major breaking news over this past hour. more fallout from the shocking sexual abuse scandal inside penn state's football program. finally hit home for legendary hall of fame coach joe paterno. despite mass rallies of public support, the beloved campus and gridiron fixture says he's retiring at the end of this season. as many as 17 more -- 17, young men may come forward with allegations they too were molested by paterno's assistant coach jerry sandusky, and investigators suspect there is more to come. >> i think that when you look at the totality of the circumstances here and the number of victims that we have, i don't think it would be beyond the realm of possibility that there are other victims that exist here. >> nbc's ron allen is live for us in state college. what is the reaction so far to people getting the news that broke over the last hour that joe paterno will be retiring at the end of the season?

>> reporter: well, word is trickling around the campus now, thomas. it's a huge development in what's already been a stunning case here at the campus and throughout this community. paterno, many people will tell you is penn state university for all the glory he's brought to the campus during the past 46 seasons. he released a statement, i am absolutely devastated by the developments in this case. i grieve for the children and their families, and i pray for their comfort and relief. i have come to work every day for the last 61 years with one clear goal in mind, to serve the best interest of this university and the young men who have been entrusted to my care. i have the same goal today. that is why i've decided to announce my retirement effective at the end of this season. many people here thought the way it might end because penn state has just four games remaining and paterno's contract ends at the end of the season. it seemed like a natural time for him to bow out. many people thought he should've

left a lot sooner. he is, after all, 84 years old. but again, a stunning development. prosecutors had not targeted paterno in the criminal part of this investigation, but there were many people who felt that he was just too close to it. that he should have been more aware of what was going on. that he should've intervened somehow, and that, again, all of this was so close to him because jerry sandusky, the figure at the center of this was paterno's long time aide. several decades on the sideline with him. >> ron allen in state college, pennsylvania, with us. thank you. so this probe being triggered by the horrific reports of sexual abuse by one of paterno's most trusted assistants. however, people are asking the question, does this investigation itself warrant federal intervention? and joining me now is pennsylvania republican congressman patrick dean. i want to get your reaction to joe paterno's retirement at the end of this season. obviously going out on what many would consider to be a sour

note. maybe he could've lasted longer if this hadn't come up. >> welm, it's a sad end to a long career. and i think that it was inevitable that there would have been some kind of a resolution of this sort. but i also think, you know, we have to think habit some of those 10-year-old boys and others who were victimized. this is just a sad story all around. >> for people looking at this that would say, okay, we understand that joe paterno was basically the football god of state college, pennsylvania, and the penn state program. does this go far enough if he did know and the reports were that he reported to higher ups. however, this kind of abuse continued for years to come. so is this really a type of punishment to see him fulfill the rest of his contractual obligation, fill out the rest of the season, potentially even go on to bowl games? >> well, i wanted to establish first that the federal nexus to this that may allow more of these questions to be asked. under the cleary act, there's an obligation to report crimes when they occur.

and there's also a clear delineation in penn state's internal interpretations of that act that suggest when a crime's reported they would investigate it with their university police. it doesn't appear any of that happened. and in 2002, this issue may well have been resolved because there would have been realtime investigation of ability to ask questions of the assistant that reported the assault and maybe even the 10-year-old himself. this is something that could've a decade ago dealt with this issue. >> congressman, let's talk about that. you are calling on the department of education to get involved. your hopes of obtaining that type of interaction and how probably do you think that's going to happen? >> well, i think there's a high probability of an investigation that will be part of a continuing look. my suspicion an internal investigation at penn state too by an independent authority to see what really happened beyond

what's known in that report. for me, the issue was, there was the beginning of some kind of suggestion that somehow penn state didn't have a reporting obligation because of state law. the former prosecutor, a federal prosecutor, and one who used the cleary act in the past, what i'm trying to establish is regardless of what the state law was, as early as 2002, there was a violation in my mind of federal law that could've brought this matter to head a decade ago. and i think about the potential that other children may have been abused in the meantime and believe that all could have been avoided. >> it's a heartbreaking story all around. congressman patrick meehan, thanks for joining me this morning, i appreciate it. >> thank you for letting me be with you. tonight marks the ninth republican presidential debate between the gop presidential candidates. and even though the topic is the economy, herman cain's sexual harassment scandal may take center stage. it's the first debate showdown since the allegations broke. it's going to be hosted by cnbc,

