independently confirmed these allegations. maggie haberman is senior political reporter with politico and one of the reporters who broke this story. boy, is this all the buzz this morning. thanks for coming in. his chief of staff, mark block, spoke to chuck todd just a few moments ago. let's play that. >> herman cain has never sexually harassed anybody, period, end of story. >> is he issuing you a -- even to you that doesn't sound like he's giving you a flat-out denial. >> i would suggest you contact the national restaurant association and ask them about any settlement. i am not personally aware of any settlement dealing with mr. cain. >> so he did not say that there were not these allegations and he wouldn't say that there hadn't been a settlement. i'm just wondering what your reaction is to their denials. >> well, this is the first time they have said flat-out that these allegations are false. we had tried for ten days to get

any kind of comment about these allegations. >> we have a tape. let's show it now. we can talk a little more about it on the other side. this is jonathan martin, one of the other reporters on this story, who confronted herman cain i think outside of some tv studios yesterday. take a look. >> i'm not going to comment on that. because, you know, i think that is one of those kinds of things that -- >> that was the last question. thanks. >> answer yes or no. have you ever been accused of sexual harassment? >> that was the first time in ten days you were able to get any kind of response and it wasn't a response. >> it was the first time we were able to get a more direct interaction with him. we had asked the campaign repeatedly about the specific nature of the allegations and the campaign spokesman, j.b. gordon, said mr. cain vaguely recalled some kind of an allegation made in the '90s. kept saying you need to get with the lawyer, peter kilgore, for

the national restaurant association. you saw it was very thoroughly reported. we stand be it. >> he's going before the national press club later today. maybe he'll answer some questions. conservatives say this report is based on anonymous sources. one conservative analyst said liberals are terrified of herman cain and liken the report to a high-tech lynching. sort of basically saying this is an outrageous attack by the liberal press. >> right. i think this is what happens when candidates run for office. they get vetted at a national level. mr. cain has never run nationally before. he has never faced this kind of scrutiny. he ran twice before for office. never became the nominee either time. i think this is a different level of attention. i think all candidates go through this. >> it's an extraordinarily difficult situation for me candidate when there's any kind of sexually charged allegation. ask anyone who's worked on campaign staffs in the past. what's the likely fallout for his campaign do you think, or is it too early to tell. >> too early to tell. it'll be interesting to see what

he has to say about it. he, i think, is going to address it at some point within the next two hours. it'll be interesting to hear his own remarks about the allegations and what he says. >> maggie haberman, thanks for coming in. the president will sign another executive order to try to get the economy moving. latest strategy, streamline the export process for small businesses and help r & d. speaker of house john boehner says the president will fail if he won't work with congress. joining me now, msnbc political analyst richard wolffe. also the author of "renegade: the making of a president." and perry bacon, white house reporter for the "washington post." gentlemen, good morning. >> good morning, chris. >> richard, if you take a look at the list of the executive orders the president unveiled last week, it'll help with mortgages, veterans, jobs, student loans. now this help for small businesses. i guess the question is, what does he gain, is he gaining by going it alone? >> he's gaining if you look at

the polls. his standing has ridden. he's helped democrats in particular on the question of who do they trust on jobs. but it's all small potatoes. this is not -- you cannot do a whole lot without congress with you. so the impression here is what's having an impact is the image in politics more than the legislation. >> perry, one of the articles in the "washington post" suggested that these initiatives are, frankly, clintonesque. bill clinton did the same thing leading up to his re-election in 1996. the question is do these programs matter if they don't have any impact on the high unemployment rate? >> they don't matter that much if they don't have much impact on the unemployment rate which will still be really high probably by next election day. they do present -- obama really ran on the notion he would get washington working again. sort of not broken down and to buy back partisanship. the last two years have show add very divided washington where things aren't happening. to some extent, things are mo

