[ cheers and applause ] this morning on "early today," cain controversy. the current gop presidential front runner is forced to answer allegations of sexual harassment. fast track. a horrific 180-mile-an-hour wipeout at a las vegas motorcycle race. and tusk tussle. a 45-year-old zoo elephant ends up on the wrong side of an a 45-year-old zoo elephant ends up on the wrong side of an unfriendly shove. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. welcome to our viewers across the nation, including the

pacific time zone. i'm lynn berry. today we begin with damage control. gop presidential hopeful herman cain got a lesson in campaign crisis management after news broke that he faced allegations of sexual harassment back in the 1990s. referring to his recent poll run-up and what he calls, quote, a witch hunt, cain joked yesterday that now he knows what it's like to be at the top. nbc's tracie potts joins us with the very latest on this. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. cain insists there is no coincidence why these allegations are coming out now that he won another big poll in iowa. he calls it, as you said, a witch hunt. that was at the press club here yesterday. cain over the course of yesterday, a number of appearances and interviews, seemed to gradually remember more details about what happened when he was head of the national restaurant association back in the '90s. we have now confirmed that two women accused him of sexual harassment, and one received a five-figure settlement. >> i can't even remember her name because she had not been a long-term employee, but i do remember the formal allegations

she made in terms of sexual harassment. >> reporter: cain says those allegations were baseless. he does remember a payout. cane says he doesn't remember much about the second. we have confirmed there was a five-figure pay-out in one of the cases. nbc talked to the hr manager and with board members who were there at the time who say they don't remember anything about this at all. >> tracie, thank you. meanwhile, rick perry is attracting attention on his own based on a stunt speech he gave friday night. now, the video of the texas governor's address to the conservative group cornerstone action has gone viral. it's hard to say what the mood was like in the room, but characterizations of perry's performance have ranged from passionate to odd to questions about his sobriety. what we do know is he appeared more loose and animated than

we've ever seen him so far during the campaign. >> this is such a cool state. i mean, come on, live free or die? i mean, come on, you know, that's -- you got to love that, right? gold is good. if you've got any in the backyard, because, you know, if they print any more money over there in washington, the gold will be good. are that! 20% flat tax, put it on there, take your deductions off, send it in. >> now, perry's camp claims the condensed clips have been, quote, manipulated by left wing organizations. a federal investigation is under way to find out what caused a jetblue plane to keep passengers on the tarmac for more than seven hours during this weekend's freak snowstorm. hartford, connecticut, bradley international airport was inundated with diverted flights during saturday's storm however jetblue faces fines up to $27,000 for each passenger, or

roughly $3 million, after those on board endured hours in the dark without food, water or bathroom facilities. in this recording, a jetblue pilot pleads with the control tower. >> i have a paraplegic on board that needs to come on that needs to come off. i a diabetic that has an issue. i need to have the cops on board. >> new delay rules require airlines to let passengers off the plane after three hours. here's a look at some other stories making news "early today" in america. long lines at the gas pump caused tempers to flare up in connecticut. patience went by the wayside as drivers waited for close to an hour to fuel up two days after a rare snowstorm crippled the area. police were called in to bring order to the chaotic situation, but no arrests were made. snowstorm clean-up inside

new york city central park revealed shocking damage to the national landmark. over 1,000 trees suffered damage prompting one by stander to call the southern half of the park a tree cemetery. park officials are scrambling to clean it before the new york city marathon. one showed he's anything but brittle. the 69-year-old professional racer was riding 180 miles an hour when he fell off his bike and slid several feet. the accident saturday left him with only a broken pinkie and a few stitches on his knuckles. remarkable there. and finally, new york city's 39th annual village halloween parade once again turned city streets into a spookfest. this year's cast of bizarre and creepy costume participants were

this was inspired by eye of the beholder. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins, straight from the parade. >> quick costume change. >> good morning, everyone. here is what we are looking at weather-wise. amazing, thanksgiving only three weeks away. we are in the 30s in most areas in the northern rockies. 3 right now. we are watching the chilly air setting the scene for a snowstorm in areas like wisconsin. you can already see on the map a little white showing up. a little bit there in the mountainous areas. a little bit of rain around salt lake city. a rainy morning for everyone.

