decades where he hasn't been head coach. and to top it off, his nittany lions lost to nebraska by three points on senior day, the last home game of the season. paterno's son jay is still an assistant coach. he broke down after fielding espn reporter post-game questions. it was the first game since the child sex allegations changed everything for the team, the school, and the country. before kickoff, both teams gathered together midfield and prayed. >> father god, we thank you so much. we thank you that you've chosen us to be here this day at this time. >> they took a knee and prayed for the eight alleged young victims. former defensive coordinator jerry sandusky, now 67 years old, and out on $100,000 bond. some of the alleged victims as young as 10 years old. and if you watched today's game, you saw the school's brand new president's taped message on getting past all this. >> we remain committed to our core values, and we will rebuild the trust, honor and pride that have endured for generations. please join me in this effort. we are penn state. >> let's take a live look now at the penn state campus tonight. all appears to be normal and quiet, just one week after the scandal broke, a far cry from the violence that broke out wednesday night when news broke of paterno's firing. student mobs rioted, turning over a news van, smashing car windows, newspaper boxes, and clashing with police. it was a game day unlike any other in penn state's long history. tears in the stands as generations of nittany lions fans realized an era is over and a new uncertain future awaits their once-revered program. let's take another live look at the penn state campus again where all appears to be quiet, again, one week after this scandal broke. as a matter of fact, our very own mary snow reports on the happenings on campus today. >> reporter: it was a moment not witnessed by penn state fans before. instead of charging the field, players walked out arm in arm. then silence. the moment follows the darkest chapter of penn state's history with the arrest of former defensive coordinator jerry sandusky, accused of sexually abusing eight boys over a decade and a half. fans joined players in remembering victims. >> it was different. it was very, very touching, particularly the beginning of the game. how both teams came together, you know, embraced like that. it was awesome for the fans and the entire community. >> reporter: the somber tone was in stark contrast to the turmoil earlier in the week when legendary coach joe paterno was fired along with penn state's president. the ouster followed questions about what wasn't done after allegations involving sandusky surfaced in 2002. paterno had been at the helm for 46 years. his son jay is a member of the coaching staff. >> dad, i wish you were here. we love you. >> outside paterno's home fans gathered, but paterno didn't talk. while he isn't charged with anything, paterno this week hired a criminal defense attorney. sandusky out on $100,000 bail maintains his innocence. as the investigation continues, the football game was a welcome diversion, say some fans, after a tumultuous week. penn state lost the game. while some critics think the game should have been canceled, penn state's new interim president said it was worth playing. >> i personally felt that this was a time to play, but it was also a time when we could recognize and bring national focus to the problem of sexual abuse. >> mary snow joins us now live from the campus. mary, good evening. i can hear people behind you. i don't know if there are crowds out. i don't know what's going on. what's the mood on campus tonight? >> you know, don, it appears to be a typical saturday night in a college town. particularly here at state college. it has been fairly quiet. you know, a lot of people said that they just really didn't know what to expect going into today's game. but really the tone was set last night when we saw that vigil for victims of child sex abuse. we saw thousands of students coming out, really wanting to send a very strong message and, of course, that continued on the football field today. and it's been very quiet. of course, saturday night young college students are out. but really nothing out of the ordinary. >> is this on their minds tonight, or are they trying to at least carry on and move on as best they can? >> reporter: yeah, you know, don, it's interesting, i talked to a couple of students earlier who said they really welcomed the game today because they said for the first time this entire week it brought back a bit of normalcy. and they said that that would last for perhaps a day and they were kind of embracing just this diversion, but of course, this has been on their minds and some suggested like the first step towards healing. >> all right, mary snow, thank you very much for your reporting tonight. penn state was missing another coach on the sidelines today, receivers coach -- receivers coach mike mcqueary. mcqueary was a graduate assistant in 2002 when he reported seeing jerry sandusky raping a young boy in a penn state locker room shower. on one hand, he was one of the few people to speak up in the case, telling coach paterno, who then ran it up the school's chain of command. but on the other hand, many questioned why mcqueary didn't do more, like call the cops him. he was placed on administrative leave indefinitely after the school said he received death threats. the alleged child sex abuse scandal unfolding at the school raising troubling questions about past suspicions surrounding former coach sandusky and how those were dealt with. the mom of one of the alleged victims spoke out on "good morning america." >> and at some point he came to you and said he wanted some information about how to look up sex weirdos? >> yes. >> what did you think of that? >> i asked him who he was looking up, and he said he wanted to see if jerry was on there. and i said, well, why would you look him up? and he said, i don't know, he's a weirdo. >> her son was not the first or only alleged victim. his case is key because he reported it and, as a result, triggered this sex abuse investigation against sandusky. according to a grand jury, sandusky allegedly victimized eight boys, at least one as young as 7 or 8 years old, going as far back as 1994. we'll have a lot more on this story including a panel discussion in just a few minutes here on cnn. in other news tonight, republican candidates for president debate again. we'll hear from them next. and a promising young baseball player rescued from kidnappers in the jungles of venezuela. you'll hear from him. mine was earned over the south pacific in 1943. vietnam, 1967. i got mine in iraq, 2003. u.s.a.a. auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation, because it offers a superior level of protection and because u.s.a.a.'s commitment to serve the military, veterans, and their families is without equal. begin your legacy. get an auto insurance quote. u.s.a.a. we know what it means to serve. 