new fallout from a sex abuse scandal rocking one of the biggest universities in america. tonight, calls for an investigation into an alleged cover-up at penn state. countdown to the election. one year from today, americans will cast their votes for president and tonight herman cain lashes out as his rivals take aim. battle lines over abortion. a state wide vote that has a lot of women in fear over the future of some forms of birth control. fountain of youth? a new anti-aging discovery that could affect everything from wrinkles and sagging to alzheimer's and dementia. and living like royalty. will and kate are moving up and we have got the new plans from

the palace. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good evening. one of this country's largest universities and its legendary football program are in full damage control mode tonight after explosive sex abuse charges were levies this weekend against one of its former coaches. jerry sandusky who was defensive coordinator for the penn state nittany lions, is accused of abusing eight boys during and after the time he was with the team. in addition, tomorrow two current officials at penn state, including its athletic director, are expected to surrender on charges they helped cover up the crimes. this as the university comes under pressure to launch its own investigation. nbc's kristen dahlgren has the latest developments. >> reporter: penn state football always had a quarterback issy

clean reputation, led by college football's winningest coach, joe paterno. on campus today, the talk was of scandal. >> it defeats the program. we pride ourselves on being a clean program. >> reporter: former defensive coordinator jerry sandusky was rained this weekend on charges of sexually abusing eight boys as young as 10 years old between 1994 and 2009. the state attorney general called sandusky a sexual predator, who used his position within the university and community to repeatedly prey on young boys. meantime, the school's athletic director tim curley and gary schultz were charged with lying about what they knew. in the statement, the university's president said tim curley and gary schultz have my unconditional support and i have complete confidence in how they handled the allegations against sandusky. though he retired in 1999, sandusky used the university's facilities. but this weekend penn state moved to bar him from campus.

while today jeffrey piccola called on the board of trustees to launch their own investigation. >> the failure to report such serious allegations took place, it is something that is so fundamental, particularly when the institution is set up for the care and education of children. >> i'm jerry sandusky. >> reporter: prosecutors claim sandusky seen here in a 1987 profile met his alleged victims through the second mile, a children's charity he started. this weekend that organization said they are shaken by the charges but that sandusky had no involvement with them since allegations were first brought to their attention in 2008. according to the grand jury that investigated sandusky, an eyewitness reported one allegation of sex abuse to head coach joe paterno in 2002. he said paterno told his boss, athletic director curley who testified to the grand jury sandusky was, quote, merely

horsing around. in a statement, joe paterno said he's shocked by the charges and troubled that someone he thought he knew may have harmed young people. lawyers for sansandusky, curleyd schultz all denied the charges and promised to fight them in court. on campus, many students now fear the football team best known for winning may be losing its sterling reputation in the scandal. kristen dahlgren, nbc news, los angeles. today we hit the one-year mark until the presidential election. for the candidates, that's a equivalent of a nanosecond or lifetime depending which way the winds are blowing. for herman cain who has been facing a head wind of controversy over sexual harassment accusations, he had some more uncomfortable moments on the campaign trail last night. as he tried once again to get back on message. nbc's mike viqueira reports. >> ladies and gentlemen, last question, please. >> reporter: a combative herman cain lashing out at reporters last night in texas. >> don't even go there. >> can i ask my question?

>> no. >> may i ask a good question? >> where is my chief of staff. >> right here. >> please send him the journalistic code of ethics. >> will do. >> reporter: overruling pleas from aides, cain addressed allegations of sexual harassment, but only long enough to insist it would be the last time he did. >> what i'm saying is this, we are -- we are getting back on message. >> thank you, mr. cain. >> end of story. back on message. read all of the other accounts. read all of the other accounts, where everything has been answered in a story. we're getting back on message, okay? >> reporter: the exchange came after a low key debate between cain and newt gingrich, where talk of scandal was off limits. and health care policy was among the agreed upon topics. >> what we have to do is unravel the system with market driven ideas, such as those located in hr-3400. >> reporter: cain only alluded to the controversy near the end of the session. >> what has been the biggest

surprise to you out of this whole experience? >> running for president? >> yeah. >> the nitpickiness of the media. >> how are you? >> reporter: but now it is cain's rivals that are taking aim. michele bachmann attacked cain when asked about the controversy's impact on the race. >> well, people are looking for an adult in the room. >> reporter: and she accused cain of switching positions on core gop issues. >> everyone loves him. who doesn't? he has a great personality. but this is the leader of the free world that we're talking about. >> reporter: and today on "meet the press," another rival, jon huntsman, urged cain to put all his cards on the table. >> it has got to come out in total. legitimate questions have been raised and that nvg hinformatio to come forward. >> reporter: inspite of the controversy or because of it the cain campaign reports since the story broke a week ago they raise 2d million in donations. compare that to the three months of the third quarter when they raised a total of $2.8 million.