moving. accomplishments do help and will help improve poll numbers, i think. >> of course, richard, the republicans don't seem to be settling very easily on somebody to oppose him. and we just talked at length about the difficulties for the front run n-runner in many poll herman cain. david axelrod was the latest to slam mitt romney. let's play that for you. >> i make two points about him. one is he has no corridor. issue after issue afterish he's moved all over the place. working a few steps down from the president, i can tell you one thing. what you need in that office is conviction. you need to have a true compass. and you've got to be willing to make tough calls. and you get the sense with mitt romney that, you know, if he thought he -- it was good to say the sky was green and the grass was blue to win an election he'd say it. >> even fox took a stab at him because he won't go on their sunday show. i guess the question is, we get used to, richard, democrats beating up on republicans and

vice versa. are the republicans kicking themselves? >> i don't know that they have much choice here. i mean, the number of candidates is -- it keeps kind of thinning out each week. although they're still in the race, they seem to exclude themselves. david plouffe there was really trying to channel some of bush in 2004. that you may not like the way things are going right now, but here's a leader who's prepared to lead, take these kinds of executive orders. compared to candidates like mitt romney who doesn't really know where he stands or a party that's out of the mainstream. out of the mainstream, a candidate who doesn't know what he is, that's exactly what republicans did to john kerry in 2004. >> mitt romney has been constant in the polls. but we've seen so many people as you say take the lead. five minutes here. it was herman cain, rick perry, michele bachmann. perry, your paper suggests that newt gingrich is actually in some corners being looked at again. >> he's the next guy, i guess, in line to try. you've seen all these republicans -- we went from michele bachmann to rick perry

to herman cain who has looked in trouble today. i think the republicans are giving gingrich a second look. at the end of the day it looks like romney's been very stable throughout. his numbers are about 20% in iowa, 30% nationally. he's got to be the favorite right now. i think there will be someone to emerge to take him on in these early states where people feel like he's not conservative enough. it could be gingrich. it could be cain. i don't know where the reality show ends. we'll keep looking closely. >> perry, richard, thank you, gentlemen. good to see you. the world's population hits 7 billion people today. america is now paying out more in social security than it's taking in. huge topic, it's being largely ignored or avoided because of political peril. more on those details coming up. it's a nasty halloween trick in the northeast. more than 1 million people still without power after that uncommonly early snowstorm. weather channel meteorologist jim cantore is in allentown, pennsylvania. still looking pretty snowy there today, jim.

>> reporter: yeah. we had 6 to 14 inches here in lehigh county. mid-40s yesterday. the problem here, we still have over 200,000 statewide, people here trying to clean up the debris from their yard. they're obviously out of power now. you'll notice, chris, as we kind of pan up toward that window there, i mean, that's one of the bummers. you lose power, that's one thing. even try and heat the house by wood which many people are and then you lose the window. guess where all the heat goes. they got snow and water in there and everything. it's just not a good situation either way. but there are people out here, crews that are being hired, obviously, to help clean up this mess. really this is the scene -- you go from south central -- even into maryland all the way up through massachusetts, into connecticut, even into rhode island, this is the kind of scene you're going to see. you just can't have this kind of snow on trees that still have leaves that are green. and you're going to have those kind of -- or you're going to have these kind of problems. massive, massive cleanup under

way here as close to 2 million people are still without power from this just unbelievable storm. >> yeah. we keep -- i mean, compared to not having power for maybe a week, it seems like a small thing. but communities are canceling trick-or-treat. when's the last time you can remember that they canceled trick-or-treat because of snow? >> reporter: i can't. i can't. even growing up in vermont where we've gotten snow before in october, we have to get out. but there's just no power. people just aren't home. they just can't -- you know, obviously the festivitiefestivi buzz kill is there because of the fact we've lost power for so many people. it's awful. >> jim cantore in allentown braving it all for us. thank you so much. a slew of weekend arrests connected with occupy wall street has set the protesters back in denver. protesters tried to set up tells in front of the capitol. police fired balls of powder that were basically paint balls filled with pepper spray. a lieutenant says protesters pushed one officer off the bicycle and kicked two others. police in portland, oregon,

