PBS NewsHour; November 2, 2011 3:00pm-4:00pm PDT

Captioning sponsored by MacNEIL/LEHRER PRODUCTIONS

>> Brown: EUROPEAN LEADERS HELD A HIGH STAKES MEETING WITH GREECE'S PRIME MINISTER TODAY, AS THEY STRUGGLED TO HOLD TOGETHER A DEAL TO RESCUE THE TROUBLED GREEK ECONOMY. GOOD EVENING, I'M JEFFREY BROWN.

>> Suarez: AND I'M RAY SUAREZ. ON THE "NEWSHOUR" TONIGHT, WE HAVE REPORTS FROM CANNES, FRANCE WHERE THE G-20 SUMMIT BEGINS TOMORROW AND FROM ATHENS WHERE VOTERS MAY EVENTUALLY GET THEIR SAY ON THE BAILOUT.

>> Brown: THEN, WE LOOK AT THE BLOODY CIVIL WAR IN SYRIA AS THE ARAB LEAGUE PUSHES A PEACE PLAN TO END THE VIOLENCE.

>> Suarez: FROM CALIFORNIA, SPENCER MICHELS REPORTS ON A STRIKE BY THE OCCUPY OAKLAND MOVEMENT THAT HAS SHUT DOWN BUSINESSES, SCHOOLS AND ONE OF THE NATION'S BUSIEST PORTS.

>> Brown: WE UPDATE THE HERMAN CAIN STORY, AS A THIRD FEMALE EMPLOYEE SAID SHE CONSIDERED FILING A COMPLAINT ABOUT SEXUALLY SUGGESTIVE BEHAVIOR IN THE WORKPLACE.

>> Suarez: MARGARET WARNER GETS THE LATEST ON THE ARREST OF FOUR GEORGIA MEN CHARGED WITH PLOTTING A TERROR ATTACK USING A TOXIC PROTEIN CALLED RICIN.

>> Brown: AND WE TALK TO NATHAN WOLFE-- A BIOLOGIST AND AUTHOR WHO TRACKS NEW AND DEADLY PATHOGENS

>> THESE VIRUSES CAN SPREAD IN A DAY AROUND THE WORLD.

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>> Suarez: THE PRIME MINISTER OF GREECE GEORGE PAPANDREOU FLEW TO FRANCE LATE TODAY TO EXPLAIN HIS SUDDEN CALL FOR A REFERENDUM ON A NEW EUROPEAN BAILOUT. THE LEADERS OF FRANCE AND GERMANY NICOLAS SARKOZY AND ANGELA MERKEL AWAITED ANSWERS, AT CANNES, ON THE FRENCH RIVIERA. WE HAVE TWO REPORTS FROM "INDEPENDENT TELEVISION NEWS" BEGINNING WITH GARY GIBBON.

>> Reporter: GERMAN CHANCELLOR AND THE FRENCH PRESIDENT MET IN CANNES AHEAD OF THEIR EMERGENCY TALKS WITH THE GREEK PRIME MINISTER. THEY WANT THE GREEK GREEK REFERENDUM TO HAPPEN SOONER RATHER THAN LATER. IT COULD NOW BE NEXT MONTH. THEY ALSO WANT THE GREEKS TO BE ASKED A STARK QUESTION ABOUT WHETHER THEY WANT TO STAY IN THE EURO. A GREEK GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN TONIGHT SAID, THAT WON'T HAPPEN AND REFERENDUM QUESTION WILL BE ON THE BAILOUT DEAL. EARLIER IN BERLIN WELCOMING THE TURKISH PRIME MINISTER ANGELA MERKEL SAID, GERMANY URGENTLY NEEDED TO KNOW WHERE GREECE WAS HEADING.

>> ( translated ): WE HAVE TO HAVE CLARITY ABOUT WHAT IS COMING NEXT, CHANCELLOR MERKEL SAID. LAST WEEK, WE AGREED ON A PROGRAM WITH GREECE AND THE E.U. AND I CAN SPEAK FOR GERMANY HERE, WE WANT TO IMPLEMENT THE PROGRAM.

>> Reporter: IN ANOTHER CURTAIN RAISER TO TONIGHT TALKS IN CANNES, THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT CAME CLOSE TO CALLING FOR A GOVERNMENT OF NATIONAL UNITY IN GREECE AND HE WARNED OF DIRE CONSEQUENCES IF GREECE DOESN'T STICK TO THE EURO BAILOUT DEAL. CONDITIONS FOR GREEK CITIZENS WILL BECOME MUCH MORE PAINFUL, PARTICULARLY FOR THE MOST VULNERABLE. THE CONSEQUENCES WILL BE IMPOSSIBLE TO FORESEE. THAT IS WHY I CALL ON THE GREEK GOVERNMENT AND ALL POLITICAL LEADERS OF GREECE TO SHOW THAT THEY ARE READY TO WORK FOR NATIONAL UNITY, NATIONAL POLITICAL UNITY.