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[ male announcer ] don't be left behind. get it faster with 4g. at&t. ♪ i tell you what i can spend. i do my best to make it work. i'm back on the road safely. and i saved you money on brakes. that's personal pricing. president obama is in hawaii tonight. he's hosting an economic summit with leaders from across the asia-pacific region. now part of the agenda is looking at ways the united states can tap into asia's economic potential. the summit begins a nine-day trip for the president that also includes stops in indonesia and australia. foreign policy was front and center tonight at the gop presidential debate in spartanburg, south carolina. i want you to take a listen as the candidates address the prospect of a nuclear iran and other issues. >> one thing you can know, and that is if we re-elect barack obama, iran will have a nuclear weapon. >> to give money to the rebel forces there, to help the pro-democracy movement and to put tough sanctions in place. >> iran uses oil not only as a means -- a currency but they use it as a weapon. the only way we can stop them is through economic means. >> maximum covert operations to block and disrupt the iranian program, including taking out their scientists, including breaking up their systems, all of it covertly, all of it deniable. >> if i were president, i would be willing to use waterboarding. i think it was very effective. it gained information for our country. >> waterboarding is torture. we dilute ourselves down like a whole lot of other countries and lose that ability to project values. >> i would return to that policy. i don't see it as torture. i see it as an enhanced interrogation technique. >> torture is illegal and -- by our laws. it's illegal by international laws. waterboarding is torture. and -- >> we have to have china understand that like everybody else on the world stage they have to play by the rules. >> i happen to think that the communist chinese government will end up on the ash heap of history if they do not change their virtues. >> well, if it feels like groundhog's day, it kind of is. this was the tenth time the candidates have squared off as they compete for voters' attention and dollars. occupy denver protesters are looking for a new home tonight after police pushed them out of a downtown park. officers persuaded about half of the campers to leave, but the rest stayed until they were removed. police said public safety was their primary concern. several protesters vow to set up another camp overnight. the venezuelan government says a colombian man possibly linked to paramilitaries may be the mastermind behind the kidnapping of washington nationals catcher wilson ramos. ramos was rescued friday night in a daring operation led by venezuelan security officers -- security forces, i should say. they tracked the major league star to a house in a remote mountainous region. officials say security forces came under fire. they responded and rescued ramos unharmed. ramos spoke to reporters today. >> translator: i am very happy for the rescue operation they carried out. very thankful to the government and the national army. i didn't expect them. where they were holding me captive was a very remote place, basically a jungle. and see, i was praying to god to bring me home safely to my family. and look at these guys. they risked their lives to save mine. and i am very thankful. >> six venezuelans are in custody for the kidnapping and an arrest warrant has been issued for the suspected mastermind. italians may not have a leader tonight, but many have a reason to celebrate. the resignation of prime minister silvio berlusconi set off parties in rome and other cities. the billionaire's behavior embarrassed many people while his leadership left the country on the brink of economic disaster. senior international correspondent matthew chance was in the middle of all that madness. >> we've just been told that silvio berlusconi has already departed the presidential palace. presumably, he's now resigned formally. the police are sort of vaguely trying to stop people coming to the square, but it's not really working. you can see there are loads of people that have gathered here. thousands of people have come out. they wanted to see the end of silvio berlusconi. his political career. they've been shouting abuse, they've been jeering, they've been shouting "mafioso," they've calling for him to be arrested and put in jail. they've been calling him a joker, a fool. the insults have been hurling. and at one point it got quite aggressive. so i think clearly the decision was made by the security around silvio berlusconi that it would have been wrong from his security point of view to take him through these crowds, some of them very angry indeed, towards the man who has been so, so influential in their politics. you can see now the anger that we witnessed earlier has turned to jubilation. how does it feel now that silvio berlusconi -- >> today, today is the freedom day! today this is the freedom, the liberation for italy. now i'm very, very elated really. >> why is there so much celebrations in the streets tonight? >> 20 years of -- >> talk louder. i can't hear you. >> we have been -- for 20 years. now it's time for a new politician -- for new politics. >> you feel you've been prisoners for so long. >> yeah. >> a big day, but we can change with monty, with political different politics. berlusconi was i think the key problem. >> i keep asking people how they feel, and obviously the mood