lester? >> mike viqueira, thank you. we turn to cnbc's chief washington correspond john harwood. john, cain had been, as far as the pundits, they said he didn't have the organization, they said he didn't have the staying power. they went after the 9-9-9 tax plan and now this. and yet he remains at the top of the pack. has he been underestimated? >> reporter: yes. he certainly has been more durable, but as iowa and new hampshire draw closer, we're about to find out whether he is merely a curiosity candidate for a party playing the presidential field or somebody who can win real election when voters are serious. to do that, he has to beat candidates with more money, more organization, or both. >> what is the view from the white house for the president in his re-election bid? he would like to have a newly signed jobs bill clearly to take on the campaign trail with him. is he going to get that? >> reporter: odds are still decent he'll get something he can call a jobs bill, specifically an extension, perhaps an expansion of payroll tax cuts. speaker boehner said today his

relationship with the president had grown frosty. the differences between the two parties are huge. but when a democratic president proposes tax cuts for every american, not easy for republicans in congress to hold out against that indefinitely. >> john harwood, thanks very much. want to let folks know you and maria bartiromo will moderate a republican presidential debate wednesday night on cnbc. overseas now to a country in crisis. there is a big announcement today from political leaders in greece and it could have world markets breathing a sigh of relief. nbc's michelle kosinski is in athens with the very latest. michelle, good evening. >> reporter: hi, lester. in this greek drama, prime minister george papandreou was going to resign, then he wasn't, then he offered a unity government, but the opposition said no. now just within the last two hours, they have agreed to form a coalition government, which the prime minister will not lead, and to hold elections soon. this is good news for the euro zone and world markets, because even though it will be a temporary government, it is

fully expected to approve the massive european bailout of greece before it defaults on massive debt. european leaders said they're not going to pump any more bailout money in until greece demonstrates a commitment, moving the country forward with stability. the hope is this move will do that. lester? >> michelle kosinski in athens for us tonight, thank you. here at home, folks are rattled in the heartland after a late night earthquake and a series of aftershocks that rattled a lot of homes and nerves across oklahoma. it is the latest big event in a state that has seen more than its share from mother nature this year. nbc's lilia luciano reports. >> reporter: the 5.6 earthquake struck central oklahoma at 10:53 saturday night, catching many off guard. >> all of a sudden it just shook and it just -- it was unbearable the stuff that was falling. >> reporter: the tremors left behind buckled roads, cracked buildings, and collapsed chimneys. but fortunately no injuries or deaths.

hardest hit was plague, a town of just over 2,000. >> it knocked everything off the walls. >> reporter: some 25 miles away at st. gregory university in shawnee, oklahoma, students were rattled. >> everything started shaking. i was really scared. >> reporter: the university spent the day surveying the damage where a campus building, nearly a century old, partially collapsed. >> people think of st. gregory's, they think of this building. and so we need to remind ourselves of the importance of that and do everything we can to restore it. >> reporter: the earthquake was the second in less than a day after a 4.8 was recorded early saturday morning. it has been quite a year for oklahoma. in may, a series of powerful tornadoes, including an ef-5 ripped through the state, wiping out homes and killing at least eight. and a drought lasting much of the year has seriously strained the state's economy. >> oklahoma certainly has seen its share of extreme and record events. one, in fact, every season now from winter through spring, summer and now fall with this

earthquake. >> reporter: for oklahomans used to natural disasters, this time cleaning up from the unexpected. lilia luciano, nbc news, atlanta. >> speaking of the unexpected, an update on the rare october snowstorm that knocked out power to millions of people here in the northeast. tonight, some of them are still in the dark. hardest hit is the state of connecticut where more than 100,000 homes and businesses are waiting for the lights to come back on. now to a new front in the battle over abortion. this week voters in mississippi will decide whether to back an amendment to the state constitution defining life as beginning at the moment of conception. there are some consequences of that bill that have a lot of women concerned. we get our report from nbc's thanh truong. >> reporter: to supporters of mississippi's initiative 26, life begins at fertilization. >> this is an opportunity to define what a person is. >> reporter: the anti-abortion measure is known as the person

