this morning on "early today," damage control. republican presidential candidate herman cain goes on the offense as another sexual harassment accuser goes public. storming the castle. there are reports news corps's "news of the w" spied on england's future king. riding high. could this 90-foot wave be the largest ever surfed. >> announcer: this is "early today" for wednesday, november 9, 2011. hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry. today we begin with a defiant denial. at a news conference yesterday republican presidential hopeful herman cain insisted he has never sexually harassed anyone.

meanwhile as cain's camp worked to discredit his first accuser to go public we learned the identity of the first women to file a complaint. steve handelsman reports. >> i don't even know who this woman is. >> reporter: herman cain went after his first accuser to go public. the day after sharon bialek said cain groped her and pushed her in 1997. >> they simply did not happen. >> reporter: cain's campaign listed lawsuits against bialek and two bankruptcies. >> the democrat machine in america has brought forth a troubled woman to make false you you sagss. >> reporter: but in a media blitz, bialek denied her motivation is political or financial. >> i expected this. this is what happens. it's not about me. i'm not the one running for president. >> reporter: cain insisted he'll keep running. >> and as far as these accusations causing me to back off and maybe withdrawal from

this presidential primary race, ain't going to happen. >> reporter: but as cain spoke, another accuser went public. karen says she's one of those who got a settlement in 1999 after accusing cain of harassment. >> the cumulative impact of all these accusations have got to be a killer for cain. >> reporter: but defiant, the gop front-runner in last week's poll says he'll be in detroit for the debate. i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, washington. a reminder for you, you can watch tonight's republican presidential debate live beginning at 8 p.m. eastern time on cnbc. well, elsewhere yesterday folks across the country cast their votes in off-year election that handed state democrats a victory on several lightning rod issues. ranging from collective bargaining rights in ohio to an anti-abortion initiative in mississippi. nbc's tracie potts joins us from

washington with some highlights. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. when you take a look at some of these initiatives, it seems clear that the measures that passed or didn't pass show the electorate seems to be moving to the left. take a look at what happened in ohio. republicans wanted to restrict the collective bargaining rights of 350,000 public workers, a big government union issue up there, but ohio voters struck that down and it lost by a wide margin, allowing those government workers to unionize. in mississippi, an amendment that would -- they call it the personhood amendment that would have defined life beginning at conception, that was rejected perform in fact, by a handy margin there as well, despite both gubernatorial candidates, democrat and republicans, backed it. it would have restricted abortion and in some cases some forms of birth control as well. in maine, voters restored a four decade old policy that allows voters there to register to vote

on the same day. here on capitol hill, democrats are calling on hearings on those very types of policies. lynn? >> tracie potts for us in washington. thanks so much. well, now here's a look at other stories making news "early today" in america. a gun-waving suspect's heist inside a los angeles hotel ended with a surprise takedown. two mixed martial arts fighters wrestled with the man after walking in on the holdup. they held him down until police arrived to make the arrest. heavy rain and floods turned oklahoma city roads into rivers, placing many drivers in deadly situations. swift rescue crews stayed busy with calls for help from motorists who had been washed off the road by high water. no deaths have been reported. commotion erupted inside a georgia restaurant sunday when a deer barrelled through a window, showering diners with flying glass. the deer eventually found an exit and scampered into nearby woods. no injuries were reported.

finally, artistic expression ran ram pant on the streets of sarasota for the 2011 chalk festival. over 100 artists from around the world transformed sidewalks into their canvas with an elaborate array of drawings. unfortunately upon completion, city crews wash away that artwork. now for a look at your nshl and regional weather here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with your weather channel forecast. >> how would you rank your art skills? >> five. >> i'd stay below you. >> at least i stay in the lines. >> i'm still learning. good morning, everyone, we're starting in alaska. there's a huge storm moving onshore overnight up in alaska. and this storm is pretty much almost like a huge, huge nor'easter type storm. it's bringing blizzard conditions, winds to hurricane force. there's expecting a storm surge in nome, alaska.

