downplaying the most serious eyewitness testimony. what this man assistant coach mike mcqueary said he saw when he was a graduate assistant. he was in the locker room in the lasch building where he said he saw sandusky raping a child. how does sandusky's lawyer respond to a seemingly unshakable account? our jason carroll asked him directly. his answers, they may shock you. jason joins us in a moment, so will an attorney for one of the victims. a lot happening tonight, including the removal of joe paterno's name from the big ten what is the collective mood at the moment? >> i think it's a change of generations more than the difference of culture. there are 220 million arabs in the middle east. 20% of them are young, from 19 to 26. they are more educated, more modern and they are the carrier of the revolution. but it's a disorganized revolution. >> one of the most important things i would imagine for israel right now is the support of allies, particularly america. there was an extraordinary story only a few days ago involving a conversation between french president nicolas sarkozy and president obama in which president sarkozy said about prime minister netanyahu, i can't stand him. he's a liar. what was your reaction when you heard about this? >> i think gossiping is a bad thing. >> i mean, gossiping is a bad thing, but when it comes from the president of france to the president of the united states -- >> yes, but -- i don't think that this was a judgment of mr. netanyahu. and in politics from time to time becoming a little bit angry. but i wouldn't take it as a judgment and i don't think this really represented the character and leadership of mr. netanyahu. >> are you concerned at all about the nature of the support from president obama and america right now? because clearly it's a crucial relationship. are you confident that you have president obama's full hundred percent support? >> you know, when i judge by his actions he really has shown friendship. i don't judge a person just by what he says, but rather by what he does. so in fact he was friendly to israel and we appreciate it. now the dangers we are facing are not a mon opley of israel. there are world dangers. and israel alone cannot meet this great challenge or danger. and i think the only real power in the world that cares about the situation worldwide is the united states of america. to this very day, we don't have a match for this. >> let's turn to iran. because you said very recently the possibility of israel launching a military attack on iran is, quote, highly likely. this is clearly got everybody nervous, there's no question of that. there has been rumor of this now for two or three years. do you believe that it actually could come to an attack in the near future? i mean, how serious should we be taking your comments? >> well, i don't think that this is a correct interpretation of what was said. i was asked what is nearer today a military option of a political solution. i say unfortunately the political solution is far away so the military solution is closer. i didn't say that israel will do i didn't say that israel will do it. now israel would really prefer that the attempt to stop the iranians from building a bomb, which would really create a terrible situation in the middle east because they're not only building a bomb, they're also the center of terror. and all the leaders of our world, president obama, president medvedev, president sarkozy, they say they will not permit to have an iranian with a nuclear bomb. so we call upon them really to meet their responsibility, their promise. >> when you see the comments and behavior by president ahmadinejad, he's made no secret of the fact that he doesn't believe in the holocaust, he believes that the eradication of israel would be a good thing. when you have somebody in his position with his kind of power apparently getting nearer and nearer to a nuclear capability, are you surprised that more leaders around the world are not making a more concerted effort to get rid of him, to enforce regime change? >> i think in the beginning most of the leaders thought that it would take a longer period of time before they'll have a bomb. now with the publication of the atomic energy report we know that the time is very short and they have to take it into consideration because it's maybe too late. i wouldn't suggest to start immediately with the military operation, nothing at all. i would rather prefer to see a tighter economic sanction, a closer political pressure and what is lacking very much is an attack in a sense because iran is a spoiled country. it's morally corrupt. therefore killing the only country that threatens to destroy another country openly. they arrest the opposition. they shoot around. they spread arms. they encourage every center of terror all over the world. it's a danger. and today terror is a global matter very much like economy. they can arrive with 9/11, it can arrive to chechnyas, it can arrive to moscow. it's mobile and it's dangerous. i don't think we have to feel alone in that respect. >> the latest report suggests that iran may be 62 days away from enriching its uranium, but several years away from actually developing a fully capable nuclear weapon. but clearly, the clock is ticking here. and israel has to make a decision. could you foresee a situation where israel may take military action without the whole support of the unit or indeed america? >> israel fails to for see what the world is doing. we don't want to tramp iran. we are part of the civilization of the family of responsible countries. and we expect that the leaders that make a promise will fulfill it. >> let's turn to palestine, if we may, mr. president, were you surprised that the palestinians went directly to the u.n. in the way that they did? what is your view? >> i think they've created a mistake, but mistakes are being done by many people. it can also be done by the palestinian. i think the right way to really have a fair solution based on two states for the two people is by direct negotiation. there is no other way because an agreement is based on agreeing not on forcing. unfortunately, the unit cannot answer their expectations nor our needs. the united nations cannot create a palestinian state. they can create a declaration about a palestinian state. they can issue a paper about it. and we are