and joining me now is someone who is going to be there this evening, jim cramer, host of "mad money" live for us in michigan. how do you think the moderators are going to be able to keep the conversation on track especially when the tonight's focus is supposed to be about your money, your vote. are we going to be able to talk about taxes, economy, the high unemployment rate? or is it going to be about herman cain? >> no, what's going to make it so easy for us is the fact that the stock market is down so, so badly and people are hurting even today. we've got a lot of people looking for jobs in the country, not making as much money as they used to. and we've got a stock market, your 401(k) being crushed. so we might, sure have to deal with the fact that one of the candidates is in hot water for an issue that has nothing to do with the core of the debate. but the stock market itself and the losses that are generating and the problems in europe are so in our faces that these things have to be addressed by every candidate, even the ones in hot water. >> let's talk about some of the things the candidates have put out there in advance of this. because all but two of the

candidates wrote op-eds for the cnbc website today. are you impressed with any of the candidates out there? >> well, i never want to give romney -- i don't want to say he's overintellectualized, but he is front and center in understanding how to get the jobs back, trying to not throw us into recession. and i think in many ways that's the crux of what we have to explore tonight. there's a lot of other personal interactions that people are -- there's people trying to make other guys look bad. but heart and soul of what needs to be talked about is being addressed by romney more than the others, i think. >> when we have the gop candidates, many of them outspoken -- democrats even have a new ad out criticizing mitt romney. how can the candidates bash the auto bailout which helped save

two auto companies? >> well, look, there's a libertarian streak to the republican party that seems to come out even when the outcome is good. there are republican people running for president who believe basically that the free market must prevail at all costs. and when you get that kind of interaction, you got to realize we're in michigan, general motors reported a quarter today that was a profit, ford reported a quarter last week, was a profit. lots of jobs were saved. but it was done with government intervention. and there are a lot of people who are running for president in that party who simply think government intervention means higher taxes, which therefore means bad, which means chips may fall. when we see the chips may fall thinking, i don't know if the country's ready for that. it didn't really work out well for the housing crisis. >> how much volatility we're seeing today in our domestic markets linked to the fact that the greek prime ministers, i'm getting this breaking news, papandreou has just resigned.

the problems going on with italy and the broad shoulders leaning out of germany, france that have already leaned out. how much of that is connected to what we're seeing here? >> oh, about 140%. which we're 40% good, that's how you get to the 100. the situation in our country, our corporations are internationally based. they're killing it, they're doing great. it's irrelevant on days like today. what matters right now is that italy is going to have a crisis in funding, italy's one of the largest bond markets in the world. what does that mean for people at home? it means a major country could default and that country is so big that anybody who owns their bonds is going to get taken down with them. and that's why our stock market is trying to deal with the fact that our companies are doing well and the world picture is in a tail spin because of the europeans' inability to get their arms around this never-ending struggle with too much debt that's been taken down by the government. >> jim, who do you think needs

to come out strong tonight? that is the candidates who need to come out strong on an economic plan that they haven't done so in the former debates? >> i was on chris matthews' great show over the weekend, and we were all trying to figure out who can jump it, who can really stand out, who's going to catch the touchdown that no one expects and be able to go to the end zone? and the cards seem to be set up suddenly for gingrich. you read these, oh, as someone who is going to ask questions, i better ask gingrich because it's gingrich's night. so i'm not going to go against that script. that's what people are saying. look, i can't say, look, that script is wrong, it's being written writ large by everyone in the media, i think that's going to be the focus. >> thanks for your time. i want to remind everybody that cnbc's your money, your vote republican presidential debate will air live tonight at 8:00 p.m. on cnbc. you can also join the conversation now on debate.cnbc.com or on twitter by

using the #cnbcdebate. in a few minutes we will be speaking with sharon bialek and her attorney gloria allred. but up next, herman cain flat out denying these allegations against him. not just from sharon bialek, but from all accusers. sharon is going to respond to herman cain's press conference from last night. plus, is tonight's gop debate the elimination round? and will michele bauchmann go after herman cain for the allegations of sexual abuse? she is the only woman on that stage. that and much more coming your way right after this. pnc virtuas your spending and saving in one place. credit and debit purchases, checks, bills, and other financial information. it lets you see the details as well as the big financial picture. so you can do more with your money. see what a complete view of your money can do for you at pncvirtualwallet.com. ♪ pnc bank. for the achiever in you.

