this morning on "early today," damage control. republican presidential candidate herman cain goes on the offense as another sexual harassment accuser goes public. storming the castle. there are reports news corps's "news of the world" spied on england's future king. riding high. could this 90-foot wave be the largest ever surfed. >> announcer: this is "early today" for wednesday, november 9, 2011. hello and good morning.

welcome to our viewers including the pacific time zone. i'm lynn berry. today we begin with a defiant denial. at a news conference yesterday republican presidential hopeful herman cain insisted he has never sexually harassed anyone. meanwhile as cain's camp worked to discredit his first accuser to go public we learned the identity of the first women to file a complaint. steve handelsman reports. >> i don't even know who this woman is. >> reporter: herman cain went after his first accuser to go public. the day after sharon bialek said cain groped her and pushed her in 1997. >> they simply did not happen. >> reporter: cain's campaign listed lawsuits against bialek and two bankruptcies. >> the democrat machine in america has brought forth a troubled woman to make false accusations. >> reporter: but in a media blitz, bialek denied her motivation is political or financial.

>> i expected this. this is what happens. it's not about me. i'm not the one running for president. >> reporter: cain insisted he'll keep running. >> and as far as these accusations causing me to back off and maybe withdrawal from this presidential primary race, ain't going to happen. >> reporter: but as cain spoke, another accuser went public. karen kraushaar says she's one of those who got a settlement in 1999 after accusing cain of harassment. >> the cumulative impact of all these accusations have got to be a killer for cain. >> reporter: but defiant, the gop front-runner in last week's poll says he'll be in detroit for the debate. i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, washington. a reminder for you, you can watch tonight's republican presidential debate live beginning at 8 p.m. eastern time on cnbc.

well, elsewhere yesterday folks across the country cast their votes in off-year election that handed state democrats a victory on several lightning rod issues. ranging from collective bargaining rights in ohio to an anti-abortion initiative in mississippi. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with some highlights. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. when you take a look at some of these initiatives, it seems clear that the measures that passed or didn't pass show the electorate seems to be moving to the left. supporting unions, abortion, and late registration for elections. take a look at what happened in ohio. voters struck down a measure that was backed by republicans. they wanted to restrict the collective bargaining rights of 350,000 public workers, a big government union issue up there, but ohio voters struck that down and it lost by a wide margin, allowing those government

workers to unionize. in mississippi, an amendment that would -- they call it the personhood amendment that would have defined life beginning at conception, that was rejected perform in fact, by a handy margin there as well, despite both gubernatorial candidates, democrat and republicans, backed it. it would have restricted abortion and in some cases some forms of birth control as well. in maine, voters restored a four decade old policy that allows voters there to register to vote on the same day. here on capitol hill, democrats are calling on hearings on those very types of policies. lynn? >> tracie potts for us in washington. thanks so much. well, now here's a look at other stories making news "early today" in america. a gun-waving suspect's heist inside a los angeles hotel ended with a surprise takedown.

two mixed martial arts fighters wrestled with the man after walking in on the holdup. they held him down until police arrived to make the arrest. heavy rain and floods turned oklahoma city roads into rivers, placing many drivers in deadly situations. swift rescue crews stayed busy with calls for help from motorists who had been washed off the road by high water. no deaths have been reported. commotion erupted inside a georgia restaurant sunday when a deer barrelled through a window, showering diners with flying glass. the deer eventually found an exit and scampered into nearby woods. no injuries were reported. finally, artistic expression ran ram pant on the streets of sarasota for the 2011 chalk festival. over 100 artists from around the world transformed sidewalks into their canvas with an elaborate array of drawings. unfortunately upon completion, city crews wash away that artwork. now for a look at your national and regional weather here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with your weather channel forecast. bill, all eyes on alaska. this monstrous storm? >> they are calling it a super storm in intensity and size. it is unprecedented that we have seen a storm like this. the scope of it is incredible. the worst of it is moving on

shore now. i know the storm surge was about six feet high. the sea wall is only about five feed high. some water going to the downtown street there. between about 3 to 5,000 people. they will have a big clean up. how big and immense is this storm? i measured it across. 1500 miles. that's approximately about half of our country. literally you can go all the way from los angeles practically to tennessee and that's how far across this storm is. it will be weakening and exiting today. it is literally a blizzard out there. it's not pretty, especially person areas of alaska. we are okay in anchorage though it will be on the chilly side. this is mostly staying off the coast. showers in seattle. clouds increasing, still okay in the southwest. spokane, cool.