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today's the deadline for candidates to get on the ballot in the florida republican primary. over in iowa a new poll shows herman cain and mitt romney in a statistical dead heat. it's fascinating since they have spent the least amount of time campaigning there. in new hampshire this weekend jon huntsman wasn't shy about his feelings about mitt romney. >> romney, he's a good guy. but he's a perfectly lubricate ed -- you've got to have somebody who can instill a sense of confidence in your

consistency. >> a status review this afternoon for a civil case involving john edwards. a judge scheduled a hearing for later today. the case involves a suit brought by edwards' mistress, rielle hunter. she's suing to get property back from a former staffer. this weekend the white house welcomed to very wet trick-or-treaters. kids of military families and elementary school students got cookies and candy from the president and first lady. check out former white house chief of staff rahm emanuel on the "l." a picture with a bunch of zombies. the caption read, in case of a zoom zombie apocalypse, remember to stay calm like rahm. i'd like to think my mayor wasn't that calm if there actually was a zombie apocaly e apocalypse. critical week for the

deficit. it's worth noting that today the world's population hits 7 billion people. here in the u.s., 10,000 baby boomers become eligible for social security and medicare every day. for the first time since the early 1980s, social security has been paying out more than it's been taking in. that's for the past year. i'm joined now by nbc news national investigative correspondent michael isakoff. you've got all that going on. they've got thanksgiving as a deadline. how likely is it they're going to find all that money? >> you can almost see the train wreck coming on this. you still have the same fundamental political stalemate that we had last summer. republicans against tax cuts. democrats against serious entitlement reform. how do you get to that magic number of $1.2 trillion? plus, you have the trigger if it doesn't -- if they're not able

to reach the agreement, then you get this automatic trigger. here's where the real problem is coming on that one. that would require drastic cuts -- additional cuts in defense spending and you have a real resistance to that among both republicans and some democrats, too, saying the country can't afford serious defense cuts. you have lindsay graham saying he'll introduce a bill to repeal the trigger. if the defense cuts are ordered. and what happens then to the financial markets? all -- >> that's really the key question, isn't it, michael? a lot of people believe if they don't make this deadline the markets are going to react very negatively. >> right. look at what happened last summer. all the turmoil we went through last summer. after that the standard and poors downgrang the u.s. rating. you have the real threat that other rating agencies might take that -- that additional step if the -- if they're unable to reach an agreement.

and, you know, we're going to be -- take what we do -- went through last summer and all the strum and drum and turmoil and multiply it again if they're -- if the super committee is unable to reach an agreement. i think that's what we're looking at. >> is it clear what the key impediment is? is it taxes? what is it? >> it's the same issues we had last summer, but additionally what's happened since then, you had the president reaching out to speaker boehner trying to reach this grand bargain. they didn't quite get there. and president obama seeing the problems in the polls has only hardened his position, has become much more combative with the democrats. that's rallied his base -- much more combative with republicans. that's rallied his base. it's also made it much more difficult to reach that, you know, grand bargain that everybody was talking about that could resolve this. so you have hardened political positions in the midst of a political campaign and i think,

you know, most people looking at this say it's going to be that much harder to reach the kind of agreement that's necessary to stave off this financial turmoil. >> nbc news investigative correspondent michael isikoff. thanks. today marks the end of nato's bombing campaign in libya. the u.n. security council authorized that seven-month mission that helped the libyan rebels overthrow moammar gadhafi's more than 40-year-long reign. the mission officially ends at midnight tonight. 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 company's codes with smartphones, customers can learn about wines and get discounts. nina's not alone. qr codes are now everywhere. for more, watch "your business" sunday mornings at 7:30 on msnbc. [ male announcer ] this is coach parker... whose non-stop day starts with back pain...

