beginate. breaking news to tell you about this morning. wall street protesters told to leave overnight. the nypd moving in to kick them out overnight. jerry sandusky is a big overgrown kid. he's a jock. >> jerry sandusky's lawyer hinting at his client's defense, and the accused molester himself also speaking out saying he's only guilty of horsing around with children. and herman cain freezes when reporters ask him about libya. critics saying it's another sign

cain doesn't have the foreign policy chops on this "american morning." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com good morning, everybody. it's tuesday, november 15th. ali velshi off today. i'm christine romans along with carol costello on "american morning." welcome back, carol. >> thanks. i had a great few days off, but it's going to be back. good morning to you. breaking news to tell you about right at the top. overnight police in new york city moved in and cleared out the occupy wall street protesters from zuccotti park, the birthplace ever the occupy movement. the evictions came overnight. police ripping down tents, signs and cleaning up. a number of protesters were arrested for refusing to get out. poppy harlow now downtown. we're hearing the park is back open. so have police allowed the protesters to go back, like they said they would? >> reporter: so far, no. so far we've still got police as

far as we can tell surrounding the park, but it is all cleaned out. we made it in the park about an hour ago, and we saw, really, what was left of occupy wall street, which was piles of tents and debris and clothing after the police came in here around 1:00 a.m. to clear out the protesters. what you see behind me, police in full riot gear. we've been reporting since about 2:00 a.m. live. it took as three hours to get past the police barricades. they weren't even allowing press in to finally get in the park and see what had happened. i can tell you according to an occupy wall street spokeswoman, about 14 protesters arrested, possibly more. we saw some handcuffed and led on to nypd buses about an hour ago, but the park is completely cleared out. the mayor has said, he tweeted in the middle of the night, that the protesters will be allowed back in. the back story on this is it

really came as a shock. protesters were woken up in the middle of the night to police surrounding the entire park, shining lights on the park, telling them they to leave. what happened was brookfield properties which owns the property in the city of new york determined there was an increasing health risk and fire risk to having the protesters there. they removed them. they said they can go in but can't stay there. that has made protesters very angry. altercations between the police and the protesters. some of the protesters were leaning over on these police cars, trying to get the protesters out of the street to allow traffic to move. you can see it behind me. this really escalated around 4:30 a.m. here on wall street. >> in new york city, even the park's owner are no longer letting the protesters camp overnight, how are the police going to get them out of the park tonight? you know they're going to go

back, these protesters? >> reporter: carol, can you repeat that question for me? >> i'm wondering, since these protesters aren't allowed to camp out any longer, how are police going to keep them out at night? >> reporter: right. it's a very good question. we've tried numerous times to talk to the police, but they would not talk to us. we haven't gotten an answer why we weren't allowed for a long time into the park. that's a very good question. through my time reporting here over the past few weeks there have always been a few police officers making sure things were calm and under control. how they're going to keep them out at night, i am not sure. obviously, when the sun rises, if the protesters are allowed back in we'll see many back in the park. it will be interesting to see if they set up camp, even though they were told mayor not allowed to. the protesters telling me time and time again, we are not leaving. we are here to stay. you can feel it from them, carol. i would not be surprised if they

tried to set up camp here again. >> i wouldn't either. poppy harlow reporting live. we'll get back to you. thank so much. now to the penn state child sex scandal and the first public saumts from former coach jerry sandusky. sandusky says he's not a pedophile, innocent of all abuse charges leveled against himin an interview with bob costas he admits to questionable behavior to kids he met through the charity for at-risk kids. >> i can say i have done some of those things. i have horsed around with kids. i have showered after workouts. i have hugged them, and i have touched their leg without intent of sexual contact, but -- so if you look at it that way, there are things that wouldn't -- you

know, would be accurate. >> sandusky's attorney is also speaking out for the first time. he talked with cnn national correspondent jason carroll. jason is live in state college, pennsylvania. good morning, jason. >> reporter: and good morning to you. you know, i spoke to jerry sandusky's attorney for a little more than an hour, christine. he went over his defense point by point, and as you heard there, he says that sandusky, yes, he says he showered with young boys. yes, he regrets doing that, but he did not sexually assault anyone. >> reporter: do you believe in his innocence? >> oh, i do. i do. jerry sandusky is a big, overgrown kid. he's a jock. for anybody who's ever played sports. you get showers after you work out. i mean, when people hear he got showers with kids, oh, my goodness. you know? like he got showers with kids. that makes him guilty, right? obviously, anybody who gets a shower with a kid who's an adult

has to be guilty of something, but the bottom line is, jocks do that. they kid around and horse around. what jerry says in regard to the one allegation revolving what the assistant coach or grad student said he saw, he said we were horsing around. we weren't engaged in sexual activity. >> reporter: i want to wait before going to that, because that's sprieparate. even before talking about the showering idea, people have trouble with a man showering with a young boy. what are your thoughts on that. i mean, i couldn't do it. >> i wouldn't do it'si'm sure you wouldn't do it ip would feel uncomfort doing it, but jerry did that, but -- but that's a far different thing than saying he got showers with kids than saying that he committed these other acts, which the prosecution has alleged he did. i mean, what's going to come out in this case is that jerry did get showers with kids.

>> reporter: and, christine, i also brought up during the interview a point that a lot of people have been focusing on. that's that incident from 2002 where allegedly mike mcqueary, a then grad assistant allegedly saw sandusky sodomizing a young boy, a boy that appeared to be 10 or 11 years old in a shower here at penn state. i want you to listen to how his attorney defended that allegation. >> imagine going to your father as a grown-up at your age and saying, dad, i just saw jerry sandusky having anal sex with a boy that looked to be 10 years old. what would be your reaction? >> i would go to the police. >> exactly. go to the police nap would be my reaction. you have to report this. that's not what was done. what i'm hearing, although we haven't had live witnesses yet in court, what i'm hearing is, his father said, call joe paterno. tell joe. what i think happened. what i'm being told happened, is

that jerry was in the shower with this kid. the kid was messing around, having a good time. he had mcqueary come in and see that, he felt uncomfortable, when is exactly what curley and schultz are saying, it was reported by mcqueary he saw sandusky in a shower with a kid and he felt uncomfortable. feeling uncomfortable and seeing anal sex are two very different things. >> reporter: you know, christine, again, ugly allegations there. i also asked his attorney, how someone could mistake sodomy with just horsing around. these are just some of the confess that are going to be coming up as this investigation continues. obviously, his attorney wants the opportunity to interview mcqueary to try to get to the bottom of all of this. christine? >> all right, jason carroll. thanks, jason. that's so difficult to hear. isn't it? >> it is. it really is. the scandal is putting a focus on the children's charity that an accused molester founded

the second mile foundation. it's all unraveling now. they hired an attorney likely in anticipation of many lawsuits that could involve millions, and send mile ceo has now resigned. jack raykovitz testified to the grand jury he was informed in 2002 about sandusky being in the shower with that little boy. coming up at 6:30, we'll talk way reporter for the "patriot news" about the ongoing investigation with the penn state scandal. doing there doing fantastic reporting on the ground. we'll check in with her. also, herman cain with another oops moment on the campaign trail, when he couldn't give a coherent answer to a question about libya. hear it for yourself, straight ahead. don't look now, but newt gingrich is gaining ground fast to the top of the polls. we'll talk about the former speaker's stunning surge. you're watching "american morning." it's 10 minutes after the hour. companies you're just a policy.

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morning." we're following breaking news out of new york. intense situation in lower manhattan where police cleared out zuccotti park, where the occupy wall street protesters have been camping out for most of the past two months. >> yeah. with the past couple of hours sanitation crews tossed tents, tarps and tables, food, just about everything else left in the park, they tossed it out. a number of protesters arrested for refusing to leave. the city said the demonstrators can return to the park once the cleanup is over, but, here's the big "but" they can no longer camp out in that park. we'll see how that goes tonight. >> a big turning point came yesterday and over the weekend when you saw denver clearing out. pull pg down furniture, the encampment in oakland, and portland and philly's mayor who said, look, in are protesters and then the bad elements who

have gotten in there and are actually threatening the protesters, and health and safety in our town and philly's mayor said, enough is enough. a real turning point in the last few days. >> we'll talk to a police officer from washington, d.c., head the police union and ask him how difficult this has been for police. see what he la to say about it. what's kking, well, becoming a mess in many cities across the country. switching to another story, the supreme court will decide on president obama's health care law. the ruling had likely come right in the middle of the 2012 presidential race as many had thought and some feared. the justices will decide whether the law is unconstitutional and whether congress went too far requiring all americans bihea s health insurance or face a penalty. it happened again. another one of those awkward moments on the republican campaign trail. herman cain sinking in the polls since those sexual harassment allegations surfaced now has another problem on his hands. a little lapse in milwaukee

yesterday during a chat with a group of newspaper executives. listen. >> so you agree with president obama on libya, or not? >> okay. libya. president obama supported the uprising. correct? president obama called for the removal of gadhafi. just want to make sure we're talking about the same thing before i yes sa, i agree. i do not agree with the way he handled it for the following re reason -- no. that's a different one. i've got to go back.

see -- got all this stuff twirling around in my head. specifically, you asked me whether i agreed or disagreed with president obama. paul steinhauser live in washington this morning. cain came back and said, look, it was a pause, and he joked about it, and he was really tired. the interview lasted for 30 minutes. this was just a bad moment. >> reporter: yeah, but a bad moment he doesn't need right now, because after this happened it kind of went viral online and the talk of twitter. he was almost forced to respond later in the day when he was campaigning in wisconsin. take a listen to what he had to say. >> i mean, they asked me a question about libya, and i paused so i could gather my thoughts. you know. it's really complementary when people start documenting my

pauses. you know, it's one thing to document every word. it was a pause. that's all it was. good grief. >> reporter: his campaign putting out a statement saying that cain got the answer right. it just took him a little while to get his bearings. carol, come on, this is libya. it's been in the news for years. not like he was grilled about a topic out of nowhere. foreign politics not herman cain's wheelhouse. a couple weeks ago, the controversy whether he knew or did not know that china had nuclear weapons. check out our brand new poll. cnn orc, herman cain, at 14%. a drop from a month ago. and newt gingrich above him, another gop candidate, 22% has jumped and basicsly in a tie with mitt romney for the top spot in the battle for the gop nomination. carol, seven weeks to go.

seven weeks from today until the iowa caucuses and a whole new race, it seems, in the battle for the nomination. >> i mean, should anybody be surprised by this? herman cain has no political experience. right? he was a ceo of godfather's pizza. he's a very popular talk show host. it's not like he's thought about these foreign policy issues for months and months and months. so maybe some of his supporters will excuse this lapse. >> reporter: yeah. and he has been touting a long time he's not a normal politician. he's a businessman, and that helped the 9-9-9 plan helped him skyrocket in the polls, yes, when skyrocketing in the polls, you come under a lot of scrutiny. we've seen it. we'll see if we'll see that with newt gingrich now that he's skyrocketing in the poll. ahead we'll be joined by marty kaiser, editor of the milwaukee journal sentinel.

and the gop candidates debate live from washington next week. wolf blitzer your moderators, 8:00 p.m. eastern right here on cnn. 20 minutes after the hour. your travel forecast. rob marciano in the extreme weather center. good morning, rob. >> good morning, christine. hello, carol. the system stretching into the northeast causing delays. right now, though, south central texas, cluster of thunderstorms there. that will be rolling towards houston, eventually across southern louisiana and in through mississippi throughout the day today. damaging winds potentially with this and large hail. this cluster of thunderstorms west of san antonio moving in that direction. 30 miles an hour. these are storms creating wind gusts to 60 miles an hour. tranquil scenario sliding up towards it's north and east across the ohio river valley into the allegheny and upstate new york. some lighter precip gets into the i-95 corridor over the next couple of hours that shouldn't amount to a lot. what comes behind that will be probably the bigger story.