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welcome back, everybody. we turn now to the sexual harassment scandal threatening to derail herman cain's run for the white house. the latest accuser to go public karen kraussar apparent lip

wants to conduct a joint news conference with three other women. speaking to the media yesterday, cain emphatically denied any wrong doing and called the claims baseless. he also refused to exit the race. take a listen. >> with respect to the most recent accusation, i have never acted inappropriately with anyone, period. >> karen kraussar, a spokeswoman spoke to the "washington post," she wants all of these allegations reviewed by a collective body of evidence. ladies, it's good to have you here. sharon, i want to start with you. because i want to get your reaction to the press conference that most of us watched last night to hear how herman cain responded to the accusations that you have leveled against him. and he was also accompanied by a

pretty high-profile attorney lynn wood. take a listen to this. >> i'm not an expert on how the brain works, but i do know that i sat there and went over and over and over in my mind, do i know this lady? the answer kept coming up no. sitting there trying to remember, do i know her? i didn't recognize the face, i didn't recognize the name, nor the voice. >> sharon, he says he doesn't know who you are. doesn't recognize the face, the name, the voice. how can you prove to all of us, to all of america that you know herman cain? >> i was very disappointed, but not surprised by the answer. i gave him every opportunity to make this right. his response disrespected me and millions of other women across the country who are violated in this same way in the workplace. mr. cain, you missed a great opportunity of greatness. >> sharon, how can you prove to

us, to all of us that you know him? i know there's one report in the "chicago sun-times" where witnesses say they've seen you hugging herman cain at an event a month ago. why would you be doing that? >> let me clarify. there was no hugging involved. there was an arm, elbow, we were behind the stage at the tea party conference. and in order to get his attention amidst many loud noises going on as you know that there are, i simply grasped his elbow and leaned in towards him and said a few words to him to acknowledge that he knew exactly who i was. and i will not share right now what i said to him, but he acknowledged who i was and acknowledged that he did, in fact, remember who i am. >> why don't you want to share with us what you said to him? did it have something to do with this incident that happened over a dozen years ago? >> it was simply a few statements to jar his memory.

and if he can't -- and that was only a month ago. >> now, there are these reports that you've had financial troubles, unpaid debts. here is herman cain talking about that yesterday. >> okay. >> she claims that her past financial situation, the number of civil lawsuits she's been involved in, she claims it does not play a role in her coming forward. from a common sense standpoint, one would have to ask if, in fact, that might not have been a motivation. >> so a motivation, money that they're referring to in all of this may be the reason why you came forward. what do you have to say to people out there who may think that too that you could possibly be just a gold digger? >> sure. i -- if i was coming in this for money, i wouldn't be sitting right here. i would have sold my story and left. that was not the motivation. it still is not the motivation. i was simply trying to give mr. cain a platform to come forward

and do what is right. and apologize to myself and other women. and possibly even more women who might now have the courage to step forward. >> and speaking of motivation. of course, we have to talk about the motivation of herman cain to deny these allegations by so many women. obviously he has a financial and a political motivation. to be able to raise more money for his campaign, also to sell his books. his political motivation is to try to stay in this race and stay on the top. so he has a motivation to deny, and i think her motivation is pure. >> ladies, first cain's team blamed the leak on rick perry, now he's saying it's the democratic influence that may be behind this. take a listen. >> these anonymous allegations are false and now the democrat machine in america has brought

forth a troubled woman to make false accusations. statements, many of which exceed common sense. >> gloria, you are a major donor to the democratic party. we're talking about motivation here. do you have political motivation? >> i'm embarrassed how little money i've given to the democratic party. everyone in new york, i think, remembers the news conference i did here about a month or two ago where my client and i held a news conference and criticized democratic congressman anthony weiner for the sexual messages he had sent to membership client and my client standing next to me said he should resign and i supported her in that and he did resign the next day. so i don't think if a person who has hurt a woman or acted improperly with her is democrat, republican, libertarian, or no party. rich, powerful, and famous, i'm there to stand up for women to be treated with respect and with dignity and, unfortunately, herman cain has not done that.

