perry can get away from trying to memorize something and tell us what he believes in, then he's got a chance.

if he doesn't believe in anything, then he's not going anywhere. >> all right. we're moving on in the final round, the buzzer beater. 20 seconds each. herman cain is caught on tape joking about anita hill. listen closely. >> the latest news today? anita hill is going to -- [ inaudible ] >> and of course this comes right after cain apologized for calling nancy pelosi princess nancy. so what do we think of cain's sense of humor, maria? >> he needs to get a new one. this is clearly not working for him. you know, the first law of when you are in a hole is, don't dig deeper. this completely digs deeper and also underscores everything that -- the sexual allegations have sort of come to mind in terms of voters and what he thinks about women. he clearly does not respect women, doesn't think that they're on the same level as him, and i think those are all very damning feelings to have about him. >> nothing that he said matches

what the president has said when he was caught on a hot mike slamming benjamin netanyahu, the israeli prime minister. we have this situation in iran, a challenging situation with regard to nuclear arms race, and we have a president who is out there slamming the prime minister. that is outrageous. i don't think anything herman cain said with these jokes about himself even comes close to what obama has done and the damage he has caused. >> patricia? >> well, actually i don't really think this is herman cain's sense of humor. i think it's his way of communicating. i mean, on his radio show he actually called nancy pelosi princess nancy all the time, and ghaes? people loved it. i don't think this plays well with independent voters and is deeply offensive to democrats and most women, but this is what they want. he was mobbed by people in michigan yesterday. he should keep doing it because it's working for him. >> all right. thanks to all three of you for your insights today on the political buzz. have a wonderful weekend. >> thanks, martin. >> well, it is not just veterans

day. lots of people not only numerologists have been awaiting today's date all year. check the calendar. it is 11s across the board. alison kosic is live at the new york stock exchange this morning and some businesses are cashing in? >> of course they're cashing in, martin. verizon for one is rolling out a new droid razor. guess what time? 11:11 a.m. today. you still got time to get to your verizon store. other retailers are offering special deals for the day as well because this date is not going to happen again for another hundred years. it makes it special and some people actually think it is lucky. so the biggest beneficiaries on this day are actually the lottery and wedding chapels. in fact, one economics professor says lottery sales are expected to jump five to ten percent today. here is a tip if you're going out to buy that lotto ticket. it may be hard to buy an 11-11-11 ticket bus what most states do is cap the number of sixths sold that have the same combination.

also we're finding that thousands, thousands of couples are getting married today bau because of the date. one couple in las vegas said they considered a lot of dates but 11-11-11 just felt right. >> when are you getting married? >> 11-11 with about 35,000 other people. we talked about 10-10-10 or 12-12-12 and 11-11-11 seemed to be the right timing for us. >> we knew it would be a very busy day because not only is it a lucky day, it's also a federal holiday and a three-day weekend. >> and this chapel in vegas called the chapel of flowers says it has 80 weddings planned for today, just a comparison, martin. it's got 20 to 30 planned on a normal day. we've got everybody getting married because of the day. >> all right. sentimental. thanks very much, alison. so it is november 11, 2011, and in just about 40 minutes it will be 11-11 a.m. on 11-11-11.

what are you going to be doing? send your i-reports at cnn.com/i report. in the meantime $15 million a year. that is the number that's being tossed about to lure shock jock howard stern to network television. find out who is throwing around that kind of number, next in showbiz headlines. woman ] lower cholesterol. [ man 2 ] yummy. i got that wrong didn't i? [ male announcer ] want great taste and whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol? honey nut cheerios. is the pain reliever orthopedic doctors recommend most for arthritis pain, think again. and take aleve. it's the one doctors recommend most for arthritis pain... two pills can last all day. ♪

time for your showbiz

headlines. the oscars have found an old pro to replace eddie murphy as host. "showbiz tonight's" a.j. hammer is here. who got the job? i think i know. >> yeah. i think you do know, martin. it's billy crystal coming back, the academy motion picture of arts and sciences didn't waste any time finding a replacement for eddie murphy. this is a real shift for what the oscars hoped to do, trying something completely new and different this year but crystal is certainly a proven choice and has hosted the oscars nine times now. bob hope is the only guy who hosted the awards show more than billy. crystal did do something very modern. he broke the news on his twitter account. here's what he said. am doing the oscars so the young woman in the pharmacy will stop asking my name when i pick up my prescriptions. looking forward to the show. so martin obviously it is not lost on billy crystal that he is lesser known to the younger audience the oscars hope to attract but i think he does always deliver and will get a whole new younger audience as a result.