67 in d.c. for a high. 64 degrees in new york city. that's with the cloud cover and at times light rain. very mild and at time feeling more like september or august. that will be a big change from what we're seeing, or going to see in the next couple of days. that front comes through. temperatures plummet a good 10, 15, maybe even 20 degrees from where they are right now. so, get ready for fall. >> i thought this was going to last forever. >> yes, i'm sure you did. >> thanks, rob. >> see ya. still to come on "american morning," the airlines have been warned. for the first time a carrier has been fined, big time fine ford delays. we'll tell chu one. it's 21 past the hour. the postal service is critical to our economy--

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and welcome back. good morning. "minding your business," stocks slide as investors wait to see how the political change in greece andi italy will affect stock prices. yesterday the dow, nasdaq and s&p 500 fell by a little less than 1%. in about two hours we'll find out if consumers are out there spending approaching a critical

holiday shopping season when the october retail sales report is released. also, america's biggest corporation, largest single private employer walmart will release its third quarter earnings. oil prices are on the rise up 20% since the start of october. the recent rally fueled by falling supplies, a wack weaker dollar and ongoing tensions. warren buffett is betting on big blue. a purse more than $10.7 billion worth of ibm stock. enough to make it weren't one o largest investors. warren buffett invested in visa, cvs and intel and settling claims of the bank's misled five credit unions ar the risks tied to mortgage backed securities. those failed because of investments. for the first time the government is finding ing and a.

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what's going to come out in this case is that jerry did get showers with kids. >> jerry sandusky's lawyer and accused child molester himself speaking out saying sandusky, yes, he did shower with young boys. he horsed around with them, but he's not pedophile on this "american morning." all right. welcome back to "american morning." it is 30 minutes past the hour. time for the morning's top stories. we're following breaking news this morning. a crackdown on the occupy wall street proesters. overnight police surrounded and cleared our zuccotti park, the

birthplace of the movement. sanitation engineers are cleaning it up. a number of protesters taken into custody for refusing to leave the area. the mayor says they can return once the tent is cleaned. no more tents, encampments or sleeping bags. they can no longer sleep overnight. and jerry sandusky publicly speaking out for the first time since accused of sexually assaulting young boys who he was supposed to be helping. sandusky says he showered with young boys and horsed around with them, but he's not a pedophile. sexual harassment allegations may be catching up to herman cain. in the latest cnn/orc poll he's fallen into the statistical third place with texas governor rick perry dropping 11 points since last month. mitt romney leads followed with newt gingrich with 22% in the race for the gop nomination. and as we just told you, a defiant jerry sandusky refuting child sex abuse allegations against him. in a phone interview with bob

costas, sandusky admits showering with young boys, hugging them, touching their legs, but no sexual intent. asked specifically about a 2002 shower incident with a 10-year-old boy. >> -- and horsing around, and he actually turned all the showers on and was actually sliding across the floor and we were -- as i recall -- possibly like snapping a towel, horseplay. >> covering the penn state scandal for the "patriot news" joins us from state college, pennsylvania. good morning, sara. >> reporter: good morning. >> you know this story better than anybody. frankly, i was a little surprised that sandusky agreed to a phone interview with bob costas. are you surprised he's speaking out? >> reporter: well, it was a little shocking to hear his voice and to hear him explain that, however, we did kind of

know that this was going to be his defense. as soon as the presentment was released, his attorney said that they were going to flat out deny any wrongdoing. any of this prolonged abuse, but as far as these smaller incidents, these shared showers, that he was going to admit that he did take showers with boys and in was touching, but that the difference was the boys interpreted the touching incorrectedly. that it wasn't in bad faith. it was just playful horsing around, like he said last night. >> jason carroll, he talked with sandusky's lawyer. the other thing, i think, that will be part of the defense strategy is that this mike mcqueary, who claims that he saw sandusky in the showers raping that 10-year-old boy. the lawyer says, well, if you saw that, what would you do? would you run home and tell your father, like mcqueary did? or would you call the police? he seems to be saying that, mcqueary didn't know what he saw in that shower. >> reporter: right.

and he did say something that i thought was very interesting. that the prosecutors have not found that boy from that 2002 shower incident, but sandusky's attorney says, they found that boy, and that boy says he was never assaulted in that shower. so if that's true, that could be huge for the defense. >> interesting. you also have a any story out this morning that's just been posted online that says, despite sandusky's claims of innocence, his own charity was worried about him going back to at least 2008. tell us more. >> reporter: yeah, women, we have information from yesterday that a person of authority was told by one of the charity officials that they were aware of some strange behavior on the part of sandusky toward some of the boys at the second mile charity, and that's important, because the grand jurors are saying that he founded that charity to get access to children that he could molest. so if they knew about it, that would be -- that would make them -- that would put them in a

bad place right now, and they're struggling to see if they can recover, and in the meantime, they're launching an internal investigation that's going to be led by a former prosecutor. the former philadelphia district attorney lynne abraham. so whether or not -- how much they knew, when they knew it, what they did about it is yet to be determined, but we have a good source telling us they make a statement that they were aware of some kind of strange behavior. >> yeah. and a lot of people think that charity's just going to go away, but we'll see. going back to who knew what when, joe paterno, he's still in the news. bob costas on nbc asked jerry sandusky about joe paterno, whether joe paterno ever approached him, you know, to ask him about these allegations. this is wa jerry sandusky said. >> to your knowledge, did joe paterno have any information regarding objectionable activities on your part prior to that report in 2002? >> my -- i can't totally answer that question.

my answer would be, no. >> did joe paterno at any time ever speak to you directly about your behavior? >> no. >> never? >> no. >> okay. so we know paterno's name was stripped from the big 10 trophy. we know he's not going to be charged criminally, too, but he's been fired. right, from penn state. is there another shoe to drop? i mean, will he lose that famous statue outside of beaver stadium? >> reporter: well, i think the most telling remark about that last week was the new president of the university saying that in time they are going to honor joe paterno. he thinks that is appropriate, for 60 years of service and a lot of good that he's done on campus, but now is not the right time, and i think the feelings here are very raw, and they're raw on both ends of the spectrum. people who totally support joe paterno, think he's been wronged, and people who think he got what he deserved. once all these very raw emotions

settle down, i think we're going to find that he is going to be honored in some way. is it what we all expected for our retirement for joe paterno? probably not. >> sara ganim, thanks, as usual. crime reporter for "the patriot news." thanks so much. another awkward moment for herman cain. the candidate froze and couldn't answer a basic question about libya yesterday. reached for his thoughts and his bearings and then did. the final straw, maybe, for a sinking campaign? vegas baby! maybe we should head back to the dealership first? vegas! no, this is a test drive. vegas! [ male announcer ] it's practically yours. but we still need your signature. volkswagen sign then drive is back. and it's never been easier to get a jetta. that's the power of german engineering. get zero first month's payment, zero down, zero security deposit and zero due at signing on any new volkswagen. visit vwdealer.com.

welcomes back to "american morning." it's the moment of silence everyone's talking about. gop hopeful herman cain stumbling badly when responding to a question about libya. the georgia businessman failing to come up with a coherent answer to a basic foreign policy issue. it happened in front of a panel of newspaper reporters. watch. >> so you agreed with president obama on libya, or not? >> okay. libya. president obama supported the

uprising. correct? president obama called for the removal of gadhafi. just want to make sure we're talking about the same thing before i say, yes, i agree, or, no, i didn't agree. i do not agree with the way he handled it for the following reason -- no. that's a different one. i've got to go back and see -- got all this stuff twirling around in my head. specifically, what are you asking, did i agree or disagree with president obama. >> he's the editor of the "milwaukee journal sentinel" and

joins us live. what were you thinking when this was happening? was this a candidate under a grueling schedule who is you know, reaching to make sure he says the right thing? or is this a candidate who didn't really know how to respond? what was your thought? >> at the moment when he went into the discussion it didn't come across as a candidate who was under grueling schedule. we were having a pleasant conversation. this is not a "meet the press" grill, a candidate session. we're asking questions. he had just answered a question about the bush foreign policy when he said he agreed with how that had been handled, and then a reporter, dan byice asked him about libya and how obama handled that, and all of a sudden what occurred is what you saw. >> his communications director basically said that video was taken off context. a long conversation. out of context in some measure. was it taken out of context or

was that an accurate representation of what happened and a telling moment for potential voters? >> exactly an exact interpretation of what happened. we edit the questions down, put them on our website and break them into sections, but you can also go to the journal sent natural website and watch the whole interview for 35, 30 minutes. if you want to watch a question, or any other issue. >> how did he perform on those other issues? >> interesting. on the first question he really stumbled, i thought, on the issue of federal workers, and did they have bargaining rights for wages. he wasn't clear on that and had to ask us about that. >> let's listen to what he said about collective bargaining now that you bring it up. he said the republican bill in ohio that was just voted down might have gone too far. here's what he said about collective bargaining for federal employees. listen. >> would you favor collective

