yeah, david letterman loves his life. we all found out that night. >> that evening, the program received its highest rating in six years. and for the first time, david openly jokes about being passed over for the one job he has coveted most of his life. >> bypass surgery is when doctors surgically create new blood flow to your heart, bypass surgery. a bypass is what happened to me when i didn't get "the tonight show." whole different deal. >> in november 2003, at the age of 56, david is a dad. he and long-time girlfriend welcome a son they name harry joseph after david's father. the new family experiences a close call in march 2005 when police uncover an alleged plot to kidnap harry. authorities apprehend kelly frank who worked as a painter at letterman's ranch in montana. frank makes a deal with prosecutors and pleads guilty to obstruction and felony theft. he's sentenced to ten years in prison. >> i had a little story that i would like to tell you and the home viewers as well. >> david again shares big news with his audi

david letterman. the word is out, he let it out, national tv about his sexcapades with people who worked for him. we are learning about the young women he has reportedly been with. this started as an alleged extortion plot. joe halderman accused of blackmailing letterman, wanting $2 million. the associated press says he got the information from his ex-girlfriend's diary. stephanie birkitt is letterman's assistant. multiple sources say birkitt had a sexual relationship with letterman. we have not confirmed that. listen to halderman's attorney defending his client. >> david letterman didn't give his side of the story. he gave what he wanted the public to know. he wanted to get ahead of the story. he is a master at manipulating audiences. to think david letterman gave the entire story is simply wrong. >> what do you have to say about this? we'll take your calls, 1-877-tell-hln. joining me carol jenkins, president of the women's media center. robin sachs, a former prosecutor. all right, robin, you hear fr

shepard by 1988, "late night with david letterman" is in its sixth season and more popular than ever.id celebrates the show's long run with an anniversary special at radio city music hall. >> we've come into the most famous theet e, the most beautiful theatrical structure in the world and overnight we've turned it into a lousy drive-in. >> narrator: offstage, letterman is extremely guarded about his personal life. then without warning, david suddenly finds himself being stalked by a mentally ill woman named margaret ray. his personal life is now exposed to all. >> he found her on the grounds, he found her at the pool. various places. one night he was asleep in bed, in bed with his girlfriend and he was like what is that? she was in the house, walking arrested emergency, notify the spotlight for a different johnny carson who has hosted show" for almost he says people know this is going to be my last everyone in the room looks "late night with david >> ed mcmahon our good friend that you are the $1 million winner -- waits to hear offered the job biggest battle in late night tv >> seven

again, that's david letterman being david letterman through this. mary lou is with us in florida. what are your thoughts here? >> caller: i think his apology should be accepting. i believe he's truly sorry for what he did. he's a talk show host. it's not that he had sex with somebody in the white house. he's a talk show host. his job is making jokes. i believe he's truly sorry. i have been to his show many times in new york. he's a sincere, wonderful, nice man. he really is. >> do you think he should quit now? >> caller: no. i don't think he should quit. >> do you think the jokes should keep coming. >> not quit the show, quit with the jokes about it? >> caller: well, i think -- the audience will let him know when he's gone on long enough. when he doesn't get anymore reaction. i think he's a nice guy. yes, he was wrong. >> that e's my point in this. i hope he can go behind closed doors with his wife. stop talking about it. stop with the jokes. >> caller: he's doing it publicly. this is how the talk show hosts, rather than do it in secret, then it comes out like nobody knew about it

he works for worldwide pants who produce "the david letterman show," "the late show with david lettermanow for cbs. so the staffers work for him. not necessarily for cbs. halderman, the alleged extortionist, he works for cbs. >> so what does that distinction mean to you legally? >> the distinction means, i have spoken with several people about this today, is that depending on what kind of policy, what kind of sexual harassment policy there is at worldwide pants versus cbs, cbs is going to handle halderman the way they want to handle him. david letterman and the staffers, even if it was consensual, it is still a boss having sex with employees. >> we'll have to see. the new york department of labor may get involved. let me to go george on this. do the media politics, this will help his ratings in the short run, obviously. this is a cause for, this is going past, rubber necking, a traffic accident at least for a while here. >> oh, yeah. there is curiosity about him. i think people will be switching other channels to see if leno or jimmy kimmel are making jokes about letterman but those will

during that meeting, david letterman's lawyers apparently were wearing and microphone. ding to prosecutors, they got pretty good proof or evidence that they plan to produce in court on tape demanding this money from letterman exchange for supposedly not publishing this information about his affairs with certain members of his staff. shepard: thank you for that update. we have a story of a point size texan who looked into the eyes of an alligator many times his size. he knows how to fire a gun. not too long ago, he had to confront and 1800, reptile. the 5-year-old took out the beast with some birdshot. here is a picture of the alligator simon said that he just did what comes naturally to him, shoot things. by the way, he says that he now has a new nickname. then there is this before we call it a day. most of us are not very good at science. anyway, physics class, yikes. there is a science award that we can all get behind. they are given to science that sounds like baloney, but is actually accurate. did you know that empty beer bottles make better weapons than full ones? n