the storm in alaska is very amazing. we just don't see storms this big that often. berlusconi bows to pressure. internet giants join forces. and santa is saved. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, it could be another sign ashton kutcher has lost his luster on "two and a half men." coming up, the nba players are on the clock and the biggest wave ever written. 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. the bbc reports rupert murdoch's "news of the world," now defunct tabloid at the center of england's phone-hacking scandal, paid a private i.d. to spy on prince william and other high profile targets. on monday, news international admitted its staff ordered surveillance of two lawyers of victims suing the company over phone hacking. senior administration officials say the u.s. is preparing additional sanctions against iran after the release of a new u.n. report that says the country is carrying out activities relevant to the development of a nuclear device. iran's president called the report baseless, saying his country won't retreat an iota. three have been reprimanded

after the loss and mishandling of the remains of u.s. service members killed in afghanistan. the u.s. office of special council found evidence of gross mismanagement at the dover military mortuary. hundreds of fans have staged a rally outside the home of penn state football coach joe paterno in the wake of a widening sex abuse scandal involving his former assistant coach. "the new york times" cites unnamed sources as saying the school is planning for his departure. and a russian spacecraft lit up the night sky over kazakhstan as it begins an ambitious three-year mission to bring back a soil sample from one of mars' moons. scientists have three days to get it to fire before the batteries die. here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,170 after adding 101 points yesterday. the s&p rose 14 points. the nasdaq climbed 32. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei gained 99 points while in hong kong the hang seng jumped 335. after a choppy day of trade tuesday, hopeful news on debt-ridden italy sent stocks up late.

clearing the way for a leader who will more aggressively tackle the country's debt problems. prime minister silvia berlusconi said he would resign after a new budget law is approved. still, the yield on italy's ten-year bond spiked close to 7% tuesday. a sign markets still question whether italy can avoid default, which would cripple europe and the global economy. nevertheless, berlusconi's vow prompted wall street's so-called fear index to drop almost 8%. financials climbed, led by regions financial, wells fargo and citigroup. employers advertised the most jobs in september in the last three years. a new antidepressant from astrazeneca failed in clinical trials sending targacept plunging 60. activision blizzard rose for

call of duty. yahoo! microsoft and aol have partnered to fight google and microsoft's online ad dominance. each company will help sell unadvertised inventory. they don't expect issues with the government over reduced competition or price fixing. a judge ordered raj rajaratnam, insider trader to pay a record $92 million civil penalty. finally, the suffolk county new york santa we told you about yesterday laid off due to budget woes has been rescued. a radio station and other donors raised money to keep the retired world war ii vet who plays st. nick on the job. a great gift to kick off the holiday season. coming up. while the nba only makes air waves for lockout highlights, hockey highlights. and what is said to be the perfect example of hanging ten. early morning sports headlines

are straight ahead. well, the big storm that produced severe weather yesterday is now moving through the great lakes. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this

is "early today." in sports with a month of the nba season already lost, there is no sign of any movement or change in the nba owners' lockout of the players. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. the nba players are not blinking. they rejected the latest offer by owners yesterday and they're hoping to have another meeting before today's 2:00 ultimatum set by commissioner david stern. as of now the nba lockout continue. jets and sabres. a spin and dish to a wide open pominville. that's a thing of beauty and sabres tied the game 3-3. overtime, pominville with a blast that was tipped by thomas vanek in front of the net. his tenth of the year. buffalo, 6-5. rough day to be a goalie in washington. lehtonen had his bell rung. and got the caps goalie near the neck but he took it in stride. michael rider only hit the back of the net. stars win fourth straight, 5-2.