bargains for federal employees? >> they already have it. don't they? yeah. they already have -- >> no, they don't. >> they have unions. >> there y have unions. okay. they don't have the same bargaining powers. here again, collective bargaining i'll support as long as it doesn't put an undue burden on the taxpayer, the state and that kind of thing. that's the issue. >> saying he was for collective bargains, but that's definitely not the standard conservative answer. do you think he has a different point of view or the sense he didn't understand the question? >> i'm just not sure he understood the question, understood what was going on with federal workers. he had to turn and ask us the question, and we had to correct him. he's turning to us to ask us for the information, which seemed surprising. that was the beginning of the interview, the first question. >> rick perry had an oops

moment, he couldn't grasp the department of energy, trying to think of things to get rid of. i want to listen to what cain said last night, his explanation for not being able to grasp his response to libya right away. let's listen to that and then i'll get your reaction. >> they asked me a question about libya and i paused so i could gather my thoughts. you know, it's really complementary when people start documenting my pauses. it's one thing to document every word. it was a pause. that's all it was. good grief. >> so, marty, is this about not knowing the material, or is this about really on a grueling campaign trail when you're going from a to z subjects and discussing all kinds of different things, you know, in this very, i guess, hyper connected world, every little one of these exchanges we see and talk about over and over again? >> you know, i think this is a very simple question that had been discussed for months, how

president obama had handled the situation in libya. you know, people can go and watch the question themselves. watch the interview, and see you know, and make up their own minds you know, how this was handled. trying to spin it and say it was edited or handled some other way is just not accurate. >> mart you, you've seen -- had a lot of candidates come through there for editorial boards. it's what candidates do all the time. casually, bagels and coffee on the table usually and you just talk about all of these issues. this is unusual to see a candidate falter on such critical issues? >> i have to admit, quite a few of us have been in the business a long time, been through a number of these kinds of interviews, and afterwards we were really sort of stunned. you know, at what we had jut seen. our first story we talked a lot. we put up on the web. that story we talked a lot about the collective bargaining and the libya statement. what's interesting, when the

libya statement got posted on our website, it went viral, and it had about 250,000 views, video view, with an hour. >> all right. marty kaiser, editor of "the milwaukee journal sentinel." thank you so much. >> wow. seen a lot of those. i've sat in on those before. this is the season of these. the candidates come in, they talk for a very long time, they really are kind of -- i would say off guard in a way. talking to local news reporters and writers and columnists, but usually they are very polished. >> or casual and fun. it's sort of one the more fun interviews you do as a candidate, because it is informal and you're not like -- >> but polished i mean on their points and on their answers. >> true. you want to be president, i guess you got to be. coming up, she is a fighter and survivor. now for the first time hear arizona's congresswoman gabby giffords tell her inspirational story in her own words.

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ten minutes to the top of the hour. what you need to know to start your day developing here in new york city, crews cleaning up zuccotti park where hundreds of wall street protesters have been hanging out. the mayor says the democrat's straighters can return once the park is cleared but can no longer camp out overnight. penn state defensive coach jerry sandusky saying he's horsed around with kids but is not a pedophile. sandusky publicly speaking for the first time since accused of sexually assaulting young boys.

defense secretary panetta is set to testify on military budget cuts. he's already warned the super committee budget cuts could be devastating and the u.s. military could become hallow if members can't get past politics in the next eight days. a ruling on president obama's health care law could come right smack in the middle of the 2012 race. the supreme court announcing it will hear challenges to the law. no deal for the nba. the players union turned down the league's latest offer in a dispute over collective bargaining calling it unfair. the union is prepared to file an antitrust suit against the nba. that's the news you need to start your day. "american morning," back after a break.

all right. welcome back. in a few hours president obama will leave hawaii heading for his first visit to australia. >> yeah. during a whirlwind two-day trip he'll announce a new phase of military cooperation between the two countries. cnn's brianna keilar is traveling with the president. >> reporter: the third time's a charm. after cancelling planned trips to australia twice now, president obama is finally headed down under. while the president's visit to the apec summit here in hawaii was more about emphasizing u.s. trade interests in asia, his visit to australia is more about u.s. military interests in the region. president obama's first stop, the capital city of cam bra, we'll he'll address parliament commemorating america's 60 year alliance with australia. then he heads north to the military stronghold of darwin where he's expected to announce a plan for a more pronounced u.s. military presence in the country. a symbolic increase of america's

profile in the region as china demonstrate its might. >> cheerily the chinese experienced a larger and larger amount of economic growth are starting to flex their diplomatic muscle, further away from the shores of china into southeast asia, and i think countries in the region are looking to the united states to help bellens against that. >> reporter: american allies like japan and korea are concerned u.s. budget cuts could shrink america's military commitments in asia. china recently launched its first aircraft carrier and has made territorial claims to much of the south china sea. >> the south china sea, of vital interest to the region and national interest to the united states, an area that carries an immense amount of commerce and an area in which we must maintain maritime security and peace. >> reporter: the president's stop in australia is part of a push to highlight a new era in u.s. foreign policy. focusing less on iraq and afghanistan and instead looking

east. christine and carol? >> thanks, brianna. a survivor and inspiration. now the touching story of arizona congresswoman gabby giffords in her own words. she sat down with abc's diane sawyer for the first interview since the shooting that almost killed her. a video of her ongoing recovery learning to walk and talk again and asking giffords if she will return to congress. >> better. >> reporter: it's better? >> i -- oh -- >> she wants to get better. >> better. >> reporter: you want to get better. >> better. >> reporter: and so you think to yourself, i'll go back to congress if i get better. >> yes, yes, yes. yes. >> reporter: and that's where you are right now? >> yes, yes, yes.

>> loughner pleaded guilty to 49 charges stemming from the rampage. >> i can't imagine how frustrating. it's all here and can't come out. >> like when you hear, people have had a stroke have a hard time communicating after a stroke. how frustrating that can be as you're trying to rewire the brain and learn again and talk. >> such a well-spoken woman. it's like -- you go, gabby. >> made incredible progress. ahead in the next hour, wall street protesters cleared out, some hauled away by police. we are live in manhattan watching all the developments for you. the postal service is critical to our economy--

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.

breaking news to tell you

about this morning. the new york city police department moving in on wall street protesters overnight just days before they promised to really shake things up downtown. jerry sandusky is a overgrown kid. he's a jock. >> jerry sandusky's lawyer hinting at his client's defense, and an accused molester himself also speaking out saying he's only guilty of horsing around with children. first rick perry. now it's herman cain who has a case of the oops. the candidate freezing when reporters ask him about libya. smiling positive and looking forward, ten months after being shot in the head. gabby giffords speaks. will she return to congress on this "american morning." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com and good morning. it is tuesday, november 15th. ali velshi has off today. i'm carol costello along with

christine romans. welcome to "american morning." >> yes. first this morning, breaking news. new york city telling the wall street protesters it's time to take up your tents, pick up your tarps, get your stuff and go. overnight police cleared out zuccotti park. this is where the occupy movement started. hundreds of protesters now on the streets watching and waiting. because they've been told they can return once sanitation crews have finished cleaning up the park. poppy harlow live in lower manhattan. poppy, is the park open yet for demonstrators and protesters yet? >> reporter: the park is not open yet. you've got traffic walking by, you can see, christine. it's barricaded on all four sides. a lot of police officers down here, and, also, you see those people in yellow vests? i was told by one they are park security. we're not sure if they're from the city or from brookfield, the company that owns this park. a fascinating park. reporting down here live since 2:00 in the morning. the escalation ramped up in the wee hours in the morning, from

2:00 to 3:00 to 4:00 a.m. live when i was on-air with carol. the protesters taken out of the part. a lot of them arrested, we saw them put on nypd buses. how did this go down in the park? we as journalist was not allowed by the nypd past barricades. a block and a half away, not allowed to get into the park until 5:00 in the morning after trying for three hours. take a listen to those in the park who got evicted to their experience. here it is. what happened? you said you just left the park? it's about 3:00 a.m. tell me what happened? >> i was sleeping when i heard all sots of shouting and screaming going on. woke up to see the cops were surrounding the park, barricading it. i couldn't hear the order through the microphone. it wasn't until 20 minutes later i figured out what was happening. trying to kick us out. >> reporter: can you tell us what happened? why you are all gathering here?

>> gathering here to continue to support the need for justice in this world. the growing income gap and the elite are runaway and controlling this entire country, and this is it. it's a continued stand. >> reporter: all right. and now, christine, i want to pull up video we got. we were one of the few cameras that got into zuccotti park around 5:00 a.m. when the cleanup crews were in here. hopefully you're seeing this video here. what i found, basically nothing like we've seen the last two months. all the tents were taken down. the cleaning crews were sweeping up what was left of the occupy wall street movement. you saw piles and. is of tarps an clothes from the protesters in the corners of the park. sorry. obviously it's wall street. people are coming down to work, but that -- that's what happened. now, there's a sign that has been posted down here, christine, when they do open the park and protesters can come back in, the sign says, there's a 10:00 curfew. no tents aloud. no sleeping bags allowed.

the city and brookefield, which owns the park, is making it clear they do not want protesters camping here overnight. >> poppy harlow, thanks so much. michael bloomberg, the mayor ever new york, had a statement that basically said they've had two months to occupy the park with tents and sleeping bags. now they'll have to occupy the space with the power of their arguments. >> there you go. >> poppy harlow, thanks. this morning's crackdown followed the actions of other cities fed up with the fimth and reported crime in these occupied encampments. in oakland, california, police tore down tents and arrested some occupy protesters after they refused to leave the city park yesterday. joining me is a spokesperson for the national fraternal order of police. welcome. >> good morning. >> i know you've been seeing a bit of what's happening in new york city. so police at 1:00 a.m. eastern time this morning surround the park. te got on the bull horns, shined lights into the park and said, it's time to go. get out of the park.