said he waited outside david letterman's home to give him a letter will. >> halderman quoted that he needed to make a large chunk of money unquote by selling letterman a so call quote screenplay treatment. unquote. the one page screenplay treatment attached to the letter referred to mr. letterman's great professional success and to his "beautiful, loving son." >> last night letterman explained why he wentz to the authorities. >> would it be embarrassing if it were made public? perhaps it would. perhaps it would. especially for the women. but that's a decision for them to make if they want to come public and talk about the relationships. if i want to go public and talk about the relationships. but what you don't want is a guy saying, i know you had sex with women. so i would like $2 million. or i'm going to make trouble for you. >> we want to know, what do you think about this scandal? do you think letterman handled the announcement well or not? are you sympathetic with david letterman? are you outraged? let us know what you think. 877 tell hln. or text the word views plus your comment

plus, is david letterman a creep? you will hear him joking around about his multiple affairs with employees. [captioning made possible by fox news channel] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- greta: 9.8%, and guess what? that understates it. the labor department says the unemployment rate rose to 9.8%, but the real number is worse. why? joining us is steve moore, an editorial writer for "the wall street journal." this does not tell the whole story, does it, steve? >> these are pretty grim numbers, greta. as we have been talking about in recent months on your show, at least we could say that we are losing jobs at a slower pace than before. what is really discouraging about this report is that we lost more jobs than we did in august, so you have to wonder how in the world joe biden can say that the stimulus plan is working beyond his wildest dreams when we are still losing, one-quarter of 1 million jobs, but the real unemployment rate, it includes people not even looking for jobs anymore, t

david letterman has not lied about it. >> vinnie politan, midwin charles, thank you both for being here. appreciate your insight. >>> now over to our "showbiz tonight" question of the day. letterman sex scandal, was hi tv confession the right way to go? do you think he did it right? you can vote at cnn.com/showbiztonight. you can e-mail us more of your thoughts at showbiztonight@cnn.com. >>> and the other big story everybody is talking about today, jon gosselin's brand-new interview bombshell. why he really pulled the plug on his own show. >> and i want kate and i to mediate, become friends, figure out our marriage and i don't want us to be filmed anymore. >> i can tell you, kate gosselin watched this interview, i would have loved to have been a fly on that wall. jon wants to be friends with her, really? plus, the secrets to jon's finances. what he actually made on the show will be revealed. and how much he spent on counseling. >>> also making news right now, a brand-new star war over roman polanski. kirstie alley's remarkable rant against roman. you've got to hear this. also, chris roc

>> david letterman wants it to go away real bad. knows how much of the bad information will come out. i have a feeling here this defendant will have a lot of information. but maybe he is not going to want to plead? maybe he will say you know what? i am not going down like this. i would rather fight it i would rather take to trial. he has council that can handle the case. the problem is whether he's a great guy and sounds like he is, sometimes good people do bad things. why did he go to cash the check? why the 2 million? >> maybe he thought he had done the cue of t cu cue of the cent. shouldn't they start their own investigation and ask dave letterman with whom what where to make sure yes one was under age? >> everyone is assuming jerry shargel is putting us -- dave slid letterman is a victim. maybe he did creepy things beyond creepy things. >> look at john travolta. look at the jam that he was in also. he never as far as i can see did anything wrong other than wanting to take his child to bay side hospital. >> he had the stand upnes

other people say leave david letterman for me.ottom line he's the avictim of a very serious crime. he was terrified when he gets a package in his car at 6:00 a.m., which mentions his 6-year-old child, by the way, and threatens him unless he discloses this or gives this guy $2 million. i mean, that's a horrendous thing, and that trumps to me any behavior that he's engaged in. >> jane, one thing -- >> the one thing we don't have here is apparently addiction. but a lot of people are battling addiction. i'm one of them. in my new book "i want" you'll learn a lot about my struggle with alcoholism and how i overcame it. if you want to check it out, it's "i want." and you can click on cnn.com and look for the order section. cnn.com/jane. if you've got an addiction, it'll help you. úú?aaauuuuuuuu