toronto, panthers took advantage of sloppy play by leafs goalie, and he misplayed the puck behind the net, and skille found sturm. hard to win when your goalie gives up goals like that. florida cruised 5-1. wild played a game in calgary, puck around the horn and dany heatley finished with a goal. niklas backstrom with 41 saves. wild won their fifth straight 3-0. finally, while you were at work surfing the web yesterday, garrett mcnamara was surfing one of the biggest waves in the world. he was towed in and won a 90 foot we've off the coast of portugal. that is is taller than an eight story building. the video was truly amazing. believed to be the biggest wave ever ridden. we're going to take his word for it. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. >> makes your palms sweat looking at it. coming up, one director sticks his foot in his mouth. while another sues for a million on broadway.

your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus a story that will make you secure all your valuables before celebrating your team winning the big one. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today." here is another amazing view of the storm heading through

alaska. it will not hit juneau and anchorage all that bad. one of the strongest storms ever on record. for the west coast, nothing too dramat dramatic. if you are joining us from northern california, clouds will begin to increase. we have a storm safely off the coast spreading moisture on shore and maybe showers tomorrow. if you are watching us on news channel 8, portland, oregon, cease the benson automobile. built over 10 o0 years ago. i will give you a plane ticket and you will go there to your pacific event of the day. you need to educate yourself. >> okay, bill. if you are buying a ticket, done and done. >> thanks so much. now here's an early look at this morning headlines in entertainment. is losing product placement privileges another sign ashton kutcher is losing power at "two and a half men"? on the show, kutcher's laptop

used to feature the logos of companies he's invested in. well, suddenly the logos are gone, as are disclosures in the credits of kutcher's investments. well, it hasn't been a good week for film maker brett rattner. his latest movie "tower heist" underperformed and then he apologized for sleeping with an actress on howard stern. now he's forced to resign as next year's oscar telecast producer for using a gay slur at a screening. on the eve of being honored as latin grammy person of the year, shakira got a star on hollywood's walk of fame. in the wake of the tony awards, julie taymor is suing producers and co-writer for at least 1 million, money she says she's due for work she did before being fired. did you get a chance to see that? >> no, i didn't. >> this is what happens when you have a new baby, right? you never get to do anything.

you never go to the movies -- >> i'm upset we didn't show more clips of shakira. >> i apologize. this comes to us from wskd, channel 5 in st. louis, missouri, on the night of a historic world series win, two cardinal fans suffered a devastating loss. for sarah and mike, the jubilation after game six game to a screeching halt after sarah realized her wedding and engagement rings slipped off her hand when she was high-fiving fans after the game. an usher found it and turned them in allowing the couple to cherish the celebration. >> he returned it. tracked her down. >> he needs to be taken care of. >> and now she is not in big trouble for losing that ring. the guys don't like that so much. i'm lynn berry and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

turkey is not even carved yet but christmas shopping is already on people's minds. at least in france where their famous department store has lit up it's facade to kick off the holiday season. usually donned with the latest trends, this year's window display features punk rock animated dolls instead. designed to give off a cool vibe, the dolls play in a band and sort christmas cards. in bolivia, locals take care of their lost loved ones. even hosting a day of skulls celebration where they tend to their remains. it's an ancient tradition where they bring the skulls to a cemetery to offer food, clothing, even cigarettes to the departed.

they believe that a skull will act as a lucky charm if it's properly cared for. and finally, while you may ask what comes first, the chicken or the egg? a farmer in china is asking something else. how in the world did a normal size chicken lay this egg? it's four times larger than the average egg, weighing over a quarter of a pound and took the mother hen five days to lay. experts think it might have formed when two normal eggs joined together. and the owner sees this as a good omen. he refuses to eat it. >> so we know who the chicken mom of the year is. >> serious props goes to her. time for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. the federal communications commission will detail a plan to broadway high-speed internet and affordable laptops to millions of americans. the fcc's goal is to provide

broadband in rural areas rather than dial-up as planned. nasa will discuss new campaigns on antarctica glacier where a crack was discovered in the ice. the expedition plans to peek beneath the ice to see how the ocean is melting the glacier. on this day in 1967 first issue of "rolling stone" magazine was published. all day long you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and other as they break on msnbc. tonight be sure to watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news." here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. the latest on the sexual harassment scandal surrounding

republican presidential hopeful herman cain as another woman goes public. and find out, where in the world is matt? as his week-long globe trotting adventure continues. 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.