we freed to clear we need to clean it up. you can come back. why did they choose 1:00 a.m.? >> because it gives them the advantage. it gives them the opportunity to go ahead and take control of the situation. >> how so? >> well, you know, the protesters have a right to their first amendment freedom of speech, but they also have been told, the first amendment also says that they can peaceably assemble. when it comes to the point where the crowds are not peaceable, the police will go ahead and take action and make arrests where necessary. >> how difficult has these occupy protests been for police as far as -- because you can't explain things. you try not to, but sometimes things just happen. so how difficult has this been for police? >> well, police officers are trained to go ahead and put up with all kinds of situations. you know, they raise their right hand, and they take an oath to uphold the constitution, and so when they're sent out in to go

ahead and perform their duty, they're not taking a side one way or the other, but they will protect the constitutions and the laws on the books. >> mayor bloomberg put out a statement. christine read a little. i'll read more. i cannot wait for someone in the park to get killed or injure another first responder before action. others say enforcing laws might be used by protesters as a a prees text for violence. we must never be afraid to insist or compliance with our laws. as you observe these occupy movements across the country, has violence become a continuing problem, or are there just a few incidents here and there, and police are afraid those incidents might increase in number? >> that's exactly correct. i think they're worried they will increase. you know, the officers are out in. they're not only protecting the protesters, but they're protecting the public safety, and they're also protecting themselves. i understand that the protesters have a problem with them donning

riot gear, but they come dressed in riot gear to not only protect themselves but to go ahead and protect the public. >> and just a final question for you. police here in new york city said these protesters cannot camp out overnight in zuccotti park. a 10:00 p.m. curfew has been instituted now. we know protesters will probably not like that move, and maybe some of them will try to camp out, despite the curfew. so how do police handle a situation like that? >> well, as you've seen with various cities across the country right now, they will go ahead and they'll get on their bull horns and they'll tell them to disperse. give them ample opportunity to move on. if they choose to violate the law they'll be arrested. >> sergeant -- i should be able to say this, because, i, too and italian. thank you very much, sergeant. we appreciate it. >> thank you. >> and new york city mayor michael bloomberg is scheduled

to did a press conference. we'll be there when it happens. >> some of my relatives wouldn't believe it. >> great interview, carol. former penn state coach jerry sandusky speaking out for the first time since being accused of sexually abusing young boys. he says he's not a pedophile and innocent of all charges. in an interview with bob costas, sandusky does admit having close contact with minors. >> i could say that, you know, i have done some of those things. i have horsed around with kids. i have showered after workouts. i have hugged them, and i have touched their leg. without intent of sexual contact, but -- so if you look at it that way, there are things that -- that wouldn't -- you know, would be accurate.

>> sandusky's attorney is also speaking out for the first time. he talked with cnn national correspondent jason carroll. jason is live now in state college, pennsylvania. good morning, jason. >> reporter: and good morning to you, christine. you know, specifically, we talked about many things during this interview that i had with sandusky's attorney. more than 40 minutes long. talking about the showering, that's important, christine, because as you know, that was one of the points brought out in that 23-page grand jury report. prosecutors saying the showering was part of a pattern. well, sandusky's attorney says there was no pattern here. he says that, yes, sandusky did shower with these young boys, and that he does regret doing that, but he says that does not mean he sexually assaulted anyone. take a listen to that segment of my interview. >> do you believe in his innocence? >> oh, i do. i do. jerry sandusky is a big, overgrown kid. he's a jock. for anybody who's ever played

sports, you get showers after you work out. i mean, when people hear he got showers with kids, oh, my goodness. you know. like, you got showers with kids? that makes him guilty, right? anybody who gets a shower with a kid as an adult has to be guilty of something, but the bottom line is, jocks do that. they kid around, they horse around, and in fact, what jerry says in regard to the one allegation involving with the assistant coach or the grad student said he saw, he said, we were horsing around. we weren't engaged in sexual activity. >> i want to wait before talking about that. even talking about the showering. a lot of people have trouble with the -- >> i agree. >> -- idea of a man showering with a young boy. what are your thoughts on that? >> i wouldn't do it. i'm sure you wouldn't do it. i would feel uncomfortable doing it, but jerry did that. but -- but -- but that's a far different thing than saying he

got showers with kids than saying that he committed these other acts, which the prosecution has alleged he did. i mean, what's going to come out in this case is that jerry did get showers with kids. >> reporter: and, christine i want to follow-up with something, if i may. as you know, back in 1998, sandusky was accused of showering with a young boy. that incident was actually brought to the attention of authorities, and sandusky said he would not do it again. he apologized for that. but then he did do it again. allegedly in 2000 and again in 2002. so my question to his attorney was, look, after getting in trouble back in 1998 for showering with a young boy, why, then, would he do it again? if there wasn't something else going on. again, sandusky said that, look, that doesn't mean that something sexual went on. he said what he did by doing it again was "pretty stupid."

but he said once again it does not mean that he's gutty of sexual assault. christine? >> so much to keep following in this story as it developing. thanks, jason. a dire announcement this morning from the defense secretary. leon panetta is set to testify on military budget cuts. he's already warned the super committee that deeper cuts could be devastating using the words hallow military. barbara starr is live at the pentagon. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. panetta will be on the hill in just over two hours testifying about all of this and the war in iraq, but he's calling this really devastating and unacceptable, the potential for up to $1 trillion in budget cuts in military spending over the next decade. it's really the new doomsday scenario here at the pentagon. cuts in airplanes, ships, ground combat vehicles. but when he talks about it all leading to a hallow force, what does that really mean? have a listen to what he had to say. >> it's a ship without sailors.

it's a brigade without bullets. it's an air wing without enough trained pilots. >> reporter: all of that now leaving, we are told, according to the secretary, to a the smallest army since before world war ii, the smallest air force ever. is it really a problem? well, analysts are looking at it, and what we've -- we've talked to a number of them. what they tell us is that, what it will lead to is the u.s. military not being able to conduct two full wars, let's say, in both asia and the middle east. two hot spots. it's leading to really fascinating questions. will the u.s. ever be involved in a major land war again? carol, christine? >> i guess we'll just have to hope the super committee comes to an agreement on time and all of these things won't happen. right? >> reporter: exactly. you know, it's washington.

they've already left themselves a back door out to maybe repeal the budget cuts if they do happen. >> barbara starr live at the pentagon. thank you. still to come this morning, the supreme court saying it will tackle president obama's health care law next year. and the decision will come right in the thick of the 2012 race. jeff toobin here to look at what's at stake for people who are already benefiting from the law. and following breaking news this morning. a tense situation right now in lower manhattan after police clear out zuccotti park. that's where the occupy movement started nearly two months ago. we'll bring you the latest. it's 14 minutes past the hour. the most important are energy security and economic growth. north america actually has one of the largest oil reserves in the world. a large part of that is oil sands. this resource has the ability to create hundreds of thousands of jobs. at our kearl project in canada, we'll be able to produce these oil sands with the same emissions as many other oils and that's a huge breakthrough. that's good for our country's energy security and our economy.

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welcome back to "american morning." it's 16 minutes part the hour. the u.s. supreme court will decide on president obama's health care law and the riuling likely will come right in the middle of the 2012 presidential race. >> the justice will decide whether the law is

unconstitutional and whether congress went too far saying all americans should buy health insurance or face a penalty. jeffrey toobin, they welcome this because they want to clear it up once and for all and know it's not constitutional? >> the momentum appears to be on their side. the courts recently including two very respected conservative judges, one in the d.c. circuit, one in the sixth circuit in cincinnati, have both upheld the law. so i think more judges have been upholding it than striking it down, but you never know what the supreme court's going to do and it's a big risk. >> you never do know what the supreme court's going to do, but the deciding thing and most people's minds, individual mandate, the requirement that people buy insurance and whether that's constitutional. from what you know about the justices, is it likely that the conservatives will go with the republican way and the liberals on the court will go the democratic way? >> you know, sad to say, that's usually the case at the supreme court. we figure the supreme court

sometimes is different from the other branches the government, but you've got five republicans and four democrats on the supreme court. that's pretty much all you need to know about the supreme court. however, this would be an enormous step. you know, the federal government has been involved in the medical industry, in health care with medicare with medicaid for decades. to say the federal government cannot take this additional step would be a very dramatic difference from prior law, i think. and if i had to bet i think they will uphold it, but it is not going to be an obvious case. the supreme court usually takes an hour for each case. they scheduled 5 1/2 hours of argument on this case. you know, they think it's pretty important rc important. >> some of the proponents, some can't fathom. right now there are things, things happening people feel. your 26-year-old kid can get health insurance, children are automatically covered with

pre-existing conditions. oh things could change potent l potentially for people already enjoying the benefits of health reform? >> one of the many complexities of this case is does this lawsuit challenge just the individual mandate, just the requirement to buy health insurance, or does it strike down the whole law? that's weren't of the things this court scheduled argument on. there's also the problem of if they strike down the individual mandate forcing everyone into the insurance market, how do they pay for the rest of it? even if they don't strike down rest of it, the whole idea is, force healthy people to get insurance so that that will subsidize the people with pre-existing conditions. the people who wouldn't otherwise be insurable. if you take the individual mandate out, how does the funding mechanism of the whole law work? so there are a lot of moving parts here. but i think you are basically going to get a thumbs up on the whole thing, thumbs down on the whole thing and it's going to be immense significance. >> wa you said before, how the

justices will decide. won't the eyes of the country be on them? the country, we always hear it, we don't like activist judges in the country. we want judges to decide thing on the merits of the law, the constitution. are you saying that you don't think this will happen? >> in fairness to the justices what is, according to the constitution, it's very much in the eye of the beholder. it is not a simple question about whether this is constitutional. it's not like you read the constitution and the answer is obvious. they have different judicial -- >> the political -- >> everybody has pat answers, but the fact is, these are difficult questions that people in good faith have strong disagreements on. it's not like it's -- you know, that they're being bad people, they're being politicians. >> quick question on the sandusky tape with bob costas from nbc. we see them, i guess, laying out the defense strategy. was that a smart move? >> i don't think so. i do think it's a good idea to remind people that this guy is

innocent until proven guilty. a lawyer going on television is a smart thing. it's worth remembering, in the 1980s we had a whole spate of false accusation of sexual abuse of children. the preschool, the satanic cults in day cares turned out to be false. it's worth it to remind people of that. however, if you're going to go on television, you want to tell people something that they're going to find credible, and going on television to say, well, he liked taking showers with boys, but that's normal and that's what jocks do, i don't think many people are going to find that very persuasive. i think people will find that incriminating. that's a big mistake. >> so the big, overgrown kid thing -- >> that's not something you're going to sell to the court of public opinion or the jury. >> thanks, jeff. >> all right. still ahead on "american morning," the trouble with big time college sports. we're taking an in-depth look this morning at the come chultu

that's led to scandals on and off the field. the biggest, what's happening at pen state. good morning, guys. a front stretching from the northeast down to the rio grande, bringing rainfall in those areas causing travel delays. also severe wangeather across ps of south texas. severe thunderstorm west of san antonio. take rain and wind with it over the next couple hours. a gentle rain moving across upstate new york and pennsylvania, drifting through the i-79 corridor. causing delays across the metros, d.c., philly and eventually the rain behind the system eventually gets colder. 10 to 20-degree drop in temperatures by thursday and friday. 22 after the hour. "american morning" is coming right back. [ child ] it's so cool!