>>> it is less than 24 hours since late show host david letterman revealed he was being extorted for having sex with women on his staff. today the bizarre picture is coming into focus. today the facts as we know them. letterman himself broke the facts last night with a riveting account of the plot against him including the embarrassing revelation of sex with his staff. a cbs news producer has been arrested for the crime, and we're learning more about a female late show producer caught up in this whole mess. here now, peter alexander. >> do you feel like a story? >> it was an extraordinary late-night confession that many of letterman's audience member mistook for a joke. he told the viewing audience that last month he got a pack can in his car. >> there was a letter in this package, and it said, i know that you do some terrible, terrible things. >> letterman also made another startling admission. >> i have had sex with women on the show. >> and today more details became public as prosecutors charged 51-year-old robert joe halderman, a producer for cbs programs including 48 hours with a

david letterman made his disclosure on television. most of it serious, but not this sarcastic clip. >> what you don't want is a guy saying, i know you had sex with women, so i would like $2 million. or i'm going to make trouble for you. >> oh, boy. clearly no love lost between letterman and his alleged blackmailer. yesterday the post reported halderman became furious when he found out in the diary of his girlfriend, that she was allegedly having sex with letterman while living in connecticut with halderman. again, we need to get her side of the story. we've been trying. today sources describe the cbs producer as a jealous, jilted lover, who "wants to hurt letterman as much as he can, and wanted to hurt the girl, too." psychotherapist, stacy kaiser. this is the oldest motive under the sun. they say hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. guess what, hell hath no fury like a man scorned either. >> that's absolutely right. you hear about crimes of passion all the time. but i have to be honest with you, you rarely hear about things like t

get the picture. >>> now to the issue of interoffice relationships raised by david letterman's admitteday and age, what are the rules? here's nbc's chris jansing. >> reporter: through 27 years on late night tv, david ledder man remained a notoriously private star which is why his very public revelation on thursday came as such a surprise. >> i have had sex with women who work for me on this show. now, my response to that is, yes, i have. >> reporter: the admission brought on by an extortion attempt put the man behind the desk in the hot seat. >> you would think that these lessons would be learned from prior example, but it seems that we keep repeating the same mistakes. >> reporter: for years, letterman had used other's romantic entanglement for laughs, from bill clinton to bill o-riley. now letterman's the punch line. >> if you came here tonight for sex with the talk show host, you're in the wrong studio. >> there's a new book out called "why women have sex." letterman knows the top ten. >> reporter: funny stuff, but not everybody's laughing. workplace romances may be common but they c

we're going to put david letterman on the spot tonight. what is the latest? >> the latest is that, you know, now you have another motive here, which could be revenge. we knew before that joe halderman had some financial difficulties, but now when you throw the revenge factor in there, it becomes more and more like a hollywood script every day, a jilted lover who not only wanted money but wanted to see dave burn and dave even said it when he made the admission last thursday, he said that, you know, this person who wants to extort money from me said to me you know what, even if you give me the $2 million, i still might go with the screenplay, still might go with the book. so obviously dave felt threatened and that's why he went to the police. >> yeah. these two from all reports really despised each other. david letterman made his sex at the office disclosure on thursday as we all know. most of it was dead serious but not this sarcastic clip. >> what you don't want is a guy saying i know you had sex with women so i would like $2 million or i'm going to make trou

. >>> and the bizarre extortion case targeting david letterman. >> i have had sex with women who work for me on this show. >> all that and more on this hour on msnbc. >> good afternoon, everybody. good afternoon, alex. i'm david shuster. hello from washington. >> i'm alex witt. cameron hall has the day off. >> the big picture, perhaps it was only fitting that the city of chicago would see its olympic bid fail today just days before the end of another major league baseball season. after all, fans of the chicago cubs, the lovable losers, are about to enyet another season without a world series championship and this will be the 102nd year in a row. the olympics for chicago still stings a lot. president obama arrived back in the white house about 45 minutes ago, after his whirlwind trip to denmark to lobby for the game. >> i believe it is only a worthwhile endeavour to promote and boost the united states of america and invite the world to come see what we're all about. we obviously would have been eager to host these game, but as i said, this nation and our athletes are still very much ex

a cbs employee being charged with the attempted extortion of the late night host david letterman. according to letterman, the suspect learned about the host's sexual relationships with cbs employees, people who worked for him, and wanted $2 million to keep quiet. let's get the latest now from wnbc's lynn berry. >> this morning i did something i've never done in my life, and it was a combination of just unusual and scary. >> reporter: in a shocking admission to his late show audience, david letterman described his grand jury testimony after a threatening note was left in his car three weeks ago, saying -- >> i know that you do some terrible, terrible things. and i can prove that you do these terrible things. and sure enough, contained in the package was stuff to prove that i do terrible things. >> reporter: the audience laughed, but this was no joke. cbs confirms the alleged extortionist is a "48 hours" producer, who demanded $2 million to keep affairs with various late night staffers from going public. letterman told viewers authorities passed the suspect a phony check, then arrest