hood amendment. it seeks to change the state's definition of a person to include, quote, every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning or equivalent thereof. >> please go to the polls, bring justice to the unborn, and stop the innocence from being killed. >> reporter: while supporters say the amendment would not ban contraceptives, it would prohibit post conception methods like the morning after pill and intrauterine devices. and in rape or incest -- >> an innocent baby conceived through rape or incest from being executed for the crime. >> reporter: opponents say all of this goes too far, that women have the right to choose. >> i don't like the state being able to tell me, you know, you have to do it now or you have less options to plan your family. >> it gives politicians the right to reach in and interfere with the most intimate and difficult personal decisions that a woman and a family has to make. it is wrong. >> reporter: opponents argue the language is too broad, and could be applied to such matters as

the destruction of embryos created by in vitro fertilization, possibly making it illegal. person hood usa, the organization behind the movement, twice tried to get similar amendments passed in colorado. next year it is targeting florida, indiana, ohio and oregon. its goal to repeal roe v. wade, the u.s. supreme court decision that legalized abortion. >> if it makes its way up to the supreme court, and they rule that person hood is constitutional, then that does open up a window to overturn roe v. wade. >> reporter: on tuesday in mississippi, one of the most private decisions will be the focus of a public referendum. thanh truong, nbc news. when "nightly news" continues, some of the country's top scientists searching for the fountain of youth and they may have just struck gold. and later, some swanky new digs fit for a future king and queen. ♪ our machines help identify early stages of cancer, and it's something that we're extremely proud of. you see someone who is saved because of this technology,

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back now with a breakthrough discovery by scientists at the prestigious mayo clinic being hailed as a potential game changer. in the race to turn back the clock, scientists say the fountain of youth could lie in cutting edge treatment to help fight everything from wrinkles and sagging to ailments that come with old age. we get the details tonight from nbc's mara schiavocampo. >> correct what ages you. >> reporter: the business of youth. >> now we have a solution for wrinkles. >> reporter: one that includes thousands of products -- >> i'm trying to look as good as i possibly can. >> reporter: -- procedures and even surgery. all to turn back the clock. >> it is amazing what happened in the last ten, 15 years. i mean, technology has taken it to a whole other level. >> reporter: it is all a big moneymaker. the market for anti-aging product ets in the u.s. is about $80 billion and is expected to

double by the year 2015. and now what may be the most intriguing development in years. it comes from the famed mayo clinic, where researchers have found that cleansing the body of certain cells can delay those pesky markers of aging like wrinkles and sagging and possibly be used to postpone age-related diseases like alzheimer's and dementia. the experiment was done with these two mice. while they look different, one is scrawny and haggard, the other plump and vibrant, they're the same age. >> what we have done here is identify a group of cells that really seems to contribute to age-related diseases and that if you work to remove those, clear them, that that would have some health benefits without having too much health risks. >> reporter: it is a far cry from remedies of centuries past, eating organs of young animals, getting transfusions of blood from younger men, searching for a fountain of youth. but anti-aging experts say this

latest discovery could be a real breakthrough, not by extending life, but youth. >> this work is -- predicts a model of aging that we can do something about, that has a suggestion for how to treat it in people. >> reporter: similar research hasn't been started in humans yet, but just the prospect of a real remedy for aging is enticing. >> a lot of people who are baby boomer age who love to hear something like that. >> i think it is amazing that -- because i already have wrinkles myself. >> reporter: so while it is often said that youth is wasted on the young, this research suggests that may not be true much longer. mara schiavocampo, nbc news, new york. when we come back here tonight, an historic factory out of business and its employees out of work until two guys from the neighborhood stepped in. hey, aren't you supposed to be following that fidelity green line? yeah, but it keeps leading me back to my old office. i think it might be broken. or maybe it's trying to tell you something. yeah, but what could it be -- oh! i left my 401(k) at my old job.