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welcome back. good morning. "minding your business" this morning, stocks slide as investors wait to the see the political change in greece and italy will affect the european debt crisis. u.s. stock futures trading lower again. yesterday the nasdaq, s&p and dow off by 1%. and the company announced it raked in $1 billion in the third quarter, up more from last year. important going into the holiday shopping seiason. how much americans spent in october on retail items coming up. federal regulators expanding investigation with the automatic shift liever on several gm cars. it's in park, the transmission is still in drive or reverse. the original investigation involved the saturn aura. now they want to know if the

problem also affects the chevrolet malibu and pontiac g6. and americans planning to retire, putting golf and travel plans on hold. according to a new yahoo! survey, 37% of americans have no retirement savings and 38% plan to live off social security. and the music industry is trying to shut down a site that allows you to sell the music you purchase online to others. the as much as is called redicky and claims to be a way to get rid of unwanted files. the music industry is accusing the site of copyright infringement. "american morning" will be right back after this quick break. the other office devices? they don't get me. they're all like, "hey, brother, doesn't it bother you that no one notices you?" and i'm like, "doesn't it bother you you're not reliable?" and they say, "shut up!" and i'm like, "you shut up." in business, it's all about reliability.

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i say that i'm innocent of those charges.

>> innocent, completely innocent and falsely acuesed in every aspect? >> well, i could say that, you know, i had done some of those things. i have horsed around with kids. i have showered after workouts. >> jerry sandusky speaks. the disgraced former penn state coach telling nbc he horsed around and showered with young boy, but there was nothing sexual about it -- on this "american morning." and welcome back to "american morning." top stories we're following, break news, a crackdown on the occupy wall street protesters. overnight police surrounded and cleared out sioux kotd zuccott. the birthplace ever the movement. a number taken into custody for refusing to leave the area. the mayor says the demonstrators will eventually be allowed to return but can no longer camp out overnight.

the new york mayor michael bloomberg scheduled to hold a press conference about a half hour from now. we'll take you there live when it happens. and calling on syrian president assad to step down. saying if he were assad he would begin talks for an orderly transfer of power. more than 30,000 people have been killed since cracking down on protesters in the last eight months. and leaving for australia today. the president deliver as speech commemorating the alliance with australia and is expected to announce a plan for a more pronounced u.s. military presence in the country. jerry sandusky speaking out for the first time since the penn state scandal broke, and he denies ever sexually abusing children. in a phone interview with nbc's bob costas, the former assistant coach admitted some details in the grand jury report were true. he did shower, horse around with young boys. sandusky was asked exactly what he thought he did wrong.

>> well, in retroexpect, i shouldn't have -- retrospect i shouldn't have showerered with those kids? >> that's it? >> well, that's what hits me the most. >> are you a pedophile? >> no. >> are you sexually attracted to young boys, to underaged boys? >> am i sexually attracted to underaged boys? >> yes. >> sexually attracted? no. i enjoy young people. i love to be around them. but, no, i'm not sexually attracted to young boys. >> sandusky's charged with 40 counts of sexual abuse. the "new york times" is reporting police are now invest fwating new claims from more possible victims. some blamed the scandal on the closeness that permeates big college programs like at penn

state. comparing it to the mafia. looking at the culture in these big time, big-money sports. author of "friday night lights" and a sports columnist for the daily beast and contributing editor to "vanity fair" joins me from philadelphia. listening to some of that sound, i've got to get your reaction. you know sports. you know the culture of big time sports. i mean, is it normal for a coach to be naked in the shower with other players let alone children? >> no. i mean, it's ridiculous. he's already incriminated himself. his lawyer amendola should be disbarred. this was one of the most ridiculous disgraceful performances i've ever seen. first of all, i don't believe a word sandusky says. i don't think anyone does. as i say, he's incriminated himself merely by being in the shower and this vague, well, i kind of touched their leg. his reputation of mcqueary is completely not credible. mcqueary is coming out saying

that he tried to stop it. i think mcqueary would know the difference between anal intercourse and the snapping of a towel. there are too many allegations against this man, and his effect was eerie. he was flat, has no remorse. a classic, delusional narcissist monster. >> his attorney is going to say that my attorney is innocent and try to explain some of these situations. from the outside, i'm going to tell you, showering with children, a man is 50 showering with children at night by themselves, i mean, to the average person, it just doesn't seem appropriate, but then you hear his attorney say, look, he's a big kid. he's a jock. that's what jocks do. is that what jocks do? >> that's not what jocks do, not the jocks that i know. i don't know what he's talking

about. a coach in his 50s showering with a 10-year-old. wait a sec. 9:30 at night on a friday? come on. let's get real. let's get real. his lawyer -- i have to believe that his lawyer is in it for his own publicity, and i have to believe that the culture of state college and centre county and happy valley is a backwater that lives, i don't know, 1950s, 1940s. we all know that judge had a conflict of interests. let's him out on $100,000 bail, non-secured. no one, no one took these charges seriously. penn state had no plan. obviously. until the governor stepped in. this thing stinks from beginning to end and i get upset, because -- go ahead, i'm sorry. >> that's why you make the analogy of a mafia. such a power structure, where such a few, a small number of people have so much power that what they do is not questioned.

that's the analogy you're making? >> they don't question -- penn state football is god. you don't touch god. you don't touch football. you don't touch zeus, which is joe paterno. everybody, everybody abdicated their moral and public responsibility. everybody. and now sandusky who apparently is in new york getting his dunkin doughnuts gives this ludicrous interview and his lawyer in a natty suit and tie, oh, we're going to find some victims. stop it. stop it. stop it. >> does anything ever change? it's about money. there are those who can say, this is different. this is a story about pedophilia, not about football power. or this is a story about a man wrongly accused, who just loves kids. i mean, and the whole wave these empires are built in sports doesn't change. >> no. it is the code of america. you name me one football scandal and maybe there's some and there probably are, where someone from

the inside, a coach actually turned in his program. it will never happen. they protect their own at all costs, and i am now convinced more than ever after listening to bob costas' superb questioning that this guy is more guilty than ever and the code of emerta is worse than ever. >> we've got to let this play out. i'll tell you something, former oklahoma university football coach barry switzer told a local newspaper this, having been in the profession a long time and knowing how close the coaching staff is, this has been kept a secret. everyone on the staff had to know the ones that had been around a long time. what do you make of that from other people who are in, you know, these big programs or have been in that big programs saying, this is a -- this has got to be a one off? >> i quoted barry switzer in my college for "newsweek."

barry switzer is exactly right. i have spent a lot of time in clubhouses and locker rooms. these guys know everything that's going on. there's a lot of down time. they gossip constantly. they nome know what's going on among the k0ecoaches, they know among every other coach. barry swits sir right and bobby bowden said the same thing. former coach at florida state. they knew and they buried it. i do not believe for a second that joe paterno was not informed of the 1998 original investigation which, by the way, the report was read by the vice president schultz who has now step down with his $330,000 pension that i am paying for, because i am a pennsylvania state taxpayer. >> well, that's a good point, too, and the pensions, that's another angle to follow as we go forward, too, about how the money keeps flowing. thanks so much. next time try to really tell us how you real feel about it, buzz. >> i get very upset i. know.

>> been doing this 20 years. >> because aren't we all partially to blame for this? we are a football culture. fan, passionately connected to teams and players and we excuse lots of bad behavior for our favorite players so our teams can win. you can't just lay it at the feet of the coaches. you have to late y itality the t of the fans, too. i'm not saying most would excuse child sexual abuse, but we excuse all sorts of bad behavior from our sports players and we think it okay because those players continue to play. >> is buzz still there? bottom line, though, these are the allegations against one guy. one guy, and in are those who love penn state, love that program, who are football players who have been brought up and through that program are going to say, you can't blame the system for one bad guy. buzz, weigh in. >> well, i mean, look, the whole beast of college football is pro philadelphiaous. fans are crazy.

but at the bottom line, you have coaches and you have presidents. they're the people in authority. there are dozens of cases of coaches letting players play who have rape charges against them who have gun charges against them. the bottom line -- >> people are still going to be games. fans still go to those games, because those crimes aren't considered as serious as child sex abuse. they go to the game, they is a are the positived, the programs make money. so aren't we in part to blame, too? >> no. i don't think we in part are to blame. football, whether we like it or not is a part ever the consuof . people are accountable. a god, joe paterno. the president, graham spanier, athletic director tim curley. other coaches, tim mcqueary who says he did something, but it sounds like he did nothing. look, you have responsible people who are there to monitor this. look, football is out of control. i think it should be taken out of the university system. not only are there programs who

make money, there are dozens of programs who lose money. you know who pays for athletic departments? student fees. >> that's right. >> it is crazy. >> right. i just want to add one thing. what? 100,000 people went to that game this past weekend where penn state played? 100,000. >> 107,000. but i think part of it was because they wanted to show catharsis, we've ex-pea yated our guilt. b.s., b.s., b.s. i'm delighted sandusky did this, because it pumt puts it back i news. we have to keep this going. >> thanks so much. nice to see you. come back. >> i'm exhausted after that. >> don't get carol going. >> i love football, too, at some point you've got to step back and say, hmm. maybe i'm part ever the problem, too. i don't know. still ahead, arizona congresswoman gabrielle giffords speaking out for the first time since shot in a fascinating attempt last win the, a difficult recovery still in

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good morning, atlanta. kploudy, 6, showers and 74 later

today. >> good morning to you. she's a fighter, survivor and inspiration. for the first time we hear her story in her own words. arizona congresswoman gabrielle giffords sat down last night for her first interview since the attack on her life back in january abc's "20/20" showed ongoing video of her recovery. giffords is making fascinating progress, enough to speak publicly about the deadly shooting spree that almost killed her. >> reporter: and when mark told you what happened. >> i cried. died. >> sad. >> sad. oh, sad. a lot of people died. >> reporter: it's hurts your heart. >> yes. yes, yes. tough, tough, tough. >> reporter: do you ever get angry at what happened to you? >> no, no, no. >> reporter: no? >> no.

life -- life. no better. >> reporter: it's better? >> i -- oh -- >> she wants to get better. >> better. >> reporter: you want to get better? >> better. >> reporter: and so you think to yourself, i'll go back to congress if i get better? >> yes, yes, yes. yes. >> reporter: and that's where you are right now? >> yes, yes, yes. >> reporter: is there a word for mark? what's the first word you think of? >> brave. >> thank you. >> brave, brave. >> that's what i think of when i think of you, too. brave and tough. >> tough, tough, tough. >> tough as nails. >> tough as nails. >> she is. and she has such a good attitude. that beautiful smile, but how frustrating it must be not to be able to express your thoughts

and words. >> yeah. and what an amazing story of them as a couple, too. you know, he is just retired. it's a -- >> you can see her touching his hand and him helping her find the words. >> more of that inspiring story in the next hour, plus speaking with two other survivors from that shooting spree in tucson. they're headed to washington to fight for tougher gun laws. and dug into the desert in china. what is this? why? is it a sign of something sinister? the lead be conspiracy theory is coming your way next.