so to think that david letterman gave the entire story and there is nothing more to be said is simply wrong. >> halderman's attorney says he looks forward to cross examining letterman in court. >>> the former fiance of a cast member on the "real housewives in atlanta" was killed in a fight over the weekend. he was seen here with candy burris. atlanta police say he suffered a severe blow in a fight outside a strip club. they have arrested and charged a man in his death. >>> did jon gosselin really unload more than $200,000 from a bank account he shared with kate? "showbiz tonight"'s a.j. hammer is in new york with this story and divorce that is getting nastier and nastier. so is this latest allegation true, a.j.? >> according to kate it is, and according to kate, richelle, she can't pay the bills and support kids, because production on their show, jon and kate plus 8 has stopped. and she claims that jon has taken all of this money out of their joint banking account. kate gosselin appearing on the "today" show this morning, and she got really emotional when she explained her claims to m

a source now tells "the new york post" that david letterman's sex-laced extortion case was fueled by revenge. this unnamed source says the cbs news producer wanted to hurt letterman because he was having sex with his live-in girlfriend. meanwhile, the mistress' grandma is talking and you're not going to believe what she's saying. >>> plus, heart-wrenching new details in the nypd drunk driving case. we're going to talk to the father of the woman who was mowed down by an nypd officer while that cop was allegedly boozed up behind the wheel. why did it take more than seven hours to give that officer a sobriety test? is the nypd trying to cover up a crime? we're looking for answers on a father's quest for justice. "issues" starts now. tonight, head-spinning new charges against the late anna nicole smith. that's right, long before her tragic death, was the former playboy playmate plotting to murder for millions? top secret fbi files just released allege anna nicole smith was a suspect in a scandalous murder for hire scheme. the target? her stepson and nemesis, e. pierce marshall. shocking c

, he is not only david letterman the star, he is david letterman the boss of these women, he is the head of the show. so there may be a violation of cbs policy there as well, for a sexual relationship in the workplace between an employee and an employer, supervisor, which is what he is. >> i guess he owns that company, of course. >> right, worldwide pants. >> jeff rossen, thanks so much. >> thanks, norah. >>> coming up, the push for health care reform clears another hurdle up on capitol hill. but is it going to make it through the next leg of the race? >>> plus, iran agrees to allow international inspectors in its newly revealed nuclear facility, but will a move like that really change iran's tense relationship with the west? you are watching the "new york times" special edition only on msnbc. when it comes to things you care about, leave nothing to chance travelers. insurance for auto, home and business. you weren't always my favorite day. with all the pet hair in the air, i'd spend class preoccupied, bothered by itchy eyes. but now i have new zyrtec® itchy eye drops. it works fast, wit

oh, david letterman thinks i'm hot. what about these young women who didn't seem to care he was in a relationship. who didn't seem to care they themselves were involved in relationships. they are using the workplace to do inappropriate things. i'm mad at these women. i hope they grow up before they bring young women into this world. >> it's interesting to hear that from you, pat. i'm not hearing that from a lot of people. let me move to another star supporting dave. barbara walters is making excuses for the behavior. watch what she said, lisa ling was a guest. barbara and joy didn't see eye to eye at all. >> he's a very attractive man. i can give awe list of executives and people in lower levels -- you know, where do you meet people? in the workplace. >> that does not eliminate the fact that if you're one of the girls who works there and you're just, you know, doing your job. and suddenly this other chick is getting the air time. >> that's not necessarily sexual harassment. >> midwin, let me ask you, barbara is a pionee

roman polanski and david letterman. we pick the most provocative celebrity of the week. >> one thing to have a fish fry, but frying a goldfish to get back at your common-law husband? >> that is sick. >> that is sick. now the showbiz news ticker and more stories from the newsroom making news right now. >>> i want us to become friends and figure out our marriage and don't want to be filmed anymore. >> the fallout over jon gosselin's interview bombshells. he reveals he wants to be friends with kate? is he for real? we name the most provocative celebrity of the week. jon gosselin, roman polanski and david letterman? who will come out on top. >> one thing to have a fish fry, but frying your pet goldfish to get back at your common-law husband? >> that's sick. >> the story of a woman's swift swifted revenge. tv's most provocative news show continues right now. >>> welcome back to "showbiz tonight." it is 30 minutes past the hour. broadcasting tonight and every night from new york city. tonight the incredible fallout after jon