talking in real and we are talking in real terms. in real terms the palestinians will meet directly. p will meet directly. i think we made progress. i think we made progress. and i are entitled to have a state of their own. i think israel morally and otherwise wouldn't like to be the master of another people. we weren't born to rule other people. so basically we agree. it's a matter of technicalities. it's a matter of security. it's a matter of definitions. and i don't say it's easy. i say it's possible and needed. >> you've written this fascinating and very moving book about your mentor, david ben-gurion. he was a heroic leader in many ways. what do you think he would have made of the fact that there is still no settlement with the palestinians so long after he started this process? >> he would concentrate on this issue as the main topic. and he would make decisions and invest energy and willpower and try to call the people to do so. he wouldn't change his mind. he was really an unusual person. he's the only leader in the 20th century that led the country that he wasn't born in. that had a war before he had an army. that became the head of an army without any experience. he was the head of a nation that was dispersed. it was a small community at the time that israel was formed. we were only 600,000 people surrounded by 40 million arabs that attacked us. and, you know, there was an embargo against it. even countries that recognized us wouldn't sell us rifles for self-defense. and he never lost his hope. so if you think, shall i say, in a cool manner we should have lost and we didn't. but i look back upon ben-gurion, i today feel that his dream was smaller than the reality that is created. a man of great courage and a human being and a democrat. >> he was certainly a remarkable man. and it's a fascinating book. ben-gurion, a political life by shimon peres. thank you for your time today. >> thank you. coming up not necessarily the news, brian williams on chelsea clinton's nbc job and his second career in comedy. gs , but it doesn't cover everything. in fact, it only pays up to 80% of your part b expenses. if you're already on or eligible for medicare, call now to find out how an aarp... medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company, helps cover some of the medical expenses... not paid by medicare part b. that can save you from paying up to thousands of dollars... out of your own pocket. these are the only medicare supplement insurance plans... exclusively endorsed by aarp. when you call now, you'll get this free information kit... with all you need to enroll. put their trust in aarp medicare supplement insurance. plus you'll get this free guide to understanding medicare. the prices are competitive. i can keep my own doctor. and i don't need a referral to see a specialist. call now to get a free information kit. plus you'll get this free guide to understanding medicare. koppel. end there. choose from a range of medicare supplement plans... that are all competitively priced. we have a plan for almost everyone, so you can find one that fits your needs and budget. with all medicare supplement plans, there are virtually no claim forms to fill out. plus you can keep your own doctor and hospital that accepts medicare. and best of all, these plans are... the only medicare supplement plans endorsed by aarp. when they told me these plans were endorsed by aarp... i had only one thing to say... sign me up. call the number on your screen now... and find out about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan. you'll get this free information kit... and guide to understanding medicare, to help you choose the plan that's right for you. as with all medicare supplement plans, you can keep your own doctor and hospital that accepts medicare, get help paying for what medicare doesn't... and save up to thousands of dollars. call this toll-free number now. koppel. koppel. >> williams. >> welcome aboard. >> kate snow. >> brian? >> harry? >> seth myers, fake news anchor. not one of ours. >> brian williams, although he may not appreciate this, has become the grand old man of american news. he's the anchor of manage can editor of "nightly news" and "rock center." not bad for a guy from new jersey whose first job was a bus boy at perkins pancake house. been a long way from that pancake house. >> yeah. can i quibble with grand old man? there's nothing grand about me whatsoever. but yes, i'm about as lucky as anyone who will ever sit in this chair across from you. >> what is the definition of news in the modern age, do you thing? >> oh, i think it's very clear. take the broadcast i do, "nbc nightly news." we are very fortunate to be the leader among three traditional network evening newscasts. it's the oldest product nbc has in a building built for the radio era, and yet we have built our audience over this past year. and my theory is that people know it when they see it, to quote the great justice potter stewart. they know our brand name. and if they come to us in the evening, they're not going to get yelled at. they're not going to hear my opinions. those are immaterial. they're going to hear the stories as we've stacked them and go through them from what happened today in america. and they know their local paper. they knowsites they like. so it's in the eye of the beholder, but we all know what the definition is. >> i'm approaching my first anniversary of my time at cnn. it struck me that it's been an unbelievable year for separate breaking news stories, but you're the guy to ask about this. has it been exceptional? >> i see our chief foreign correspondent richard engel in this building when he's in this country. and i think about the places we've been in the last decade. i think about getting ready to go out on patrol with him in iraq and afghanistan, and i think about this past spring walking with him in tahrir square the day before it went sour, the day it went sour, and then the night afterwards. and he's kind of my barometer through whom i measure all these events. piers, i would have to sit down with you -- it goes so quickly, and because i'm a day-of-air journalist, it's very common among us if you ask me, what was your lead story last thursday, i can't tell you. we hit kind of escape at the end of the day, and we start recycling for the next day literally when we get off the air. we're