48 minutes past the hour. here are your morning headlines, europe's debt crisis continues to hang over the market. investors remain concerned whether or not the political transitions in greece and italy will help resolve that region's financial problems. developing here in new york city, crews cleaning up zuccotti park where hundreds of wall street protesters have been camping out. overnight police arrested dozens of protesters. the mayor's office says the demonstrators will be allowed to return. they can just no longer camp out overnight. and new york city mayor michael bloomberg is scheduled to hold a news conference in about ten minutes at 8:00 a.m.

eastern. we'll take ta live when it happens. jerry sandusky proclaiming innocence in his first public comment since the penn state sexual abuse case erupted. he admits showering and horsing around with boys but saysintent. sandusky is facing 40 counts of child sex abuse. jordan's king abdullah is to call on the syrian president to step down. comes just days after the arab league voted to suspend syria's membership. the violent crackdown on protesters has now claimed more than 3,500 lives. president obama heads for the land down under today. during his two-day trip, he will address the australian parliament and announce an expanded u.s. military presence in the country. authorities in venezuela arresting five more suspects in connection with the kidnapping of wilson ramos. he was rescued friday after a shootout with his suspected kidnapper.

no deal for the nba. the players union turned down the league's latest offer in a dispute over a collective bargaining agreement, calling it unfair. the union says it's prepared to file an anti-trust lawsuit against the nba. and that's the news you need to start your day. "american morning" back after a break.

good morning, new york city. partly cloudy. 62. showers and 64 later today. of course, we've been telling you about zuccotti park that has been cleared out by mayor bloomberg and police. 278 tons, that's the amount of debris cleared from "occupy wall

street" protests over the weekend in oakland, california. we had seen city after city start to give those eviction notices and start to move people out. in denver, they were moving out furniture. in oakland, 278 tons of debris. that's tents, sleeping bags, stuffed cardboard boxes, garbage, junk and now you're seeing in lower manhattan. the real issue here is the public safety. and i think these are oakland pictures that we're looking at right here. yeah, that's oakland pictures. people yesterday were very upset about police coming and moving them out. a fatal shooting nearby and now michael bloomberg, the mayor of new york, saying he doesn't want anybody to get hurt here. they're moving people out but allow them to go back in later today. >> no longer to camp out overnight in new york city and a 10:00 p.m. eastern curfew. we'll see how that goes. it is a retail revolt. target employees calling on the

retail to reverse its decision to open up its doors on thanksgiving. according to the petition, workers must report to work by 11:00 p.m. on thanksgiving day so that stores can open their doors at midnight. they write, this decision robs workers of time with their families. >> some of these workers say they really resent it. they have thousands and thousands of people who signed this petition, but i have been asking people, too, at 9% unemployment and time and a half for any time you're working on thanksgiving, this is the environment to sort of be resenting working in and people are very divided about it. some people just blame, quite frankly, the retail culture. the three years after a crisis brought on by having too much debt, we're all into the hype, again, of spending money. going out and spending money. >> every year there seems to be criticism of stores that do open their doors like at midnight on thanksgiving night and so many people in line and people get trampled and they get hurt and it's this weird frenzied thing

that goes on. should that happen during the holidays anyway? >> a record number of people shopped, 22 million people shopped on thanksgiving last year. >> those people don't want to spend times with their families. >> sometimes people do it as a family. >> that's true. it's an outing. >> there you go. london stepping up security for the 2012 olympics in a big way. ground to air missiles may be on hand. the uk defense secretary says it's one of the security options for the summer games. british newspaper the guardian claims that the u.s. is concerned about security and plans to send its own personnel and fbi agents and they kick off in january. a mysterious discovery have researchers stumped. this grid pattern was spotted by satellite, you know, way up in space. more than a mile long, although it's unclear what exactly that white stuff is that makes up the lines. there are several theories floating around about the grid's purpose. some say it might be a military

training ground or maybe, christine, ufos. >> i'm going to go with irrigation, actually. desert, irrigation, there you go. top stories when we return. including police evicting "occupy" protesters overnight. now, mayor mike bloomberg is about to speak about it live. it's about 56 minutes after the hour. sports photographer, sports photographer, things can get out of control pretty quickly. so i like control in the rest of my life... especially my finances. that's why i have slate, with blueprint. i can create my own plan to pay down large purchases faster... or avoid interest on everyday items. that saves me money. with slate from chase, i'm always in control. financially, anyway. get slate with blueprint and save money. call 855-get-slate today.

packing up and clear out. the message from new york city to "occupy" protesters. new york's mayor about to hold a press conference. we'll take it live. i'm christine romans.

jerry sandusky speaking out for the first time since being charged in a child sex scandal. sandusky denies abusing any young boys, but he does admit hugging, horsing around and showering with them on this "american morning." and kn good morning to you, it is tuesday, november 15th. ali has the day off. >> good morning, everybody. first, the new york city police department moving in and the wall street protesters are pushed out p. overnight, police surrounded zuccotti park and they told protesters it's time to clear out so they can clean up. those who refused to leave were arrested and we're learning now that more than 100 people were taken into custody. the city's mayor michael bloomberg expected to hold a press conference at any moment. but, first, poppy harlow is live downtown.

are they letting people back in yet? >> not yet. you can see zuccotti park behind me. two months it has been emptied and cleared out overnight by police. the people you see in yellow vests. we're told those are private security guards for the park. we'll watch and see if they stay here when they do reopen the park to let protesters back in. a chaotic night to say the least down here. we've been reporting live since 2:00 a.m. if we can show you video of what happened, transpired overnight and really escalated from 2:00 a.m. from when the protesters were evicted up until 5:00 a.m. when we witnessed clashes. christine, i want to bring you news we're hearing from the new york city police commissioner that there were 100 arrests of occupy protesters overnight and also hearing from him that no police were injured. mayor bloomberg issuing a statement in the middle of the night saying inaction was not an option. as to why this eviction happened in the middle of the night and

why now, he said that the reason it was done then was to reduce the risk of confrontation to minimize disruption. obviously, we're right by ground zero and right by new york stock exchange. this is a very busy part of town. i have to tell you, christine, how it escalated so quickly and then really de-escalated. business as usual down here on wall street right now. people are walking to work and a lot more police officers down here than normal, but the protesters are a few blocks away at foley square right near city hall and they're expected to come back here as soon as this park opens. coverage from all the locations. protesters very, very upset, christine, because they believe this is a city trying to get rid of them for good. even though they will be allowed to protest, now a 10:00 curfew here and not allowed to bring sleeping bags or tents. they are not allowed to camp out like they have for two months. so, very interesting to follow what is going to happen here. if they'll try to mark their ground and stay overnight and

what police are going to do if they try to do that. >> poppy harlow and we're waiting for mayor bloomberg. you can see that we have a camera at the podium and some of the occupy wall street protesters are on twitter this morning fired up about some of the things he said in his statement. he said for two months they have been able to occupy the park with their tents and sleeping bags but now have to occupy the park with the power of their arguments and that line, in particular, it's interesting, really made some of the protesters angry. >> that's because the camping out overnight part is part of their message. puts the exclamation point on what they are trying to get across. >> some are calling for the day after thanksgiving to be a day to boycott new york, boycott tourism and let michael bloomberg know how you feel. he is trying to silence this movement. they're not trying to silence anything. they're trying to keep people safe and the people who have gone in and camouflaged

themselves among a legitimate protesters are not allowed to remain. >> the curfew comes, what, at 10:00 p.m. eastern tonight. we'll see what happens tonight. now too, the penn state child sex abuse scandal and the first public comments from jerry sandusky. in a phone interview with nbc's bob costas. he admits to having close contact with young boys, but he insists he's no child molester. >> i say that i am innocent of those charges. >> innocent? completely innocent and falsely accused in every aspect? >> well, i could say that, you know, i have done some of those things. i have horsed around with kids. i have showered after workouts. i have touched them without intent of sexual contact. so, if you look at it that way, there are things that would be

accurate. >> are you denying that you had any inappropriate sexual contact with any of these underaged boys? >> yes, i am. yes, i am. >> never touched their gentles. never engaged in oral sex. >> right. i could say that, you know, i have done some of those things. i have horsed around with kids. i have showered after workouts. i have hugged them and i have touched their leg. without intent of sexual cont t contact. so, if you look at it that way, there are things that wouldn't, you know, would be accurate. >> during one of those conversations, you said, i understand. i was wrong. i wish i could get forgiveness now speaking with the mother.

i know i won't get it from you. i wish i were dead. a guy falsely accused or a guy whose actions have been misinterpreted doesn't respond that way, does he? >> i don't know. i didn't say to my recollection that i wish i were dead. i was hopeful that we could reconcile things. >> how do you feel about what has happened to penn state and to joe paterno and to the penn state football program and your part in it? >> how would you think that i would feel about a university attended about people that i've worked with. about people that i care so much about. how do you think i would feel about it? i feel horrible. >> you feel horrible. do you feel culpable? >> i'm not sure i know what you mean. >> do you feel guilty? do you feel it's your fault?

>> no, i don't think it's my fault. i've obviously played a part in this. >> we're also hearing for the first time from jerry sandusky's attorney. he talked with cnn national correspondent jason carroll and jason is live for us this morning in state college, pennsylvania. jason, we're getting a pretty decent preview here of what the defense is going to be of jerry sandusky, aren't we? >> very clear sense of what the defense will be. in fact, when i spoke to sandusky's attorney for more than an hour, he went over basically the defense point by point. and one point that you know, christine, a lot of attention has been focused on is that incident in 2002 where mike mcqueary and grad assistant allegedly saw sandusky sodomizing what appeared to be a 10-year-old boy here in the showers at penn state. i specifically asked him about that. i want you to listen to his response in this segment of that interview. so, what do you think really

happened then? what do you think mcqueary saw? >> i think mcqueary saw jerry in the shower with a kid and like a lot of people, you assume the worst and he probably was caught off guard when he saw it. he probably didn't stay there very long. and he left. and i think, i think the proof that he didn't see anything lies in the fact of what he did afterwards and the fact, you know, he wasn't on the football staff. he interfaced with jerry sandusky several time s a week. >> goes to his father and tells him what he's seen. >> we have another person involved. i know his dad, his dad coached my son in little league. imagine going to your father as a grownup at your age and say i just saw jerry sandusky, what would be your reaction? i. >> i'd tell the police. >> go to the police.