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joins me now. good morning. >> good morning, chris. >> obviously, the worry is what's going to happen with the americans leaving iraq is that it's unstable and that provides an opening for iran. so the pentagon's drawing up some kind of alternative. what do you see as the alternative? >> well, we've always had alternatives in the region. don't forget, because we're fooling around in iraq instead of chasing after the bad guys in afghanistan, we've lost a lot of influence in the region. iran is the big winner, and so is turkey. we don't want that to happen because that's destabilizing particularly to the people you're talking about in the gulf cooperation council and to the region generally. there is actually no alternative than to keep a foothold there. don't forget that we have 99-year leases on lots and lots of air bases including that in kuwait right on the border with iraq. and it's from those areas that we would launch a couldn't atta -- couldn't attack. >> it's not going to happen.

even iraq's chief of staff says iran will not be able to expand its borders or air space at least until 2020. >> on the ground, yes. with conventional troops, yes. we've had about 30,000 troops in kor rh korea for the last 60 years. the reason for them being there is not that they're going to be able to defend against an attack from north korea but americans will be engaged if north korea attacks and use other means to counterattack. they're there for a trip wire or a local counterattack if that becomes necessary. i think the american valuation is we need to not withdraw from that area intellectually. we need to have some sort of physical presence in order not to dominate the area, but to demonstrate the interests. >> let's talk about the horrible bombing in kabul over the weekend. at least 12 americans were killed. i think it's the single deadliest assault on americans in the capital. >> ever. >> since the war began. what are the insurgents doing here, jack? >> destabilizing. they don't want to have a central government in kabul.

to be honest with you, i think if they do nothing there won't ever be a real government in kabul that commands all of afghanistan. but we have lots of little factions vying for some control to demonstrate that they're there. it's really kind of ironic. we're leaving there. they don't have to blow up americans to demonstrate that they would like americans to leave. we are actually leaving except for a small contingent of trainers and special operations forces. that attack is to demonstrate their importance within afghanistan. not so much for american consumption. i think there's a civil war going on there and it will continue to go on there long after we've left. >> colonel jack jacobs, always good to have you in. >> thanks for having me. another mess for jet blew pass blue passengers and steve jobs' final words. that's next. with your colon than stimulant laxatives, for effective relief of constipation without cramps. thanks. good morning, students. today we're gonna continue...

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[ cellphone rings ] cut! [ monica ] i have a small part in a big movie. i thought we'd be on location for 3 days, it's been 3 weeks. so, i used my citi simplicity card to pick up a few things. and i don't have to worry about a late fee. which is good... no! bigger! bigger! [ monica ] ...because i don't think we're going anywhere for a while. [ male announcer ] write your story with the new citi simplicity card. no late fees. no penalty rate. no worries. get started at citisimplicity.com. just got some breaking news in here. tony la russa, one of the greatest managers in the history of baseball and, of course, just most recently winning the world series, has decided to retire.

listen to just a little bit of his record. he won pennants in both the american and national leagues. he won world series over three decades, pennants over four decades. tony la russa going out on a winning note. but certainly has solidified his place in baseball history. let's take a check of some other stories people are talking about right now. the freak halloween weekend snowstorm was a night mamare fo air travelers. passengers on at least three jet blue planes and one american airlines plane say they were stranded on the tarmac for at least seven hours in hartford, connecticut, on saturday. they quickly ran out of water and snacks. another says the toilet started backing up. officials say experts to rescue three employees of a grain facility are achenson, kansas, are expected to resume today. workers caught in a massive explosion on saturday while unloading corn and grain dust is highly combustible. three other men were killed. two suffered serious burns.

