overnight stay. kirstegillibrand joins us plus an update on her friend congresswoman gabrielle giffords. i'm andrea mitchell live in washington. newt gingrich's ties to freddie mac could mean trouble with those who blame freddie mac for the housing crisis. his company was charged $1.6 million for consulting with the group. >> it's a consulting group. they offer strategic advice to other countries. i did no lobbying of any kind. i have no interest in lobbying. >> msnbc contributor and managing editor of postpolitics.com chris alissa has our daily fix. this is not what he wanted to talk about in iowa today. >> i get this is what he's trying to do.

he was confronted about fees charged freddie mac. he's trying to say, yes, i was paid as a strategic consultant but never lobbied. lobbying is a dirty word. for voters is that a distinctioç without a different? most people aren't paid $1.6 million for anything. i think it gets him off message and reminds people this is someone who spent a long time in washington, who's been around the block and is not a great kid for the outsider candidate that appears to be what a lot of conservatives want. >> what he said to john harwood last week during the debate is he was advising them to do the right thing, giving them good advice. this is what gingrich said in 2008 when the issue came up. >> today you have the power of

fannie mae and freddie mac had so many politicians beholden to them and nobody was going to check them. they got away with things that were bologna. it's a tragedy. >> i don't see him disclosing he was one of the recipients of the largess from freddie mac. >> it's cliche to say he's been around a while. but this is why being around politics for so long, being a pundit. after gingrich left congress he's spent time as a pundit. it comes back to bite you. i guarantee you that's not the only clip that has newt gingrich speaking about fannie mae and freddie mac without disclosing his payments there. look, we knew it from the beginning before newt gingrich's campaign imploded over the summer and has revivified.ç

newt indianai newt inc., books, movies, everything. we knew that was his big problem. he has ties to so many things. when they are parsed out in a newspaper story or television ad they don't look good. >> he's gone after barney frank and chris dodd for the frank-dodd law big time. this is what he said about chris dodd's supposed connections to fannie mae and freddie mac and not regulating them enough. this is o'reilly in september of 2008. >> this is a guy who's totally in with all the people at wall street and fannie mae and freddie mac. they have given him money, put him in a position of power and he's going to write a bill to give them money? there is something wrong with the current system. >> the new disclosures about the

amount of money whether it's newt gingrich and the gingrich company and we have yet to find out how much money he made as the chief operating officer and principle of the gingrich group. whether he should have been disclosing the fact that he was on the freddie mac payroll at the time. that he was going after chris dodd? >> i think it reminds people what they do not like in politicians which is hypocrisy. that's the worst thing to be labeled is a flip flopper. people don't like the sense that you are saying things just to be toll tick. you areç better off to take an unpopular position and stick wit as opposed to things that make you look -- and nurt has an explanation for everything. he'll have an explanation for this. to the casual observer this

looks like he was critiquing something, taking money for it. he didn't disclose it. it feels wrong especially at a time when republican voters made it clear they were sick of the status quo. they want to put someone in the white house who is, in some way different. who is answerable to them. who isn't part of the washington system. this freddie mac story affirms he has long been part of washington which is not a good story line for him. >> there is a poll which shows him ten point bes hind romney in new hampshire. and there is a story about solyndra, the energy company, with new e-mails disclosing that solyndra was advised to hold back on bad news on layoffs before the election. >> yep. i feel like with solyndra it's been a slow boil.

feels like there were more calculations or considerations there. once they settle on a nominee i guarantee they will make or try to make significant hay out of it. yes there have been gaffes people roll their eyes at but mitt romney up on barack obama. the economy not in good shape. people think the country is headed off on the wrong track. that's not a good thing if you are a democrat.ç >> thank you very much, chris. >> thank you. and the dreadful scandal at penn state continues. more twists and tirns today. the new york times reporting that former head coach joe paterno transferred ownership of his home to his wife over the summer. paterno's attorney said the move was part of estate planning. some say it raises questions about whether paterno was trying to protect his family assets

from potential damage suits down the road. the scandal is focusing a big spotlight on huge gaps in child abuse laws in pennsylvania and the rest of the country. pennsylvania senator bob casey is spearheading legislation to report child abuse immediately. thank you very much, senator. this scandal has upset people of all types around the country. you're trying to do something on the national level to repair the fact that so many states don't require immediate reporting. >> 18 states require all adults, not just what are called mandated reporters. if you're a nurse, a teacher, a doctor you have to report if you suspect child abuse. there are only 18 that require that all adults do that.

