justin bieber, david freese and [ cheers and applause ] ro this morning on "early today" -- going public. another woman comes forward with sexual harassment claims against gop presidential candidate herman cain. fatal dose. michael jackson's former doctor is found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the singer's death. and nature's fury. oklahoma deals with a tornado outbreak just days after its oklahoma deals with a tornado outbreak just days after its largest earthquake in decades. 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. and today we begin with speaking out. days after angrily declaring he was done answering questions about sexual harassment, republican presidential hopeful herman cain says he's ready to talk again. in the wake of yet another woman making accusations, cain has called a news conference for this afternoon in arizona. nbc's steve handelsman reports. >> reporter: it's the first time a woman has publicly come forward to accuse herman cain. >> mr. cain had been very sexually inappropriate with me. >> reporter: her name is sharon bialek. she says in july 1997 after she was fired from a restaurant association job in chicago, she came to washington to get advice from national ceo herman cain. after dinner, bialek charges cain physically assaulted her. >> he suddenly reached over and he put his hand on my leg, under my skirt. i was very surprised and very shocked. i said, what are you doing?

you know i have a boyfriend? this isn't what i came here for. mr. cain said, you want a job, right? >> reporter: bialek says cain stopped. she did not file charges. nbc news cannot independently confirm bialek's allegations but attorney gloria allred showed statements from two men who swore bialek told them in '97 cain had been sexually inappropriate. after three women anonomously accused cain of harassment this month, bialek says she decided to do it publicly. >> i want you, mr. cain, to come clean, just admit what you did. >> reporter: cain issued a statement denying what he called false allegations. sharon bialek says she's telling her story to put a name and face on the charges. i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, washington. and last night, herman cain was on abc's jimmy kimmel live where he took a swipe at his new

accuser's lawyer. >> have you considered hiring gloria allred as your attorney? >> you almost made me say something that my handlers say you should not say. let me put it this way. i can't think of anything i would hire her to do, okay? now to the latest nbc news/wall street journal poll where as the president gears up for his re-election bid, respond ens were asked to score him on a dozen different domestic and foreign policy issues. now, a majority believe the president has lived up to expectations on just two fronts -- iraq and improving race relations. he received a, quote, fallen short grade on everything else, from the war in afghanistan to the environment and even health care. but right now the president still leads all of his potential republican challengers, including mitt romney by 6 points and herman cain by 15. elsewhere, after just six

weeks of testimony in the involuntary manslaughter case against michael jackson's personal physician it didn't take long for the jury to deliver a verdict. nbc's stephanie stanton has more. >> we, the jury in the above entitled action, find the defendant, conrad robert murray, guilty of the crime of involuntary manslaughter. >> reporter: dr. conrad murray showed no emotion as the verdict was read. fans and members of the jackson family got the verdict they'd been hoping for. >> wonderful! absolutely justice was served. michael is watching over us. >> reporter: the jury of seven men and five women spent some eight hours deliberating, contemplating testimony from 49 witnesses and hundreds of pieces of evidence. in the end, they agreed conrad murray should be held responsible for michael

jackson's death. after the verdict was read, prosecutors had another request, put him behind bars now. >> people would ask the defendant be remanded into custody. >> reporter: and the judge agreed. >> dr. murray reckless conduct in this case poses a demonstrable risk to the safety of the public. >> reporter: court officers placed dr. murray in handcuffs and led him off to jail to await sentencing. the man michael jackson trusted with his life, now responsible for his death. stephanie stanton, nbc news, los angeles. and now here's a look at some other stories making news "early today" in america. mother nature continued its assault on oklahoma monday. battering the earthquake-ravaged state with at least two tornadoes. the dangerous storms whipped up 92-mile-an-hour winds, produced golf ball size hail and damaged several buildings. but no injuries were reported. a large group of elderly protesters joined occupy chicago demonstrators. protesting against budget cuts to social security and other programs. police stepped in to arrest 43 people, including some seniors, after the group staged a sit-in

at federal plaza. a new york man spent hours dangling from a new york bridge several feet above the hudson river. protesting alleged government corruption. the ordeal ended with police taking the man into custody after he fell in the water. and finally, one new york marathoner proved she finishes what she starts. after 31 hours and 21 minutes, zoey finished the gruelling course for the 23rd time. the 63-year-old with multiple sclerosis competes in the race to bring awareness to her disease. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins. isn't that amazing? >> 31 hour os. >> to be able to overcome that. it is incredible and inspirational. >> maybe i will get up off the couch today. >> there you go. >> and we have the amazing pictures of the tornados. it's not all that rare.

