feels like february here in new york city. welcome to american morning. >> i just can't believe it is november 1st. where does time go? good morning to you. up first, herman cain fighting back against allegations of sexual harassment. problem is, his story just keeps changing. the gop frontrunner is defending himself against a politico report against two women that accused him of inappropriate behavior during his tenure at the american restaurant association in the 1990s. we begin with cnn political director paul steinhauser. so i'm trying to think how many times herman cain's story shifted in what, a three hour period yesterday. >> pretty much. you can say the time was unfortunate, the story braging one day before the republican candidate had high profile speeches and television interviews. start with the national press club. he was there around noon. this is what he had to say. >> i am unaware of any sort of settlement. i hope it wasn't for much because i didn't do anything, but the fact of the matter is i'm not aware of a settlement that came out of that accusation. >> okay. couple hours later, fast forward. he sat down for an interview with pbs's judy woodruff. this is what he had to say. >> i was aware an agreement was reached. the word settlement versus the word agreement, you know, i'm not sure what they called it. i know that there was some sort of agreement, but because it ended up being minimal, they didn't have to bring it to me. my general counsel and the head of human resources had the authority to resolve this. so it wasn't one of those things it got to a certain authority level and i had to sign it. if i did, i don't remember signing it because it was minimal in terms of what the agreement was. >> in his defense, cain says listen, not everybody can remember what happened 12 years ago. he also said the terms agreement and settlement are two different terms. but carol, maybe this is a sign of a campaign that just wasn't fully prepared for the story. remember, herman cain went from basically an afterthought to a front runner for the white house in two months and his campaign structure is not that strong. maybe this is a sign of that, maybe it is a sign that there's more there when it comes to the allegations, we just don't know. >> i talk to two lawyers that represent many women in sexual harassment cases, they find it incredible that herman cain can't remember being accused of sexual harassment. usually when a man is accused of something like that, he never forgets. whether it is true or not, that's a terrible allegation to make, number one, and it is something you don't forget. he says he doesn't remember the names of these women. >> we're going to hear from herman cain, he is on our sister network in a couple of hours. this story isn't over yet for herman cain. i think we'll hear more. >> paul, thank you. after acknowledging he was falsely accused of sexual harassment, cain said he tried to think back on what could have been perceived as offensive. >> here's the one incident i recall as the day has gone on. she was in my office one day, and i made a gesture -- and i was standing close to her, and i made a gesture, you're the height as my wife, and brought my hand, didn't touch her, up to my chin and said you're the same height as my wife because my wife comes up to my chin, my wife of 43 years, and that was put in there as something that made her uncomfortable as part of the sexual harassment charge. that one little incident about the height thing was in my office, door open, plain view. my secretary sitting right outside the office, but in reviewing her case, she couldn't find anybody to corroborate her story. >> cain also said he had april office on the same floor as the woman, insisted he never traveled with her when he would go on speaking engagements. >> cain's explanation came after a day of playing cat and mouse with the media. he had one flat out denial. campaign watchers wonder why his team was caught so off guard. here is joe johns with that part of the story. >> reporter: it is never a good day for a presidential campaign when the candidate's name appears in the morning headlines in a story about alleged sexually inappropriate behavior. from a campaign management standpoint, this may be a textbook example of how not to handle a crisis. politico which broke the story said there was plenty of warning. it first asked the campaign about this ten days before the confrontational interview outside cbs on sunday. >> i'm not going to comment on that. >> reporter: and when the campaign's chief of staff was asked about politico's allegation two women received settlements, he seemed confused, too, saying he was not aware of any. just hours before the candidate said publicly that he had been falsely accused. herman cain's words, of sexual harassment. cnn political analyst rich galen says it sounds like there was plenty of time for the campaign to prepare for the story to hit. >> this is the kind of thing that you see with campaigns that aren't very skilled and very experienced. every campaign will have a bad time. every campaign is going to have to explain something they didn't think they were going to have to explain, but you practice it, try to get ready for it, and when and when it does happen, you just execute on the plan. >> reporter: here is how one reporter at politico responded when we asked if the story came from another presidential campaign. >> my colleagues and i have been reporting this store eat past three weeks. in the course of that time, we talked to dozens of current, former employees at the organization, current former board members at the organization and a lot of folks in washington that are close to the organization. this has been an extensively reported story, thorough story, and have a half dozen sources telling us about the various aspects of the claims against herman cain. >> reporter: he calls it an witch-hunt. he says there was an investigation done and that investigation determined there was no factual basis for what he calls false allegations against him of sexual harassment. joe johns, cnn, washington. >> you know what, we'll end it. i was talking to gloria allred, she said if only he would say what the amount of the settlements were, it might put it to rest. if it is a $10,000 settlement, people would think this woman was a nuisance and they wanted her to go away and she left. if it was a $95,000 settlement, that might say something different, that charges were serious. but because we don't know the details, it left people wondering. >> we don't know what the charges are and