a snowstorm for you. also a little burst of snow in the last hour. here is what we are looking at forecast-wise today. in the salt lake city area, the storm system for you. everybody else is looking pretty good. a jacket flag staff, too. only 62 with sunshine. everything looks okay for tomorrow. >> also coming up, euro debt claims its first american casualty. zombies doing their bit for the economy. life imitates reality tv.

after just 72 days, kim kardashian calls it quits on her marriage. coming up. an overtime thriller between chargers and chiefs. cc sabathia gets a new deal. and a storybook ending for tony la russa. you're watching "early today."

good morning. welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here are some of your top headlines this morning. president obama has been given a clean bill of health after the second physical exam of presidency last week. his doctor says the president is, quote, in excellent health and is tobacco-free. the justice department has filed a lawsuit to stop the enforcement of parts of south carolina's new immigration law, saying they're unconstitutional and interfere with federal

authority. similar suits have been filed against laws in arizona and alabama. the fbi has released surveillance video and documents from a decade-long espionage probe in the u.s. that led to the biggest spy swap since the cold war. the video shows how russian spy anna chapman and others passed instructions, information and cash to one another. ten spies were arrested in 2010 and traded for four russian spies convicted of spying for the west. the doctor charged in michael jackson's death is expected to reveal today whether he plans to testify at his involuntary manslaughter trial. yesterday under tough cross-examination the defense's propofol expert admitted he never would have used the drug under the same situation. an elephant was shoved into a trench by another elephant sunday, causing him to break a tusk. he did manage to climb out with some help the next day. now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day.

the dow opens at 11,955 after dropping 276 points yesterday. the s&p sank 31 points. the nasdaq tumbled 52. in tokyo the nikkei skidded 152 points while in hong kong the hang seng plunged 494. halloween was a scary day on wall street as the european debt crisis claimed its first major american victim. global holdings, a brokerage run by former new jersey governor, jon corzine, filed for bankruptcy, crippled by big bets made on european debt. "the new york times" reports mf global is also being investigated for hundreds of millions in customer money gone missing. financials were hit hard, morgan stanley fell almost 9%, jpmorgan chase, which has $1.2 billion in claims against mf global, also fell. also the dollar shot up to a

three-month high after japan intervened to curb its currency appreciation. that set energy and natural resource shares sharply lower. alocoa dropped 7%. freeport copper and gold lost almost 6. on all that news, wall street's so-called fear index jumped 22%. still, it was hard to say good-bye to october. both the dow and the s&p started the month at year lows. yesterday the dow closed october up more than 1,000 points. its best month in nine years. it was the s&p's best month in almost 20 years. in earnings, allstate posted a sharp profit drop posting more than $1 million loss on natural disasters. spending on home entertainment rose for the first time in over three years. finally, zombies are no laughing matter. business analysts 24/7 wall street have calculated the zombie economy, which includes movies, video games, costumes and everything else zombie is

worth $5 billion a year to the american economy. la russa says so long. cc is staying put. and breakup winnipeg. plus, the kansas city chiefs had all the energy in their monday night football match-up with the chargers. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. what a great start to november in the middle of the country but things are going to change. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports this past weekend in the nfl, there were a handful of major upsets. why should monday night be any different? here's nbc's fred roggin. an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. the chargers, seconds away from beating the chiefs when they literally fumbled the game away. we go to kansas city. not an easy place to play. chargers moments away from pulling out a win. chiefs with no time-outs, all san diego had to do was burn the clock and kick the winning field goal. easy for me to say. philip rivers fumbled a snap, kansas city recovered and forced overtime. a 30-yard field goal for the win. chiefs win but in reality the chargers lost in o.t. 23-20. baseball, tony la russa going out on top.