a lot of storm chasers got a little too close for comfort. we're watching the dallas fort worth area and arkansas, louisiana. that storm system is going to be on the move today heading north wards. now that storm system is exiting and we are waiting for the next one to come on shore. we got a little bit of a break in the west for today. there is a big huge storm affecting alaska as we go throughout the day today. one of the strongest storms they have ever seen up there. as far as what we are looking at here, high pressure in control and temperatures are cold. it will be chilly in most areas but at least especially

the morning. partly cloudy is the best we can do. did i mention the storm in alaska supposed to be the strongest ever? pretty interesting scenario. >> coming up, italy scares investors, a judge says no to cigarette packs and economic conditions have gotten so bad that santa doesn't even have job security. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, the biebs is fighting mad and has a plan to fight back. coming up, the bears clip the eagles and the sport of boxing loses a legend. you're watching "early today."

good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here are some of your top headlines this morning. white house chief of staff

bill daley reportedly plans to hand off some day-to-day responsibilities to a senior aide. daley has come under fire for his management style and for his cool relations with some congressional leaders. as voters head to the polls this election day, a controversial measure in mississippi is asking whether to give designation of personhood to a fertilized human egg. initiative 26 is intended to make abortion illegal in mississippi, as well as some forms of birth control and infertility treatments. a new measure of census data finds the number of poor americans hit a record 49 million in 2010 with poverty rates for the elderly, asians and hispanics higher than previously known. activists say syrian forces have unleashed a bloody assault on the country's third largest city following a five-day siege that left scores of people dead. and the white house says, it has no evidence that extraterrestrial life exists. that's your breaking news of the

day. the declaration came in response to a petition on the white house website demanding it disclose the government's knowledge of extraterrestrial beings. now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,068 after rising 85 points yesterday. the s&p gained 7 points. the nasdaq added 9. taking a look at overseas trading this morning in tokyo, the nikkei dropped 111 points, but in hong kong the hang seng was up a fraction. with one eye on europe, in light, cautious trade wall street opened the week with moderate gains. the latest euro anxiety is italy where government bond yields spiked monday to their highest level since 1997. prime minister berlusconi, who has resisted tough but critical cost-cutting, is refusing to resign. here pfizer rose as defensive

stocks like health care and telecoms led gainers. data showed cautious consumers borrowed more for cars and tuition in september but charged less on credit cards for a third straight months. late mortgage payments unexpectedly rose last quarter for the first time since 2009. in deal news, best buy fell on its plan to buy english partner carphone warehouse for $1.3 warehouse. amigen jumped on the $5 billion stock buyback. in earnings, dish network rose on a special $2 a share dividend and a net income jump. after the bell, priceline sank on below expectation results. a judge approved $400 million settlement on claims bank of america charged more than 13 million debit card users excessive overdraft fees over the past decade.

another judge blocked rules requiring graphic images of dead and deceased smokers on cigarette packs next year. u.p.s. says holiday procrastinators will be shipping 6% more this year in peak week with busiest day december 22nd. and finally, faced with drastic budget shortfalls, suffolk county, new york, has laid off santa. an 83-year-old world war ii vet who greeted long island kids as st. nick for nine years has gotten his pink slip. disappointing for all the folks. coming up, a boxing legend passes. the bruins bonk the islanders. and you think hockey players get a little carried away? wait until you see one coach. plus, the bears come into philly and maul the eagles. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. it's an active day of weather in the midwest with snow and severe weather. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." and in sports, last night the boxing world lost an epic heavyweight champion. here's nbc fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. we start with sad news out of philadelphia. former heavyweight champion of the world joe frazier lost his battle with liver cancer last night. nicknamed smoking joe for his left hook. a bruising fighter. it wasn't about finesse, it was

force. he won the heavy weight title and gave muhammad ali the first lost of his career known as the fight of the century in 1971. forever linked with ali, they met two more times, including the highly publicized thrilla in manilla. he was diagnosed with liver kanser in september and spent the last month in and out of the hospital. joe frazier was 67 years old. football, a seesaw battle between eagles and bears. picking up in the second, cutler found forte in the flats but he was stripped of the ball and brian rolle scooped and scored. eagles tied the game 10-10. we move to the third. lesean mccoy took the handoff, made one move at the line and was gone. 33 yards to the house. mccoy has a touchdown in every game this season.