won't. if they signed a confidentiality agreement with the settlement, we won't hear from them. >> he is not held to the confidentiality thing in the agreement, he can say what he wants to say. he puts it back on the restaurant association, saying it is a personnel matter, the restaurant association doesn't release details like that, but he can. so we'll see what he says on hln later today. a new movement bubbling now. occupy wall street protesters threatening to shut down the iowa caucus. organizers plan to gather in iowa one week before the vote is held january 3rd, calling it the first in the nation caucus occupation. they plan to occupy the offices of all candidates, including president obama's offices in iowa. >> the white house says president obama is looking forward to next year's presidential debates. we now know there will be three. the first, october 3rd at university of denver, second, october 16th on long island, and a third at lynn university in boca raton tone, florida. president obama gets a clean bill of health according to his recent physical. the 50-year-old commander in chief said to be fit for duty and in excellent health. the report says the president is tobacco free, yes. they say he has quit smoking for good. her husband's popularity may have slipped, but first lady michelle obama's approval rating remains strong, according to a new poll. 56% have a positive impression of the first lady, unchanged from back in may. that's why they call her the president's secret weapon on the campaign trail. she remains extremely popular. we'll know when and if what role she will have in the election coming up. >> i bet it will be bigger. secretary of state clinton cancelling a trip to britain because her mother is ill. no other details of her illness were disclosed. dorothy rodham made several appearances with her during the run for president in 2008. it was a bloody night in new orleans. one person died, as many as seven were wounded in a shooting after midnight. a reporter at the scene said officers shut down bore bon street for hours. not far from there, another person was injured by gunfire. police say it appears to be unrelated. could be friday before 1.7 million homes and businesses in five northeast states have power restored. 13 deaths now blamed on the freak weekend storm that triggered emergency declarations in new york, new jersey, connecticut, massachusetts. meantime, jetblue is apologizing for leaving passengers stranded on the tarmac for seven hours in hartford saturday. the airline releasing this video message on youtube. >> we know we let some of you down over the course of this weekend, and for that, we are truly sorry. going forward, we plan to fully participate with the department of transportation in cooperating with their investigation into the events over the weekend. and we're also going to conduct an internal evaluation so we can learn from this event. >> jetblue faces $27,500 fines for each passenger it left stranded. in total, they could have to dole out 5 million bucks because of this. heavy rain in florida. coastal parts of miami-dade in flood warnings. they already rescued several drivers that stalled in standing water. in some places, people are warned to stay in their homes as the rain still is falling. check out new york city's halloween parade. thousands of people lined the streets in greenwich village. the parade has been around 39 years with dozens of bands and dancers and giant floats, and great costumes, from cute to very scary. up next on "american morning" supervise operating in broad daylight in the u.s., included that red headed russian bombshell, anna chapman. we have just released fbi spy tapes ahead. will he or won't he. we could know as early as today if conrad murray will testify in his own defense. and is nothing sacred, a favorite lunchtime staple is about to get more expensive. that's right. 12 minutes after the hour. [ ben harper's "amen omen" playing ] we believe doing the right thing never goes unnoticed. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? where they grow america's favorite wpotatoes. idaho, everyone knows idaho potatoes taste great. but did you know they're good for you too? they're high in vitamins and potassium. and idaho potatoes are now certified to carry the heart checkmark from the american heart association for foods low in saturated fat and cholesterol. so they're good for my family, and for yours. heart smart idaho potatoes. always look for the grown in idaho seal. when you're a sports photographer, things can get out of control pretty quickly. so i like control in the rest of my life... especially my finances. that's why i have slate, with blueprint. i can create my own plan to pay down large purchases faster... or avoid interest on everyday items. that saves me money. with slate from chase, i'm always in control. financially, anyway. get slate with blueprint and save money. call 855-get-slate today. [♪...] >> male announcer: book now, save up to 65%. call 1-800-sandals. welcome back to "american morning." michael jackson's death trial is wrapping up. in a few hours, a crucial decision, will dr. conrad murray take the stand? here is ted rowlands with a look at what we can expect. >> carol and christine, in a few hours we will find out definitively one way or another if dr. conrad murray will take the stand. at the end of court yesterday, the judge after the jury left asked murray flat out are you going to take the stand or aren't you, and murray said he hasn't made up his mind. the judge said you better hurry up, you have until 8:30 tomorrow in court. he is expected to tell the judge one way or another if he takes the stand. that would be a bombshell if he decides he wants to get up in front of the jury. monday, there was fireworks in court between david walgren, lead prosecutor in the case, and dr. paul white rgs defense expert and star witness. walgren tried to dismantle the defense theory about how michael jackson died and also attacked white in the way dr. conrad murray acted after he found jackson unresponsive, specifically he asked white about the fact that murray waited 20 minutes to call 911. >> there's no justification for what conrad murray did in failing to immediately call 911, is there? >> as i said earlier, i think he should have called 911 sooner. i do not, however, think it would have made any difference in the outcome of this case. >> white is still on the stand and will be up to finish his testimony when court resumes this morning. then the defense has one more witness, assuming murray doesn't testify, a late add if you