university sports program. a coach is faced on leave and we will hear from a friend of the accuser. it's called 821. you probably haven't heard about it. a united nations development program has become a code word for conservatives and newt gingrich is taking full advantage. >> i'm wolf blitzer. you're in the "situation room." first, herman cain. he certainly has become the first of the 2012 republican presidential candidates to get protection from the secret service. there are some questions about the timing and reasons why. herman cain himself is due to meet with reporters live this hour. we will hear the q&a. we will go to joe johns looking into this story. what do we know? >> reporter: cain is the first to get this protection but not going to be the last. we all know that. frankly it is to be expected, doing well in the polls and qualifies as a major candidate. when and why certain presidential candidates get secret service protection may seem like a big mystery. it's not supposed to be. sources inside the government confirm herman cain has gotten a number of unspecified threats, apparently some online. author ronald castler has written about the secret service, just a suggestion of harm that doesn't have to be specific is enough to get the service involved. >> generally, it's a matter of threats. the secret service doesn't like to say that. i'm quite sure in this case there were threats, just as there were with barack obama when he got protection early on in march of 2007. there were not specific credible threats but there were threats on the internet white supremacist websites ins the case of obama. >> we found derisive comments about cain but no throats on the white supremacist websites. they were far more critical of obama than herman cain. the secretary of homeland security can authorizes it after talking to the speaker of the house and top party leaders of congress. we reached out to four of them. nancy pelosi and mitch mcconnell's office responded saying they don't discuss any aspects of security period which is probably how chicane program should have handled the program but didn't by telling the "washington post" cain was getting a secret service detail because of his intense media coverage. they quickly changed his story and sources strongly deny media coverage had anything to do with secret service protection. the service again would not comment. kesler says that doesn't even sound right. >> they're not glorified security guards, they're there to prevent assassinations. i'm sure the secret service was a little chagrinned to hear them describe this protection in that wa way. >> it's taxpayers who pay for this, not the campaign. there are benefits to the candidate, of course. it makes it's easier to get through airports, find parking places and certainly a lot more security, but on the other hand, a lot of candidates try to wait as long as possible before getting protection because of the privacy issues involved, wolf. >> i know you've been looking into this, joe. the element of race, he's the only black candidate on the republican part. has that been a factor? hasn't been a factor? what do you think? >> reporter: there certainly have been questions raised whether it's a factor. as you know, there's a bit of skepticism out there about herman cain, african-american candidates in general in some quarters and certainly the fact that he is an african-american republican running for the office of president of the united states. so we'd like to hear more from him about where these threats come from, but beyond that, it's not a simple answer, at least for right now. >> not simple, but my theory and all of us who have worked with the secret service and presidential candidates over the years, better to be safe rather than sorry if there's any doubt at all, any question of a candidate's security, get the secret service involved early and often. >> absolutely right. >> thanks very much. a war over e-mails has now broken out between mitt romney and democrats including a successor as the massachusetts governor. each side wants to see the other's records. in romney's case, those records may -- may have been destroyed. jessica is here in the "situation room" and ready to explain what's going on. go ahead and explain. >> reporter: first of all, no one in this case is accused of breaking the law. who considers a fight over computer hard drives sexy? but that's what we're talking about. it's a scuffle over e-mails among the romney campaign, president obama's top political aides and the current general of massachusetts. really, it's a potential general election fight taking shape. >> reporter: mitt romney launched the first attack blasting off a warning to governor duval patrick. it's clear this office has become an opposition research arm of the obama re-election campaign, requesting copies of all e-mail correspondence, phone logs and contacts between the president's top political aides and the governor's office since 2007. the chair of the democratic national committee scoffed. >> that's an interesting distraction. >> reporter: her group fired back with a request for all electronic correspondence from the romney administration with these carefully chosen words. delete e-mails, destroy records, flip-flop, change position, ranked 47th in job creation. to the romney campaign, that's a sign of fear. >> the last thing they want to do is run against mitt romney in the general election. >> reporter: it all started with this "boston globe" article revealing at the end of romney's term as massachusetts governor, 11 of his top aides purchased their state issued computer hard drives and the romney administration's e-mails were all wiped from a server. the current democratic governor, duval patrick has been bombarded with inquiries for records from the romney era and has no electronic record ofny romney administration e-mails. governor patrick is a friend of president obama and expected to campaign for him in 2012. democrats say the romney wipe is unprecedented. >> mitt romney was planning to run for president towards the end of his administration and the public has the right to know what kinds of communication were going on while he was beginning to plan that campaign. it is absolutely unkconscionabl, inexcusable that records from -- of those conversations or of any conversations would have been wiped clean from servers. >> reporter: but the romney campaign says it was all legal and -- >> the obama administration is a very large organization and they're going to spend millions of dollars, if not a billion dollars in