witnesses say the explosion was so huge it shook the ground in neighboring missouri. in a heart wrenching eulogy originally read at a memorial service for the late steve jobs, the apple founder's sister reveals his final words. oh, wow. oh, wow. oh, wow. mona simpson's fair well to her brother was published "new york times" in the on sunday as part of an intimate portrait of the tech icon. she describes their deeply close relationship and the moments before his death surrounded by his family. peanut butter lovers are about to get a shock. look at that. peanut butter prices rising by up to 40%. a massive increase. farmers saw their worst peanut crop in more than two decades. it will affect brands like skip, jiffy and peter pan. how about this? peanut butter is in 90% of american households. nobody does halloween like the "today" show. this year the hosts got the royal treatment. the costumes and the big sur

prize when we go down to the wire in 20. bernie madoff's family insists they had no idea he ran a $65 billion ponzi scheme. this morning his wife remembered the night the couple tried to commit suicide. >> i think it was my idea more than his. i was in agony over the losses of all my friends. everyone i know and love was a victim of bernie's. and i just -- we're getting phone calls and, you know, letters. and it was agonizing. >> so he did am bean, aspirin and some blood pressure medication. tell me if any of this is right or wrong. he says the two of you got into bed that night fully dressed because you suspected that your bodies would be found. >> i don't remember that. it could be true. i don't remember that. >> one of the victims of bernie madoff lost her entire life savings. daphne, full disclosure, you and

i are friends. i remember very well the party we were at for the inauguration of barack obama when you told me that you and your husband had been cleaned out by bernie madoff. i wonder what went through your mind when you saw her and her son and his fiancee saying they knew nothing? >> you know what? i believe the son. i watched it -- we watched it as a family. my first thought was, why didn't i redo my kate gosselin wig and i could have gone as ruth madoff for halloween. i love that accent. >> i love that you still have a sense of humor about it. >> let me tell you, chris, that's the only thing that's getting us through. that and the irs money we got back. i believe andrew. i think that she is in pain. i feel like she is in some pain. but i am so sick of hearing about her and bernie's attempted suicide. because, you know, obviously bernie was a clever man. if he wants to really do something, he can do it. especially in the wake of the tragic loss of their own son's suicide. i don't want to hear another word about it. >> let me play another clip.

this one is with andrew madoff this morning. let's listen. >> didn't know something? didn't you suspect something? >> i didn't. i didn't. i had grown up my entire life attending functions where he was being honored and hearing about the legend of bernie madoff. i have nothing to hide. i just want to have a chance for people to see -- see me, see who i am. i've been cooperating with the authorities from the beginning. >> you say you believe him. is there anything that you heard that made you feel, i don't know, a little bit better? >> you know what? to be honest, yes. because other than the fact that if i was andrew i'd change my face because he looks so much like his father. but i think that he should -- that it made me feel better because obviously myself, my family, other people who were involved in this, we feel like schmucks. if you feel like there was a guy who was literally right down the floor from his father then, you know, it makes a little more sense. and i think just seeing that

they -- you know, that they're humans. frankly, chris, you know, this is a side show for us. because we're feeder funds. it's not coming to us. whether ruth and andrew sent me a check right now, it wouldn't even come to me. i'm part of the stanley chase feeder funds. we're going to get nothing. i will say one thing that didn't make he feel better, ruth madoff got $2.5 million. if you rob a 7-eleven, does the relatives of the robber get to keep any of the money? >> $2.5 million. she says she's fine with that. >> i'm sure she is. >> the first question i got asked, they're obviously plugging a book. the question is where is that money going? it's going to andrew's fiancee? >> i thought that was weird. >> the reaction most people have is why is it not going to the victims? what do you think about that, daph? >> i think it's weird. she's going to marry, you know, andrew madoff who says that he's -- he's fine from his trading business. here's what i don't understand.

