making news this morning, campaign crisis mode. >> bombshell new allegations against herman cain. a woman says the two had an affair for more than a decade. revving up the retail engine. the most successful cyber monday ever. could holiday spending turn around the economy? and it was a monday night blowout. a giant win for the new orleans saints. >> who dat? good morning, everyone. i'm rob nelson. >> and i'm sunny hostin. herman cain is on the defensive this morning over new bombshell allegations. >> a georgia businesswoman now says she was in a long-term relationship with cain.

a relationship that ended a few months ago. and that woman says she has evidence to back up her claim. >> abc's tahman bradley joins us this morning with the latest. good morning, tahman. >> reporter: that's right. herman cain denies having a sexual relationship with that woman. and he moved quickly yesterday to knock down her story. by the way, rob and sunny, there's 35 days left until voters start voting. with only about a month to go before voters have their say, the republican presidential race is in full sprint. for businessman herman cain, the controversy over allegations he sexually harassed women in the 1990s has died down. now, a new woman, ginger white, has stepped forward, accusing cain of an extramarital affair. >> this is not something i wanted to hurt anyone. not a fun thing. >> reporter: cain denies having a sexual relationship with white during the 13 years they've known each other. >> i acknowledged that i've known her about that period of time. but the accusations that i had a 13-year affair with her, no.

>> there was no sex? >> no. >> none? >> no. are. >> i couldn't imagine anyone coming out and lying about this. you know, who would want this? it's really not been fun. >> reporter: while cain has fallen in the recent polls, newt gingrich picked up a key endorsement from "the new hampshire union leader." and now, conservatives are giving the former house speaker another look. >> my proposal is we replace the internal revenue agency. >> reporter: as for mitt romney, the obama campaign thinks he's the likely nominee. that's why this new tv ad is running in five battleground states. >> with the creator of i'm running for office for pete sake, comes the story of two men trapped in one body. mitt versus mitt. >> reporter: an abc news/"washington post" poll, found that newt gingrich leads the republican peeld among conservative voters.

and conservatives play a key role in the nomination. >> back to questions of herman cain. will it derail the campaign? >> reporter: cain is pledging that he'll stay in the race. cain's lawyer put out a statement yesterday, saying that the media has no right to get into and explore the relationship between two adults, which, of course, is not a denial of the affair. rob and sunny? >> tahman bradley, thank you. we turn to the latest in the syracuse sex scandal involving a former coach. we are expecting to hear from bernie fine's wife later today. we heard her voice yesterday during that tape recorded phone conversation with one of the alleged victims in the case. during that conversation, she appeared to acknowledge that her husband had sexually abused the boy. but now, she claims that tape had been edited and altered. the ex-fiance of a missing florida mom has been named the prime suspect in her disappearance. dale smith was the last person to see michelle paulker when she dropped off their 3-year-old

twins at their con toe. it was the same day that "the people's court" showed parker and smith in a dispute over an engagement ring. congress is losing one of its more colorful characters next year. bernie frank is going to call it quits after his term expires. he is looking forward to having time to himself. don't worry. he is highly unlikely to become a lobbyist. >> you can laugh. but what one of the advantages to me, i don't have to pretend to be nice to people i don't like. some of you may not think i've been good at it. but i've been trying. but the notion of being a lobbyist and having to go and be nice to people i don't like would be different. >> blunt until the end. frank is the 17th democrat to announce he will not seek re-election next year. and in wisconsin, organizers working to recall republican

governor scott walker says they have gathered more than half of the 540,000 signatures needed to get a recall vote. walker upset the labor unions back in the spring. in egypt, voters are back at the pol in that country's first parliamentary elections since hosni mubarak was ousted from power. abc's lama hasan visited a polling place in cairo. >> reporter: the line stretches as far as the eye can see. and everyone we've spoken to here tells us they don't mind waiting because for once they feel their voices will be heard. >> some egyptians waited five hours to vote. and observers said women appeared to outnumber men, in some cases, by far. the atlantic hurricane season draws to a close tomorrow. n.o.h.h. says there were 19