eagles up 24-17. bears did not go away quietly. cutler lobbed perfect pass to bennett in the end zone. bears took the lead for good and held on to win it 30-24. hockey after a sluggish start bruins have caught fire, scored three goals in their first 12 shots against islanders. that was it for nabokov. in came montoya and didn't fare much better. horton led the way with a pair of goals. the champs have won three straight. they beat the islanders 6-2. wild scene in russia where a coach was so angry he tried to single handedly take on the crowd. he grabbed a stick, swung at spectators during a game in belarus. he was reacting to fans throwing plastic bottles on the ice in protest of his team's dirty tactics. he was suspended two games for trying to stick it to the fans. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. >> simmer down. all right. coming up, sour grapes from johnny depp. and lindsay was scared in jail. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, military training is as tough as it gets. but one girl with a big heart has what it takes to make the grade. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today." this is a different perspective. i was talking about the huge storm approaching alaska. huge state. we know how big it is. this is the storm. this is supposed to be one of the strongest storms ever. they are expecting widespread damage in a lot of rural areas of alaska. today we are okay in anchorage. if you are watching us in

seattle, see an interactive exhibit with world war ii fighters. here's an early look at headlines in entertainment. after picking up a few awards in europe, justin bieber will return with an aggressive plan of attack against paternity charges. he's going to take a dna test and he says confidently, once the test shows he's not the father, is he going to sue his accuser. >> what if he is? >> let's not go there yet. johnny depp took a shot at america's heartland telling england's "guardian" his recent film "the rum diary" bombed because, quote, it's an intelligent film and a lot of times outside the big cities in the states, they don't want that. sideline singer adele is expected to fully recover from throat surgery she just had in boston. and finally, tmz reports lindsay lohan says her 4 1/2 hour jail stay was scary, cold,

one of the worst places she's ever been and was another wake-up call. and this comes to us from wis news 10 in columbia, south carolina where in nearby ft. jackson it's mission accomplished for one girl getting to live her military dream. cystic fibrosis couldn't stop alyssa from reporting for duty. the make-a-wish foundation signed up the 13-year-old for a few days of basic training. rebelling and obstacle courses have been fun but her biggest joy comes from hanging with those she calls america's heroes. i'm lynn berry and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station.

the saga might be over but the magical world of potter continues. the sport quidditch made popular in the harry potter sears, uses straw brooms, volleyballs and hula hoops. groups like this one in ohio have been competing in the semifinals for a shot at the prize when hundreds gather in new york over the weekend for the quidditch world cup. a new robot was unveiled in japan closer to the real thing than ever before. the human-shaped robot can run, balance, even hop on one foot. with improved technology, it also is more agile than previous models, like being able to open

a bottle and pour a drink. we should all watch out. makers say similar technology could be used to help in disaster situations. and finally, here's one way to find new customers. expand your definition of customer. a pub owner in london is opening his doors to canines. it's a cocktail bar specifically for dogs and their owners. while the muttini, a liver-flavored alcohol-free drink is a favorite for pups, there's also drinks for the human variety and the stunt has already barked up some new business. that is matter there, until you get a hair in your drink -- >> yeah, you would bring the health department official with you and shut that place down. >> it's not sanitary. >> you wouldn't share the plate with a dog? >> probably not. well, it is time now for an early look at some stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. in a case testing law enforcement's use of technology to fight crime, the supreme court will decide whether police need a warrant before attaching a gps device to a suspect's car.

law enforcement contends employing surveillance without constraint is a valuable tool while critics say it amounts to a big brother violation of unreasonable search and seizure. a quarter mile wide asteroid will pass by earth tonight, coming closer to the planet than the moon. experts say the space rock poses no threat to earth or the lunar surface. and shakira will receive a star on hollywood's walk of fame. all day long you can stay on top of the latest development, in those stories as they break on msnbc. be sure to watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news." finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. hear reaction from rebe jackson after dr. murray was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in her brother michael's death. find out where in the world is matt lauer on day two of his big adventure. now 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 today on your nbc station. just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. have a good one. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com