a call to action. tonight, new fallout from the sex abuse scandal at penn state as the governor demands a change. plus, will a widening investigation bring forth more victims? women's health. big news tonight about the link between sugary drinks and a risk of heart disease. up all night. a growing trend at colleges across the country. classes just starting while most people are sound asleep. and team spirit. the husband and wife duo behind a football empire, an inspiring love story and a love for giving back. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

good evening. the recriminations and soul searching over who saw what and who knew what about the alleged sexual abuse of children by a former penn state football coach is growing tonight. along with questions over laws that apparently made silence in this case an option. pennsylvania's governor weighed in on the scandal today, saying an eyewitness to the alleged abuse failed a moral obligation to intervene. and tonight as law enforcement continues to try to identify more potential victims, other investigations are focusing on how those with reports or suspicions of crimes against children dealt with them. nbc's peter alexander joins us now with the latest developments. peter? >> reporter: lester, good evening to you. the attorney for one of the alleged victims of former penn state defensive coordinator tells nbc news tonight that he is preparing a civil lawsuit against the university. this as pennsylvania's governor is calling for the state's sex abuse reporting laws to be toughened up. with the penn state child sexual

abuse scandal entering its second week -- >> national outrage. >> reporter: -- strong words today on "meet the press" from pennsylvania governor tom corbett. >> when people see something like this or hear about something like this, you need to investigate right away. >> reporter: as attorney general in 2009, corbett began the investigation into former assistant coach jerry sandusky. he said mike mcqueary, the then graduate assistant who told a grand jury he witnessed sandusky sexually abusing a boy in 2002 should have done more. >> he met the minimum obligation of reporting it up, but did not, in my opinion, meet a moral obligation that all of us would have. >> reporter: the governor also addressed whether there might be more alleged victims. >> hopefully we know who they all are. but if there are more victims, we encourage them, the state police, the attorney general's office, and i encourage them to come forward. ♪ love came down and rescued me ♪ >> reporter: at a church service near the penn state campus, a day of healing and reflection.

>> we're still in the middle of figuring out what this -- what this means for us. what this says about who we are and the things we believed in and the things that we placed our hope and our trust in. >> reporter: for students and alumni, this painful past week has raised tough new questions. >> we are penn state. what does that mean? maybe it is something deeper and when we say that from now on, it will carry a deeper significance and will never go back to it is just about football. >> reporter: also today, the harrisburg patriot news reported that sandusky is being paid a pension of almost $59,000 a year. ousted penn state vice president gary schultz who is facing charges of perjury and failing to report what he knew to authorities, receives a pension of almost $331,000 a year. sandusky is free on $100,000 bail. outside his house, which was vandalized last week, no trespassing signs are now posted. and, again today, dozens of penn state faithful paid visits to

paterno's home, to honor the legendary coach whose image is synonymous with this university for nearly 50 years. former penn state vice president gary schultz and former athletic director tim curley both charged with perjury and failure to report what they know are scheduled to make their preliminary appearances in court this thursday, lester. both sandusky, curley and schulz say they deny the allegations. >> peter alexander, thank you. now to a tense showdown at a park in downtown portland, oregon, where tonight protesters from the occupy movement are refusing to leave, despite orders from local officials. similar scenes are playing out right now in cities across the country as patience with the protest appears to be wearing thin. miguel almaguer reports. >> reporter: the police sweep came this afternoon, hundreds of occupy portland protesters forced from a downtown park hours after the city warned them to leave.

>> they start hitting people around, usually on the arms and legs. a number of people went down. >> three, two, one! >> reporter: the protest numbers had dwindled from last night when thousands poured through city streets. a mostly peaceful but at times tense face-off with police. the city's mayor said occupy portland was becoming dangerous. the overnight encampments no longer safe. today's eviction in portland comes as officials who cite health and safety concerns try to put to an end similar demonstrations playing out in cities all across the country. >> we will not go! >> reporter: in salt lake city, 19 were arrested saturday night as officers cleared out the occupy encampment there. >> this is what a police state looks like. >> reporter: police say they have had enough. >> there is urine and bottles and containers and the health and sanitation is really horrible. >> reporter: meanwhile, in