>> he certainly does. let's talk about another move to replace another celebrity. piers morgan leaving "america's got talent" and howard stern's name appears to be at the top of the list, right? >> that's what we're hearing. i think this could be pretty cool. there are a bunch of reports out there today that have howard stern in negotiations right now to join up with sharon osbourne and howie mandel as a judge for "america's got talent." so if he does take the job he'd be replacing our own piers morgan who as you mentioned left the show. there are also reports out there that if stern takes the job he'd get a $15 million a year salary for it. i have heard him on his show say before, you know what, for american idol, for 15 million, 20 million bucks yeah i'd sit there and judge people for a couple months a year. if he takes the job as well they'd reportedly move the whole production to new york. that way stern can continue do his day job on sirius xm satellite radio. certainly it would be an edgier "america's got talent" if detake the job. i think it's a great move. >> whoever is in the control room would have to have their

finger on the bleep button. thanks very much for that. want information on everything breaking in the entertainment world? a.j.'s got it this evening on "showbiz tonight" at 11:00 p.m. not yet, thanks for reminding me. wait, what? i have the hotels.com app so we can get a great deal even at the last minute. ah, well played get the app. tels.com. i go to e-trade and tap into the power of revolutionary mobile apps to trade wherever. whenever. life isn't fully experienced sitting idly by. neither is investing. [ birds chirping ] add listerine® total care for more complete oral care. ♪ it works in six different ways to restore enamel... strengthen teeth... freshen breath... help prevent cavities... and kill bad breath germs for a whole mouth clean. so go beyond the brush with listerine® total care,

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now a charity built on a worthy cause and possibly the worst of intentions. it is the second mile program founded by former penn state coach jerry sandusky, cnn's jason carroll takes a closer look. >> after learning details of the allegations against jerry sandusky, listening to him describe the mission of his second mile charity is chile. >> we thought if we could help a handful of kids we would do that and then the staff and people

have looked at the resources we had and the needs that existed and grown and reached out and touched so many kids. >> reporter: but that is exactly what prosecutors say was the problem. >> what happened here was grooming. where these predators identify a child, become mentors, they're usually children that have had -- are having a little difficulty. they're at risk children. through the second mile program he was able to identify these children then give them gifts, establish a trust, initiate physical contact, which eventually leads to sexual contact. >> for children who are impoverished, abused, or neglected the second mile provides opportunities that otherwise might be hard to come by, things like summer camps, leadership training, and counseling. each year the organization claims to serve some 100,000 children across the state of pennsylvania, and for many years sandusky was its public face and primary fundraiser.

troy craig met sandusky through the second mile when he was a young boy. >> i got to go to a lot of penn state football events. i remember standing on the sidelines for certain football games and other games sitting with his family on the 50 yard line. >> sandusky's family. >> yes. >> despite those good times, craig says he knew even at 11 years old something wasn't quite right. >> you knew if you were getting in the car with him and going somewhere that he was going to have his hand on your thigh. >> this video created by the organization shows the kind of close contact sandusky had with children in the program. sandusky started second mile in 1977 and last year it raised $2.66 million. >> reach out to young people trying to motivate them, to mentor them, to provide their needs for some sort of life of success, life of excellence. >> second mile, first learned of suspicious behavior by sandusky in 2002 from penn state athletic director tim curley who reported

sandusky had been seen in a locker room shower with a young boy. but the group didn't act on that information because curley said an internal review had found no wrongdoing. it wasn't until six years later, in 2008, after sandusky, himself, reported that an adolescent boy had made allegations against him, that the group decided to ban him from all of its programs involving children. sandusky denied those allegations then and has denied all of the allegations in the just released grand jury report. in a statement second mile says, we have done everything in our power to cooperate with law enforcement officials and will continue to do so. our highest priority always has been and will continue to be the safety and well being of the children participating in our programs. we encourage program participants to report any allegations of abuse and/or inappropriate sexual activity wherever it has occurred. >> now that you see that the allegations that are out there

standing against sandusky, do you feel in some ways that you were fortunate that more did not happen? >> absolutely i'm fortunate. and i can only speculate as to why. >> jason carroll, cnn, state college, pennsylvania. and you're looking at a live picture now from arlington national cemetery where ceremonies honoring our veterans are getting under way. up next we'll talk about the push to help find homeless veterans permanent housing. works to restore enamel,mua help prevent cavities, and kill bad breath germs for a whole mouth clean. whooo... [ male announcer ] listerine® total care. the most complete mouthwash.