we should have a national commitment that every adult is charged with the responsibility to report suspected child abuse to law enforcement. not just up the chain of command in an organization. it's something we are working on with the legislation that i havç introduced. part of this as well is to provide more training and education so people can recognize a problem, report it and prevent further abuse from taking place. >> senator, one of the victims, the first victim's mother was on abc on "good morning, america" this morning and explained her reaction and her son's reaction to the fact that jerry sandusky is out on bail and in that small community could run into him easily. this is what she had to say this morning. >> this mom said her son, victim 1, cried when he saw sandusky defending himself.

>> i said, why did it make you cry? he said because i'm afraid he'll go free. >> it angers her to watch sandusky as a free man while they hide. >> makes me mad that my son can't go out and hang out at the mall. he may run into jerry. >> that was jim avila interviewing the boy's mother. obviously her voice was distorted to protect her identity. in a small town like state college that's a legitimate concern that her son doesn't have freedom of movement but jerry sandusky does? >> that's a question for law enforcement in that community as to the conditions for bail. as we work on legislation that deals with some of the gaps in

the law, we have to keep the fundamentals in place. punish the predator. punish themç severely. secondly to help the victims, to do everything we can. and the third goal has to be part of what i'm doing and others are doing to prevent this from happening in the future. i think that will happen but i can understand why this would cause real terror in the hearts of people who have been his victims. >> the former grad assistant who was the first to report what happened to this one victim, the first victim had a brief conversation with cbs news last night. >> i just don't have anything else to say. >> okay. just one last thing. describe your emotions right now. >> all over the place. just kind of shaken. >> crazy?

>> crazy. >> you said like -- >> like a snow globe. >> like a snow globe? >> yes, sir. >> you have all the investigations going on and we don't have answers yet. more victims may be coming forward. is there anything else that local and state officials should be doing and anything regarding state and federal money to the school? >> this causes us to ask a lot of questions not only about filling the gaps or holes in the child abuse prevention system, but to ask questions about nonprofits, background checks and how an organization that has anything to do with a child is governed and what the rules are. i think it will cause us to examine a lot of things.ç also what's happening on college campuses, not just in a way we have been exam bing as it

relates to children but other assaults on college campuses. the reporting, the prosecution and prevention that takes place. but it's important we keep an eye on the ball here. this isn't about a school or football program. this is making sure we do everything possible to punish severely the predators and make sure we do it first and foremost. secondly to do everything we can to focus on the victims and do what we can to help them. there are a lot of steps we can take. a lot of this will happen at the state and local level. we can play a constructive role and fixing the child abuse laws is one of the ways to do it. >> we are nearing the deadline. next week is the deadline for the super committee. now we have senator reid and the speaker of the house getting together. is this a signal that things are

going well or are about to fall apart? >> with washington it's hard to decide what a signal means. but we are hopeful they can reach a bipartisan consensus thfor debt reducing spending. also, we can't forget about the work we have been doing apart from the joint committee. that's been on job creation. we had a good bipartisan moment last week on a job creation bill for veterans. it will help the economy, our veterans. it's a good bipartisan agreement. we need more of that as itç relates to deficit and debt as well. >> thank you very much. thanks for being with us today. >> thanks. bullets hitting the white house. quince or a frightening breach of security? and you can follow the show at facebook.com/mitchellreports. [ male announcer ] how do you trade?

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the secret service is hunting for a ç21-year-old man they believe may have opened fire on the white house last week. pete williams is nbc's justice correspondent and joins us from the newsroom. what's the latest on this, pete? we now know the bullets apparently hit the window of the white house, incredibly. >> reporter: two rounds hit the window of the white house. the picture that's just right over your shoulder -- >> which window was it? >> if you look up where andrea was. if you looked just up -- well, actually the other side. the other side of the white house. >> the south, i think. >> the truman balcony on the third floor right in the middle outside a room called the yellow oval room near the visitors or the first family's quarters. agents were concentrating their