>>> plus, david letterman exposes an extortion plot. we'll give you the juicy details in this extraordinarily bizarre sexual blackmail case. next. >>> more details coming to light after david letterman's shocking announcement that he was involved in an extortion plot over his sex secrets. we'll give you the latest in a minute. but first "top of the block" tonight. >>> randy and evie quaid pay up. the famous couple has reportedly paid the remaining balance on the roughly $10,000 hotel bill they allegedly skipped out on. the first half was paid last week, shortly after a warrant was issued for their arrest. the rest was reportedly paid off yesterday but that doesn't mean they're in the clear. the quaids still face charges of burglary, conspiracy, and defrauding an innkeeper. they are expected in court october 19th. you can bet your bottom dollar "issues" will be there. that's tonight's "top of the block." >>> whoa! this one, wild story. steamy sex secrets and vicious blackmail. inside a $2 million hollywood extortion plot. well, sort of.

i'm surprised that we're talking about -- david letterman, right?mel. but david letter han oig having sexual relationships with people he works with is not a surprise at all. because the little bit that we have known is that letterman has -- he met his wife through work. he met his girlfriends in the '80s at work. and now this new name is floating around of the women who he potentially was involved with at work. and we certainly saw her on the air flirting with him quite a bit. and him flirting with her. so, no it's really not surprising. it would be surprising if this does turn into a bigger scandal some terms of a sexual harassment scandal though. and. case it would also show his very poor judgment with having relationships with a subordinate. >> matt you've been open about the cheating that took place when you were married and what did to your marriage. first of all, why did you do it? >> i was young and immature and stupid. i didn't understand exactly what the reproceedeceed kupgss of my actions would be. but david letterman, it really doesn't a

david letterman admits last night on his show that he had sexual relationships, plural, with women that had worked for him in the past, came clean because a producer for the show "48 hours" threatened to blackmail him. we'll take your calls. two of my favorite guests joining me, lisa bloom and also with us cooper lawrence, psychologist and author of the book "the cult of celebrity. lisa, you can make a good argument, good move by letterman to go on the offensive and make fun of himself before someone else can take the first shot at him, right? >> yeah, absolutely. he did what he had to do, because once he went in front of the grand jury and testified yesterday, that's over a dozen citizens. once law enforcement is involved, there's the potential for leaks. so as a comedienne, he had people laughing. he makes himself the butt of the jokes right off the bat. who can top that? who is going to make it worse for letterman, he's come out swinging and very effectively from a pr point of view. >> cooper, your take on this as you watch it unfold? not only last night but beyond as people talk abo

he tried to shake down talk show host david letterman for $2 million to keep letterman's sex life quiet. letterman beat him to it, surprising his audience by announcing he had affairs with co-workers and told the grand jury about it. >> the creepy stuff was that i have had sex with women who work for me on this show. >> reporter: his production company says the affairs happened before letterman's marriage to his long-time companion last spring. halderman gave letterman a rude awakening about 3:00 a.m. six weeks ago leaving a pack annual outside of his home. it was a screen play idea. >> halderman said he needed to make a large chunk of money, unquote, by selling letterman a so-called screen-play treatment, unquote. the one-page screen play treatment attached to the letter referred to letterman's great success and to his, quote, beautiful, loving son. >> letterman's attorney called the d.a. and set up a sting. two meetings were recorded between halderman and letterman's attorney at the essex house hotel. harderman took the bait, deposited a dummy check. halderman worked for cbs for many

so to think david letterman gave the entire story and there's nothing more to be said is simply wrong. >> letterman did give his audience some humor last night. you're going to hear the jokes he cracked about himself in the next half hour and you'll hear their reactions. >>> will president obama send troops in harm's way in afghanistan? he meets with congressional leader to talk about what's become a major debate. they want as much as 40,000 more troops. they say the taliban is gaining strength but others say the u.s. can fight the war with more aircraft and special forces teams. >> you have to start where you are, not where you wish you were. and the reality is that because of our inability and the inability, frankly, of our allies to put enough troops into afghanistan, the taliban do have the momentum right now, it seems. >> several hundred people protested the war yesterday outside the white house. it was a peaceful demonstration, but park police said 61 people were arrested when they refused to move back from the sidewalk. they were given tickets and released. >>> we're given deta

correspondent richard lui will delve more. >>> new this morning a public apology from david letterman. now originally the late night host said that he would only talk about his sexual relationships with staffers one time. last night he apologized on air to his co-workers and to his wife. letterman's production company says that the affairs happened before he married regina lasko in march. they've been a couple since 1986. >> the other thing is my wife, regina, she has been horribly hurt by my behavior. and when something happens like that, if you've hurt a person and it's your responsibility, you try to fix it. and at that point there's only two things that can happen. either you're going to make some progress and get it fixed or you're going to fall short and perhaps not get it fixed. so let me tell you, folks, i've got my work cut out for me. >> and that was kind of the reaction from the audience. the sex skndal broke after an alleged $2 million extortion plot. the suspect cbs producer joe halderman is suspended from his job. he pled not guilty friday. his lawyer tells nbc "today" t