>> sharon, have you been in contact with any of the other alleged accusers? and are you planning to possibly band together to maybe talk about your stories and potentially hold a joint news conference in the future? >> i have not been in contact with them, and i want to say i'm so proud and so happy that this gal came forward. you know what? if me putting myself on the limb as i have with my friends, family, and everybody that knows me, if it just made one person come forward, then it was worth it. and if it makes other women out there who are subjected to this on a daily basis, then i'm glad that i did it. and to further this, if the women would like to get together and gloria and i have yet to discuss this, i'm all for it if gloria is, and we'll discuss that at a later time, though. >> and i want to say how proud i am of sharon. because i do give her all the credit for even the fact that apparently some other women are thinking of coming forward now

now that she has. >> gloria, i want to ask you now, because cain has lawyered up. and she's represented everyone from the parents of jon benet ramsey and kobe bryant. he's a big gun in the legal world. why do you think herman cain would align himself with him at this time? >> i don't know, herman cain has millions to spend and i guess he thinks he needs a lawyer. maybe he thinks he can't handle this himself. maybe he's trying to suggest that women should be intimidated, be afraid of being sued. i don't know, but i can assure you of this, sharon has courage, and she has shown this courage under fire. and i don't believe other women will be intimidated at all. i certainly hope they will not. i'll be there to support them if they ask me to support them. >> what is your end game agenda here? you've come forward this could

taint your professional career moving forward, what is the end game agenda for you? how do you want this buttoned up in your life so you can move forward? >> sure. and i have. and i just want to make an apology to anyone i may have affected through this. i came forward, myself, and the others just kind of got caught in this cross-fire. i really have no aspirations at this time. again, i want to reiterate. i'm not doing this, i'm doing this because it's the right thing to do. what the future holds, i don't know. right now i'm just trying to get through each day at a time. >> minute-by-minute. that's the best you can do. sharon bialek, thanks for joining me here today. i appreciate your time. >> thank you. michigan lawmakers passed legislation which is designed to prevent bullying, but does it do the exact opposite? we're going to take a look at that. plus, racing back, the big

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because when you add verizon to your company, you don't just add, you multiply. ♪ discover something new... verizon. welcome back. the gop candidates will go head-to-head in tonight's cnbc debate. they're supposed to talk about their plans to boost the economy. but will they attack rival herman cain over this recent scandal? joining me now are two former deputy white house press secretaries. we've got bill burton from the obama administration joining us from d.c. and tony frato from the bush administration here with me in new york. it's great to have you with me. i know you were both listening to the interview we had with sharon bialek. do you expect the cain scandal to overshadow the debate? and do you expect other candidates to go after him for it? >> i think given how this sort of thing works in washington and the campaign trail, yes, no matter what gets said tonight

will probably dominate whatever news comes out of here. romney has already talked about the scandal, cain obviously has a lot of questions to answer still. and if you're a republican candidate, there's an opportunity for you to really mix it up and get some attention if you talk about it. and so i have no doubt that no matter what happens at the debate tonight, the cain scandal will likely be the lead coming out of that. >> gentlemen, tony if you were advisi advising cain and prepping him, what would you be telling him? >> he's got his message set. he has the message from his press conference yesterday. i don't think he's going to change very much from what his story has been to deny the allegations and to try to move on as he said, you know, get back on message. i don't think that's going to be possible for him to do, and it's certainly not going to happen tonight at a debate. it's going to have to be addressed, and we're going to have to see how the other candidates react to, you know, the situation that herman cain finds himself in.

a lot of eyes will be looking to michele bauchmann, of course, as the only woman on the debate panel to see her reaction, as well. >> a lot of people wondering if some other star will emerge from this with cain's star potentially fading after tonight. will attention possibly go to another candidate who has been hanging on for some time now? newt gingrich? and he had his scandal early on with tiffany's and his greece vacation. >> more than one scandal there. right. you know, the thing that is most astounding about herman cain's rise and the durability of his numbers throughout this scandal is, yes, there have been ups and downs for other candidates. but the fact that herman cain's so high that he's still beating mitt romney, and not just in the head-to-head, but also on the issue of trustworthiness. there's something about mitt romney making republican primary voters trying to look any other place that they can find to pick somebody who is not romney. i still think romney will likely be the nominee.

