on the broadcast tonight, who is telling the truth? one of his accusers faced cameras yesterday. just tonight herman cain did the same and said, it simply didn't happen. and now another woman has come out publicly and the problems for cain continue. under fire. is this how it ends for a coaching legend? new calls for joe paterno to resign. and the bigger question is the human damage, why didn't anyone protect the children in the scandal at penn state? women's rights at the heart of a controversial vote tonight that could turn some forms of birth control and fertility treatments into a crime. and close encounter. we're happy to report tonight that the aircraft carrier sized asteroid has missed the earth. but it got close enough to get pictures of it. "nightly news" begins now.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television >> good evening. and again here tonight, the campaign of herman cain is in the news. and it's not for his 9-9-9 economic plan or his standing in the polls. because he went before cameras in a wide-ranging news conference and said it just didn't happen. he was talking about the allegations of the woman who came forward, went public, went before cameras yesterday to say she had been sexually harassed by cain years ago. she's one of several accusers. we learned the identity of another one today and she is tonight quoted as having called herman cain a monster. despite his efforts to be final at today's media events, this is likely to continue so haunt the cain campaign for president. we begin tonight with lisa myers. lisa, good evening. >> good evening, brian. today herman cain changed his strategy. instead of refusing to answer

any more questions, he launched a full-scale assault on one of his accusers. a defiant herman cain says he doesn't remember anything about his latest accuser. not her face or her name. >> i have never acted inappropriately with anyone, period. the charges and the accusations i absolutely reject. they simply didn't happen. they simply did not happen. >> reporter: he charged that sharon bialek's claim that he groped her when she came to him for help with a job,part of an effort to derail his campaign, and he called her trouble. >> and now the democratic machine in america has brought forth a troubled woman to make false accusations, statements, many of which exceed common

sense. and they certainly exceed the standards of decency in america. >> reporter: earlier in the day, the cain campaign even put out the case numbers for a half dozen lawsuits against bialek, as well as two filings for personal bankruptcy. her lawyer predicted such attacks yesterday. >> she knows by stepping out into the light, she will face public scrutiny. >> it's not about me. i'm not the one running for president. >> for her part, bialek is making the media rounds, six interviews in 24 hours, defending her integrity and denying she did this for financial gain. >> i could have, actually, sold my story, but i didn't. because i wanted -- my whole objective is to tell the truth. >> would she do an interview for money or write a book in the future? >> i'd have to think about that. that's so far off the radar right now. >> reporter: it's a familiar story line, the accuser under a microscope.

debra katz represents victims of sexual harassment. >> this is hell for the woman who's made this allegation, and her life will never be the same. >> reporter: late today, another of cain's accusers said she now intends to speak publicly about incidents with cain. she filed an official complaint with the national restaurant association and received a financial settlement. today one of cain's opponents waded into the controversy. >> these are serious allegations. >> reporter: and political analyst charlie cook says it is hurting cain politically. >> how do you survive three or four direct torpedo hits to the engine room? >> reporter: karen says she wants all four of the women who have made accusations about cain to speak out together. cain says he won't quit the race no matter what, "ain't gonna happen." brian? >> lisa myers starting us off tonight. thanks. college football's most legendary active coach, penn state's joe paterno may be on

his way out tonight in the wake of these revelations about a child sex abuse scandal involving one of his assistant coaches at penn state. reporters and students gathered outside the paterno's house tonight not far from campus. we caught a glimpse of the coach through the window. he was said by observers to be moved to tears at the show of support. nbc's ron allen is with us from state college pa tonight, ron, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. we have not heard from coach paterno directly today, but the new york times is reporting that university officials here are very busy planning for his exit sometime in the days or weeks to come. that as the calls for the coach to step down grow louder. the coach could hear a few fans as he left practice, refusing to answer questions about the 40-count indictment alleging his long-time assistant coach sexually abused at least eight

young boys for more than ten years. paterno's son spoke for him. >> no one has asked joe to step down, that's all i can say. >> if they do -- >> reporter: earlier, his weekly media briefing has been abruptly cancelled. >> we have determined that today's press conference cannot be held and will not be rescheduled. >> i don't see him surviving. i don't think he should. but that's just my opinion. >> reporter: the harrisburg patriot news is one of many partially criticizing paterno, saying he should have done more. back in 2002, prosecutors say the coach did, in fact, report an abuse complaint about sandusky to athletic director tim curley, who along with gary schultz has been charged with failing to alert authorities about abuse cases and lying to a grand jury. both men deny the charges. many say while paterno followed the letter of the law he should have also notified police. and should now step down. >> the employeral question is out there, and -- i think the answer is, he comes up short on