some of the noteworthy zingers made at david letterman's expense, the best of which of course came fromletterman himself. >> i keep trying not to be sexy. it can get you in trouble in my line of work. >> if you came to have sex with a talk show host, you came to the wrong studio. >> there's a new book called why women have sex and there's 237 reasons why women have sex and letterman knows the top ten. >> i once was the victim of an extortion plot, that's how they got me to do a 10:00 show. >> i was shocked letterman was having affairs. i had no idea he was running for office. >> i have never had a sexual relationship with any of my staff members. >> let me just say that my relationships with my employees are strictly professional, isn't that right, gunter. >> as a matter of fact, ellen caller kept wanting to know if we had sex and i didn't remember. >> and i just wanted to say, so you know here, i have never had sex with anyone on my staff, the guests, of course, yes, that's just part of the job. >> i had a great weekend. >> i was cast on letterman. i mean vasquez, no the other thing. >

it is a different side of david letterman, ridiculing himself not the way that he ridicules others. a pr expert says there is a difference between what letterman did and what bill clinton or eliot spitzer did. >> letterman was single, she was dating, he did people on his staff, which was questionable. but he was single and dating as opposed to somebody who at the time was married and having an extramarital affair. >> obviously, those are the elected officials, and david letterman hosts a talk show. shepard: this is nobody's business, and nobody would know, except, according to prosecutors, a man attempted to extort him. >> this story is unbelievable. prosecutors say that halderman waited outside of letterman's manhattan home the morning of september 9, when he initially gave letterman a letter spelling out demands. letterman then went to the district attorney's office, who asked lederman to set up another meeting with halderman. it was in that meeting that letterman's lawyer or a microphone and recorded halderman asking for $2 million. halderman is now charged with eight counts of gr

he works for worldwide pants who produce "the david letterman show," "the late show with david lettermanow for cbs. so the staffers work for him. not necessarily for cbs. halderman, the alleged extortionist, he works for cbs. >> so what does that distinction mean to you legally? >> the distinction mean, i have spoken with several people about this today, is that depending on what kind of policy, what kind of sexual harassment policy there is at worldwide pants versus cbs, cbs is going to handle halderman the way they want to handle him. david letterman and the staffers, thoueven if it was consensual, it is still a boss having sex with employees. >> we'll have to see. the new york department of labor may get involved. let me to go george on this. do the media politics, this will help his ratings in the short run, obviously. this is a cause for, this is going past, rubber necking, a traffic accident at least for a while here. >> oh, yeah. there is curiosity about him. i think people will be switching other channels to see if leno or jimmy kimmel are making jokes about letterman but those w

david letterman used his own sex scandal for material for his monologue last night and also appaologized on air seriously t his wife and his co-workers. letterman thanked his staff for being so supportive and said he would try to repair his relationship with his wife. >>> the 19-year-old man accused of plotting to blow up a dallas building made a video message for al qaeda leader osama bin laden. that's when what an fbi agent told a judge yesterday. undercover operatives helped smadi record the video. those are just some of the stories we're watching for you on this tuesday. >>> let's move now to some of the healthiest froodz you that could also make you sick. that's the message just released from the center of science and public interest. it looked at government data to identify foods that cause the largest number of illnesses from things like ecoli or salmonella. on this list, things like leafy greens, eggs, cheeses and even potatoes. the group wants the fda to do more to inspect these very basic foods here as you see on this list. >>> a 14-year-old boy made it through airport security

"the late show with david letterman" audience got more than they expected. get of a $2 million blackmail attempt. >> there seems to be quite a lot of terrible stuff he knows about. and he's going to put it into a movie unless i give him some money. >> reporter: pay the money, he was told, or his sexual relationships with female employees would be made public. letterman says he admitted the affairs to a grand jury. >> that i have had sex with women who work for me on this show. and would it be embarrassing if it were made public? perhaps it would. perhaps it would. especially for the women. >> reporter: it is not the first time letterman has tried to defuse a painful night on set with humor. in 2005 he dealt with a kidnapping attempt with his son at the family ranch in montana this way. >> last week my family and i were involved in a little legal activity. >> reporter: in june he apologized for a joke he made about then alaska governor sarah palin's daughter after a public outcry this way. >> you know what, there are thousands of jokes i regret telling on this

late night david letterman dropped a couple bomb shells last night. first, letterman admitted that he had affairs with women on his staff. well, then he said someone tried to get $2 million in hush money to keep those affairs secret. a cbs employee has been charged with grand larceny any in that case. as for letterman, he said he's not talking about this anymore, saying he's protecting his family and the women involved. look for the woody harrelson comedy walking dead opening with $25 million, maybe more. the director debut of drew bearry more whip it starring ellen page of juno is expected to draw plenty of interest for women. over the long haul this weekend it won't crack double digit millions. the invention of lying stagger rick j gervais and jennifer garner. it's not generating much interest. it should earn about 5 million this weekend. >> i was just watching juno last night. between garner and ellen page, got the whole cast there. >> juno is a great move. but the invention of lying popped up out of nowhere. i'm not seeing anything on this one. >>>