myself and my in-laws, we support my mother-in-law. why can't he support his mother? it's not a lot of money she has. but it could be divvied up. i do think it's weird. i think it could go to -- or, you know, especially the elderly who were victims of this. >> and, you know, he obviously is in prison for the rest of his life. he seems to at least have indicated that he feels better there. that this pressure is off of him. that's what they all sort of talk about. how horrible it's been for them. do you kind of hope now that it's over, it's done, they'll stop talking about it, you can stop talking about it? i know how hard you and your husband mark have worked to sort of get your finances back and start saving again. >> yeah. at the same time, you know, chris, we started off with -- i -- you know, tragedy plus time equals comedy. i'm always trying to look for the humor in this no matter what

comes up. i would just assume the madoffs stop writing books. i do feel sorry for mark madoff's wife. isympathetic. >> it's a tragedy on so many levels for so many people. >> yes. >> you've always had such a great perspective on it. you've navigated a horrible situation brilliantly. daphne, thanks so much for coming on. >> no problem. get ready for macy's midnight madness. in the battle for your holiday shopping dollars, macy's for the first time ever is opening all of its stores at the stroke of midnight on black friday. yes. that's the day after thanksgiving. cnbc's mandy drury is here with what's moving your money. macy's isn't alone. >> absolutely right. it's great news if you like to shop all the way through the night. it is in response to what customers say they have been wanting. so macy's really is just the latest retailer to extend their hours on what is, of course, the tradition all kickoff to the holiday season. you've also got target which announced on friday it is also

opening its doors at midnight for the first time ever and is going to be offering black friday specials. just like macy's it plans to stay open 23 hours. it is, however, part of a longer trend. retailers have been expanding their black friday hours every single year. i guess they're also trying to out do each other a little bit by publicizing things weeks in advance. circulars are already starting to be leaked out on sights like blackfriday.com. blackfriday2011.com. obviously a few years ago stores were trying to keep discounts a secret. these days everyone wants the shopping money. >> i would go just to get you that justin bieber gift set for $65. but much more money for an oil company executive. we kept saying in our morning meeting today, that can't be right. but tell us the story. >> yeah. the ceo of nabors is walking away with $100 million. now, it is one of the largest executive paydays in recent years. i guess if you're one of the

occupy wall street protesters you might find this a little hard to stomach. here are the details. it's an oil drilling company. it's giving its chairman $100 million in cash. it is a severance style deal. here's the catch. the 81-year-old isn't actually leaving the company. he's been chairman and ceo since 1987 and nabors is promoting 57-year-old anthony patrillo to become the ceo. izenburg is staying on as chairman. the $100 million label is as a result of the change in responsibility. the problem is it is also higher than the company's third quarter net income just over $74 million. what about the stock down 19% this year? that would make him by my calculations one of the highest paid but also in terms of shareholder value, one of the worst performing u.s. execs. so quite a story for people to chew on. >> unbelievable. cnbc's mandy dury, thank you. richard ingle is back from an unprecedented trip to syria where he secretly crossed the

border to meet up with an underground network of activists. >> we contact smugglers in southern turkey. they suddenly drop us off on the side of the road. >> go. go. go. >> reporter: and tell us that this field is the way in. it's 3:00 in the afternoon. broad daylight. i didn't expect we'd be crossing it during the day. so without visa, without permission, we start to cross into syria. the border runs right through these fields. next, we must leave the relative protection of the tall grass and run through an open field. once we cross the barbed wire fence, we're inside syria. >> you can see the entire story tonight on the debut of the highly anticipated nbc show "rock center" with brian williams. nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard engel joins me now. what happens next? >> well, we went inside syria and we start looking for

activists. people who are running this revolution that has been operating largely without much media attention. more than 3,000 people have been killed. more than 10,000 people have been arrested or have simply disappeared. and we met the activists. and they described mass arrests. they described torture. and it is a revolution that won't go away despite a very repressive government crackdown. >> obviously the point is that most americans don't know much about this because there are not western journalists in there. what do you think you found that would surprise americans most? >> that everyone saw the egyptian revolution. and it was broadcast live. i remember, we were covering it. and that lasted about 18 days. and in the end, the army didn't intervene and didn't crack down on the people. same thing happened in tu tunisia. in this case the army and forces are cracking down and are being