denver, tents were torn down as police in riot gear arrested 17. and today in oakland, for the third time, eviction notices were handed out to occupy protesters there. the city now hoping to quell what has been at times a bloody and violent protest. >> all you can do is to be prepared and to be well organized and take care of each other really. and we know that if they evict us, we're just going to come back. we're not stopping. >> reporter: back in portland, protesters there have also vowed to stay. today they have been forced from city parks, but tomorrow they say they'll be back. miguel almaguer, nbc news, los angeles. to presidential politics now. after a debate last night that saw the republican candidates hold their fire on each other and take aim at the president. also tonight, some updated poll numbers after a week of damage control by the cain and perry campaigns. here is nbc's mike viqueira. >> reporter: in his first debate

after his famous flub, rick perry was still playing it for laughs. >> governor perry, you abdicate the elimination of the department of energy. if you eliminate the department of energy -- >> glad you remembered it. >> i've had some time to think about it, sir. >> me too. >> reporter: perry's misstep has become a signature moment of the campaign. >> come on, man, i said oops. >> reporter: now the gaffe is no laughing matter for perry. an nbc news/"wall street journal" poll had perry supported 8%. after his debate misstep, polsters went back and asked some of the same voters the exact same question. the results support cut in half to 4%. >> he put his hands on my legs, under my skirt. >> reporter: amid accusations of sexual harassment, there is also bad news in the repoll for herman cain. while his overall support is holding steady, 28% of gop voters now say they either have a great deal or quite a bit of concern about voting for cain. that's up from 17% a week ago. candidates on the upswing, mitt

romney, now in first after a gain of 5 points, and newt gingrich, still in third, but also up five. the topic of last night's debate, foreign policy, and many took a hard line. >> if all else fails. >> reporter: -- on iran. >> -- iffal of all the work we have done, there is nothing else we can do but take military action, of course you take military action. >> reporter: on waterboarding. >> i don't see if as torture. i see it as an enhanced interrogation technique. >> reporter: on relations with pakistan. >> i don't trust them. >> reporter: and on the middle east. >> president obama has been more than willingo stand with occupy wall street, but he hasn't been willing to stand with israel. >> reporter: and, lester, it has been exactly two weeks since that story broke about herman cain since the first allegations of sexual harassment first surfaced. and all the while herman cain's spouse, gloria cain, stayed silent, kept a low profile, apparently that's about to change. gloria cain is set to appear in an interview. herman cain will be seated right beside her.

lester? >> mike, thank you. for more on decision 2012, we turn to our chief white house correspondent and political director chuck todd, who is traveling with the president at the apec summit in hawaii. that follow-up to our latest poll shows perry and cain may have paid a price for their recent troubles. are both now past the worst of these respective storms? >> reporter: well, they may be, although for herman cain, we're not sure. remember there are some of the alleged accusers might get together and hold a press conference. now you have three candidates in the not mitt romney primary who have not yet been able to put together the three pillars they need of brains, passion, and money. newt gingrich is the intellectual haft candidate. herman cain is the passion candidate when it comes to the tea party and rick perry has the money. if one of those three can put together all three legs of that stool, then they might become a real challenger to mitt romney. right now, as long as they can't do that, it is mitt romney that look like he's a little bit in the clear. >> interesting way to describe

all that. let's turn back to the president. what does he hope to do and what does he need to accomplish on this particular trip? >> reporter: well, as you know, in this international trip, he's trying to make the focus about the economy and in particular with the asian countries. trade, what has been interesting, though, lester in the 48 hours, is that the president really is trying to take more of a confrontational tone with china, trying to rally all the countries here that are not china against china and directly go against china when it comes to currency and trade issues. >> all right, chuck todd in hawaii for us tonight. thanks. overseas now, changes are coming fast and furious in italy, following the ouster of a headline grabbing prime minister silvio berlusconi. tonight the country's new power players are racing to stabilize an economic crisis that has left italy on the brink of a catastrophe and has world markets on edge. our chief foreign correspondent richard engel is in rome and has the latest. >> reporter: this morning, in his first public act, italy's

new prime minister designate mario monti went to church. italy wants to show international creditors that its politicians can be serious. monti, a respected gray-haired economist and university president, today formally accepted the responsibility of forming a new italian government. he stressed the need to end italy's financial crisis. >> i will commit myself to finding a quick solution to this emergency situation and work with a sense of urgency and scruples, he said. >> this is not just an italy with prostitutes, money, corruption and lack of international credibility. there is also an italy which wants to recover very quickly and give a different impression. >> reporter: monti never mentions silvio berlusconi by name today. there was hardly any need. berlusconi's bunga bunga sex parties and alleged trysts with