>> that's exactly the reaction. that would be my reaction. you have to report this. that's not what was done. what i'm hearing, although we haven't had live witnesses yet in court, what i'm hearing is call joe paterno, tell joe. what i am being told happened is that jerry was in the shower with this kid, the kid was messing around and having a good time and he had mcqueary come in and see that and felt uncomfortable. it was reported to them by mcqueary that he saw sandusky in the shower with a kid and he felt uncomfortable. well, feeling uncomfortable and seeing anal sex are two very different things. >> after listening to that, i know you were listening very carefully. how would someone confuse a kid messing around and having a good time and how do you get from that to sodomy. this is why one of the reasons

that he's trying to get to mcqueary. still in the very beginning stages of formulating and putting together his case and interviewing witnesses. once he gets an opportunity to speak with mcqueary he'll get through that and try to source that out. but definitely a huge difference there between messing around, having a good time and witnessing that or allegedly witnessing an act of sodomy. >> i think, jason, they have not found that particular child, right? >> well, that is, that is still somewhat up for debate. yesterday when i spoke to amendola they're still in the process of trying to reach them. now we heard perhaps someone heard from that person, but that is yet to be confirmed. >> that person who would be maybe 19 or 20 years now. that person who may or may not be public at all and incredible mess. that person who may or may not

be psychologically manipulated quite badly in the process. we just simply don't know. >> prosecute a case, sometimes you need that witness or the alleged victim in this case. >> they do have other victims, though. they have other alleged victims who were all there. >> absolutely. they do. but, once again, the two in the grand jury report that are not identified, victim number two from the 2002 incident and another one identified simply as victim number eight. but, you know, all sorts of -- for an audience listening to this, that might get confusing. bottom line is this. this defense team is basically saying that none of these allegations are true. and they're going to be able to prove that. but when i told him, i said, it looks like you have an uphill battle here because the allegations seem to be so overwhelming. he said, you will see i will be able to prove this case. we will see. >> jason carroll, thanks so much. lots more to tell you about this

hour. still awaiting the press conference by michael bloomberg. he'll talk about his decision to clear out zuccotti park and impose that 10:00 p.m. curfew and not allow the protesters to camp out overnight any more. we'll take you live to that podium when mayor bloomberg gets behind it. plus, a severe storm alert. rob marciano is tracking heavy rain from texas all the way up to new york. how's this for a hot spot? amazing pictures as a volcano spews lava hundreds of feet into the air. wow. it's 12 minutes past the hour. is this a chevy volt? [ stu ] yeah. it's electric. i don't think so. it's got a gas tank right here. electric tank, right over here. an electric tank? really, stu? is that what you pour the electricity in? it's actually both, guys. i can plug in and go 35 miles gas free, or i can fill up and go a whole lot farther.

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good morning, houston, texas. cloudy skies, 71 degrees. thunderstorms expected later, though. nice and warm. 79. so, rob marciano in the extreme weather center. what is going on? severe weather cooking for us. >> down to the south, a taste of the moisture, as well.

and then a little taste of fall, as well. very mild the past couple days and then we'll change things up a little bit. extend weather threat through mississippi and then southeast parts of texas and we've just had a new severe thunderstorm watch that's been extended now includes san antonio and austin until 11:00 central time. these thunderstorms have been rumbling across the southern part of the state and they have gusty winds with them, but much-needed rain. they'll take that part of it. the rains further to the north are more gentle and beginning to reach into the northeast. very, very light stuff expected later on today across the i-94 corridor. be prepared for that. fairly mild the past couple of days. temperatures in the 60s and in some cases the 70s. 64 degrees in new york city, but big changes on the way, once this second front kind of pushes through the yarbia, we'll see temperatures drop a good 10 or 20 degrees from where they are right now, by the time thursday and friday roll along, it will feel more like fall. has nuthing to do with weather,

but cool video. got to show it to you. check out this volcano out of the republic of congo. it is africa's most active volcano, but now it's gone really bananas. throwing lava and ash. hundreds of feet into the air and putting on quite a show for the locals and vidographers alike. we just -- never get tired of looking at that. nobody endangered this thing because it's been so active and they had plenty of time to move away and not live anywhere close to it. look at that guy, that's a front row seat. forget about old faithful. bring it. >> let's hope the wind doesn't blow the wrong way. >> exactly. that's your cool video of the day. guys, wife having a baby tomorrow, so, i'll see you guys in a couple of weeks. >> oh, congratulations! >> thank you. >> i have one piece of advice. go take a long nap this afternoon. and then you'll take the next one in five years. >> today may be the day. i haven't heard that piece of

advice yet, christine, thank you very much. >> take a long nap. >> thanks, rob, we can't wait to see the pictures. >> that's awesome. very awesome. herman cain taking another foreign policy stumble. his response fell off the rails when he was asked about president obama's libya policy. cain was speaking to editors and reporters at the milwaukee journal setinjourn journal sentinel. >> you agreed with president obama on libya or not? >> okay, libya. president obama supported the uprising, correct? president obama called for the removal of gadhafi. just want to make sure we're talking about the same thing before i say, yes, i agree, i know i didn't agree.

i do not agree with the way he handled it for the following reason. nope, that's a different one. i have to go back and see. got all this stuff twirling around in my head. specifically, what are you asking me? did i agree or not agree with obama? >> cain trying to hard to minimize this moment of silence suggesting everyone is making just too big of a deal out of this. listen to his explanation when he was swarmed by reporters after this whole thing went viral. >> they asked me a question about libya and i paused so i could gather my thoughts. you know, it's really complimentary when people start documentary my pauses. it's one thing to document every word.

it was a pause. that's all it was. good grief. >> organizing his thoughts or not really familiar with the material. that's the big debate this morning. in the gop race, cain has now slipped into a statistical tie for third place with rick perry. in the latest poll. >> talking about governor rick perry, he's trying to recover from his latest disappointing debate. later today he is expected to outline his plan to dismantle d.c. last night he touched on his plan to uproot all three branches of government, including lifetime federal judges who arrogantly rewrite laws from the bench. that's a quote. another quote, the permanent bureaucracy of the executive branch. mr. perry wants to take care of that and wants to take care of a congress that not only spends too much, but is in washington too much. a reminder cnn is hosting the next republican debate on national security. that will happen tuesday, november 22nd at 8:00 p.m. eastern. candidates will take on big issues like homeland security and foreign policy tuesday,

november 22nd at 8:00 p.m. eastern right here on cnn. still ahead, michael bloomberg about to speak about this morning's eviction of "occupy wall street" protesters. you can see there's activity in the room. when mayor bloomberg steps up to the podium, we'll bring it right to you. who is buying tech stocks right now? billionaire investor warren buffett is snatching up shares about $10 billion worth. what companies, you ask. we'll tell you, next. 21 minutes past the hour. we're america's natural gas and here's what we did today: supported nearly 3 million steady jobs across our country... ... scientists, technicians, engineers, machinists... ... adding nearly 400 billion dollars to our economy... we're at work providing power to almost a quarter of our homes and businesses...

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24 minutes after the hour. minding your business this morning. good news for walmart today. the company just announced it raked in $110 billion in sales

in the u.s. stores in the third quarter. that's up more than 8% from the same time last year. pretty important going into the holiday shopping season as we watch as these big discount retailers are doing. check in on the markets. stock futures are trading lower ahead of the opening bell. investors waiting to see how this change will affect the european debt crisis. warren buffett betting big on big blue. berkshire hathaway disclosing it purchased more than $10.7 billion in ibm stock. that's enough to make it one of the largest investors in the tech giant. buffett also invested in visa, cbs and intel. for the first time, the government is finding an airline for lengthy delays. american eagle has been ordered to pay $900,000 for leaving passengers on 15 flights stranded on the tarmac for more than three hours. all the incidents happened earlier this year at chicago's o'hare. american eagle blames weather and congestion. it's a new generation of money.

canada officially rolls out its new plastic $100 bills. the bill has a security feature, a bunch of security features that will make it tough to kourpt fit. most of canada's cash will be plastic by 2013. up next, gabby giffords finding her voice, again. her first interview since she was shot in tucson last winter inside her remarkable and very difficult recovery. "american morning" back right after this break. fore! no matter what small business you are in, managing expenses seems to... get in the way. not anymore. ink, the small business card from chase introduces jot an on-the-go expense app made exclusively for ink customers. custom categorize your expenses anywhere.

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new york city mayor michael bloomberg talking right now about "occupy wall street" eviction. >> temporarily leave the park while this occurred and are told they would be freed to return to the park once brookfield finished cleaning. we are now ready to reopen the park, but understand that there is a court order which we have not yet actually received and

joining us from enforcing brookfield's rules. so the park will remain closed until we can clarify that situation. but i want to stress that our intention was to reopen the park and to let people go in and express their first amendment rights to protest or their first amendment rights to just peacefully enjoy the park. and say nothing. in the future, protesters and the general public will be welcome there to exercise their first amendment rights and, otherwise, enjoy the park. but will not be allowed to use tents, sleeping bags or tarps and going forward must follow all park rules. the law that created zuccotti park required that it be open for the public to enjoy for passive recreation 24 hours a day. ever since the occupation began, that law has not been complied with as the park has been taken over by protesters, making it unavailable to anyone else. from the beginning, i've said

that the city has two principal goals. guaranteeing public health and safety and guaranteeing the protesters' first amendment rights. but when those two goals clash, the health and safety of the public and our first responders must be the priority. and that is why several weeks ago the city acted to remove generators and fuel that posed a fire hazard from the park. over time, i have become increasingly concerned as have the owners of the park, brookfield properties. the occupation was coming to pose a health and fire safety hazard to the protesters and to the surrounding community. we have been in constant contact with brookfield and yesterday they requested that the city assisted in enforcing the no sleeping and camping rules in the park. but make no mistake, the final decision to act was mine and mine alone. the park has become covered in

tents and tarps, making it next to impossible to safely navigate for the public and for first responders who are responsible for guaranteeing public safety. the dangers posed were evident last week when an emt was injured as protesters attempted to prevent him and several police officers from helping a mentally ill man who was menacing others. as an increasing number of large tents and other structures were erected, these dangers increased. it has become increasingly difficult to monitor activity in the park to protect the protesters and the public and the proliferation of tents and other obstructions created a fire hazard that had to be addressed. some have argued to allow the protesters to stay in the park indefinitely. others suggested that we just wait for winter and hope the cold weather drove the protesters away. inaction was not an option. we could not wait for someone in the park to get killed or to

