about an incident from 12 years ago? >> apparently, cain did. >> once i referenced this lady's height and i was standing near her and i did this, saying, "you're the same height as my wife," obviously, she thought that that was too close for comfort. >> politico's chief investigative reporter ken vogel co-authored the story with jonathan martin and two other reporters. ken, let's just start with your reaction to herman cain's day yesterday. what's your take on it? >> well, i've got to agree with some of the other pundits whose comments you excerpted there in the lead, he's botched the response. he had ten days. we contacted him ten days before we published this story with specific allegations that had been relayed by multiple sources. they refused to comment. initially, they denied all knowledge of this. then they said that herman cain had some vague recollection of it. but as you saw right before we published this story, he refused to say whether he had ever even been accused of sexual harassment. so, as this sort of array of interviews progressed yesterday and you saw his story change, it's kind of difficult to know where he now stands and what he did know and what he didn't know. >> okay, what are the chances that one of these women violates the nondisclosure agreement, comes forward and tells us more about what really happened? >> well, we have been extremely careful with their identities not to reveal them, both out of concerns for their own privacy as well as out of concerns for the nondisclosure agreements that they signed. however, we did, in fact, view one of these settlements and saw the nondisclosure language as well as some of the specific documented allegations that the woman made against herman cain. we reviewed that. that was what was part of what made us comfortable publishing this story as to whether these women are going to decide that they want to come forward and need to come forward, because you can't forget, herman cain in one of these interviews yesterday described one of these women's performances as not up to par. so, he is personally bringing them into the story the way they hadn't previously been, because we decided to protect them. if they decide to come forward, certainly his comments might give them fodder to do so. >> we know the settlement you saw was a five-figure settlement. are we talking upper or lower five figures? >> we're not going to get into the specifics. >> okay. >> we are going to protect the sources and protect the details that they agreed to allow us to divulge. >> herman cain, he's been married more than 40 years. we haven't seen his wife much at all on the campaign trail. yesterday, through one of the interviews, we learned that we are going to be seeing her soon. how far do you think that will go in helping the cain campaign move past this? >> well, certainly, they haven't done a good job moving past it thus far, and you know, in these types of situations, there is a long and established track record of spouses standing by their accused spouses, and you know, that has been shown, if history is any example, to help these folks weather these kinds of storms. you know, we saw it in cases, the classic case is hillary clinton standing by bill clinton. more recently, we saw the opposite. we saw representative anthony weiner's wife not standing by him. and of course, he ended up not weathering the storm, and in fact, resigning from congress. >> ken vogel of politico, thank you so much. can we expect an update here any time soon? >> we're diligently tracking down various lines of inquiry we have out there and hope to continue following this story and updating our readers on it. >> thank you, sir. appreciate it. in the middle of dealing with harassment allegations, the cain campaign is being scrutinized over ties to a wisconsin charity as well. political watchdog columnist daniel bice wrote about this for the "milwaukee journal sentinel." daniel, what's this all about? >> mark block, who's the campaign chief of staff for herman cain, set up a non-profit last year. and someone gave me the internal records and we were able to see that the campaign was paying for ipads, chartered flights, trips to iowa and las vegas for the cain campaign. and in the records, they said they were owed by the cain campaign about $40,000. no one knew about this and the only way we were able to discover this is through the internal records for the organization. >> has there been a response at this point? we should note here that we reached out to the cain campaign. we have not heard from them regarding this particular fallout -- this particular scandal, potential scandal. have you guys heard from the cain campaign? >> actually, the cain campaign have been very bad at responding to us. i first contacted the chief of staff and the deputy chief of staff in august when i got some of the records, but i see the announcement today that they've hired outside counsel to scrutinize this. so, that's the most recent development. >> the charity in question, it's called prosperity usa, founded by mark block, deputy chief of staff, linda hanson as well. i understand that that organization, that group is now apparently defunct? >> yeah, you can't find any evidence of it anywhere. but it was affiliated with americans for prosperity, which is where mark block worked before he went to work for herman cain. they decided to set these groups up, and the intent was to be involved and to try to turn wisconsin into a more republican state. but clearly, most of the spending was done for herman cain and for his purposes. for instance, they spent money to pay the singer who came up with the theme song for the cain campaign, so -- >> how much? just out of curiosity, how much? >> -- they've spent money on a number of things. $3,000. >> all right, daniel bice, thank you. the obama justice department taking aim at south carolina's tough, new immigration law now which requires police to check on a suspect's immigration status. joined now by nbc news justice correspondent pete williams. pete, this is the third state now. >> third and probably not the last one. the justice department has indicated that it's looking also at recently passed state laws in utah, indiana and georgia. now, those laws are all in various stages of legal action because they've been challenged by other groups. and so, the enforcement of those laws have been to some extent interrupted by the courts, but the justice department says it still might sue them. south carolina, they say the same problem as alabama and arizona, two other states the government has sued. they say