but for right now, republicans are trying very hard to find somebody else. >> tony, what do you think? >> i think you know as well as i do at this point in the presidential campaign, there's a lot of fluidity. not a whole lot different from what we saw back in 2008 on both the republican and the democratic side that you see primary voters go through the list of candidates to see who they're going to settle on. i think you're right, mitt romney really is regardless of what some of these polls are. herman cain was never going to be the republican nominee. i think mitt romney's still the guy to beat. he still has been incredibly steady and solid throughout these debates. no one has been able to knock him off his message or his goals getting through the debate. so that's the real challenge. and as we talk about economic issues whether the other candidates are going to be able to, you know, get into mitt romney's issues and he has his own plans, and i think he's looking forward to talk about tonight. >> isn't it interesting? the only person who had an economic plan that anybody could remember across the country was

herman cain with 9-9-9. who do you think needs to stand out tonight? make their presence known when it comes to the economic outlook with how they would govern this country? >> i think, you know, rick perry needs to try to recover here and try to get back on par with mitt romney. newt gingrich probably sees an opportunity now that herman cain is probably falling back to try to run through that hole and get on par with mitt romney now too. for mitt romney, it's to stay solid and not to make mistakes. because he is in a long marathon for this -- for this nomination. and as long as he doesn't falter, he's still going to be the most likely guy to win in the end. >> former deputy white house press secretary, thanks so much. appreciate your time. >> thanks, tom. here's a look at other stories topping the news for you. mahmoud ahmadinejad says iran will not retreat one iota. saying the world is being misled by claims it's seeking atomic

ww weapons. while some of iran's activities have civilian uses, others are specific to weapons. president obama is cracking down on government give aways such as articles that federal agencies buy with taxpayer cash to promote their work. he's expected to sign an executive order aimed at reducing waste and making the government more efficient. the president has been using his executive powers recently to promote job creation. the defense department ordered a special review of the dover military mortuary. we learned yesterday that the mortuary lost human remains in at least two separate incidents. the air force disciplined three senior officials for gross mismanagement, but no one has been fired. with the conviction of dr. conrad murray earlier this week, members of jackson's family are gearing up for another lawsuit in the death of michael jackson. now his mother katherine and children are pressing for a wrongful death suit against entertainment corporation aeg

live claiming they pressured the singer to deliver his final tour when he wasn't physically capable of doing so. murray is not mentioned in the suit, which is expected to take place in the next year. well, a flat out denial from herman cain about the sexual harassment allegations leveled against him. how the women plan to respond. plus, congresswoman michele bauchmann used to be the "it girl" among the candidates running for the nomination until rick perry came along and herman cain. can she make a comeback tonight? i'm going to ask her press secretary after this. reat... [ male announcer ] truth is, most sinus formulas don't treat a cough. really? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus sinus liquid gels fights sinus symptoms plus cough. you're good. [ male announcer ] thanks. that's the cold truth! well... 'cause i could pay a little at a time... but actually we do -- and my kids would be like, "awesome, mom!" oh! i did not see that. [ male announcer ] layaway's back for christmas in our toys, electronics, and jewelry departments.

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scandal directly, only saying there are no surprises when it comes to her and her record. as the only woman on that stage tonight at the debate, is she compelled -- or does she feel a need to address this subject head on tonight? a lot of people -- women, that is, expecting her to do so. >> well, certainly, well, thomas, first of all, thank you for having us on to talk about our campaign and our policies. in regard to the herman cain incident, let me make it clear that mr. cain has been nothing but respectful and professional to michele throughout the entire campaign. she's disturbed business his policies when it comes to pro-life, saying he is pro-life, but it's not the government's right to get in the middle of the woman and her right to choose and building a fence between the u.s. and mexico. and most recently not knowing that china has been developing nuclear wes for more than 40 years.

