i'm very sorry. i'll have to do this all alone political firestorm. new revelations in the sexual harassment controversy swirling around gop presidential candidate herman cain. wheels up.ç some frightening moments for passengers on board a poland-bound jet. and golden gadget. an english engineer creates a tablet fit for a king. good morning. i'm lynn berry. shows story shows stories and more straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. and today we begin with details and denials. according to "the new york times", an entire year's salary was paid to one woman who alleged she was sexually

harassed by herman cain back in the 1990s as another former employee says she's ready to speak out to refute what cain has called, quote, a witch hunt. brian mooar joins us from washington with the latest on this. >> reporter: good morning. for the cain campaign this a crash course in crisis management. presidential hopeful herman cain heads to capitol hill today to pitch lawmakers on his 9-9-9 economic plan. but the media spotlight is on the 1990s. and sexual harassment allegations from his time at the national restaurant association. one of his two accusers wants to be released from a confidentiality agreement. >> when he says he never sexually harassed anyone, i know that's not the perception of my client. >> reporter: a second accuser reportedly received $35,000 in severance. cain initially denied there was a settlement, but now acknowledges there was an agreement. still, he's vigorously denying

the claims and insists this badç publicity has not hurt his presidential hopes. >> in the last 24 hours, our fund-raising has been the highest it has been since i've been in this campaign. >> reporter: his fellow republicans are steering clear, at least for now. >> until, you know, things go past allegations to fact. i just try to leave them alone. >> reporter: mr. cain comes to washington with some serious baggage. and just a few hours ago, cain had dinner with at least ten senators. one called it a nice conversation, but no endorsement. lynn? >> brian mooar for us in washington, thanks. on capitol hill yesterday, the house of representatives took a break from working on fixing the nation's economy to reaffirm the nation's motto "in god we trust." with a vote 396-9 the nonbinding resolution passed with overwhelming bipartisan support. while potentially reopening the

debate of separation of church and state, christian conservatives praised the effort. critics called it an attempt to drum up support for gop support. it seems unlikely the senate will pass a similar resolution. with the nation's economy struggling and millions out of work, it seems americans' frustration has reached a tipping point. last night on the last word with lawrence o'donnell, tom brokaw reflected on how atmosphere in washingtons has changed since another divisive time in our nation's history, the vietnam era. >> there were very strong feelings on both sides of the equation, about the war, about domestic policy, but at the end of the day, political figures as you well know would find a way to have a drink or to talk to eachç other or wander across t aisle and say how can we work our way through all of this. so much of that has been lost. and as i go across the country,

i'm in maine street america a lot as you know, that's what i hear most of all, why can't these two political parties get together. if you go to main street america, you find the republican banker working with the democratic contractor or the guy with the backhoe. the farmer may have a different political view from the person he's dealing with or the woman who opens the grocery store, the convenience store down the street, but they've got to work together in these communities to keep moving their families and their communities along a path toward they hope greater prosperity and they find a way to do it. they don't understand why that doesn't happen in washington. >> be sure to watch the last word at its new time, 10:00 p.m. eastern right here on msnbc, the place for politics. sad news with the passing of 92-year-old dorothy rodham, mother of hillary rodham clinton. she was surrounded by her family

when she died at midnight yesterday. andrew andrea mitchell has more. >> it's literally true i wouldn't be here without my mother. >> reporter: whether at the state department, the white house, or on the campaign trail, dorothy rodham has always been at her daughter's side. >> my mother, dorothy rodham. >> reporter: it was she who first taught a young hillary how to stand up to neighborhood bullies. >> she met me at the door and she said there is no place for cowardses in this house. you have to go back outside and handle yourç problems. >> reporter: big hearted and if you would of adventure, dorothy rodham had a toughness born out of adversity. at the age of eight, she was september across the country with her 3-year-old sister to unwelcoming grand parents. they treated her so harshly she left to work as a nanny. >> my other was basically abandoneds as a young girl. and by the anyone of 13, she was on her own. >> reporter: it was a life right

out of charles dickens. >> i'm still amazed at how my mother emerged from her lonely early light as such an affectionate and level headed woman. >> reporter: dorothy played an even larger role in the clintons lives. >> there is only one person in the world that can really tell the truth about a man and that's his mother-in-law. >> reporter: president obama paid tribute to a remarkable woman. >> anybody who knows her history knows what a strong, determined and gifted person she was. >> she vael my inspiration. my grandmother has had a, are aable life and overcome challenges when she was a child that i cannot even imagine. >> reporter: a mother and grandmother who taught two generations of clinton women that they could achieve anything in life. andrea mitchell, nbc news, washington. now here's a first look at news going on around america today. an amazing scene erupted on a san diego street after a car ®