is extremely positive. it's ecstatic, in fact. obviously, there are going to be parties, celebrations in the streets tonight throughout the italian capital. people just feel this enormous sense of relief that after so many years of having silvio berlusconi in charge they're now looking at a new political future. matthew chance, cnn in rome. up next, we will go back to penn state. we've got an expert panel to discuss the sex abuse scandal. don't go anywhere. ♪ there's a place i dream about ♪ ♪ where the sun never goes out ♪ ♪ and the sky is deep and blue ♪ ♪ won't you take me american flight 280 to miami is now ready for boarding. ♪ there with you fly without putting your life on pause. be yourself. nonstop. american airlines. an emotional day at penn state as the football team hit the field for the first time since the child abuse scandal rocked the school. a moment of silence was held before the game in honor of the alleged victims. and here to talk about the scandal and the long recovery ahead, a panel of experts for you you. jon wertheim is a senior investigative reporter with "sports illustrated." he is live at penn state. in san francisco tony rogers, a sexual abuse victim, and in atlanta, julie medlin, a psychologist and sex abuse expert, and a co-author of the book "avoiding sexual dangers." thanks to all of my panel for being here. tony, i want to start with you because we have been talking a lot about the accused, about football, about the coaches and the staff involved. let's talk about being a survivor of childhood sex abuse. how old were you? if you can tell me a little about your abuse. how old were you when you were abused? >> the first time i was 9 and it was by a stranger. the second time i was 11. i was sexually assaulted by one of my male cousins. >> so this story resonates with you because you're around the same age as some of the alleged victims. when you heard about penn state, what did you do? what did you think? >> i really felt for the boys who were victimized by the assaults and, you know, especially also for the witness who actually witnessed it and reported it and nothing was ever done. and it's unfortunate that the coach's popularity preceded, you know, support for these people. >> does it bring anything up in you? does it remind you of anything? is there anything that you have to do? does it trigger anything i guess is a better way of putting it? >> these stories are always trig krerg. the person who assaulted me and even my own aunt, she decided to support her son instead of really listening to me and getting the help that i needed. it's always triggering. i make sure i use the tools to help myself just to recover from listening to these type of stories in the news. it is very triggering. >> yeah. so from what you're saying apparently one of your abusers was a family member. julie. >> it was my cousin. >> yeah, your cousin. >> so julie, some of the alleged victims are now in their 20s, almost 30 years old. might they be dealing with the same sort of issues that tony deals with when he said they are triggers and he has to use things in order to at least fight it or make it better? >> yes, definitely. i think when someone's been sexually abused, it can affect them for a very long time, really for their whole lives. and anything that comes up in their environment that reminds them of something, some aspect of the sexual abuse, it could be the smell of cologne or it could be a certain car or it could be a certain place or a park, you know, wherever the abuse occurred could then trigger, you know, that flood of negative emotions about the sexual abuse. >> tony, in the conversation we had before this you said there were certain triggers for you. one of them is smell, right? and then there are other things. >> yes. there are smells or sometimes it's cold drinks. i was infected with gonorrhea when i was 9, so i had to drink penicillin and i would vomit. so sometimes when i drink cold beverages it makes me sick. >> yeah. when we come back, we're going to go to the campus of penn state. our jon wertheim is standing by, and he's going to talk to us about how the campus is dealing with this. we're going to go deep into this and talk about the cover-up as well. back with my panel, moments away. really buddy, wow. samantha jane. ♪ guys, christmas dinner and you're bringing toys to the table? ♪ that, that's not a toy... let's eat! 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[ male announcer ] introducing spark the small business credit cards from capital one. get more by choosing unlimited double miles or 2% cash back on every purchase, every day. what's in your wallet? this guy's amazing. joining us again our panel of experts. jon wertheim with "sports illustrated" is live at penn state. in san francisco, tony rodgers, a sexual abuse victim. and here in atlanta julie medlin, a psychologist and sex abuse expert. and i want to warn you, the viewer, that we are about to air some graphic content. these are the words of the grand jury report. there are eight alleged victims starting with victim one. >> during the course of the multiyear investigation, the grand jury heard evidence that sandusky indecently fondled victim one on a number of occasions, performed oral sex on victim one on a number of occasions and had victim 1 perform oral sex on him on at least one occasion. >> jon wertheim, you're there on the campus tonight. you look at -- that's just a small quote from this lengthy, lengthy report. and it goes on. it gets even more graphic. i mean, quite honestly, it talks about sandusky having erections in the shower and those sorts of things. and if it can be even worse than the graphic details of this, is the cover-up -- and you're on the cover-up -- and you're on campus there tonight. what are students saying about this? do they understand the gravity of this now? >> yeah, i think they do. i mean apart from the sex crimes, you have this other prong which is classic who knew what, when did they know it, and i think the students realize that this is not going away anytime soon. there are a lot of unanswered questions. if you can make it through that gruesome, grotesque report, you'll see clearly people are lying. it's impossible everyone's telling the truth. because stori