order to hold on to power. they will say and do anything to hold onto their power. in this case, they have deployed or activated the patrick administration to do their dirty wor work. >> all this plays into a larger dynamic on the political scene, which is that the obama campaign team is focusing heavily on mitt romney, trying to define him early as a candidate, with in their words, no core value, a flip-flopper, you heard the words the dnc included in their legal information request. the romney campaign, they're fighting a primary battle and rarely engage with the obama folks. when they do, as in this instance, it gives you a taste just how nasty a general election fight between obama and romney would be. >> it could be brutal, probably a lot more intense than the obama-mccain fight was given the stakes involved. >> no question about it. it will be brutal. >> if romney gets this. >> if. that would be a brutal fight. >> thank you. the congressional all-star team assigned to find a fix for the nation's debt problems may be heading for failure right now. the so-called super committee has just five day left to come up with a plan of trimming the deficit by 1$1.2 trillion over 0 years, otherwise, painful spending cuts are scheduled to go into effect. kate joins us. it's not necessarily looking all that promising right now. what do you know about the latest in these intense negotiations? >> reporter: hey there, wolf, things are beginning to look grim on capitol hill. it does appear as if the super committee is headed toward failure, a big if, if negotiations do not shift dramatically in the final few days. as evidence of that, we learned recently negotiations between republicans and democratic leaders but those negotiations seem to have also fallen apart. republicans pitched a much smaller package of spending cuts with very little revenue and democrats dismissed that as saying more revenue would be needed in that package for the deal to go through. that really shows where things have fallen apart all along and deadlocked this committee largely over the issue of taxes. democrats say more revenue, tax increases need to be part of any package for it to be part of the quote-unquote balanced approach they're calling for. republicans remain just as firmly against tax increases unless they are part of a much broader process of tax reform that would lower overall rates. listen to the republican and democratic co-chairs of the super committee for the latest, wol wolf. >> we are painfully, painfully aware of the deadline staring us in the face. we have 12 good people who have worked hard since this committee has been created to try to find sufficient common ground for an agreement that would simultaneously address both our nation's job crisis and the debt crisis. >> clearly, there is a major concession on our part to meet them dollar for dollar on entitlements and spending cuts, not policy for policy but dollar for dollar on those issues. where the divide is right now is on taxes and whether or not the weal wealthiest americans should star in the sacrifice all of us have to make. that's the decision. it's what we're waiting for. i remain hopeful. >> you hear senator patty murray say right there she is hopeful. i will caution both sides say they are talking, both sides say they are still working and will work right up to the deadline. as you well know, wolf, congress loves a deadline and these big congressional negotiations often go into the 11th hour before there is that magical break through. it's not worthy a lot of thing stalk has largely shifted from, how can we get a deal? can we get a deal a minimum of 1.2 trillion in deficit savings shifting more to how can we lessen the blow, if at all of that trigger, when it sets in if the committee does not meet its deadline wednesday. wolf. >> we will stay closely in touch with you throughout the weekend monday and tuesday. thanks. we're standing by. >> herm: sta standing by herm d ing bherman meet with authorities and talk about the decision to put him under secret service protection. get ready for that. a new twist in the penn state university child sex abuse scandal and huge implication. a similar scandal erupted at another major university, syracuse university with the coach put on leave. a lot more coming up on the "situation room." tltltltle emotional here? aren't you getting a little industrial? okay, there's enough energy right here in america. yeah, over 100 years worth. okay, so you mean you just ignore the environment. actually, it's cleaner. and, it provides jobs. and it helps our economy. okay, i'm listening. [announcer] at conoco phillips we're helping power america's economy with cleaner affordable natural gas... more jobs, less emissions, a good answer for everyone. so, by reducing the impact of production... and protecting our land and water... i might get a job once we graduate. it's me? alright emma, i know it's not your favorite but it's time for your medicine, okay? you ready? one, two, three. [ both ] ♪ emma, emma bo-bemma ♪ banana-fana-fo-femma ♪ fee-fi-fo-femma ♪ em-ma very good sweety, how do you feel? good. yeah? you did a really good job, okay? let's go back to drawing. ♪ [ gong ] strawberry banana! [ male announcer ] for a smoothie with real fruit plus veggie nutrition new v8 v-fusion smoothie. could've had a v8. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 you and your money deserve. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 at charles schwab, that means taking a close look at you tdd# 1-800-345-2550 as well as your portfolio. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 we ask the right questions, tdd# 1-800-345-2550 then we actually listen to the answers tdd# 1-800-345-2550 before giving you practical ideas you can act on. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 so talk to chuck online, on the phone, tdd# 1-800-345-2550 or come in and pull up a chair. and last chance at medicare open enrollment, too. what do you mean? it ends december 7th. if you haven't reviewed your medicare plan choices yet, well, it's getting late. medicare gives you free cancer screenings and wellness visits, and 50% off brand name prescription drugs when you're in the donut hole... it's all part of the health care law. december 7th? i better get goin'! [ male announcer ] medicare open enrollment ends soon. call 1-800-medicare or visit medicare.gov to learn more. 