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so worth while we'll show you again. these are live pictures of the veterans day ceremony at arlington national cemetery. in the meantime, on any given night, there are about 107,000 u.s. veterans living in the streets. the good news is though that number is actually half of what it was about four years ago thanks to community based organizations like the one we found right here in atlanta. joining me now the founder of the atlanta group quest 35 and gulf war veteran leonard adams. good morning. thanks for being with us. >> thank you for having me. >> i think what we should stress here is that this is not some sort of temporary fix. you're looking for a permanent housing solution. how does it work? >> how does it work? yes. we are looking for a permanent housing solution. quest is a new project.

it's a permanent supportive housing project for chronically homeless veterans. they come through a transitional housing program and are connected with resources and move into their own apartments. we're trying to have stable housing for them. >> when did you decide to get involved? i've been doing this for ten years. i'm a veteran myself. we've noticed that there are unique resources and targeted resources for veterans, so doing it for homeless men and women we decided to target our new efforts for the next two to three years to house homeless veterans. >> it was nice to point off with the good news that the number has significantly decreased. why do you think that has happened? >> i think because we're putting a lot of energy and effort into it. people have always wanted to support veterans. it's just that now we're together having a better continuity to do those things together. >> what do you think right now would be the most pressing need for veterans? >> i think affordable housing in connection to resources.

veterans -- chronic veterans are the ones out on the street and we can't really offer the services we need to to them out on the street so connecting them to stable housing in programs like ours we're able to connect those to the veterans benefits that they so dearly deserve. >> is there something about veterans that makes them particularly vulnerable? >> no. i don't think it is particularly vulnerable just because it's veterans. i do think we go through a unique situation because there are some things that we experience in life, especially war veterans, that are going to be a little bit different than the typical person that hasn't served in the armed forces. >> all right. leonard adams, thank you very much for joining us this morning to talk about quest 35. good luck. >> thank you, sir. my pleasure. >> thank you. back in a minute on this veterans day. [ umpire ] strike 3. you're out!

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no, i just, i bit my tongue. [ male announcer ] get to a better state. state farm. silicon valley is the promised land for entrepreneurs but for minority led firms they often have trouble even getting their foot in the door. here's special correspondent soledad o'brien. >> reporter: for our documentary "black in america" this year we wanted to focus on african-americans who work as technology entrepreneurs. there are eight of them this time in a three bedroom house and they work around the clock trying to get their startup ideas for a dot com business launched and then pitched to investors. in this documentary we explore

does race matter when it comes to success in silicon valley? there is a professor who is mentoring the eight in the house and his advice to them is stunning. listen. >> can i be critical of the community? >> yes. >> you folks don't help each other. >> the professor says investors in the valley practice pattern matching. they see entrepreneurs who are successful, mainly young, white males, and invest in those who fit the pattern. >> when i did raise venture capital my buddies advised me, get a white guy to be your front man. i did that. i hired a very impressive six-foot tall polished white guy. and i let him do all the talking. >> that never occurred to me. >> that's the way it is here. i'm telling you. i've done it. that's the way the system works here. you might as well understand it and then use it tour advantage. >> i'm kind of speechless. >> there are so many kids in berkeley or stanford you can hire. >> there is something raw and

very direct about it that's, you know, jarring. >> it is very sad. in 2011 it's very sad. we got a black president and he's not putting no money in my pocket right now directly. so what do we got to do? play the game until we're successful. >> and we're there every minute of their nine-week program to see if they can turn those dot com ideas into viable dot com businesses. be sure to watch "black in america 4" the new promised land silicon valley. >> and soledad's special airs this sunday night at 8:00 eastern time. well, that is a quick look at the stories making news on this veterans day. thank you very much for joining us. take a moment to remember what this day is all about and have a great weekend. let me pass it off to suzanne malveaux. >> i want to go directly live. i understand we'll be going live soon to arlington national