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back now with a neighborhood revival at an american factory that not so long ago appeared headed for the history books, like so many others. closing up shop after more than 150 years. we oetur report tonight from cnbc's brian shactman in minnesota. >> reporter: with 80-year-old machines and one 76-year-old expert on site -- i li >> i like to see the place go again. >> reporter: the fairbauld mills when opened in 1965 is literally weaving its way back from oblivion. >> when they shut the doors here, i was devastated. to drive by here every day and see this beautiful place closed, it was so hard for me. >> reporter: jenny jones and 100 others lost their jobs when the company closed in 2009, a victim of poor management and a weak economy. >> it was hard here before.

we gave everything we had to this company and there were weeks without pay and we still came in every day. >> reporter: untouched for two years, a liquidator was about to ship the equipment to a company in pakistan. then with just three weeks to go, local residents and cousins chuck and paul moody bought the mill. >> people are tired of hearing we can't do it. it is going overseas. we can do it. >> right now they have 35 workers. the goal is to raise that to 50 by year's end and to double that number in 2012. why would the moodys, who know nothing about the business, with family money on an abandoned blanket factory. >> probably stupidity more than anything. >> reporter: but they're not quite the novices they claim to be. chuck is a retired dairy queen executive. >> want it looped over. >> reporter: paul, a lawyer and former business owner. >> are we doing okay? >> reporter: they didn't know how to make blankets, but they knew who did and most of their first hires were former workers like jenny jones and mary

boudreaux. >> we need their expertise and their guidance and stewardship. and they needed somebody to step up and say, you know what, this thing is worthy of saving and bringing back to life. >> it is great having a job again. >> is that emotion or are you trying to pick your words carefully? i can't tell? >> it is emotion. i love having this job. i love being here. >> reporter: in a still struggling economy, once old american company coming back and putting people back to work. brian shactman, cnbc, fairbault, minnesota. after missing several performances with an undisclosed illness, singer andy williams, most famous for "moon river", says he's battling bladder cancer. the 83-year-old williams announced his diagnosis during his annual christmas show in missouri. up next here tonight, extreme makeover, kensington palace edition. do you have an irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation, or afib, that's not caused by a heart valve problem? are you taking warfarin to reduce your risk of stroke caused by a clot?

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visit pradaxa.com. to the flu. an accident... to asthma. a new heartbeat... to a heart condition. when you see your doctor, you don't face any medical issue alone. you do it together. at the american medical association, we're committed to preserving that essential partnership between patients and their doctors. because when it comes to your health, you need someone you trust.

the ama. protecting the relationship between patients and physicians. finally tonight, after a couple of years of roughing it, royal style in a rented house in wales, tonight the palace says the duke and duchess of cambridge are moving on up to the swanky side of london. here's nbc's stephanie gosk. >> reporter: in their search for a new home, the duke and duchess of cambridge were limited by choice. they had to select from among the royal residences. but that certainly didn't mean compromising on splendor. in the end, the royal newlyweds chose kensington palace. william and harry's childhood home, a place filled with memories of princess diana. >> he was raised, happily, at

kensington palace, so he'll be starting his family, i think, in a place where he was a little boy. and i think that's quite significant because it shows that he's ready to settle down. >> reporter: it won't be the exact same section of the sprawling palace. william and catherine will be living in apartment 1a, the former home of princess margaret, the queen's sister. there are four stories, 20 rooms and a walled garden, a real tradeup from the two bedroom cottage they now share. ready to take that place over, the world's most eligible bachelor himself, prince harry. william and kate will be moving their offices into the palace as well. so they can stay on top of their growing list of royal responsibilities. the latest was a trip to denmark, where the couple spent the day packing emergency aid for victims of famine in east africa. >> i think what is going on in east africa puts things into perspective of how terrible a crisis can get.

>> reporter: catherine showed a smooth confidence with the media. >> people have perhaps lost track of the terrible situation. i think this hopefully will put the light back on this crisis. >> reporter: back in london, their new home won't be ready until 2013. the wiring and the plumbing need some help and there is asbestos to be removed. with any luck it will all be done before the prince and princess decide it is time to become mother and father. stephanie gosk, nbc news, new york. that's "nbc nightly news" for this sunday. coming up next, "football night in america" followed by "sunday night football," the ravens versus the steelers. brian williams will be here tomorrow. i'm lester holt. from all of us reporting from nbc news, good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

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