and a lot of policy issues they differ on. but in terms of what's going on outside the policy, we're not going to discuss that. >> congresswoman bauchmann has taken some heat for referring to her husband. take a look at this. i want to rep mimind everyone. >> as president, would you be submissive to your husband? >> what submission to us, if that's what your question is. it means respect. >> is tonight a night to rebound in light of the scandal with herman cain to women voters about how she feels about women in the workplace and taking a very strong stand about powerful women and how she feels perso l personally about sexual harassment. >> she's a very powerful woman and an impressive mother and a female leader. and she made a plea to women across america because she understands their plight as a mother of five children and a foster mother to 23, she

understands the pressures of everyday american women, and this economic crisis has a special impact on mothers across the country because they're concerned about their children and their nest that the children have. and so this economic crisis has a tremendous effect on mothers across the country. and she made a plea on that note. but tonight is a great opportunity for michele more than any of the other candidates to address the economy. she is far above and beyond them in terms of her outlook on the economy. she's a former federal tax attorney, she and her husband own a successful business, and as a member of the house financial services committee, she has looked at this economy from all areas of the spectrum and she understands how it works in the private sector and how government intervention has caused chaos in the economy. and that's why she wants to repeal dodd/frank. she wrote a very, very impressive op-ed on cnbc and you'll find it on her website.

where she says dodd/frank is a terrible problem that we need to ensure certainty in the economy and it's done nothing but create even more insecurity in our economic system. and based on the premise that we have too little government regulation when, in fact, we have too much. we need to get repeal dodd/frank, and that's something she's going to talk about tonight as well as everyone needs to invest in our government. >> i know it's on your website and cnbc.com, the op-ed piece you refer to. thank you, alice. i appreciate your time, and i want to remind everybody, you can catch all the action of tonight's gop debate only on cnbc, 8:00 p.m. eastern time. just a short while ago, we received an update on the joint press conference that may happen with all four women accusing herman cain of sexual assault. attorney joel bennett representing karen kraussar says that joint conference will happen in a matter of days. they are reportedly waiting on a

yea or nay from an accuser in new jersey. >> if the women would like to get together and gloria and i have yet to discuss this, i'm all for it. if gloria is and we'll discuss that at a later time, though. >> so i'm joined now by sam vogel for "politico." did you have any indication of the scope of the scandal back then and how it might snowball into what we're seeing today? potentially now taking us to a level of a joint press conference with these women who say that they were sexually harassed by herman cain, banding together to come forward? >> well, we're aware of karen krausaar whose situation we detailed including the fact that she received a $45,000 settlement, including a nondisclosure agreement to leave the restaurant association after alleging sexual harassment by

herman cain. we did not release her name until yesterday after she agreed to have her name released and we are aware of this woman in new jersey whose claims we have detailed in some pretty specific detail. we were not, however, aware of sharon bialek, and we were not aware of a fourth woman who the associated press has apparently identified, though, not by name. so short answer, no, we were unaware of the scope. but we had the sense this was potentially a very important story and very serious one and we treated it delicately and continue to do so and we will continue to watch as this unfolds into possibly a joint news conference that could be quite the spectacle, but nonetheless is based on these serious allegations we're going to treat seriously. >> i want to talk about how the cain campaign has responded to politico. the campaign manager mark block insisted a relative of cain's -- how did block come to make that type of claim? is it a sign of desperation

they're trying to link the way this story is getting out there? >> yeah, and let's not forget, this is the third time, thomas, they've come up with a novel theory which they've tried to trace this story and the original tip to us back to someone they perceive to be an enemy. in the first instance, herman cain as well as mark block said that curt anderson who worked for herman cain's 2004 gop primary campaign for senate in jihad had this informatihad thi and leaked it. curt anderson came out and said that's not the case at all. we heard herman cain say this is part of the democratic machine. we well, the democratic machine would like nothing more than seeing herman cain to run against president obama. and that also seems unlikely. we had mark block apparently try to identify our former "politico" reporter and say his mom is, in fact, karen

krausaar -- the second accuser to come forward. false. it does have a feel of fishing. >> almost sounds like an episode of "all my children." ken, thanks so much. i appreciate it. take a listen to this, a truly emotional appeal from at michigan state senator. >> not only does that not protect kids who are bullied, it further engages them by legitimatizing excuses for tormenting a student. >> how this powerful statement is bringing about change to a controversial bill. time for the "your business" entrepreneur of the week. nina is using high-tech marketing to engage customers at her new york-based garnet wines and liquors. scanning the bar codes with smartphones, her customers can learn about wines and get discounts. and bar codes are now everywhere. watch "your business" sunday