>> Reporter: WAY BEYOND THE AS PRESIDENT HU ARRIVED IN CANNES, THE CHINESE OFFICIAL NEWS AGENCY CALLED ON GREECE TO DROP ITS REFERENDUM. BEHIND THE SCENES EUROPE'S LEADERS HAVE MADE SIMILAR PRIVATE APPEALS. BUT ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, THROUGH A REFERENDUM OR AN ELECTION, THE ODDS RIGHT NOW ARE THAT THE GREEK PEOPLE PROBABLY WILL GET THEIR SAY WHETHER THE EUROZONE LIKES IT OR NOT.

>> Brown: IN GREECE TODAY, THERE WAS GROWING POLITICAL TURMOIL IN THE WAKE OF PRIME MINISTER PAPANDREOU'S CALL FOR A VOTE ON THE BAILOUT PLAN. OUR SECOND REPORT IS FROM FAISAL ISLAM, IN ATHENS.

>> Reporter: ANOTHER EXPERIMENT IN DEMOCRACY IN THE PLACE OF ITS BIRTH. THE GREEK PARLIAMENT KNOW DEBATING THE SURVIVAL OF AN EMBATTLED GOVERNMENT AFTER THE SHOCK DECISION TO SEND ITS CAREFULLY NEGOTIATED BAILOUT TO THE CONSENT OF THE PEOPLE. THE RESPONSE IN THE GREEK PRESS: UNIVERSALLY HOSTILE. TRAITOR, SAYS THIS HEADLINE. COUNTRY AND GOVERNMENT IN NERVOUS BREAKDOWN SAYS THIS ONE. ARE YOU GOING TO VOTE YES OR NO?

>> I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M GOING TO VOTE BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW WHAT EXACTLY IS GOING TO ASK FROM US.

>> Reporter: ARE PEOPLE ANGRY WITH PAPANDREOU?

>> OF COURSE THEY'RE ANGRY.

>> Reporter: YES, OR NO?

>> ( translated ): YES, I'LL VOTE YES.

>> Reporter: WHY?

>> ( translated ): BECAUSE I THINK FOR PAPANDREOU TO DO THIS HE MUST BE IN A DIFFICULT POSITION. THEY CORNERED HIM. SOMETHING'S GOING ON. HE'S NOT DOING IT TO HURT HIS COUNTRY.

>> Reporter: GEORGE PAPANDREOU HAS NOW HITCHED HIS FUTURE OF THE SINGLE CURRENCY AND THE WORLD ECONOMY TO THE BEWILDERED LOCALS AT THIS SMALL BUT ANCIENT NATION. THE EURO AND THE DRACHMA SIDE BY SIDE, NO LONGER JUST A CONSEQUENCE OF COIN COLLECTING BUT A PLAUSIBLE OUTCOME OF THIS CRISIS AND A DANGEROUS GAMBLE SAYS GREECE'S OPPOSITION LEADER.

>> ( translated ): THE GOVERNMENT IS BLACKMAILING THE PEOPLE TO ACCEPT THE BAILOUT PACKAGE AND ITS MISTAKEN POLICY AT THE SAME TIME AND IT'S TAKING A RISK THAT THE PEOPLE WILL REJECT THE BAILOUT PACKAGE ALONG WITH THE POLICIES WHICH COULD PUT GREECE'S MEMBERSHIP IN THE EURO ZONE IN DANGER AS WELL AS THE EURO ZONE ITSELF.

>> Reporter: GIVEN THAT, WHY DID GREECE'S PRIME MINISTER GAMBLE THIS COUNTRY'S RELATIVE PROSPERITY ON AN UNANNOUNCED REFERENDUM ABOUT WHAT WHICH HE FAILED TO INFORM HIS OWN FINANCE MINISTER.

>> IT'S REALLY, I THINK, A PRIME MINISTER THAT'S TRYING TO SHAKE THE PACK AND SEE HOW THE CARDS FALL AND HE'S HOPING THEY'LL FALL IN HIS FAVOR BUT IT COULD BRING DOWN THE EURO IT WITH. THAT'S A POSSIBILITY. I HOPE THAT HE'S THOUGHT ABOUT THAT.

>> Reporter: TONIGHT, ATHENS AWAITS WHAT GIFTS OR ADMONISHMENTS THEY'VE GIVEN OUT TO THEIR PRIME MINISTER BY FRANCE AND GERMANY.