investigative attention there. that's where one of the rounds was believed to have hit. it broke the glass but didn't penetrate the building because it was stopped by bullet resistant glass. almost all white house windows have it. it is believed the shots were fired friday night from a car moving down constitution avenue on the other side of the white house from here. the south side has the familiar rounded truman balcony. the car was speeding down constitution avenue about a third of the mile south of the white house. that would be about eight football fields away. it appeared to police that on friday night the shots were fired between rival gang members. they believe now the rounds did hit the white house. the car was traced to a homeless man from idaho. authorities are trying to find him. >> quickly, if these shots were fired from constitution avenue across the ellipse and across

the south grounds that's quite a range. >> right. >> having been up there in the yellow oval room we are talking 18th century or older glass. that's the wonderful old glass. >> historic glass. you are looking at the picture there today. video taken earlier today that showed the folks up there on the truman balcony. inside the tent is a device to try to trace the trajectory of where the rounds would have gotten up there. you're right. the range of an ak-47 by then would be pretty well spent. >> well, it's alarming stuff. thank you so much, pete. i know you are all over the story today. >> you bet. >> president obama says the united states is expanding. a move widely scene to keep china in check. chuck todd is the white house correspondent and traveling with the president down under has more. >> well, good day, andrea. president obama wrapped up his

first day here in canberra, australia. he held a press conference with the prime minister and was honored at a state dinner of sorts here last night. the big announcement was this idea of increasing, having a permanent u.s. military presence here in australia. that doesn't mean there will be a new u.s. base in australia. what it will be is u.s. troops, marines and members of the air force for now, up to 2,500 on australian bases. all of this is under the umbrella of what the theme of the trip has been which is this subtle, but increased strategy of confronting china on a number of fronts. we have seen at apec the ideaçf pushing harder on creating the trans pacific partnership, a trading group of nine countries potentially and maybe a tenth in japan. all of them not named china to serve as a free trade pac that could be a counter weight to china on the economic front. and then this announcement about

the military presence and the president himself will talk in a speech to parliament tomorrow in australia, later today your time. he wants to make sure that it's clear to the asian-pacific region that the united states plans to be a power in this region and being a power doesn't mean about the economy but also the military. there's been concerns about china's military presence in the south china sea. so this is the beginning of a push and it's being asked of some nations in this region to get the united states to up its own military presence here. again, to serve as a counterweight to china. travels with the president, andrea in canberra. i'll see you in darwin tomorrow. breaking news now. residents in the atlanta metropolitan area are under a tornado warning. people in suburban spaulding and cob counties are told to seek shelter. the area is under a watch until 7:00 p.m.

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in today's politico briefing mitt romney is skipping two more events in iowa this weekend and the brushoff isn't going over well. at an energy forum governor branstad warned romney that eye ju iowans don't like being dissed. terry has a lot of sway in iowa. this is an important warning to romney. >> it was. my colleague jonathan martin called it a public intervention to basically warn mitt romney, hey, don't suffer rudy giuliani's fate just four years ago when he put all his eggs in new hampshire, disregarded iowa. he was the national front runner and everything fell apart. romney doesn't place within the top three it will be a problem for him down the road. but, of course, we have to consider. this is the governorç advocati for his own state. you know, that's not surprising.

>> at the same time you've got reports from an event in florida with predictions that a tea party favorite would win iowa, he would win new hampshire and he told the crowd he would seal the nomination by winning florida. he seems to be writing off iowa. >> he's definitely downplaying it. he doesn't go to cattle call there is. the comment is instructive saying somebody else is going to win it. again, the latest poll showed him at the top of the pack. the bloomberg poll out in iowa showed him right there with cain and paul. if he's able to win it somehow, if the opposition collapses that makes it better for him. the message from the romney campaign is continue to downplay iowa. >> david cantanete from

politico. in atlanta they are under a tornado warning now. residents of palding and cobb counties are told to seek shelter immediately. the entire area is under a watch. a lesser warning until 7:00 tonight. we'll have a live report after the break. ry. thank you very much. you're on e-trade. huntin' down stocks, bonds, etfs. oh i love etfs. look at you. why don't you show me your portfolio? i'd love to... i already logged out. oh no, it's easy, actually, to get back... see where it says history? there's a history? yeah, it'll take you right back to the site you were just on. well the last site... [ british vo ] and now, cycle complete. the male wildebeest returns to propagate the herd. [ animal grunts ] can you forward me this link? [ male announcer ] e-trade. investing unleashed.