the moral question. and that's a huge deal in a case like this. >> reporter: it is a profound fall from grace for a coach who had a pristine reputation. paterno, now 84, is the winningest college football coach ever. he's brought tens of millions of dollars to the school that has his name and image all over campus. neil rudel has covered penn state football for 34 years. >> it's been the kingdom and power of joe paterno. and i think, unfortunately, it all came back to roost. it's going to take a clean sweep of everybody who's been involved. >> reporter: paterno is a fighter, and his son said today he wanted to tell his side of the story, but the university shut down that media event many there are reports a ninth victim has come forward with a similar story of being abused at a football facility. brian? >> so, ron, we have these dual tracks. impossible to overstate the human damage if any of these

allegations are true. and also, impossible to overstate the legend of this man they call joe pa locally, even though there have been discussions about an exit strategy before this scandal? 6 >> indeed, brian. this is a very profound thing that's happened to this campus, to this community. just really something that came out of the blue. today, the mothers of some of those alleged victims were quoted in the newspaper of telling how difficult it was for their sons to come forward to take on this very powerful institution. this has been going on for many years, and some of their complaints were discounted early on in the process. yes, there is a lot of affection for joe paterno here, but people just feel this -- they have to get past this, and the only way for that to happen is for him and, perhaps, the university president and others, to resign. >> ron allen on this enveloping scandal in state college, pa. big news from europe and it will be felt here. silvio berlusconi, long-time prime minister of italy says he will step down shortly as italy

follows greece in reacting to massive financial pressures. our chief foreign correspondent richard engel began his reporting from there last night for his reporting on "rock center" and he watched it all unfold there today. richard, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. it is with a degree of irony that italians say silvio berlusconi is being brought down not by his numerous and well-known sexual scandals. this is a man who while in office was accused of having sex with an underaged prostitute. and by his own count has been in court more than 2,500 times. but in the end, it is the economy that is bringing down mr. berlusconi. he's a billionaire, and italians thought he would be good at managing the economy. instead, italy is drowning in debt. berlusconi said today after his coalition collapsed, that he would resign as soon as the government here passes a series

of economic reforms. that could take place as early as next week. that is, if mr. berlusconi is keeping his word. >> richard engel in rome for us tonight. richard, thanks. there's news about iran and the threat of nuclear weapons. there's a new u.n. report out, it says the threat has grown more real, and this happens to come amid reports israel is again considering some sort of military strike. our chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell has more. >> reporter: even before the reports released, iran has been denouncing as a tool of the united states and israel. iran's president ahmadinejad called the head of the u.n. agent a puppet of the u.s. but the iaea reports iran is on the verge of a nuclear breakthrough. to know how to build a nuclear bomb. what is the proof? satellite images show iran has built an enormous structure that could be used to test explosives used to trigger a weapon.

a warhead small enough to fit on a missile that could hit israel or europe. despite denials, experts say iran had help from a former soviet scientist. >> the evidence looks pretty clear that he -- iran has benefited tremendously from his expertise, and used it to build a smaller nuclear weapons design. i think some will conclude it is a smoking gun. >> reporter: for years, israel and possibly the u.s., have waged a cyber war against iran's nuclear program. they slowed its centrifuges with a stuxnet computer virus. and two iranian scientists were mysteriously assassinated on their way to work. but experts say iran has now overcome those hurdles and is back on track. intelligence efforts differ widely on how close iran may be to developing a nuclear bomb. those outside israel believe a military action could take out iran's nuclear program. much of it is buried deep underground. >> they don't have the conventional air power, the air-to-air refuelling to

credibly strike the iranian nuclear production facilities. >> reporter: israel is already holding mock disaster drills in anticipation of an attack from iran. ed u.n. weapons report will only increase fears in a region already on edge. andrea mitchell, nbc news, washington. there is a disturbing story tonight at dover air force base in delaware. this is a tough one, because it's the place we've all become familiar with, where the remains of americans killed in battle are first returned home. three air force officials have been reprimanded after the loss and mishandling of body parts of dead service members. and in an apparent attempt to cover is it up, two whistle-blowers were fired. the u.s. office of special counsel found evidence of gross mismanagement dishonesty and misconduct among the three top leaders at the dover mortuary. as of tonight no one has been relieved of their duties. still ahead this evening, an emotional debate over when

someone becomes a person. this could impact women, the choices they make about their families. and later, tonight's fly by. a new perspective on that massive asteroid that just hurdled past us here on earth. us here on earth. to watch it for us. sked total strs thank you so much, i appreciate it, i'll be right back. they didn't take a dime. how much in fees does your bank take to watch your money ? if your bank takes more money than a stranger, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. the doctor leaned over and said to me, "you just beat the widow-maker." i was put on an aspirin, and it's part of my regimen now. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. go see your doctor now.