tropical storms and 3 record hurricanes. and of course, the good news in all this, no major storm hit the u.s. we are thankful for that. yes. let it end. time, now, for today's weather from around the country. a rare and early storm dumps up to four inches of snow, from memphis to birmingham. a wintry mix in atlanta. showers from raleigh to boston. and downpours from chicago to detroit, indianapolis, nashville and louisville. >> 46 in seattle. 50 in boise. and 77 in phoenix. 37 in the twin cities. and 40s from detroit to kansas city. upper 50s in dallas and new orleans. miami hit 77. up to 20 degrees warmer than normal in the northeast. 67 here in new york. and 63 in boston. >> can't complain about a mild end to november. >> cannot. >> great. coming up after the break, the cyber monday sales numbers are just coming in. and they're already boosting the stock market. and then it's sentencing day

for michael jackson's doctor, who faces four years in prison. also this morning, six minutes of terror trapped inside of this sinking car. all of it captured in the driver's call to 911. and a look at the future of automobiles. tie owe to's smartcar. the ride that even recognizes you. @ @

welcome back, everybody. it was the best cyber monday ever. final figures aren't in just yet. but by midafternoon, online

sales were up 15% to 20% over last year. the total is expected to be well over $1 billion. the biggest winners this year were department store websites. the big losers the sites that simply couldn't dle all that extra traffic. and to kick off cyber monday, federal agents yesterday took down 150 websites that were allegedly selling counterfeit goods and put up this notice. the merchandise included football jerseys, designer handbags and pirated movies, most of them made overseas. overseas markets are up on hopes european finance ministers will come up with new ideas to solve the debt crisis. tokyo's nikkei average gained 190 points today. hong kong's hang seng added 218 points. in london, the ftse opened. and on all, the dow rose 291 points yesterday, ending a 7-day slide, thanks to good holiday weekend retail sales. the nasdaq index was up 86. and facebook is now expected to go public next year some time

between april and june. according to "the wall street journal," the social network hopes the initial public offering will be valued at $100 billion. facebook presently has 800 million users. >> well done mark zuckerberg, wow. it looks like some of the money missing from mf global has turned up in britain. investigators found about $200 million that may have come from the failed wall street investment firm. sources say mf global transferred the money just days before it filed for bankruptcy. there's a shortage of the favorite food of the holidays and year-round. peanut butter prices are soaring 30% or more. some farmers switched to more profitable crops. toyota is showing off what it calls a smartphone on four wheels. the car recognizes and greets its driver. you interact with it through a touch-panel. you can change the color and design of the car's body. toyota's president says, if it's

not fun, it's not a car. but the real purpose of this prototype is to show off toyota's technical ability after a difficult year. what will they think of next? >> i want that car. >> really? >> i do. >> get me one, too. next on this tuesday morning, the health warning for guys. how laptop use could hurt your ability to have children. >> stay tuned for that one, fellas. also, celebration for the who dat nation. a giant win for drew brees and company on "monday night football." ♪ [ aj ] i'm an expert on every single one of these jackets. i know the tests they've been through. i know the temperatures they can withstand. i even know why this little mesh pocket is mesh. the way we make gear, it's not just guaranteed to last. it's guaranteed to make a whole lot of sense. we hear from a lot of customers that this is the best place for a cell phone. [ aj ] and after warmth, that's the first thing i look for. my name is aj curran. i'm the director of outerwear and accessories, and the holidays are made here at l.l.bean.

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new simpler packaging, same effective relief. hey babe... oh, hi honey! so i went to the doctor today, then picked up a few extra things for the baby. oh boy... i used our slate card with blueprint. we can design our own plan to avoid interest by paying off diapers and things each month. and for the bigger stuff, we can pay downalance faster to save money on interest. bigger? bigger. chase slate with blueprint helps you save money on life's little surprises. trip...lets... start your path to saving today, call 855-get-slate. now, here's a look at morning road conditions. slick and icy on i-40 in tennessee. i-55, from memphis to mississippi. and i-65, from nashville to birmingham. wet on i-94 from chicago to detroit. i-95 from the carolinas to new york. rain drenches i-5, 84, 90 in the pacific northwest.