breaking news out of atlanta now. the area is still under a tornado warning. residents of cobb and palding county is told to seek shelter. also today supporters of syria's president bashir al asad are vandalizing buildings. the crackdown on anti-government protesters continued despite a deal with syria this month to end eight months of violence. the italian prime minister has formed his new government to

tackle the debt crisis. the new cabinet was sworn in replaci replacing berlusconi hold on the government. four astronauts received congressional goldç medals. neil armstrong and buzz aldrin, the first americans to walk on the moon, received awards. michael collins and john glen, the first american to orbit the earth were honrd with congressional models and mark kelly, gabrielle giffords's husband, attended and was given a round of applause. the question about eight years of newt gingrich working for freddie mac followed him today. >> i was glad to offer strategic advice. we did it for a number of companies. and the gingrich group was successful. >> do you think you were bought to be there? >> i don't think so other than your institution is bought when

people are advertised in it. >> gingrich is only the latest to get a boon in the polls. is his bubble about to burst again? stu rothenberg is here from roll call and msnbc political analyst and bloomberg columnist joins us. stu, you wrote about newt's rise, fall and rise again. a question first raised on the cnbc debate about $300,000 paid to him by freddie mac. now it was paid to the gingrich company and bloomberg said it was $1.6 million, a number gingrich isn't disputing. first of all he's making a distinction between a lobbyist and strategic consultant. is that a distinction without a difference to the average voter? does this make him more of a washington insider? he took the position shortly after leaving the speaker'sç j.

>> i think chris is right. generally this was very predictable, this focus on him. when he was irrelevant we could ignore him. now in the top ten he'll get scrutiny. his immediate reaction was i'm a historian. i was giving historical advice. they weren't asking him about the pelopynesian wars. this was what about he could do for them in pursuing their agenda. i think this is the drip, drip, drip of politics we have come to see when a controversy gets started and thereby more down the road for the former speaker. >> we are still working on this. we have been reporting it all day. apparently it was a fine freddie mac had to pay of $3.million to the federal election commission. it was a consent agreement and they didn't cite them or agree

there was wrongdoing but they paid $3.8 million for improper contributions to political candidates and failing to document fund raising they did for politicians and for hiring consultants and we don't know if the gingrich group was involved but for hiring consultants for the fund raising. >> fannie mae and freddie mac are toxic, especially in the republican party. there are democrats who have had connections with those institutions who have also suffered. you may recall that jim johnson who was supposeded to head the obama transition had to back out in part because of his connections to freddie mac and fannie mae. i don't agree that this is necessarily fatal to newt gingrich's chances. i think there is still a pretty good opportunity for him to emerge as the main challenger to mitt romney. that doesn't necessarily mean he'll beat romney, but romney

has not closed the sale with the republican party. it's just amazing to me that he's running third behind gingrich and cain although cain is fading. in a couple of recent polls. it's quite possible that newt gingrich will weather this. he has about a dozen for debates where he does quite well to move past this as he's moved past earlier controversies in this campaign. >> he's been incredibly resilient. let me show you another issue which is today's washington times, a conservative journal here. this headline is gingrich campaign platform at odds with planks from the past saying he made accommodations with bill clinton that the deficit reduction and balanced budgeting he was doing was with democrats in congress and, you know, obviously also republicans in congress when he was speaker. but also with a democratic white house. >> right. he was critical earlier this

year of the ryan plan which is very popular within the republican party. so there is a series of land mines we haven't even talked about the money from tiffany's, the revolving line of credit there and questions he had to answer about that. as stuart indicated as he becomes a more serious candidate the questions will keep coming. to say that he has baggage is rather an under statement. you know, he was fined and sanctioned as he leftç the speakership. there is a lot left to go over in the gingrich record. he's extremely resilient and there is a process of elimination going on now. there are not a lot of other candidates. are they going to turn to rick santorum? at some point the republicans

have to make accommodations. if they don't want romney they have to look at somebody else. >> romney is the obvious fallback position. let me ask you about gingrich, stu. is there a conflict between gingrich, mr. outside, appealing to the republican conservative base and tea partiers and gingrich, mr. inside, running the gingrich company which sounds as though he's the principal of it. whoever got the money from freddie mac a lot of it had to filter to him. >> there is absolutely a contradiction here. i think what makes some republican conservatives uncomfortable. it's hard for the former speaker of the united states and now a washington insider to run as an outsider. of course he wants to. that's the vacuum in the republican race as the alternative to the establishment candidate. he's not really in a position to do that. the money he made is one problem.