plowed over a fire hydrant. a powerful geyser held up the back end of the unoccupied car for over an hour. the allegedly stolen car's rear wheels returned to the ground after firefighters shut off the water. a controversial depiction of president obama is forcing virginia republicans to do some serious damage control. a mass e-mail from a group of ç loudon republicans featured a halloween-themed cartoon featuring a zombie president obama with a bullet wound to the head. the group's communication director has apologized and taken full responsibility for what he called a poor choice. lubbock police have more than arson on their hands after discovering 50 pounds of marijuana hidden in a truck's incarcerated remains. firefighters had a difficult time dousing the flames due to small explosions inside the vehicle's exterior. sheriff's deputies are looking for the owner but finding it difficult since the truck's

identification number was removed. finally a team of wii bowling aficionados basked in the glory of winning the national championship. the unbelievables took the crown at last month's tournament and they are already preparing for next year's. and now for a look at your national weather, the peanut gallery over here, bill karins has your weather channel forecast. good morning. >> have you tried wii bowling? >> no, i've actually never played wii. so when your little son wants to play the video games, say look at these guys, he could become an item in some news show. >> when is the last time you played a video game? >> nintendo with my brothers. yeah, the '90s. >> we're getting to know lynn berry. good morning, everyone. we're continuing to watch the storm in colorado. blizzard conditions just outside of denver this morning. it's been one winter storm after

another. who knows if this is the trend. but this will not bring winter conditions across the nation. it will bring rain.ç but this morning all the trouble interstate 80 closed between cheyenne and denver because of the blizzard conditions. the worst of the winds, though, from denver southwest and into the west areas of kansas, too, we have blizzard warnings. so the storm will spread during the day today. even know moving through nebraska and outside of denver, eventually we'll get snow spreading in to kansas. but the worst is in downtown denver. all the white on this map is the snow. as we go through the winter season, if you're joining us regularly, the blue on the map shows the more intense snow. so that's shifted outside of denver now and heading out on interstate 70 which i'm sure is almost impassable right now. so that's the travel trouble spot. it's not a huge snowfall amount. maybe 6 to 8 inches, but it's blowing all over the place.

east coast fantastic conditions. ocean storm missed new england thankfully and now we're left with high pressure, beautiful weather conditions. temperatures are in the 30s and 40s to start your morning. 50s new england, 60s mid-atlantic and nice day in florida, too. so it looks like a nice weather pattern for the northeast. more details coming up. also coming up, greece dumbs up the works. bank of america says uncle. and a strange kacasino prize option. your first look at morning's business headlines is straight ahead. a record breaking college football game and a celebration gone bad. you're watching "first look" on msn msnbc. [ female announcer ] from the moment we arrive...

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welcome back to first look oig. here are some of the top stories making news this morning. four suspected members of a fringe right-wing north georgia militia group were arrested tuesday in what the department

described as a plot to use guns, bombs and the toxin ricin to kill federal and state officials. court documents say the suspects, all age 65 and over, were recorded telling an fbi informant they wanted to kill federal judges, irs employees and atf agents. closing arguments are set for thursday in the trial of the doctor charged with administering a fatal dose of the anesthetic propofol to michael jackson. conrad murray has chosen not to testify in his defense. a 767 jetliner flown by poland lot made an emergency belly landing in poland after its landing gear failed to extend.ç all 220 passengers and 11 crew members were evacuated without injury. 2-year-old twin girls, who were joined at the chest and abdomen were separated tuesday during more than a nine-hour procedure at stanford university children's hospital. doctors say the operation went smoothly and their prognosis is good.

and for the person who has absolutely everything, an english luxury goods maker has customized an ipad 2 with 24 karat gold, 65 diamonds and a frame made from dinosaur bones. the asking price, a cool $8 million. that's when you know you have too much money. here's an first look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,657 after dropping 297 points yesterday. the s&p sank 35 points. and the nasdaq plunged 77. taking a look at overseas trading this morning in tokyo the nikkei skidded 195 points but in hong kong the hang seng jumped up 363. stocks tumbled again tuesday after greece threw a giant monkey wrench into europe's debt crisis solution. greece's prime minister suddenly called for a national referendum on europe's bailout plan with