starting to think where to put correspondents. it's such break neck speed, but 2011, i think those magazines that come out at the end of the year -- and i'm sure your anniversary will be foremost among the stories. you'll want to get those issues of the magazine just to catch up on the break neck pace. >> i think to understand just how much of a newsman you are, i got a real insight into this because i was in london for the royal wedding earlier this year. and you flew in for that royal wedding. i think you actually turned around in your car as it sped from heathrow airport to london because you heard about this massive tornado back in the united states that had killed over 300 people. and your natural gut instinct was, sod this royal wedding. i'm going home to cover what is to me a more important story. i thought that was a very interesting barometer to the brian williams' news sense tp tell me about that. >> i wasn't doing it for any gallantry or headlines. i didn't think anyone would ever really know that i had arrived in london. i was at baggage claim, piers. i had done "nightly news" the night before. i'm a bit of a weather buff. i always have the weather channel on in my office. i had seen an f-4 or 5 tornado approaching tuscaloosa. i came out in the newsroom 6:15 eastern time and said that's a college town, population of 110,000. but by the time i went to jfk to get on my british air flight to london, we took off at 8:45, the veil had come down over tuscaloosa, no communications, no news. but 5 1/2 hours later on the baggage claim at heathrow and my blackberry is going wild with this death toll that had reached 173 people. so i called my boss who was over in london, and i got as far as a nice residential neighborhood off the motorway, and i asked the cab driver to pull over. and i said, this is our story, it's our country. i think we need to go home. i was on the ground for five hour. i got a strange look at terminal five from the people at heathrow who just saw me walk through there and i said, i need to go back to new york city. >> you established yourself very much not as the grand old man of american news but certainly i would say the most authoritative and respected anchorman in news in america now. that carries with it a particular responsibility, doesn't it? you, i know, have revered many of your predecessors. tell me about that unique place that you have as a news anchor in america? >> and first of all, no false modesty here either. let's remember that every night i face off against diane sawyer and scott pelley who are two of the best journalists in america certainly among television journalists. and let's also remember i'm about to celebrate my seventh anniversary, i guess, in the chair. my competition, when i started, that scant few years ago was dan rather and peter jennings. and we miss peter every day, but the landscape changes so quickly. it's not for everybody. i always say to people, i talk to a lot of students and i talk to our nbc page program twice a year. and i always say to them, i found you'll do better if this is what you always dreamed of doing. if you chose our occupation at career day in high school, if it was either dentistry, farming or television journalism and it sounded like a good idea to you, i think you'll fail. you have to want this for the days you're in tuscaloosa, for the days you're living on a fire base in afghanistan and for those very dangerous walks through tahrir square. >> how much of a news junkie are you? are you one of these absolute freaks that just wakes up at 6:00 a.m. like i do and start endlessly reading websites, twitter, blogs, turn on the news, then carry on all day long? are you a news adrenaline junkie? >> i am. i have your network on a lot, i have msnbc on a lot. it's not uncommon for me to have three media going at home in the evening. my wife jane is lovely and has been the most understanding woman for 25 years. i'll have my laptop open. i have my blackberry, i have my briefcase with linear versions, paper versions of newspaper websites. and i have the television on. and yes, i must know everything. i watch way too much television, way too much television. there should probably be a program that i can enter for complete immersion for two weeks. but it's a vocation and an avocation, piers. i can't imagine doing anything else. i would hope they would take me at local news, i would edit a blog, i would edit a website. i would work for my local paper. that's just a love of knowing what's going on. i've got a new york fire there should probably be a program that i can enter for complete immersion for two weeks. but it's a vocation and an avocation, piers. i can't imagine doing anything else. i would hope they would take me at local news, i would edit a blog, i would edit a website. i would work for my local paper. that's just a love of knowing what's going on. i've got a new york fire department scanner in my office. and one at home. so when i see trucks and hear sirens, i can know what they're responding to. my friend lester holt does the same thing. that's very common among us very strange news addicts. >> well, rest assured, it all goes wrong for you at "nightly news" there would always be a spot on my team at "piers morgan tonight" staff. when we come back, we'll talk about the penn state scandal. with crest 3d white professional effects whitestrips. it penetrates below the enamel surface to whiten as well as a $500 dentist treatment. the secret's in the strip. crest 3d white professional effects whitestrips. life opens up when you do. try smart balance buttery spread. it's heart-healthier than butter. with omega-3s. 64% less saturated fat. and clinically proven to help support healthy cholesterol. ♪ put a little love in your heart ♪ okay... uhh. the bad news, it's probably totaled. the good news is, you don't have to pay your deductible. with vanishing deductible from nationwide insurance, you got $100 off for every year of safe driving, so now your deductible is zero. the other good news ? 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[ female announcer ] the travelocity guarantee. from the price to the room to the trip you'll never roam alone. back with my special guest brian williams. this whole penn state scandal has gathered real momentum and has said a lot, really, i think about the american psyche, about the