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 ? i held on to your coffee. wow. ♪ nationwide is on your side ( laughing ) it's actually a pretty good day when you consider. that's great. the ncaa just informed penn state university it will evaluate the accountability swirling around jerry sandusky. working this new development for us, in pennsylvania, what are you finding out, mike? >> reporter: wolf, i'm pouring over this three page letter sent out by the ncaa and there are four questions at the end penn state has to answer by december 16th. let me read you one passage that directly deals with the head coach, joe paterno. it shall be the responsibility of an institution's head coach to promote an atmosphere for comply ens within a program, supervised by the coach and monitor activities of compliance by all assistant coaches and administers involved with the program who report directly or indirectly with the coach. joe paterno is in the eye of that passage. it talks about moral values. you have to do more than avoid improper conduct or questionable acts. i mention the four at the end. penn state, did they exercise institutional control. the fourth question, what policies and do they have to monitor and identify with the grand jury report and wraps up with the convicting line saying we need to encourage behaviors that lift up young people, rather than making them victims. that from the ncaa is how they launched the investigation and those questions need to be answered by the 16th. there is a statement from penn state saying this, president erickson said it will be important for penn state to co-op rate fully with the ncaa and the university is perfectly in line to prevent anything similar from happening again. penn state here as i stand in the midst of it, turning into a ghost town, get out of here thanksgiving break and that's the reaction. >> are they saying anything in that letter for possible punishment for penn state university if they find at the highest levels of the football program or others were derelict? >> no specific punishments mentioned, wolf, you know what those could be? ban from bowl game, loss of scholarships and there was a talk of a potential death penalty, a media term not ana term, basically, penn state could not play football for up to a year. being in and around penn state, couldn't imagine, look this way and this way, five to ten penn state stores already rocked but already rocked with this scandal. >> with the fans at every home game, it has been going on for years and years. we'll stay in touch. thank you. a similar scandal is now exploding at syracuse university. the assistant basketball coach, bernie fine has been put on administrative leave after accusations that he inproechtly touched two boys starting two decades ago. aeryn burnett, you spoke to a close friend of one of those accusers. what did he say and why now? >> actually, spoke to a close friend of bernie fein, someone who knew him for 25 years and what kind of person he was. and the college football hall of fame er knew fein well and spent most of his life as an advocate for things such as child sexual abuse in male sports. he said he would be shocked and thought he would be exonerated and never heard anything like this. i take to others that said no other men have come forward about associate coach fine since this came out last night. it is interesting as we start to think how prevalent this might be on one hand and the other hand, potential and fear of false accusations out there. syracuse university, as you know, one of these boys had come forward now men in 2005. the school spent four months interviewing people around coach fine to see if anything happened. they came to the conclusion nothing unto ward had occurred. only in the past few days, a second man came forward actually related to the first man to allege he was also abused by coach fine. that was when coach fine was put on administrative leave. it's unclear what happened here and they will be looking into it from the police perspective. the background is interesting. curious to think about what more we will hear from other schools across the country. >> aeryierin, hold on a second. >> this is cnn breaking news. >> cnn has now confirmed the news that the former head football coach of penn state university, joe paterno is now suffering from what is being described as a treatable form of lung cancer. we just got that information from our contributor. mike galanos is still an over at penn state for us. he's 84 years old. all of us with coach paterno only the best. this is a dramatic development and might explain some of the stuff going on lately. a treatable form of lung cancer. we're not exactly sure what that means. maybe it means he will get surgery or something like that. do we know anything else, mike? >> reporter: no. that's it, wolf. we just got that information as i stand right in front of penn state university and to many, a beloved joe paterno, as you mentioned, a treatable form of lung cancer. this community still rocks. i had a chance to be on a radio program. it's a weary community and not sure how they're taking this news. they want to be sure to thank joe paterno for all the years he has done besides a scandal. one person got on the phone and said he's done more for penn state than any coach in the country. >> give us a little perspective. you've covered penn state football over the years. so have i. i don't think we can overexaggerate how significant joe paterno's legacy at penn state has been and why this whole development in recent days, tragedy, sexual abuse scandal and resignation, how that has tarnished arguably the most stellar football coach record in american history. >> reporter: again, scandal aside, wolf, to add to your perspective on this, these students i talked to, were so saddened. they love joe paterno. in a sense, he's a father or grandfather figure. i walked in front of that stadium. there's a statute of joe paterno. the basic sentiment is i want to be remembered who made penn state a better place and wasn't just a football coach, the direct quote there. this community takes a hit as a man they revered for so long will now battle a treatable form of lung cancer. >> we wish him the best. we go to sources close to joe paterno. cnn has confirmed former penn state football coach, joe paterno has been diagnosed with what has been described as a treatable form of lung cancer. we'll stay on top of this story. newt gingrich and something called agenda 21, why he keeps mentioning it and why tea party activist, among others, they are paying close attention. lots of news happening right here on the "situation room." [ male announcer ] juice drink too watery? ♪ feel the power my young friend.