voters nearly certain to reject unpopular belt tightening, a hard default by greece would be inevitable, causing bigger losses for banks, which revived fears of global financial chaos. u.s. banks were hit hard. morgan stanley, bank of america, jpmorgan chase, citigroup all fell. yields on safehaven 10 and 30-year treasury notes fell ç suddenly. the dollar fell after japan vowed to curb yen's strength. pfizer was the dow's only riser after beating estimates. october car sales were impressive, especially chrysler, up 27%, emphasizing the company's rebound since bankruptcy and bailout. the exception, general motors tumbled on flat sales. in a consumer victory, bank of america scrapped plans for a $5 a month debit card fee. a lawyer for the bankrupt brokerage mf global told a judge tuesday contrary to reports of hundreds of millions in missingç

welcome back to "first look." in sports, we start with some late news. los angeles dodgers owner franc mccourt has suddenly reversed himself and agreed to petition a bankruptcy court to allow him to auction off the team. elsewhere in sports, we start off a night of wild nhl action with boston bruins taking on the ottawa senators. here's nbc's mario solis. good morning. yesterday was supposed to be the opening night in the nba but with players still locked out, arenas around the nation are filled with ice instead of the hardwood. to boston where the stanley cup champions have struggled all season but ended a three-game

skid last night. tiler seguin finds bergeron, tying it 2-2. bs take the lead late in the second. bruins back in the win column 5-3 over the senators. speaking of struggles, nothing has been going right for the red wings. koivu with a perfect tip pass.+. minnesota forces o.t. setoguchi completes the comeback, scores on the rebound. detroit lose their fifth in a row 2-1. ducks up by three when caps rally. backstrom scores the equalizer and in overtime backstrom scores the game winner. lightning and hurricanes.ç brewer tries to get back and help but without a stick, he can do anything.

jokinen to skinner and carolina wins it 4-2. toledo and northern illinois certainly put on a show. combining for 123 points. that's a conference record. game comes down to the final 30 seconds, harnish to ashford. huskies win a barn burner, 63-60. to hockey where celebration got a little punchy in sweden after henrik ericsson scores, he's so happy he has to hug someone, anyone. so he grabs the closest guy, one problem, he was on the other team and punched him right in the head. not even that could wipe the smile off his face. that's your first look at sports. i'm mario solis. >> i love that. now for another look at the weather, here's bill karins. i do that to my husband sometimes. just goes in for the hug and like -- >> give him the old stiff arm? >> not now, yeah. sglupdab . a lot of people still waiting for their power to come

on, about that's how bad the storm was. temperatures are cold. notice the difference, central park, the snow all gone. where three still 6 to 10 inches on the ground, it's 28 degrees. so that's the difference it makes. this afternoon we'll melt more of the snow, probably take another two or three inches off the snow pack. 55 in connecticut. much of new jersey in the mid to upper 50s. down around philadelphia, all that snow around that area is now gone, too, should be near 60. and in hartford, againç it's a gradual slow warm up and then we cool it off this weekend, but at least it's dry and relatiily sa sunny for the power crews. an apology from the woman at the center of the divorce the entire country is talking about.

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welcome back to "first look." time for entertainment news. this one is a doozy. another day, another potential celebrity scandal. a 20-year-old has filed a paternity suit against justin bieber claiming a backstage liaison last year at a los angeles concert produced a baby boy. the suit demands the teen heartthrob take an dna test. they call it defamatory, false

and promises to pursue all available legal remedies to protect bieber. experts point out the suit makes the woman vulnerable to statutory rape charge since bieber was 16 at the time of the alleged incident and california's age of consent is 18. elsewhere, when regis philbin leaves the air waves this month, none other than jerry seinfeld will be the first guest host to take his chair. finally arriving to a media frenzy in australia, kim kardashian posted an apology on her website tuesday admitting she probably should have ended her relationship with kris humphries. she was just caught up in the happ hoopla of filming her tv show. i know you want your towels back, but she'll donate money to charity. is that good enough for you? >> no. >> i wasn't myç towels.

i'm lynn wear r berry. willie geist is next. the prime minister of degrees rolls the dice and stuns his counterparts by calling a referendum that could threaten the economic health of europe and the world. the question is why is greece doing it? we'll have a live report. meanwhile more questions for herman cain as a new report shows there was a significant payoff to a woman who accused him of sexual harassment and another woman wants to be released from her confidentiality agreement so she can speak out. can mr. cain weather a storm that he failed to address clearly at the outset? and the second installment of stephen colbert's meeting with ouk pie wall streeters. p did deep tissue massage and cold hard cash finally bring them around to his position? it's way too early for this.