when you look at his record on the mandate, medicare part d, a number of issues conservatives will become very agitated about, that's a bigger problem. herman cain had a personal problem and that's rallied some conservatives. newt has multiple problems. some are ideological. >> stu rothenberg, thank you very much. jonathan çalter, thanks for beg with us. it is green week at universal. we are looking for ways to help you live more greenly. and there is a lot you can do to make hour you're home more energy efficient while saving money. i'm joined by carter esterhouse, host of "red hot and green" on hdtv. carter, you have practical advice to be more green, energy efficient, save money and do more for the environment. what are some tips? >> exactly. first, thanks for having me to spread the message. great to have a green week. we have to understand that the

logic behind the whole green space has shifted in the last four years. it used to be about the bells and whistles of what was green out there -- counter tops, cabinetry. now it's about how to save money on the utility bills. how to be more efficient at home. those are the big buzzwords. when people see utility bills shrinking they are more likely to jump on the green bandwagon. >> one thing is don't put the cold fridge next to the stove. you're losing power either way you cut it. >> location is key. when you want to make sure you know where you are placing things. it's really about sealing your home, insulation. before 1980 only about 20% of homes are properly insulated.

our hvac system is something we spend a lot of money on utility bills. we can lower the number. simplyç by having an energy aut done at home or by sealing up the home, doing an energy audit ourselves and location is one of them. also making sure your windows and doors are sealed up and you are not heating up the outside. >> and many local utility companies help with the energy audit. for those who have homes and not apartments, rain barrels. seems obvious but i hadn't thought of it. we all use water in the garden and this is an obvious source which also helps with drainage. >> rain barrels have been used for 4,000 years. like in gibraltar where they don't have rivers and streams. the rainwater is so much better

than well water because it doesn't have salts and minerals that can damper the growth of plants. rain water has been used forever. it's now seeming like it's coming back around. >> carter osterhouse, thank you very much for the tips. we'll keep it up. come visit us again. thanks for being with us today. >> thank you. appreciate it. >> senator kirsten gillibrand joins us next. we are still following breaking weather news in the southeast part of the country. atlanta, five different counties are under a tornado warning this hour. people in palding and cobb counties should seek shelter immediately. we are keeping an eye on the developing situation. [ kid ] there i was.

another holiday and stuck at the kids table again. andrew, come on over here. sit over here. [ boy ] cool. [ kid ] i was a finally a man.

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i'm tam ron hall. coming up at 2:00 p.m. will it be the last stand or proof the movement is here to say? protesters say the largest rally we have seen will happen tomorrow after protesters were physically thrown out of three major occupy sites this week alone. one critic says the window of opportunity to have an impact in this nation has closed. i'll talk with the protester who's been there from the start to see what he has to say. plus -- >> this crowdç running for president of the united states are an embarrassment to this country. >> chris matthews goes on a tear this morning saying there are no intellectuals in the gop field. our news nation political panel will weigh in on chris's words. plus the latest from penn state where we are waiting for campus police to respond to mike mcqueary's claim to a friend that he reported that alleged sexual assault of a 10-year-old boy. we have a live report from penn state. there is a new move afoot today to stop members of congress or their staffs from

trading in stock based on insider information they get. something to the shock of many is now perfectly legal. new york democratic senator kirsten gillibrand joins me from the hill. you represent the largest financial community in the world. this is a big shock to a lot of people. it was first reported on "60 minutes" this weekend that people on the hill can get briefeded by the head of the fed, the treasury secretary and particularly staff members can tradeimpunity. >> it's unconscionable. the american people need to know their elected leaders play by the same rules they play by. what this bill will do is fix the problem and make sure no member of congress can trade on inside information or their family or staff. >> now, do you have any republican cosponsors? i know jon tester and a couple