minors are well known. in fact, they helped chip away faith that italy had the wherewithal to fix its economy, riddled with debt and low growth. last night, thousands cheered and some sang "hallelujah" as berlusconi resigned. ♪ hallelujah >> reporter: today, berlusconi was still the showman. in a television address, he defiantly promised a comeback. my resignation was a generatiou act to avoid further market problems. i will not surrender until we have modernized italy. the timing of this transition was considered critical. italy wants to show political stability before international markets open in europe and the united states on monday. lester? >> richard engel in rome. richard, thanks. we want to note the passing of a giant figure in the fight against breast cancer. evelyn lauder married into a cosmetic empire, working for the estee lauder company for more

than 50 years. even naming the popular clinic brand. but she'll be most remembered for her tireless efforts for breast cancer awareness, raising hundreds of millions of dollars and helping to create the now symbolic pink ribbon. evelyn lauder passed away from ovarian cancer. she was 75 years old. when "nbc nightly news" continues, important health news tonight, the damage the sugary drinks are doing to women's hearts. and later, the man and woman behind an nfl powerhouse. i know you're worried about making your savings last and having enough income when you retire. that's why i'm here. to help come up with a plan and get you on the right path. i have more than a thousand fidelity experts working with me so that i can work one-on-one with you. it's your green line. but i'll be there, every step of the way. call or come in for a free portfolio review today.

imagine a day when we can eat what we want and sleep soundly through the night. prevacid®24hr prevents the acid that causes frequent heartburn all day, all night. go to prevacid24hour.com for a $4 coupon. all day, all night. do you have an irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation, or afib, that's not caused by a heart valve problem? are you taking warfarin to reduce your risk of stroke caused by a clot? you should know about pradaxa. an important study showed that pradaxa 150mg reduced stroke risk 35% more than warfarin. and with pradaxa, there's no need for those regular blood tests. pradaxa is progress. pradaxa can cause serious, sometimes fatal, bleeding. don't take pradaxa if you have abnormal bleeding,

and seek immediate medical care for unexpected signs of bleeding like unusual bruising. pradaxa may increase your bleeding risk if you're 75 or older, have kidney problems or a bleeding condition, like stomach ulcers. or if you take aspirin products, nsaids, or blood thinners. tell your doctor about all medicines you take, any planned medical or dental procedures, and don't stop taking pradaxa without your doctors approval, as stopping may increase your stroke risk. other side effects include indigestion,stomach pain, upset, or burning. if you have afib not caused by a heart valve problem, ask your doctor if pradaxa can reduce your risk of a stroke. for more information or help paying for pradaxa, visit pradaxa.com. we're back now with a warning from doctors tonight about women's health. it involves soda and other sugary drinks and the role they play in heart disease. we get the details from our chief science correspondent robert bazell.

>> reporter: the study found that women who drink two or more sugar sweetened beverages a day had an increased risk for heart disease and diabetes. sugar sweetened drinks, sodas, teas, energy drinks and the like, can, of course, lead to weight gain. but the problems occurred even in women who didn't gain weight. >> even after we accounted for whether or not the individuals were overweight or obese or whether or not they gained weight over the course of the study, these associations were still there. >> reporter: the study presented today at the american heart association's scientific sessions followed more than 4,000 people for five years. it found that women who drank two or more sugar drink a day had higher levels of triglycerides, cholesterol and markers for diabetes. all predictors of heart disease risk. the study did not find the same risk for men in the group. >> women in general usually require less energy for metabolism than men, they require fewer calories for metabolic function.

>> reporter: in a statement today, the american beverage association said this type of study cannot show the drinking sugar sweetened beverages causes increased risk for cardiovascular disease. it simply looks at associations between the two, which can be the result of numerous other confounding factors. still, previous studies including a decades long look at almost 90,000 women in the harvard nurses health study have found an association between drinking sugar sweetened beverages and the risk for heart disease and type 2 diabetes. many scientists point out the sugar drinks create a spike in insulin. this latest study will give more ammunition to health officials who often urge people to cut back on their intake of those drinks. robert bazell, nbc news, new york. when we come back here tonight, colleges putting a new twist on night school. these classes don't even get going until after midnight. man: my electric bill was breaking the bank. so to save some money, i trained this team of guinea pigs to row this tiny boat.