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despite these better than expected quarter earnings, gm shares, they're tumbling today along with the rest of the market. as i understand it, gm shares down roughly about 9%. what's the big concern? where is this coming from? >> the big concern is the outlook from the company for the fourth quarter, weaker than expected, still are having problems turning a profit in europe. you combine that with the weak market overall and you have gm shares down trading in that $23 range, about $10 below the ipo price of $33. we're here in michigan not only for gm's earnings, but tonight you will have the gop debate that will be on cnbc. and part of the debate is going to be focusing on the economy here in michigan and in the midwest. and you can't talk about what's happening here in michigan without looking at the unemployment or the rate of employment by the detroit automakers and how it's changed over the last ten years. take a look at this. ten years ago there were about 213,000 people here in the state of michigan working for the big three.

bottomed out in 2010 at about 106,000, it's come back a little bit this year to 110,000. and while that's encouraging, take a look at the overall unemployment rate for what we call the heartland of the auto industry, the upper midwest. yes, it is not as bad as two years ago, but it's still much higher than it was four years ago. and so thomas, the next question is going to be asked to all the candidates, how do you change that unemployment rate? particularly trying to bring these kinds of jobs back to detroit at a greater rate? >> real quickly, we'd like to clarify a detail on a story we brought you yesterday about the fight for union workers rights in ohio. we aired a statement that came from the american bus association in washington, d.c. we wrongly attributed that statement to the national transportation safety board. the statement read atu's proposal is nothing more than an attempt to make an end run around the collective bargaining process that governs employee pay. there's no evidence to the

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a controversial piece of anti-bullying legislation is under review in michigan after republican lawmakers altered language in the bill to create what critics call a moral loophole. the bill named after a michigan teen who killed himself after an anti-gay hazing attack was amended and approved in the senate to grant exceptions to accused bullies on the grounds of religious or moral beliefs. the change grew an angry response from one lawmaker. >> not only does this not

protect kids that are bullied, it further endangers them by legitimizing excuses for tormenting a student. and the saddest and sickest irony of this whole thing is that it's called matt's safe school law. and after the way that you gutted it, it wouldn't have done a damn thing to save matt. >> state senator gretchen wit ward joins me. great to have you on. i want to get to it. where does the bill stand today? >> it has come out of the senate. it is headed to the house. the good news is that there are -- people are saying they'll fix it in the house because of the worldwide attention that they've gotten for this horrendous bill that protects bullies and not victims. we need to keep up the pressure. i am hoping the house is poised to fix this bill to protect victims. >> you call it a republican license to bully. what do you think they were trying to achieve by altering

the legislation on the religious and moral grounds? >> i don't know. they say they care about first amendment rights of speech, but we all know that no state can abridge your freedom of speech under the united states constitution. this is a subterfuge where i believe it is based on homophobia or, you know, creating rights for people. what this is about is protecting all kids. every single kid in every walk of life. and that's who we need to be thoughtful of as this legislation moves forward. we need to do better. we don't want to be the worst state in the nation, we want to be the best state in the nation. >> what's the family response? >> they are justifiably outraged. the state superintendent and even the republican governor said this is a joke. what they have done in the name of a child who was bullied so badly that he took his own life, it is just embarrassing to the state of michigan they would put legislation out like this. and so now is the time for us to

step forward, not take a step back, in favor of protecting all kids in the state of michigan. >> good to see you are on the children's side. thank you for joining us. >> thank you, thomas. that does it for me. see you tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. eastern. craig melvin picks things up in the next hour. 'cause this season, the timing couldn't be better. right now, we can get those black friday prices without fighting through all those black friday crowds, which means we can do more this year without waiting around for the season to start. ♪ more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. why wait for black friday? this refrigerator is already just 1,298 bucks. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 there are atm fees. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 account service fees.

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