>> Suarez: THE EUROPEAN BAILOUT PLAN CALLS FOR BANKS TO WRITE OFF HALF OF WHAT GREECE OWES THEM. BUT IN RETURN, THE GREEK GOVERNMENT WOULD HAVE TO ENACT EVEN DEEPER SPENDING CUTS.

>> Brown: STILL TO COME ON THE "NEWSHOUR": DEMANDING CHANGE IN SYRIA; SHUTTING DOWN BUSINESS IN OAKLAND; ANSWERING SEXUAL HARASSMENT QUESTIONS; ARRESTING TERROR SUSPECTS IN GEORGIA AND HUNTING DOWN VIRUSES. BUT FIRST, THE OTHER NEWS OF THE DAY. HERE'S HARI SREENIVASAN.

>> Sreenivasan: MARKETS IN EUROPE AND THE U.S. BOUNCED BACK TODAY. INVESTORS MOVED IN TO SNATCH UP STOCKS AT BARGAIN PRICES, AFTER TWO DAYS OF HEAVY LOSSES. THE DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE GAINED 178 POINTS TO CLOSE AT 11,836. THE NASDAQ ROSE 33 POINTS TO CLOSE NEAR 2,640. THE FEDERAL RESERVE IS NOW FORECASTING GROWTH WILL BE SLOWER THROUGH NEXT YEAR AND UNEMPLOYMENT WILL BE HIGHER THAN EARLIER ESTIMATES. THE CENTRAL BANK SAID TODAY CONDITIONS HAVE IMPROVED SOME SINCE SPRING AND IT DECIDED AGAINST NEW ACTIONS TO BOOST THE ECONOMY. BUT CHAIRMAN BEN BERNANKE SAID THE SITUATION MUST BE CLOSELY WATCHED.

>> THE PACE OF PROGRESS IS LIKELY TO BE FRUSTRATINGLY SLOW. MOREOVER, THERE ARE SIGNIFICANT DOWNSIDE RISKS TO THE ECONOMIC OUTLOOK, MOST NOTABLY CONCERNS ABOUT EUROPEAN FISCAL AND BANKING ISSUES HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO STRAINS IN GLOBAL FINANCIAL MARKETS WHICH HAVE LIKELY HAD ADVERSE EFFECTS ON CONFIDENCE AND GROWTH.

>> Sreenivasan: BERNANKE ALSO SAID HE SYMPATHIZED WITH THE FRUSTRATIONS OF OCCUPY WALL STREET PROTESTERS. HE CONCEDED THAT HE, TOO, IS DISSATISFIED WITH THE STATE OF THE ECONOMY AND HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT. NEARLY ONE-QUARTER OF THE U.S. HOUSE HAS JOINED A CALL FOR $4 TRILLION IN DEFICIT SAVINGS. 40 REPUBLICANS AND 60 DEMOCRATS SENT A LETTER TODAY TO THE DEFICIT SUPER-COMMITTEE. THAT PANEL IS SUPPOSED TO RECOMMEND AT LEAST $1.2 TRILLION IN DEFICIT REDUCTIONS BY NOVEMBER 23. THE 100 LAWMAKERS URGED THE SUPER-COMMITTEE TO CONSIDER ALL OPTIONS FOR RAISING REVENUE, BUT THEY GAVE NO EXAMPLES. IN IRAQ TODAY, SEVEN PEOPLE WERE KILLED IN A SERIES OF BOMBINGS IN THE SOUTHERN CITY OF BASRA. THAT NEWS CAME AS THE GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCED VIOLENT DEATHS IN OCTOBER WERE THE HIGHEST THIS YEAR. 161 CIVILIANS WERE KILLED LAST MONTH, AND 55 POLICE OFFICERS LOST THEIR LIVES. MEANWHILE, U.S. TROOPS IN IRAQ STARTED PULLING OUT TODAY. THEY ARE ON SCHEDULE TO BE GONE COMPLETELY BY THE END OF THE YEAR. THE PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL TODAY DEFENDED HIS MOVE TO SPEED UP BUILDING 2,000 APARTMENTS IN JEWISH SECTIONS OF EAST JERUSALEM. BENJAMIN NETANYAHU SAID IT WAS ISRAEL'S RIGHT AND DUTY. OTHER OFFICIALS SAID IT WAS AN ANSWER TO THE PALESTINIANS' GAINING MEMBERSHIP IN THE U.N. CULTURAL AGENCY UNESCO. IN WASHINGTON, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN JAY CARNEY SAID PRESIDENT OBAMA IS DEEPLY DISAPPOINTED BY THE ISRAELI DECISION.