david letterman says he is the victim of the extortion plot and the accused is a cbs employee. have drew levinson reporting for eyewitness news and the plot puts letterman's private affairs in the spotlight. >> reporter: robert j. halderman pleaded not guilty in the blackmail plot against david letterman. >> new york will not tolerate the extortion of anyone. >> reporter: the "48 hours" producer was arrested outside cbs headquarters on thursday. robert j. halderman demanded $2 million from letterman in exchange for not exposing details of his private life. letterman worked with the district attorney and writing the suspect a phony check. the scheme forced letterman to come clean on thursday night on his show. >> i have had sex with women who worked with me on the show. >> reporter: cbs released a statement that the employee

where prosecutors described their clear recordings of joe halderman alley threatens to expose david letterman'st. while letterman remains the crime victim in this case, his affairs with employees touched off many a workplace debate today on the topic of workplace sex. >> i have had sex with women who workor me on this show. >> reporter: online message boards are brimming. some praise his honesty and courage, reserving moral judgment because he's an entertainer, not the pope. others are disgusted because he created a hostile work environment even if the sex was cons conssual. in the age of harassment lawsuit, even ceos can lose their jobs over an affair. >> in any situation where one person has power over another, there is potential for coercion. >> reporter: around 70 people work for letterman's production company, which released the statement that dave is not in violation of our harass mant policy. cbs would not comment on the topic. possible rep ramented are complicated by his soaring ratings. >> i think his soaring will skyrocket because there's so much interest. whether or not he loses part

plus, is david letterman a creep? you will hear him joking around about his multiple affairs with employees. s tewi. ha i. ss tsi newete ace m k. you know all the little things you do to help the environment? here's one more... ziploc evolve. ♪ an ultra-light bag designed to keep food fresh... made with 25% less plastic. and made with wind energy. ♪ ziploc evolve. better for the environment. still ziploc fresh. all at no extra cost. designed with you in mind. s.c. johnson. a family company. [captioning made possible by fox news channel] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- greta: 9.8%, and guess what? that understates it. the labor department says the unemployment rate rose to 9.8%, but the real number is worse. why? joining us is steve moore, an editorial writer for "the wall street journal." this does not tell the whole story, does it, steve? >> these are pretty grim numbers, greta. as we have been talking about in recent months on your show, at least we could say that we are losing jobs

will you still watch david letterman? e-mailed from massachusetts saying -- karen on facebook wrote -- you are welcome to put your comments on our facebook page. >>> we have new info on the man accused of planning a terrorist attack in the united states. it is one of the stories that richard lui's working on in the next hour. >> as we talk about this in the next 15 minutes, we're going to work on the story that sources close to this case are saying that several traveled to pakistan with the suspect and some are now back in the united states. >>> plus, we've learned a million people had to leave their homes because of floods in india. this is just some of the pictures we've gotten. the death toll is rising until hundreds. >>> also, a couple in new york state have a new bundle of joy times five. >> thank you. >>> the former fiance of a cast member on "the real housewives of atlanta" was killed in a brawl. that story's getting a lot of your attention on cnn.com. a.j. jewel is seen here with kandi burruss. he suffered a sever

and david letterman's starts spilling again about his sex scandal -- david letterman starts. this time, it is about his wife. lucky her. greta: are you worried health- care reform could cost you more, raise your federal taxes? what about your state taxes? could this reform and a bankrupting some states? will important programs be cut -- could this reform end up bankrupting states? and governor joins us. good evening. it looks like you put an little heat -- a governor joins us. good evening. it looks like you put a little heat on your senators. what did you put in that letter? >> i am very concerned that reebok this proposal has a new, on funded medicaid expansion and mandate -- i am very concerned that this proposal has a new, undfunded medicaid expansion in mandate, so i am very, very concerned about this -- unfunded medicaid expansion mandate. greta: find your own money? >> that is exactly right, greta. what they will do is pass this bill and then pass the costs on to the states. i wrote to the senators, both of whom are former governors, and i said, you know what that mean