injure another first responder before acting. enforcing our laws might be viewed by some protesters as a act of violence. we must never be afraid to consist with violence on our laws. unfortunately, the park was becoming a place where people came not to protest but rather to break laws and in some cases to harm others. reports of businesses being threatened and complaints about noise and unsanitary conditions that have seriously impacted the quality of life for residents and businesses in this now thriving neighborhood. the majority of protesters have been peaceful and responsible, but an unfortunate minority has not been and as the number of protesters has grown, this has created an intolerable situation. no right is absolute. and with every right comes responsibility. the first amendment gives every new yorker the right to speak

out, but it does not give anyone the right to sleep in a park or otherwise take it over to the exclusion of others nor does it permit anyone in our society to live outside the law. no ambiguity in the law here. the first amendment protects speech. it does not protect the use of tents and sleeping bags to take over a public space. protesters have had two months to occupy the park with tents and sleeping bags. now they will have to occupy the space with the power of their arguments. let me conclude by thanking the nypd, the fdny and the department of sanitation for their professionalism earlier this morning. i should also note that last night i spoke with governor cuomo to inform him of our course of action and he offered any help if we thought it was needed. thank you, all, and i will be happy to answer a question or two. >> one or two incidents in the

last couple days and like you said, the rights of these folks. do you feel badly at all you had to take this action? >> i don't feel bad because they can come right back in, at least they could have up to a few minutes ago, which we believe an order was issued. before this order was issued we were planning to let them back in and let them protest. what we are trying to do and what was done in many other places. in many places they were prevented from going back in after safety conditions were improved to protest. quite the contrary. here, we welcome them back in. if they want to protest, they have a right to do so. brookfield properties has a legal operation in agreement with the city to let them and said they are happy to have them there to express their views. but that is not the same as taking over the park so that other people cannot get in and express opposing views or

similar views or no views whatsoever. we do know of one incident with an ems worker and the police officers the other day. there have been a number of every day either small accusations which are hard to prove when the police can't even get there to see what is really going on. that's one of the reasons why we have laws on the books that require access for first responders. >> we'll jump out of this now, but you heard mayor bloomberg say that zuccotti park had to be cleared out for safety reasons and sanitation reasons and protesters will be allowed to go back into this park once this court matter is cleared up. we'll explore what that means and more information for you on that later. gabby giffords, her first interview since she was shot in the head in tucson last winter. plus, we're going to speak live with two other survivors from that january shooting spree. they're headed to capitol hill later today to rally for stricter gun laws.

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and welcome back to "american morning." gabrielle giffords has always been an overacheever. >> to say the least. >> that trait that has served her well, especially now. the arizona congresswoman has made a miraculous recovery since she suffered a gunshot wound to the head back in january. ms. giffords learning to walk and talk, again. her inspiring progress has not come easy, though. >> tell time with a -- >> a watch. >> that's it. nice. >> you tell time with a -- >> watch. >> a watch. >> what's the matter? >> reporter: the struggling congresswoman knows the feeling of anguish. just not the word.

>> are you sad? gabby, are you frustrated? can i tell you something, it is going to get better. okay. it's frustrating right now, but it is going to get better. you have come a long way in five weeks. >> her extraordinary therapist is angie glen. >> all right. okay. now you are laughing. what fun songs can we sing right now? ♪ this little light of mine >> together they find a familiar childhood refrain and, at the end, perfect harmony.

♪ let it shine let it shine let it shine ♪ >> excellent. i know it's frustrating, but are you going to get through it? yes. say it like a congresswoman. are you going to get through it? yes. >> that's powerful. >> that therapist, she's amazing. >> giffords gave her first public interview since the shooting last night telling diane sawyer she plans to return to congress once she has fully recovered. >> how do you feel? >> pretty good. >> pretty good. >> i can see that your arm, your right hand you move a lot more. is it painful? is it hard? >> it's difficult. >> just difficult. >> difficult. strong, strong. >> she's got very good posture. much better than me. >> you do a lot of therapy every day. >> how many hours? >> two hours of therapy.

>> here at the house. >> six people were killed in that shooting spree in tusawn, arizona. 13 people, including congresswoman giffords were injured. we're joined now by two survivors of that attack. both of you, welcome to the program. certainly an emotional ten months for both of you, gabrielle giffords and now that story, diane sawyer really showing us the progress she's made. colonel badger, i want to talk about your progress. but first i want to hear more of what giffords had to say in that interview. she has no memory of that day. >> when mark told you what happened -- >> i cried. died. >> sad. >> sad. oh, sad. a lot of people died. >> it hurts your heart.

>> yes, yes. >> do you ever get angry at what happened to you? >> no. no. no. no. life, life. >> colonel badger, a bullet hit you that day, too. tell me what your reaction is when you see gabrielle giffords talking about this. >> it's just a miracle come true. it's just -- i get a little bit emotional, but it's just, great to see her be able to react the way she can. and i talked to her husband, mark, two days after it happened and i've got the bracelet on. i've had it on every day since she was shot. and to see her react the way she did on the program last night was just a miracle come true. >> patricia, it was hard to watch at times because it was so hard to watch her struggle to find the words.

in so she had such an amazing recovery and so far to go, at the same time. both of you, such an unlucky day and you were both dare i say so blessed or lucky to talk to us about it today. patricia, your thoughts about what's next for all of you as survivors of this shooting. >> well, you're right. it was a very lucky day for me and for bill and for the other people that were there. what's next is to try to prevent something like this from happening again. we're here with the mayors against illegal guns. and we're going to go talk to senator mccain and senator kyl today and talk in front of the judiciary committee to try to n improve the bills on the books and try to improve them. get every gun sale to have a

background check and to keep people who are dangerous from being able to purchase guns. >> would that have changed things in this particular instance? would the enforcement of laws or tougher laws. colonel badger, i'll give it to you first. would that have changed or prevented this from happening? >> yes, it definitely would. >> how? >> when you have an individual that has the challenges that the shooter had and then it wasn't entered into the database, you know, if his name had been in the database why he wouldn't have been able to purchase a gun and this incident probably would not have happened. >> i know both of you want to make something positive out of this and that's, and that's what you're trying to do here. you know, patricia, tell me why it's important to you to keep, i guess to go to washington and what it is that you're trying to make change out of this. there are those that say, someone, you know, someone this case and other cases that we had

like this that all the laws on the books couldn't prevent someone with intent, someone who is not really on the radar as severely mentally ill from getting a gun and doing something like this. >> well, i'm hoping we can change that. you know, we'll never know. and if it prevents one person from being murdered by an illegal gun, if it prevents one family from having to suffer the trauma that the families in tucson and community of tucson as a whole from suffering those kind of things. then i think it will be worth it. >> all right, colonel bill badger and patricia maisch, nice to meet you both this morning. thank you for your recollections and your time. really appreciate it. >> thank you. morning headlines are next. [ female announcer ] lactaid milk is easy to digest.

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headlines. markets open in just about 45 minutes and right now u.s. stock features are trading lower as investors wait to see if the transition from greece and italy will help resolve europe's debt crisis. police in new york city arrested 100 occupy wall treat protesters when they cleared out zuccotti park overnight. the demonstrators will eventually be able to return to the park, but they can no longer camp out overnight. mayor bloomberg saying, "protesters had two months to occupy the park with tents and sleeping bag and now occupy the space with the power of their arguments." in oakland, police have cleared out the "occupy oakland" encampment. it had become a drain on city resources. by last night police had removed 278 tons of debris. jerry sandusky proclaiming his innocence in his first public comments since the penn state child sex scandal erupted. the former coach tells nbc, he's not a pedophile. he admits to showering and

horsing around with boys, but no sexual intent. sandusky is facing 40 counts of child sex abuse. no deal for the nba. the players' union turned down the latest offer in a bargaining agreement calling it unfair. the union says it is prepared to file an anti-trust suit against innba. president obama heads for australia later today during his two-day trip, the president will address the australian parliament and announce an expanded u.s. military presence in the country. and that's the news you need to start your day. "american morning" back after a break.

you are on the wrong network, wait, sesame street wants your help. the show is looking for the original actor who played gordon on the show's unaired pilot. he was last seen teaching kids about the letter "d" and dancing with bert and ernie. even some of his fellow actors from that pilot don't know who he is. if you know who gordon number one is, you can e-mail directly at whereisgordon@sesame.org. >> who are you? i hope they find him. he's quitting acting, but not producing. brad pitt telling australia's version of "60 minutes" that he'll probably retire from acting in three years when he turns 50. the father of six also said he and angelina jolie may not be finished having kids. >> i get it, he might be prod e produci producing. he means the other producing. but that was good, too.

fat joe is huge in the rap world. after losing half a dozen friends to heart attacks last year, he decided it was finally time to get his own weight under control. here's cnn chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta with today's human factor. ♪ lean back >> you know, i was talking to my trainer yesterday and i realized he said, so, when was the last time you were slamming. a month or two months. the larger than life rapper grew up in public housing and taught from an early age that food equals love. ♪ so when joe hit the big time, he felt he deserved all the good food his lavish lifestyle could afford. >> i'm rich now. i could go to mr. cho's and eat

me all the lobster and steak i want. >> reporter: then in 2000, joe's friend and fellow rap star big pond suffered a fatal heart attack. >> i think i weighed about 450, 460 at my heaviest and, you know, i always took pride in being fat. that's why my name was fat joe. i always represented the big people, but i realized a certain point all my big people are dying. >> reporter: last year alone six friends died of heart attacks. >> i couldn't see a clearer picture of what is the difference between me and him and me being in a casket and my daughter running around a funeral home and she doesn't have a dad any more. >> reporter: he is eating healthier food in smaller portions more frequently throughout the day even when he's on the road. he lost 100 pounds and counting. >> this is breaking news, sanjay. this is like my best, best, best

friends on earth don't know this. i was diabetic for 16 years since i was 14 and being that i lost weight, no more diabetes. ♪ >> reporter: when he's not working nowadays, chances are you'll find fat joe at the gym. but even though he's dropped the pounds, fat joe says he has no intention of dropping the name. dr. sanjay gupta, cnn, reporting. >> not so fat joe. >> i was wondering about that. what would you call yourself? thin joe? that's awesome. it's 56 minutes past the hour. progresso. it fits! fantastic! [ man ] pro-gresso they fit! okay-y... okay??? i've been eating progresso and now my favorite old jeans...fit. okay is there a woman i can talk to?

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good morning. atlanta. cloudy, 63 degrees, but showers later today and 74. but at least it will be warm. >> yeah. there you go,we