used to attack the people. there's a degree of brutality as well. we heard really disturbing reports of torture and disappearances that i think -- >> and the numbers, more than 3,000 people reportedly killed since march. tens of thousands either in prison -- >> 10,000, 15,000 missing. >> do you see any circumstances under which these protesters, i guess, get the upper hand? >> there are some divisions within the security forces right now. there are groups of defectors. some of them armed groups of defectors. if that continues, they'll have the potential to enter into an armed conflict. though that's something that the syrian protesters say they don't want. so at this stage, no. i don't see them getting the upper hand. they could try and drag this out and force a crippling war of attrition in the country in which -- in which case assad could be forced to step down. but i don't see them winning this militarily, as it would be. >> i'm fascinated to see this tonight, richard. as always, great to have you on. good to have you back safe.

>> thank you. nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard engel is part of "rock center" with brian williams. it premieres tonight 10:00 p.m. eastern time, 9:00 central, only on nbc. "puss in boots" walked all over the competition at the box office this weekend. taking in $34 million. despite that number it was the softest opening for a dreamworks animated movie in five years. "paranormal activity 3" came in second. you name it.

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. good morning to you. i'm veronica dela cruz. new trouble for the herman cain campaign. two former employees accusing him of inappropriate behavior.

one of the author's of the report. rick perry has a new campaign speech that paints the governor in a whole new light. it may not be good. the world's 7th billion mayby will be born sometime today. how will this impact the global economy and our environment. those stories and much more straight ahead on msnbc. hope you'll join us. the herman cain campaign is in full damage control mode this morning after explosive allegations of sexual harassment surfaced yesterday. i'm join bid thaw or of "you are the brand." steve, good to have you. >> great to be here. >> for people who haven't heard it or seen it, this report is in politico. nbc has not independently confirmed it. two women claim they were sexually harassed by cain back in the '90s when he was the head of the restaurant association. last hour a spokesman said he never sexually harassed anybody. but neither he nor herman cain will comment on these allegat n allegations or a reported settlement. how should he handle something

like this? >> first of all, i want to be fair to herman cain. because it hasn't been confirmed beyond the political report. here's the problem. when he was asked directly by a politico reporter yesterday, have you, mr. cain, ever been accused of sexual harassment, cain glared at him and looked back and said have you ever been cused of sexual harassment? my point is, the guy -- the reporter is not running for president. you're running for president. i don't think herman cain understands that beyond having a 9-9-9 slogan for a tax strategy is the same for running for president and the level of national scrutiny you're going to get. >> this really is the sort of latest example of somebody thrown into the national spotlight. he's never run for anything before. and i would say having some difficulty. >> you better be ready for primetime. you think it's sort of fun and kitschy to have your campaign manager do an internet ad where he's smoke ing. you don't realize you have to answer questions about smoking. or you can't say just two days ago if my daughter or granddaughter were raped, it would be their choice in terms of an abortion and then he says,

you know what, never really said that. i'm pro-choice because life begins at conception. he's saying it's taken out of context. i say he doesn't understand what it really means to run for president. >> let's talk about a couple other candidates and mitt romney who just can't seem to break out. he's the front-runner. but he's been flat for months and months and months. what's going on here do you n g think? >> david plouffe, the campaign guy with obama had a great quote on "meet the press." if mitt romney believed he needed to say the sky was green and grass was blue to get votes, that's what he would do because he has no core. some would say that's an unfair characterization. i argue his brand has been cemented in the fact that he doesn't have core values. yes, in massachusetts, of course health insurance was needed. nationally, not the same. you can't keep going down the line. he did the same thing on gay rights in terms of gay marriage. for it. against it. he's got to have core beliefs. i'll tell you what, when you're stuck at 25% and 75% of the

people want someone else, it makes you a very weak brand in the republican party. forget about a presidential general election. >> let's talk about the rick perry brand. it was on the ascent for a while. the hot new thing. then it took a big dive. now in new hampshire on friday night, this speech has gone viral. let me play just a little clip of friday night's speech. >> this is such a cool state. come on. live free or die? i mean, it's like live free or die. victory or death. bring it! i love herman. is he the best? today has been awesome, girl! this has really been a great day. >> was that rick perry or someone doing a bad imitation of rick perry in trouble in a presidential campaign? it's ridiculous. it's ridiculous. because he's -- he's going all over the place. now he doesn't want to debate. >> you think he's trying to be funny or charming or? >> he was trying to be tough with mitt romney and couldn't pull the line off. now he's trying to be funny.