evacuations taking place there. much of western alaska is very rural but all the fishing ports out there. huge waves, the storm, the size of it is enormous. you know how big the state of alaska is. you look how wide the storm is. it's now moving onshore with gustiest winds occurring right now and a lot of heavy rain is moving into the interior sections. let's bring you down now to the lower 48. more severe weather yesterday. our storm system is now located over the top of missouri. there's just enough cold air on the backside for snow in iowa and wisconsin. for the most part it's a rainy, cold day in areas of michigan, iowa and all the way down to the south. we've still got showers rolling through mississippi and eventually they'll head for alabama and even georgia. here's radar at iowa, des moines, your rain has turned over to snow, moderate snow. you'll see wet snow accumulations in iowa, one of the travel trouble spots this morning. by theay, east coast, one last day of warmth. that's a look at your national

forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. beautiful weather today once again. this is it for areas like charlotte, north carolina, and new york city. we'll be back to normal after the cold front comes through on thursday. watching a chance of showers in new orleans and then clear it out for a decent afternoon. so, we had record highs, lynn, in areas of new england. one more day of it. >> all right. enjoy it while it lasts. bill, thanks so much. berlusconi bows to pressure. internet giants join forces. and santa is saved. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, it could be another sign ashton kutcher has lost his luster on "two and a half men". coming up, the nba players are on the clock and the biggest wave ever written. you're watching "early today."

good morning. welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here are some of your top

headlines this morning. the bbc reports rupert murdoch's "news of the world," now defunct tabloid at the center of england's phone-hacking scandal, paid a private i.d. to spy on prince william and other high profile targets. on monday, news international admitted its staff ordered surveillance of two lawyers of victims suing the company over phone hacking. senior administration officials say the u.s. is preparing additional sanctions against iran after the release of a new u.n. report that says the country is carrying out activities relevant to the development of a nuclear device. iran's president called the report baseless, saying his country won't retreat an iota. three have been reprimanded after the loss and mishandling of the remains of u.s. service members killed in afghanistan. the u.s. office of special council found evidence of gross mismanagement at the dover military mort tuary. hundreds of fans have staged a rally outside the home of penn

state football coach joe paterno in the wake of a widening sex abuse scandal involving his former assistant coach. "the new york times" cites unnamed sources as saying the school is planning for his departure. and a russian spacecraft lit up the night sky over kazakhstan as it begins an ambitious three-year mission to bring back a soil sample from one of mars' moons. here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,170 after adding 101 points yesterday. the s&p rose 14 points. the nasdaq climbed 32. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei gained 99 points while in hong kong the hang seng jumped 335. after a choppy day of trade tuesday, hopeful news on debt-ridden italy sent stocks up late. clearing the way for a leader who will more aggressively tackle the country's debt problems.

prime minister silvia berlusconi said he would resign after a new budget law is approved. still, the yield on italy's ten-year bond spiked close to 7% tuesday. a sign markets still question whether italy can avoid default, which would cripple europe and the global economy. nevertheless, berlusconi's vow prompted wall street's so-called fear index to drop almost 8%. financials climbed, led by regions financial, wells fargo and citigroup. employers advertised the most jobs in september in the last three years. a new antidie press ant from astrazeneca failed in clinical trials sending targacept plunging 60. activision blizzard rose for call of duty. yahoo! microsoft and aol have partnered to fight google and microsoft's online ad dominance. each company will help sell

unadvertised inventory. they don't expect issues with the government over reduced competition or price fixing. a judge ordered raj rajaratnam, insider trader to pay a record $92 million civil penalty. finally, the suffolk county new york santa we told you about yesterday laid off due to budget woes has been rescued. a radio station and other donors raised money to keep the retired world war ii vet who plays st. nick on the job. a great gift to kick off the holiday season. coming up. while the nba only makes air waves for lockout highlights, hockey highlights. and what is said to be the perfect example of hanging ten. well, the big storm that produced severe weather yesterday is now moving through the great lakes. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports with a month of the nba season already lost, there is no sign of any movement or change in the nba owners' lockout of the players. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports

headlines. good morning. the nba players are not blinking. they rejected the latest offer by owners yesterday and they're hoping to have another meeting before today's 2:00 ultimatum set by commissioner david stern. as of now the nba lockout continue. jets and sabres. a spin and dish to a wide open pominville. that's a thing of beauty and sabres tied the game 3-3. overtime, pominville with a blast that was tipped by thomas vanek in front of the net. his tenth of the year. buffalo, 6-5. rough day to be a goalie in washington. lehtonen had his bell rung. and got the caps goalie near the neck but he took it in stride. michael rider only hit the back of the net. stars win fourth straight, 5-2. toronto, panthers took advantage of sloppy play by leafs goalie g, and he misplaye