>> UNILATERAL ACTIONS WORK AGAINST EFFORTS TO RESUME DIRECT NEGOTIATIONS, AND THEY DO NOT ADVANCE THE GOAL OF A REASONABLE AND NECESSARY AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE PARTIES. AND THAT'S THE ONLY WAY TO ACHIEVE THE TWO-STATE SOLUTION THAT BOTH SIDES HAVE AS THEIR GOAL.

>> Sreenivasan: THE PALESTINIANS HAVE DEMANDED A HALT TO ALL CONSTRUCTION OF JEWISH SETTLEMENTS IN DISPUTED AREAS BEFORE THEY AGREE TO RESUME PEACE TALKS. THE EARLY CALENDAR FOR THE U.S. PRESIDENTIAL RACE IS NOW IN PLACE. NEW HAMPSHIRE TODAY SET THE DATE FOR ITS FIRST-IN-THE-NATION PRIMARY-- JANUARY 10. THAT WILL BE ONE WEEK AFTER THE IOWA CAUCUSES AND ELEVEN DAYS BEFORE THE SOUTH CAROLINA PRIMARY ON JANUARY 21. THEN COMES THE FLORIDA PRIMARY ON JANUARY 31 AND THE NEVADA CAUCUSES ON FEBRUARY FOURTH. THE REPUBLICAN NOMINATING SCHEDULE HAD BEEN IN DOUBT AS RIVAL STATES MOVED UP THEIR DATES, DEFYING PARTY RULES. THOSE ARE SOME OF THE DAY'S MAJOR STORIES. NOW, BACK TO RAY.

>> Suarez: HERMAN CAIN TODAY FACED A THIRD DAY OF SCRUTINY INVOLVING SEXUAL HARASSMENT ALLEGATIONS FROM HIS TIME AS HEAD OF THE NATIONAL RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION. AND TODAY BROUGHT REPORTS OF A THIRD WOMAN WHO SAYS CAIN MADE INAPPROPRIATE REMARKS IN THOSE YEARS. THE REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE REFUSED TO ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT THE MATTER AFTER BEING SWARMED BY REPORTERS AT A CAMPAIGN STOP OUTSIDE WASHINGTON THIS MORNING.

>> LET ME SAY ONE THING. I'M HERE WITH THESE DOCTORS AND THAT'S WHAT I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT. SO, DON'T EVEN BOTHER ASKING ME ALL OF THESE OTHER QUESTIONS THAT YOU ALL ARE CURIOUS ABOUT, OKAY? DON'T EVEN BOTHER.

>> IT'S A GOOD QUESTION THOUGH ABOUT THIS CONFIDENTIALITY. BUT ARE YOU CONCERNED ABOUT THE FACT THAT THESE WOMEN DO WANT-- THAT PERHAPS ONE OF THEM WANTS TO COME FORWARD. ARE YOU CONCERNED...

>> EXCUSE ME! EXCUSE ME!

>> STAND BACK.

>> Suarez: LATE THIS AFTERNOON POLITICO REPORTED THAT A VETERAN REPUBLICAN POLLSTER, CHRIS WILSON, WATCHED CAIN SEXUALLY HARASS A WOMAN IN A VIRGINIA RESTAURANT IN THE LATE 1990S. FOR MORE WE ARE JOINED BY JEFF ZELENY, NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT FOR THE "NEW YORK TIMES," WHO IS COVERING THE DEVELOPING CAIN STORY. JEFF, WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THESE LATEST ALLEGATION WHICH IS SEEM TO COME ONE-TWO THIS AFTERNOON IN RAPID SUCCESSION.

>> THINGS ARE REALLY MOVING PRETTY QUICKLY IN THIS STORY. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS IS REPORTING THERE IS A THIRD WOMAN WHO IS MAKING ALLEGATIONS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT FROM HER TIME AT THE NATIONAL RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION. BUT MORE INTERESTINGLY TONIGHT, HERMAN CAIN IN HIS CAMPAIGN ARE DIRECTLY BLAMING THE CAMPAIGNS OF GOVERNOR RICK PERRY OF TEXAS FOR FURTHERING THIS STORY AND TRYING TO ADVANCE THIS STORY. IT'S A CHARGE THAT THE PERRY CAMPAIGN IS DENYING. HERMAN CAIN WHEN HE RAN FOR SENATE IN GEORGIA IN 2004, THIS FIRST POLITICAL RACE, HE EMPLOYED A COUPLE PEOPLE WHO NOW WORK ON THE PERRY CAMPAIGN SO HE IS SAYING IN AN INTERVIEW WITH FORBES.COM THAT THESE GENTLEMEN KNEW ABOUT THIS AT THE TIME. THE PERRY CAMPAIGN IS DENYING THIS. SO RIGHT NOW ALL THIS IS BEING SORTED OUT. ONE THING THAT IS DIFFERENT, HERMAN CAIN CHANGED HIS DEMEANOR TODAY. HE'S GONE FROM ANSWERING EVERY QUESTION-- WHICH CLEARLY HAS NOT SERVED HIM VERY WELL-- TO REFUSING TO ANSWER QUESTIONS AS WE JUST SAW THERE. SO ONCE AGAIN THIS STILL IS DEVELOPING.