he announced his retirement three days after winning the world series. he managed for 33 years and won three titles. he's the only manager to retire after winning it all. cc sabathia won't be going anywhere. signed a five-year, $122 million extension to stay with the yanks. he had until midnight to opt out but decided to stay in the bronx. rangers jumped out to an early lead against the sharks. dubinsky to derek stephen. kept it going with three goals in the second. callahan had a pair. tapped in the rebound while falling to the ice. rangers beat the sharks 5-2. predators and blackhawks needed overtime. stalberg, stop and pop, put on the brakes and ripped one past the goalie. chicago won 5-4 in o.t. finally wild finish between panthers and jets. final minute. winnipeg down one and score the equalizer. wait a minute. the referee waved it off because of a high stick. wellwood got a piece of it.

stick can't be higher than the cross bar and that's a goal. jets tied it. completed a comeback in the shootout. wellwood with the game-winner. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. coming up, the shocking show biz divorce. or is it really? your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, traditional trick-or-treating is great when weather permits. we'll show you how parents in snow-clogged massachusetts saved their kids holiday fun. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today" on this tuesday morning. first day of november. can you believe that? snow late today in the inner mountain west. leaving behind cool air in idaho up through california. looks great today and tomorrow, too. the next storm system brings a little bit of rain tomorrow especially during the later portions of the day. if you are watching us on knbc 4, see exceptional handmade work. >> now here's an early look at headlines and entertainment.

less than a month after their wedding special airs, kim kardashian is divorcing. he learned the news on tmz and told the website was devastated. he is willing to do whatever it takes to make it work. representing those of many, comedian says he's suing kardashian for, promoting their wedding, and polluting the air waves of america. finally, almost entirely lost monday in the kardashian divorce hoopla, jessica simpson's announcement she is,

indeed, and her twit pic to prove it, her pregnant mummy costume. she probably should have waited if he wanted any attention on that. >> they were only dating less than a year. from whdh 7 news in boston, massachusetts, where some resourceful parents pulled off a trick to make this year's halloween a total treat for dozens of children. in the wake of this past weekend's rare snowstorm, parents kept the halloween spirit alive with what they called trunk or treat. facing dangerous conditions and power outages, parents transformed a parking lot into a halloween lot where kids in costume got to hop from one candy-filled car to another. looked like fun. i'm lynn berry and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

i- some figuratively jumped through hoop for the gold and some actually jump through hoops. in china a circus festival had bodies flying through the air in crisp, acrobatic movement. well, after her mother rejected her, zookeepers in indonesia are caring for one baby orangutan as if they were their own. professionals there are been caring for the newborn in their nursery.

only about 6500 orangutans remain in the wild with habitat at risk from logging and forest fires. finally, more than 200 volunteers dressed as zombies in one ohio town but it wasn't to go trick-or-treating on halloween. it was all a drill to prepare local responders for real-life emergencies such as mass deacon tam nation. the exercise was inspired by a recent post by the centers for disease control and prevention that jokingly warned of a possible zombie apocalypse. that's probably why they did it. it got a lot of attention. people for a moment thought it was real. >> i actually looked it up. they said one of the key things is your first aid supplies, you're a goner if a zombie bites you, you can use supplies when running. >> have we given you too much time? >> slightly. >> i think we do. it's time for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. kennedy space center begins offering tours inside the vehicle assembly center where shuttles were attached to booster rocket before flight.

the 525-foot tall building has been off limits throughout the 30-year shuttle program. mothers who choose to feed their families raw milk will hold a milk and cookies protest at fda. they're protesting regulations making it illegal to transport raw milk for consumption across state lines. and chef mario batali will illuminate the empire state building orange to promote hunger awareness. >> all day long you can stay on top of those stories and others as they brake on msnbc. finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. tom brokaw weighs in on the controversy surrounding presidential hopeful herman cain after revelations of past sexual harassment claims emerged. and carrie fisher shares outrageous tales of her own life from her new memoir. keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and more. i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of

the day on your nbc station. have a good one.