>> if you're flying, airport delays are possible in detroit, chicago, memphis and on the east coast, from atlanta to new york. in other news this morning, it is sentencing day for dr. conrad murray, the doctor convicted in the death of michael jackson, facing up to four years behind bars. >> that's right. prosecutors want murray to pay $100 million for jackson's lost wages and funeral expenses. the defense is asking for probation. if murray gets the maximum, prison overcrowding could significantly reduce his time behind bars. it's not clear if jackson's children will speak in court tomorrow. the prime suspect in the disappearance of an american woman in aruba is heading back home to the u.s. gary giordano is being release affidavit spending four months in an aruban jail. he says robyn gardner vanished when the two for snorkeling. he could face legal problems in maryland where he took out a life insurance policy for gardner and named himself as the beneficiary. a by-product of all of that

early-morning shopping on black friday was tired store workers. one target employee in florida had to be rescued from a canal after he fell into after falling asleep at the wheel. >> reporter: the tire tracks into the deep and murky canal can only hint of the terror tiffany joyce felt when she drove the car into the canal. within minutes, the car was sinking. and a punished tiffany called 911. >> 911, what's your emergency? >> i'm in the water. i'm floating in the water. >> where at? >> reporter: tiffany was so frightened, she couldn't say exactly where she was. but she did know time was running out. >> are you in the car? >> i'm still in the car. >> okay. is there any way you can get out? >> no. i'm floating in the middle of the water. i don't know how deep it is. >> she just went into the canal, off the city road. she said the car was sinking. she couldn't swim. >> reporter: meantime, other

drivers were calling 911 to describe the emergency they were helpless to stop. >> is it floating? or is it going down? >> it's going down. the motor part is going down. >> reporter: 911 operators had deputies on the way. but the water was rising quickly, up to tiffany's waist. you can hear her panicked screams. around then, deputy frank mayo arrived. >> i could see the back of the car. she had gotten herself out of the car. but she couldn't swim a lick. i dropped it on the ground. and jumped in. and swam out to where she was. >> reporter: tiffany panicked, got on top of deputy mayo. and then, both went under. >> get her back to the surface, she didn't. i had to go back and feel around for her. >> reporter: other deputies tossed them a line and pulled both to safety. ending in minutes what probably seemed like the longest emergency in tiffany jayce's life. >> that was terri parker reporting. the driver, tiffany joyce was hospitalized.

but she's home now and doing okay. the amount of sleep you can function on maybe written into your dna. german scientists say they've identified a gene that explains why certain people need less shut-eye than others. people with two copies of a particular variant of the gene can go on very little sleep. that same gene has been previously linked to heart disease and other ailments, as well. and a new warning for men who hope to have children. researchers found exposure to wireless internet can damage sperm. after four hours next to a wi-fi-connected computer, 25% of the sperm had stopped moving. and 9% showed dna damage. scientists blame the damage on electromagnetic radiation emitted from the devices. in sports, more proof this morning of the big business of college athletics. ohio state university introduced urban meyer as its head football

coach yesterday, signing the former florida coach to a deal worth more than $26 million. that's one of the richest deals ever for a college coach. it also includes, by the way, a car, golf club membership and 12 tickets to every game. as for the pros highlights from last night, right now from espn news. >> good morning, my name is todd grisham. this is your espn news update. it's tuesday morning. that means we're talking "monday night football." saints hosting the giants. eli manning from the new orleans area. the saints 20. and what an interception. will herring. fantastic. ensuing saints drive. brees to lance moore. and he scores. 7-0, saints. later in the second, third and seven. brees to darren sproles in the flat. he's tip-toeing through the tulips over there. second and goal from the 5.