states are not free under our system to have their own immigration laws that are at odds with the federal immigration law and federal policies that try to balance a number of interests. and so, the justice department has sued seeking a court's order to block enforcement of this new south carolina law that's to take effect in january. south carolina says that if the federal government would just do its job, the states wouldn't have to pass these kinds of laws, but the justice department said yesterday that one of the things they've said in south carolina is their goal is to have a very tough law so that any potential illegal immigrants will go to other states, and that's one of the things that the justice department says is a problem, that you can't have all the states trying to push illegal immigrants into the other states. that's not a way to handle the problem. but it does seem clear that the number is three and there may be more, craig. and by the way, we are also waiting to see whether arizona will get the supreme court to take up the appeal of its case. two lower federal courts have blocked enforcements of parts of arizona's law. arizona is appealing, asking the supreme court to take that up. if the court does take that case, that will say a lot about what's going to happen to these other laws around the country. >> we did get a statement, a response from the governor of south carolina. her spokesperson issued this response, in response to the justice department lawsuit. "if the feds were doing their job, we wouldn't have had to address illegal immigration reform at a state level, but until they do, we're going to keep fighting in south carolina to be able to enforce our laws." pete, at this point, it looks like this is probably ultimately going to end up at the high court, right? >> well, you know, potentially. >> okay. >> we'll see if they take the arizona law. if not, then it's going to be a while before we'll see whether they'll take one of these other laws. >> pete williams in d.c. for us this afternoon. pete, thanks. >> you bet. the super committee to cut the federal deficit is holding an important public hearing today. it's going to hear from lawmakers who say that it's time to stop treating social security and taxes like sacred cows. i'm joined by nbc news capitol hill correspondent kelly o'donnell. kelly what can we expect to hear today? >> reporter: well, craig, what makes this interesting is the supercommittee has done a lot of its work in private, with small meetings, meeting with their leadership. this puts them front and center and on camera. and part of what they'll be hearing is sort of an admonition from two people who have been through this process themselves, erskine bowles and allan simpson, bipartisan work they had done to try to come one some answers on what to do to save the country from a crushing debt. they'll get a bit of an earful today because those two, republican and democrat, big voices on this issue, are going to encourage the committee to be mindful that if this committee fails, that it could result in another downgrade of the u.s. credit rating. that could spiral into other problems. also cautioning them to say they've got to do something with revenues, that buzz word of the day, tax increases, or an expansion of the tax base which would bring in more money but not necessarily raise rates. and they're talking about social security, too, that people who earn more may need to pay more or have some of their benefits scaled in later. those are some of the recommendations. the committee still has a lot to do on this. it seems from people we talk to they aren't as far along as maybe we hoped. craig? >> kelly, politically, the lawmakers who are on this committee, if they are not able to craft an agreement by thanksgiving, will there be political consequences for the folks who are on that committee? >> reporter: well, that's one of the things we've talked about. and when you look at the democrats on the house side, they're actually drawn from leadership, so they're already people who are held accountable in many ways by their fellow democrats or by voters because of the leadership position. then you look at someone like john kerry, who has a very big job as chairman of the foreign relations committee. is he risking himself politically by being on this? on the republican side, you have members who are saying that no way, no how will they deal with new taxes. could there be a price there? so, they all knew getting on this committee that there was a chance it might be kind of a lead brick around their neck. the upside is it also could be a sign of some statesmanship, if they are able to get something done that people here can live with that can move the ball forward. >> nbc's kelly o'donnell on capitol hill talking about the supercommittee there. at this point it doesn't sound like it's so super just yet. thank you, kelly, appreciate it. >> reporter: we're working our way to that. thanks. >> hopefully. new fears today that troubles in greece could spell trouble for the entire global financial system, and the u.s. markets are reacting, as you might imagine. greece shocked the world today by announcing that it will let the public vote on its latest plan to save money in that country. if the plan is rejected by voters, greece could default on its debt. let's go ahead and take a look at how the markets in this country are reacting right now. as you can see there, the dow right now down close to 270, s&p down nearly 32, nasdaq down nearly 75. meanwhile, crowds gathering in the south of france ahead of this week's g-20 summit there. protest organizers say they expect somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000 people to take part in today's march against capitalism. world leaders start their meetings thursday. and amid harsh criticism, bank of america says it is dropping its plan to charge customers 5 bucks a month to use their debit cards to make purchases. the move comes after several rivals decided in recent days to also drop consumer tests of the new bank fees. bank of america issued this statement a short time ago, saying, "we have listened to our customers very closely over the last few weeks and recognize their concern with our proposed debit usage fee. our customers' voices are most important to us. as a result, we are not currently charging the fee and will not be moving forward with any additional plans to do so." still ahead, will conrad murray take the stand in his own defense in the michael jackson wrongful death trial? why he's even thinking about it. we'll talk about