other people are on it. i don't see republican names. >> we are working on it now. this could garner good bipartisan support and it'sç common sense. it's what the american people expect. they see washington is broken. if we are going to restore confidence in the government this is a good first step. >> there is a real confrontation looming especially tomorrow with occupy wall street. new rules from the bloomberg administration and elsewhere around the country there have been evictions. where do you stand on what's happening happening happening in zuccotti park. >> this is a sense of anger and frustration the american people have about the economy, about where it's going, the lack of economic opportunity for everyday americans. that has to change and that's what's incumbent upon us in washington to work on legislation that can create a better environment for job

creation. >> and the super committee, time is running out and the leadership has gotten involved. is there any kind of indication from your inside information that they are getting to an agreement or are they about to break apart? >> a lot of us are hopeful the super committee will reach a bipartisan solution for the long term health of the economy and this country. a lot is riding on it and a lot of us are encouraging them to make the judgments necessary. one thing i'm hoping they add to the deal is we want to create a d-block for public safety. if we can auction off the available spectrum today you could raise about $25 billion. after you create this d-block for public safety for the first responders you would have about $6 billion left over to go toward it is debt. >> that was something i think was first recommended after 9/11 and hasn't been acted on. you have been passionate about it. >> it's a no brarn. it's been ten years. this is fundamental toç public safety. this is what the first

responders, police officers, firefighters are asking for. we had a press conference yesterday. a bipartisan press conference where we had men and women serving the country from every state. i can tell you police commissioner kelly of new york, it's the number one thing he's asking for. >> a lot of us were inspired by your friend gabby giffords, her facebook comment, message to the people of arizona that she's going to be back. she wants to serve in washington. >> yeah. >> she seems to have made extraordinary progress, senator. do you have a doubt she'll be able to come back and run for re-election? >> i don't. i have so much faith in gabby, i can't say. i thought the interview with diane sawyer was amazing. you could see all of gabby in that interview. her love, kindness and tenacity. i love the tough as nails. that's what she's made of. she has such drive, determination. if anyone is going to overcome what happened it's her. i have faith.

she continues to inspire me. i think she inspires everyone. >> she does, indeed. i've got to say the circle of women around her on capitol hill is inspirational, too. you need your friends when you're in you need your friends when you're in trouble. now to our breaking news. severe storms in the southeast. the weather channel's nick walker joining us. what's the latest on that tornado watch? >> it goes through the evening hours into portions of south carolina, boo alabama where huntsville had a 74-mile-per-hour wind gust earlier and some damage reported. a new tornado warning north of the atlantic area, bearing down upon interstate 85 to the northeast. we did have reports of damage -"a159ñtornado in auburn, apparent lay tornado complex, apparently an apartment complex just devastated by a tornado there. that coming in from police reports. now that spawned tornado warnings eastward into portions of georgia around the hamilton

area. we'll keep an eye on this area. harris county, under a tornado warning. and we still could see more as we go through the evening hours. then an overnight let the farther toward the east that includes jacksonville, charleston and cape hatteras. >> we just have word from mike seidel as well that auburn university is safe but without power. they paernlly took a hit but they are safe. no injuries reported. and what political stories will be headlines in the next 24 hours? ♪

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24 hours. >> herman cain will still be in the news. this has been another very bad week for him coming off several weeks of sexual harassment charges. we've got libya, did he ask had he beenry kissinger to be secretary of state. maybe he can get back to 9-9-9. >> i would not bet on him getting back to 9-9-9 any time soon. tomorrow, marco rubio. my colleague tamron hall has a look at what's next. a lot going on. developing news from penn state. how long before we hear from campus police after mike mcqueary told a friend in an e-mail that did he report the alleged sexual assault of a 10-year-old boy to police and a university official. local police have just said in the last hour, they never got a report from mcqueary.

plus, a new book kelly wrote with his wife gabby giffords. kelly said boehner never contacted the congresswoman or even visited her after she was shot in the head. what he says in that new book. also a lot of breaking news and developing stories. this out of syria. more pressure on president assad is coming down and more violence in that country. also, news on the person accused of firing a shot in front of the white house. pete williams will join me live according to the information i have, there has been an arrest. ♪ ♪♪

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right now on "news nation," is it all unraveling? campus police in the center of the firestorm. the man who said he witnessed jerry sandusky's sexually assaulting a child now claims he did report it to police. so what happened to that report? it would have been filed nine years ago. plus, who even oversees campus police and could it lead