the puck behind the net, and skille found sturm. hard to win when your goalie gives up goals like that. florida cruised 5-1. wild played a game in calga calgary, puck around the horn and dany heatley finished with a goal. niklas backstrom with 41 saves. wild won their fifth straight 3-0. finally, while you were at work surfing the web yesterday, garrett mcnamara was surfing one of the biggest waves in the world. he was towed in and won a 90 foot we've off the coast of portugal. the video was truly amazing. believed to be the biggest wave ever ridden. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. >> makes your palms sweat looking at it. coming up, one director sticks his foot in his mouth. while another sues for a million on broadway. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus a story that will make you secure all your valuables before celebrating your team

winning the big one. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today." it's not often that new york city is warmer than san antonio, texas, but that will be the case today. the cold air behind the front rushing down through southern texas and warm air out ahead of the system, one more beautiful warm day for areas of the mid-atlantic and new england and then we'll get the cooler air moving in towards the weekend.

as the front goes through tomorrow, the rain today is in the great lakes, especially chicago, detroit, indianapolis and then as it goes to tomorrow, more showery type weather and downpours in northern new england. . -f you're watching us on wtlv nbc 12, jacksonville, florida, enjoy rides, a circus and much more at the greater jacksonville agricultural fair at jacksonville fair grounds. that's your early event of the day. >> thanks so much. now here's an early look at this morning headlines in entertainment. is losing product placement privileges another sign ashton cusper is losing power at "two and a half men"? on the show, kutcher's laptop used to feature the logos of companies he's invested in. well, suddenly the logos are gone, as are disclosures in the credits of kutcher's investments. well, it hasn't been a good week for film maker brett rattner. his latest movie "tower heist" underperformed and then he

apologized for sleeping with an actress on howard stern. now he's forced to resign as next year's oscar telecast producer for using a gay slur at a screening. on the eve of being honored as latin grammy person of the year, shakira got a star on hollywood's walk of fame. in the wake of the tony awards, julie tamor is suing producers and co-writer for at least 1 million, money she says she's due for work she did before being fired. did you get a chance to see that? >> no, i didn't. >> this is what happens when you have a new baby, right? you never get to do anything. you never go to the movies -- >> i'm upset we didn't show more clips of shakira. >> i apologize. this comes to us from wskd, channel 5 in st. louis, missouri, on the night of a historic world series win, two

cardinal fans suffered a devastating loss. for sarah and mike, the jubilation after game six game to a screeching halt after sarah realized her wedding and engagement rings slipped off her hand when she was high fiving fans after the game. an usher found it and turned them in allowing the couple to cherish the celebration. >> do you know how lucky that is? >> this has been in lost and found for a while and because she came out and told everybody -- >> i wouldn't check lost and found. you just assume someone would not return it. what a nice man. much better than me. >> don't say that. i'm lynn berry and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. [ female announcer ] at verizonfios.com,

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4:28 is our time. we have 48 degrees outside as you look at a lovely picture of the washington monument on this lovely morning. i'm joe krebs. >> and i'm eun yang. republicans are close to taking control of the virginia senate. right now republican bryce reeves has an 86-vout lead over incumbent senator edd houck. republicans and democrats would each have 20 senate seats giving republicans control since republican governor will have

the break of the tying vote. this election is a good preview for next year's presidential race. >> i think it really is a commentary on the president and what's happening north of the potomac. >> i think it really came down to precinct to precinct, candidate to candidate, and that's something we have to analyze going into next year. when we get into the big race with the presidential, it's going to be more intense across virginia because it is the key swing state as we go forward for next year. >> governor bob mcdonnell is declaring victory for his fellow republicans saying, "virginia voters have made history. over the course of this campaign, republican candidates have focused on providing common sense solutions to the problems facing our citizens, and that is how we will govern in the majority. we will continue to put forward common sense poll tis that will help the private sector create jobs and reform our government to make it