that. plus, meet jon huntsman's daughters. they sit down with our own chris jansing as they hit the campaign trail for their dad. uh, i'm in a timeout because apparently riding the dog like it's a small horse is frowned upon in this establishment! luckily though, ya know, i conceal this bad boy underneath my blanket just so i can get on e-trade. check my investment portfolio, research stocks... wait, why are you taking... oh, i see...solitary. just a man and his thoughts. and a smartphone... with an e-trade app. ♪ nobody knows... [ male announcer ] e-trade. investing unleashed. her morning begins with arthritis pain. that's a coffee and two pills. the afternoon tour begins with more pain and more pills. the evening guests arrive. back to sore knees. back to more pills. the day is done but hang on... her doctor recommended aleve. just 2 pills can keep arthritis pain away all day with fewer pills than tylenol. this is lara who chose 2 aleve and fewer pills for a day free of pain. [ female announcer ] get money saving coupons at aleve.com. to bring you a low-priced medicare prescription drug plan. ♪ with the lowest national plan premium... ♪ ...and copays as low as one dollar... ♪ ...saving on medicare prescriptions is easy. ♪ so you're free to focus on the things that really matter. call humana at 1-800-808-4003. or go to walmart.com for details. ♪ ♪ ♪ walk, little walk ♪ small talk, big thoughts ♪ gonna tell them all just what i want ♪ ♪ i said don't stop, don't stop ♪ ♪ don't stop talking to me [ male announcer ] the most headroom per dollar of any car in america. the all-new nissan versa sedan. from $10,990. innovation upsized. innovation for all. ♪ until this week, herman cain's most memorable campaign moment was that smoking video starring his chief of staff. it was mocked on all of the late-night shows, even by the daughters of one of his competitors, former governor and ambassador jon huntsman. ♪ i am america, one voice united we stand ♪ >> joining me, chris jansing, host of "jansing & co." welcome. you got to talk to these girls. >> yeah, they came in. >> what'd they say about the video? what'd they say about how this thing came about? >> what surprised me about it, because there were actually a number of journalists invited to a lunch yesterday with them and their mom, and that's how i met them. and i said to their mom, you know, this video's a little irreverent, and they do some other irreverent things. and i said do they run this by you first? and she said no, i didn't see it, john didn't see it. they just kind of came one this idea, they thought it was funny, and i do think it speaks to a part of the population that a lot of people are questioning now. they were, you know, young people were inspired by barack obama in 2008. will they come out and, you know, these daughters are very attractive, let's be honest, and they're a lot of fun. so you know, maybe they can help their dad. >> yeah, and they seem like they've got a lot of charisma and personality about them. what else do they have to say about the video? >> well, that they had a lot of fun with it. i think that one of the things that -- and i've been covering campaigns for many, many years -- it's harder, i think, for the families in many cases than for the politician, and it's exhausted, it's grueling, and it's hard when your dad is like their dad is, frankly, struggling to even stay in this race. >> very much so. >> his poll numbers are very low. so they decided if we're going to go out, we're going to work hard, we're just going to have some fun with it, and that's what they did. >> let's listen to the girls on "jansing & co." >> you know, i think -- i mean, i don't know about you, but i'm kind of getting a stiff neck watching all the different front-runners, you know, coming up. i mean, we've had a different front-runner every week, it seems like. so you know, but you know, we're having fun being out there with us girls trying to promote our father, you know. >> and off of that comment from mitt romney, i think, you know, while we are having a little fun, at the same time, our relationship with china is so important, and i think our dad brings something to the table that none of the other candidates do, and that's just an experience on the world stage. and that's kind of what we're trying to send in our message as well. when it comes to something dealing with china or overseas, we feel that our dad has the experience to really be talking about these issues and moving our country forward in that direction. >> you've got to wonder if we're going to be seeing more of the huntsman daughters. >> you will. look, here's what they said -- and they say it in this funny little spoof video that they do -- we are shamelessly promoting our father. you know, they make no mistake about that. you know, if you know a little bit about presidential history or you've lived a while, you've seen it in some campaigns past. some kids of presidential wannabes have been a problem, frankly, for their families, maybe had a different political point of view or said some things or done some things. these three young women obviously love their dad, they think he'd be a great president, and they're going to be out there. so, we were glad they came in and they were a lot of fun. we'll see. look, they're also very smart, so they know he's got, let's just say a very tough road ahead of him. >> kind of surprised we didn't see them sooner. >> you know, i am, too, i am, too, that they didn't get them out there because they are a lot of fun and they're very charismatic. if you follow them on twitter, if nothing else, they'll give you a laugh every single day. >> chris jansing, thank you. you can catch "jansing & co." weekday mornings, 10:00 a.m. eastern right here on msnbc. we continue to follow a developing story. a boeing 767 that took off from newark, new jersey, landed on its belly in warsaw, poland, this morning. the landing gear failed. passengers fled the plane, but the polish airline that operates the flight said that no one was hurt. [ ben harper's "amen omen" playing ] we believe doing the right thing never goes unnoticed. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? free gold ! we call that hertz gold plus rewards. you earn free days, free weeks and more fast. that's a plus. upgrade your ride. that's a plus. rewards with no blackout dates so you can redeem anytime. and it's easy to redeem your points online. already a gold member ? just select gold plus rewards in your profile and start rewarding yourself now. just go to hertzgoldplusrewards.com to join. hertz gold plus rewards. j