brees hits this amazing tight end, jimmy graham, who played basketball at the university of miami. a dual-sports threat. brees, to marques colston. and colston gains 50 yards on the play. later in the drive, saints trying to squeeze one in before the break. finding moore again. and lance moore gets the second touchdown in the game. saints go 88 yards in 34 seconds. they lead 21-3, at the break. now, 21-10. brees looking like brett favre. in fact, a better brett favre impersonation than brett favre can do. look at him go. and he hits pierre thomas for the first down. fantastic. and then, brees decides to call his own number. that means he's going to keep it himself. a nice juke move. and becomes the first quarterback in "monday night football" history to throw for four touchdowns, run in another and get over 350 yards in the air. quickly, how about this?

saints 5-0, at home for the first time since 2009. that year, they won the super bowl. that's a fun fact for you. for all the day's highlights and news, check us out on espn news. it's what we do. i'm todd grisham. have a good day. >> he's so happy. >> i'm wearing my fleur-de-lis tie. looking good last night. we have one more football highlight to show you this morning. >> that's right. but it's from europe. it's actually soccer. a goal you have to see to believe. it happened in the spanish league game. a great goal made even better because it ended the team's eight-game winless streak. how excited. >> that is excitement. i love the reactions over there. it's so understated. nice job there. coming up next, some real-life castaways. adrift at sea for more than a month. plus, a controversial photo op with santa.d truth. i habe a cohd. and i toog nyguil bud i'm stild stubbed up.

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welcome back, everybody. time to check "the pulse." and some pretty incredible stories to tell you this morning, starting with real-life castaways. 2 men lost at sea for 33 days have now been rescued. >> they were in the middle of nowhere. they were in the pacific 300 miles from where they started. >> they floated in a tiny boat for almost six weeks before finding the island on friday, where they were rescued by the u.s. coast guard. >> "gilligan's island," right? >> lucky. call this one the rich getting richer without even trying. >> lottery officials in connecticut introduced three men who won a $350 million lottery ticket. >> not bad. there's a report that those wealth managers were there to collect for an anonymous client who wanted to avoid the hassle

of his name becoming public. but they said a lot of the winnings will go to charity. do some good. yes. here's a christmas combination at least we've never seen before. this one from arizona. >> this one blows my mind, folks. how about santa and your favorite high-powered firearms? this the scottsdale gun club put on the event. >> after the picture-taking, you could also fire the weapon. >> not quite sure about the message that sends to the kids or the holiday. >> i don't get it, either. for some of you, now, your local news coming up next. [ male announcer ] every day, thousands of people are choosing advil®.

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♪ every kiss begins with kay and finally this morning, how an oregon man is looking to prove that practice really does make perfect.

>> he actually wants to become a pro golfer. so, he decided to quit his job and hit the links for the first time. more now from katuu's joe renearry. >> reporter: ben is the envy of every man. spending his day's hard work on the golf course, at least six hours a day. >> meeting the challenge of this is so much more fulfilling than any job i've had in the past. >> reporter: mclaughlin's job is to become a professional golfer and earn his living on the pga tour. a goal he's been working on for the last year and a half. after realizing he didn't want to go to grad school. >> i had the money saved. and i had a window and an opportunity in my life to do anything that i wanted, in a sense. so, what i kind of wanted to do was to prove to people that you could do anything. >> reporter: he came across research by kay anders eriksson who says it takes 10,000 hours of practice to master a skill.

dan quit his freelance photography job to play a sport he never played before. >> i started golfing for the first time april 15th, 2010, the first time i picked up clubs. >> reporter: dan just started using his driver two weeks ago. you've been golfing for almost two years without your driver. >> yeah. well, i mean, what we wanted to do was really work on the fundamentals and mechanics. so, i only worked on small swings. and then, bigger swings. >> reporter: mclaughlin has been successful so far in his early career. so, i thought i would get help on my swing. >> just loosen up some. i feel like you're going really stiff at it. that's better. >> reporter: help from the tree. there's just one difference between the two of us -- he has the time. and more importantly -- >> the first challenge was just learning patience. >> a brave move in this