what we know so far it was a crime against david letterman.i don't -- i haven't heard any complaints made by the women apparently this producer was going out with a woman who had sex with letterman. >> apparently we will never know because letterman said he has said the last he's going to say on this topic. >> i doubt it. >> it is a weird story. much more ahead on fox news watch. first, if you come across a story thank you think shows media bias, e-mail us at news watch at foxnews.com. next acorn scandals and why some think the organization is the victim. >> announcer: with scandals building and allies balling, acorn's future looks dim. wait the liberal media have a plan. and he's back! michael moore's love story is the media afraid of this movie menace? answers next on news watch. !d!dd >>> your business is a performing artist. which you are, okay. role play on words. you are a performing artist. so stop saying prostitute. >> got. >> just one of the many clips from a couple of freelance journalists who exposed problems at acorn the associatio

the national organization for women is slamming david letterman for his affairs with staffers. the group says letterman promoted a hostile work environment. it says -- >> now letterman apologized for the affairs on his show so far. >>> we got one airline that's trying to lighten the load, shall we say, by asking people to go to the bathroom before flights. i guess litening the load, too. japan's nippon airways says getting rid of the extra weight would cut back on carbon dioxide emissions because planes would use less fuel because planes are lighter. it's part of an environmental experiment that also includes using recycled paper clips and plastic bottles instead of glass. >> you know that every gallon of liquid has a lot of weight. >> realistically, though -- realistically, i'm thinking only the day after thanksgiving would that have any effect at all. >> you're thinking nonliquids. >> i'm thinking everything. i hope it works. >> let's talk more liquids and rain. >> let me show what you is happening. we're seeing a lot of rain. we're zeroing in on the area getting hit the heavi

who knows how these women feel about the relationships with david letterman. there's no sense, there's no allegation that anyone's upset at letterman. so, at this point, it doesn't seem it's opening him up to anything, but any time you get into these sort of sticky issues and you have to discuss these kind of uncomfortable matters, there's always in the back of your mind these days the questions of not just how's this going to affect me personally, not just how is this going to affect my family, but what could happen legally. >> and the story is just evolving. dan abrams, thanks very much. now let's go back to matt. >>> thank you. now to the much-anticipated announcement of the host city for the 2016 summer olympic games. suspense is building in copenhagen following president obama's big pitch to the committee. "today" national correspondent natalie morales is inside the hall where the presentations are being made. natalie, good morning to you. >> reporter: and good morning to you. that's right, this convention center right here is where the action is happening

late night funny man david letterman says he was the victim of a blackmail plot by a cbs news employeey threatened to reveal sexual relations letterman had with women on his staff. kelly was kell wallace has more. >> reporter: david letterman told his audience last night here at the he had sullivan theater that he had been the victim of a blackmail attempt and then made a remarkable personal admission. >> my response to that is yes, i have. i have had sex with women who worked on this show. >> reporter: in a statement, cbs news said cbs was made aware of and ongoing police investigation involving david letterman and an employee at "48 hours" who was subsequently arrested yesterday on charges of attempted grand wlars any in the first degree. cbs is cooperating fully with the authorities and the employee has been suspended pending the results of the investigation. mr. letterman addressed the issue during the show's broadcast last night and we believe his comments speak for themselves. his alleged blackmailer, a 20 year plus veteran of cbs news "48 hours" producer joe halderman. letterman

good night. >>> david letterman

. >>> the latest in the david letterman scandal. for the first time, we are hearing part of the suspect's side. you are watching the big picture on msnbc. dad, here-look at this- your p.a.d. isn't just poor circulation in your legs causing you pain. ok-what is it? dad, it more than doubles your risk of a heart attack or stroke! you better read about plavix. if you have p.a.d., plavix can help protect you from a heart attack or stroke. plavix helps keep blood platelets from sticking together and forming clots- the cause of most heart attacks and strokes. talk to your doctor about plavix? (announcer) if you have a stomach ulcer or other condition that causes bleeding, you should not use plavix. taking plavix alone or with some other medicines including aspirin may increase bleeding risk. tell your doctor before planning surgery or taking aspirin or other medicines with plavix, especially if you've had a stroke. some medicines that are used to treat heartburn or stomach ulcers, like prilosec, may affect how plavix works, so tell your d

there is an investigation involving david letterman.ey technologies yesterday that he had sexual relationships -- he acknowledged yesterday that he had sexual relationships with female employees. >> i have had sex with women who work for me on this show. would it be embarrassing if it were made public? perhaps it would. especially for the women. >> cbs said the employee who has been charged worked on the show "48 hours" and has been susnded. letterman has been married since march. >>> 6 clock dates,ut 55 degrees. >> when we return, stopping the spread of swine flu. " we do not wt to create a sense of panic. >> health officials have a new warning for pregnant women. >> it is friday and we are gearing up for the weekend. what can we expect in terms of showers? a look of the forecast coming up next. my name is quinn, and this is my eggo. on fridays, i have hockey before school, so i take two eggo homestyle waffles and put peanut butter inside. i add a couple chocolate chips when dad's starting the car. there's only one way to eat an eggo -