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back now with a growing trend for busy night owls across the country. after spending all day at work and all day evening with the kids, they're heading off to school for classes that don't even begin until most folks are sound asleep. we got our story tonight from chief education correspondent rehema ellis. >> explain this line to me, what is it doing? >> reporter: in springfield, missouri, these students are watching the clock as they take their math exam, but this class is offered not at 12:00 in the afternoon, this is 12:00 midnight. >> for most of them, night is the only time they can do it because they either are juggling jobs and families or both. >> reporter: ozark technical community college is among the small but growing number of schools changing their schedules to cater to night owls and to handle increasing demands. >> community colleges are full. we had to find the time in the day that we had room and that was midnight. >> reporter: so at midnight they

come, for classes on public speaking, math, political science and many more. sure, they have to fight back some yawns, but students say it's worth it. >> i got three jobs i'm working to put myself through school and a lot easier to take it late at night. >> reporter: the course time so unusual, at least one student wound up on this side of the clock by mistake. >> honestly, i thought i was taking an a.m. class. >> reporter: according to the american association of community colleges, a handful of schools now offer classes that go past midnight. in two years, the late night program at ozarks tech has grown from one to more than 20 classes around midnight. one reason, the bad economy has people of all ages desperate to learn new skills at a price they can afford. on average, each class at ozarks tech costs about $260 versus $2,000 per class at a nearby

private college. for some students, the value, especially at this hour, goes beyond what they pay. >> there is not as many students, so you can get a lot more interaction out of people and get to know people. >> reporter: it is a new kind of college community. these students making the grade at the right time for them. rehema ellis, nbc news, new york. up next tonight, the force behind an nfl dynasty. ♪ [ male announcer ] when a moment suddenly turns romantic, men with erectile dysfunction can be more confident in their ability to be ready with cialis for daily use. even if it doesn't happen every day, you can be ready anytime the moment's right, because you take a clinically proven low-dose tablet every day. [ man ] tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. don't take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure.

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this is week ten of the nfl season and if you recall it was almost sidelined by that long labor dispute. the season was saved when a small group of owner and players respectively asked the lawyers to leave the room and they hammered out a deal the old-fashioned way. their guiding force, a man who during some of the most difficult days of his life was determined that there would be football. you won't find a prouder nfl owner or one more passionate about the game -- >> he is so special. >> reporter: -- or his team. and so when the labor dispute between players and owners threatened the season, new england patriots boss robert kraft knew both sides would have to change the tone. >> we found a way to break into a smaller group where there was less noise, and get away from the intense rhetoric. >> reporter: you wanted to get into the room, just mano ama ma.

>> we listened to one another. >> reporter: a deal was reached. he earned a heart felt rug from players on saturday. >> it was a difficult period in my life. and that was special. >> reporter: just days before the deal was reached, kraft's wife of 48 years, myra, lost her battle with cancer. >> she was amazing. you know when she proposed to me on our first date, she was 19. i was 20. she made the decision to stay at home and become a professional volunteer and there is no one who did more in this region. >> reporter: as her husband built a championship team, myra kraft managed the family's charitable giving. some $100 million since 1963.

nowhere was her influence felt more deeply than at the boys and girls clubs of boston. she was its board chair, son josh, its president. now 21, lisa rodriguez came of age here and currently volunteers as she attends college on a kraft scholarship. >> it makes me want to live my life, do i want to help out kids, i want to be a teacher. >> reporter: myra kraft wasn't a football fan, at least not when her husband bought the patriots in 1984. but she went on to become one of their most valuable coaches, at least in the skill of giving back. >> she was one of my favorites. there at every game. >> reporter: this season, the team wears her initials. >> give back, give back, give back. i'm like, if she can do it, all of us can do it. >> reporter: when he bought the patriots, bob kraft made a promise to his wife it would not detract from their charitable work. in fact, it helped increase it. and win or lose, it is a promise mr. kraft has not forgotten.

>> we will always do more because we would know she wants us to do that. >> bob kraft's patriots are playing the new york jets in just a little while here on nbc. but for now, that's it for us. stay tuned for "football night in america," followed by the game. brian williams will be here tomorrow. i'm lester holt reporting from new york. for all of us here at nbc news, good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com