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>> reporter: what many consider a private decision is playing out in the most public of venues. from city streets -- ♪ >> reporter: to suburban churches. >> choose life. >> reporter: the latest battle over reproductive rights is coming to a head in mission miss. >> so much at stake in this election for women and families. >> reporter: what's been called the personhood amendment or initiative 26 would declare a fertilized egg a person, and the destruction of that egg an act of murder. if passed it would limit some forms of birth control and ban abortion. >> it will restore a culture of life in mississippi. >> reporter: supporter frida bush says there would be no exceptions for rape or incest. >> regardless of how the baby is conceived, the baby good not deserve death because of its concepti conception. >> reporter: this woman's children were conceived through invitro fertilization. the amendment could have a major impact on ivf. outlawing the freezing or destruction of unused embryos,

now common practice. critics say the initiative could punish couples who suffer from infertilit infertility. >> i absolutely do not want the government telling me what my medical treatment options are, that's for me and my doctor to decide how we build our family. >> reporter: supporters say ivf could continue, but a couple's fertilized embryos would have to be used or given up for adoption. with some of the strictest abortion laws in the nation, mississippi is favorable ground for the amendment. and if it passes here, it's likely to fuel similar movements in places like ohio, michigan and florida. with the battle being waged in front yards and on the local news. >> how has one paragraph become so divisive? >> reporter: an issue that's deeply divided mississippi, and may have an impact well beyond state lines. janet shamlian, nbc news, jackson, mississippi. up here next tonight, we'll remember an american champion. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 let's talk about the personal attention

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a heads up here tonight about something coming tomorrow. if you're around any media like tv or radio, around 2:00 p.m. eastern time, you will hear a test of the emergency alert system. this one will be different, it's the first across the board national test of the new fema system designed to give the president or the government the ability to alert the population to a national disaster or event. they even have a slogan for tomorrow, don't stress, it's only a test. that sound you may hear tonight is anger from the normally reserved people in the state of connecticut. tonight 11,000 homes are still without power. it's been ten days since it was knocked out in that freak pre-halloween snowstorm. and the folks who just went through this from hurricane irene, because trees fall down on wires, are raging at

connecticut light and power, which is promising by tomorrow night, that would be day 11, power will be restored. perhaps you saw the first commercial, maybe you bought one. and it was either a revolutionary piece of cardioexercise equipment or an expensive clothing rack for the master bedroom. the nordic track maker has died. he built the first one, made millions, and the company went bankrupt before newer, better machines were built. ed pauls was 80 years old. late last night we received word that smokin' joe frazier had died, he died of liver cancer. he was just 67 years old. because most of his fans are still around, it felt today like a part of the recent history of sports had just left us. he was once the heavyweight champ, back in a time when boxing was a much bigger deal than it is now. and, of course, back in the time of ali. smoke was born a poor kid in

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as we mentioned earlier, the fact that we're still on the air is proof we were not hit by an asteroid tonight. in space terms, it was close enough to muss your hair. the asteroid at one point got closer to us than the moon, whizzing by at 29,000 miles an hour. the name of the asteroid is yu-55. as in why you have to pass so close to our planet. considering a direct hit would have been catastrophic, the good news is, it missed us by about 200,000 miles. george lewis watched it all go by at the place called the deep space communications complex where they track such things in

southern california. >> reporter: an asteroid watching party tonight in brookline, massachusetts. at the clay center observatory, where astronomers and students are using a 25-inch telescope to get a good look at the object known as yu-55 as it hurdles past us. >> it's not an opportunity for panic or concern. it's an opportunity to look up at the night sky and enjoy the wonders of the skies. >> it helps us progress a lot in understanding space and what's out there, and what it's made of. it's very important and it's very exciting. >> reporter: this animation shows how the asteroid, 1300 feet at its longest point compares to an 1,100 foot long nuclear aircraft carrier. the asteroid is closer to us than the moon. the moon's orbit about 240,000 miles from earth. yu-55 coming within 201,000 miles. this is how nasa is keeping an eye on the asteroid, bouncing radar signals off it from this dish at goldstone station in california.

and as researchers used powerful computers to turn the radar echos into images. they try to reassure people the asteroid will not collide with us. >> there's no chance of it hitting us as long as we can compute its motion. >> reporter: we are far from alone in our solar system. there are thousands of so-calle asteroid. >> you can think of this as an encounter with spaceship earth flying by this asteroid. you're getting all these detailed images while it's close to us. >> reporter: and enthralling am through telescopes as well as scientists tracking it on radar. george lewis, nbc news at the nasa goldstone station in california. >> and that, thankfully, is our broadcast for this tuesday night. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams, and we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

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