he's trying to be irreverent. i don't know. it looks like george bush at his worst trying to be tough. maybe it's a thing about being governor of texas. the rick perry brand is in huge trouble and it is in freefall. >> let's talk about the barack obama brand. which was hope and change. and he represented this youth and this vigor. and now, obviously, slow recovery. people still like him on a personal level. that is one thing he definitely has going for him. but how do you market that? how do you brand that? >> it's interesting. because in the book that i wrote, and i -- i'm uncomfortable plugging the book. >> i can tell. >> in the book i said he's the greatest american political brand in a campaign i've ever seen since john f. kennedy. i'll tell you why. looks great. gives a great speech. pumps up the crowd. yes, he also had the advantage of running against a very weak brand, hillary clinton, at the time. what he's finding out is hope and change and running a big campaign and giving a speech is terrific to brand yourself as a candidate for president, being president is about dealing with unemployment. dealing with jobs.

dealing with a crisis. dealing with hurricanes. dealing with national disasters. dealing with war. slogans won't cut it. speeches won't cut it. the brand that he has right now is that he's not a strong executive. the advantage he has is that the republican candidates' brands, they're a lot worse. and they're hoping that if mitt romney is the candidate, his brand is so weak as a flip-flopper then all of the sudden the economy is not as important. i believe it's a risky strategy. but you could pull it off. >> all right. steve atubato. happy halloween is trending on twitter today. our tweet of the day comes from you. trendy writes, happy halloween, everyone. can't wait to ignore people knocking on my door later. bah humbug. buzz in the city tweeted happy halloween. be safe with the tricks and get lots of treats. and the atomic geek tweeted, happy halloween, friends. remember, kids don't really like tootsie rolls so send them our way. i have astigmatism. so my old contact lenses would sometimes move out of place

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the "today" show zombies and dogs in costumes in a halloween theme down to the wire today. here we go. the "today" show team really gets into halloween. matt playing prince william today. ann, kate middleton. along with the rest of the wedding party. and they welcome back a very special guest. >> the only shame is we don't have the queen. which would be -- what? they're telling me, wait. what? that the queen has decided to join us? >> hello! hello! hello! >> it's meredith! oh, my god! >> my wig fell off! oh, my god. >> those wacky folks at the "today" show. check out this zombie flash

mob dancing to "thriller." the ghoulish moves rocked dallas, texas. flash mobs keep popping up everywhere. different zombie in california saturday night trying to set the world record for most zombies on the move at one time. there's actually already a record set in seattle by 4,700 people. ha could be cuter than dogs in halloween costumes? these southern california puppies got all decked out for the tenth annual ought dog howloween parade. proceeds went to an animal charity. if you're looking to fight the undead this halloween, you don't need to call ghostbusters. down load an app. the ghost hunter app uses phones' built in magnotometer to measure electronic fields and track ghosts' footsteps. veronica de la cruz is up next. have a great halloween. ♪ ♪

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new heat for herman cain. his campaign vehemently denying accusations of sexual harassment twice in the 1990s. how does this affect his bid and the rest of the gop field. in treat for millions of americans waking up this halloween morning with no power and no heat. the snowstorm blameford at least 11 deaths. a child is born. is it the world's 7th billion baby? countries around the globe marking a population milestone. what will it mean for the planet's resources and economy? i'm veronica de la cruz in today for thomas robert. a new skandle for the man leading the fwrgop presidential race. two women complained of sexually inappropriate behavior by herman cain in the 1990s when he led the national restaurant association. both women left their jobs ta