will. so that will extend the defense case in chief by a few hours, although they told the judge after court they do expect to finish up their case at some point tomorrow again, assuming dr. conrad murray does not take the stand. carol, christine. >> thanks, ted rowlands. also new this morning, the parents of the missing missouri baby lisa irwin fired their lawyer. cindy short announced her split from baby lisa's legal team. she claimed it was because of friction with the lead attorney. police are vinvestigating the parents. she went missing in october. an arizona man found a man guilty of murdering nine people, he was convicted of other assaults and kidnapping. they happened on baseline road in phoenix back in 2006. a judge in tennessee ordered officials to stop enforcing new rules that they were using to arrest occupy nashville protesters. last week, the state imposed a curfew, told protesters they needed permits to stay. the next morning, dozens of protesters were handcuffed and hauled away. the dean of london's st. paul cathedral resigned over occupy protests on the door steps. they set up over two weeks ago when their attempt to overtake london stock exchange failed. saint pause came under fire when they said they would take legal action to try to remove 200 tents from the square outside its main entrance. rob marcy and oh is in the weather center. good morning. >> good morning. temperatures in the northeast where snow is falling and in some cases melted away, some cases it is there. 29 degrees in albany. temperatures in the freezing mark in the snow zone in the area where we have 1.7 people in the dark. some cases you can't fire up the furnace, so it is cold. 56 degrees expected in new york city. that's a couple degrees lower than it should be. average temperature is 58, 59 degrees and we had all that snow over the weekend. mild temperatures work into the area as we go through time. meanwhile, another storm dropping into inner mountain west. could see a foot of snow above the 8,000 foot mark. high plains will see snow as well. other than that, fairly quiet weather shaping up for today, a breather of a day. low clouds and gusty winds creating ground delays in some northeast airports. there's a system trying to get itself together, another nor'easter trying to make itself happen, but it will stay offshore. just light showers and clouds in the extreme northeast shore lines today. you mention the extreme rainfall across florida. these are october rain totals for parts of south florida. veer oh beach, 21 inches, marathon, 20 inches, and miami seeing 15 inches of rainfall. places like miami, they average 60 or 70 inches a year, so to get that much in a month is a lot of rainfall. temperatures, 47 degrees in new york city. we are warming up somewhat since when i started the weather cast 60 seconds ago, guys. happy halloween. it is november 1st now. 30 days left before hurricane season is over. >> oh, great. i was telling carol, i have branches on my roof, i have a completely smashed swing set, 100-year-old oak tree disintegrating out there. it is crazy in the burbs. >> thanks, rob. now is the chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. the question, will sexual harassment allegations sink herman cain. you heard the ever shifting story now, started with a story in politico. two women accused cain of sexually impropriety in the '90s when he was head honcho for the american restaurant association. at first, his camp said the politico story was false, then cain denied there was a cash settlement, until he didn't. >> i am unaware of any sort of settlement. i hope it wasn't for much because i didn't do anything. but the fact of the matter is i'm not aware of a settlement that came out of that accusation. >> by the time cain was on fox news, he had an epiphany. not only did he remember there was a cash settlement, he remembered the exact gesture that made one of his accusers uncomfortable. >> she was in my office one day and i made a gesture saying oh, and i was standing close to her, i made a gesture, you are the same height as my wife. and brought my hand, didn't touch her, up to my chin and said you're the same height as my wife because my wife comes up to my chin. >> none of this means cain is guilty of anything, but the shifting story matters to those that represent victims of sexual harassment. if cain is elected president, he will be head of the largest workplace in the nation. as attorney and women's advocate gloria allred said, the president must be the gold standard of employers. didn't we learn anything from the clinton era? the talk back question today. will sexual harassment accusations sink herman cain? facebook.com/americanmorning. read your comments later this hour. >> all right. ahead on "american morning," supervise among us. surveillance tapes of russian operatives in america released. and the roll away bed. there's a fee for that. hotels are piling on extra costs. it is 22 minutes past the hour. [ male announcer ] it's true... consumers er wanchai ferry orange chicken... over p.f. chang's home menu orange chicken women men and uh pandas... elbows mmm [ male announcer ] wanchai ferry, try it yourself. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] the peace of mind of owning a 2011 iihs top safety pick. the all-new volkswagen passat. where they grow america's favorite safety pick. wpotatoes. idaho, everyone knows idaho potatoes taste great. but did you know they're good for you too? they're high in vitamins and potassium. and idaho potatoes are now certified to carry the heart checkmark from the american heart association for foods low in saturated fat and cholesterol. so they're good for my family, and for yours. heart smart idaho potatoes. always look for the grown in idaho seal. i can go back and do gardening with comfort. [ male announcer ] osteo bi-flex with 5-loxin advanced. shows improvement in joint comfort within 7 days. osteo bi-flex. the #1 doctor and pharmacist recommended brand. good morning. welcome back. minding your business this morning, u.s. stock futures are down after a pretty bad day, a bad day that was, you know, a pretty good month, by the way. stocks falling sharply yesterday. dow off by 276 points, about 2%. selloff fueled by concerns about europe. and john coarse ien's company filing for bankruptcy after millions of bets on europe went bad. boeing will soon set up shop in an old space shuttle center at nas a they will use that space to test a new capsule designed to ferry new astronauts and cargo to the international space station. the deal expected to create more than