>> Suarez: THE SOURCE FOR THE SECOND STORY, CHRIS WILSON, IS ALSO WORKING FOR A REPUBLICAN CAMPAIGN AT THIS POINT. HE SAYS HE SAW WHAT HE SAW IN A RESTAURANT IN SUBURBAN WASHINGTON, IN VIRGINIA OUTSIDE WASHINGTON, D.C. AND IT WAS HIS FEELING THAT IT HAD TO COME OUT EVENTUALLY BECAUSE OTHER PEOPLE WERE THERE AND WITNESSED IT.

>> IN FACT, HE'S WORKING FOR A SUPERPAC THAT IS WORKING ON BEHALF OF THE PERRY CAMPAIGN. SO HE'S NOT WORKING DIRECTLY FOR THE PERRY CAMPAIGN BUT HE USED TO WORK AS A POLLSTER FOR THE NATIONAL RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION AND HE SAID IN AN INTERVIEW WITH THE W AN OKLAHOMA RADIO STATION THAT HE WITNESSED MANY OF THESE ALLEGATIONS HAPPENING IN FRONT OF ANYMORE THE LATE TO 1990s. HE TOLD US IN AN INTERVIEW THE SAME THING. BUT HE SAID THAT HE IS NOT BEHIND LEAKING THE STORY INITIALLY. SO A COUPLE THINGS WERE GOING ON HERE. THE CAIN CAMPAIGN IS CONTINUING ITS EFFORT TO BLAME THE MEDIA ON THIS AND THEY ARE TRYING TO SUGGEST THAT THESE CAMPAIGN OPERATIVES HAVE LEAKED THIS. BUT IT REALLY IS NOT OBSCURING THE FACT THAT MR. CAIN STILL HAS QUESTIONS TO ANSWER ABOUT THIS AND HE KNOWS HE'LL HAVE TO DO SO.

>> Suarez: TODAY STARTED AS SOMETHING THAT LOOKED ALMOST LIKE A GOOD DAY FOR HERMAN CAIN. SOME NEW POLLS CAME OUT AND SOME NEW FUND-RAISING FIGURES. TELL US MORE ABOUT THAT.

>> WELL, ONE THING THAT IS HAPPENING THROUGHOUT THIS, A LOT OF HIS SUPPORTERS ARE RALLYING TO HIS SIDE. WE TALKED TO ACTIVISTS IN EARLY VOTING STATE IN IOWA AND SOUTH CAROLINA, THEY SAY THEY'RE WAITING FOR THE FACTS TO COME OUT AND THEY, IN FACT, LIKE HERMAN CAIN. HE IS SAYING HE HAS BEEN GETTING A BIG FUND-RAISING ADVANTAGE FROM THIS. OF COURSE, WE'RE NOT SURE IF IT'S BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE RALLYING TO HIS SIDE OR THE FACT THAT HE'S IN THE NEWS MORE RIGHT NOW. HE HASN'T HAD AS BIG OF A WEEK AS HE'S HAD THROUGHOUT HIS WHOLE CAMPAIGN. BUT I WOULD BE CAUTIOUS IN TERMS OF LOOKING AT THE POLLS. POLLS ARE A SNAPSHOT OF WHAT HAS ALREADY HAPPENED NOT WHAT IS HAPPENING OR WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE. SO IS HE GOING TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS THAT ARE COMING OUT THERE AND WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT ON THIS? HIS WHOLE ECONOMIC MESSAGE HAS BEEN COMPLETELY CONSUMED BY THIS. HE WAS HOPING THIS WEEK IN WASHINGTON WOULD BE TIME TO GET SORT OF MORE SUPPORT FROM CAPITOL HILL. HE HAD DINNER WITH SOME SENATORS LAST NIGHT BUT REALLY HIS WHOLE MESSAGE HAS BEEN CONSUMED BY THE AND THEY KNOW HE HAS TO TALK ABOUT THIS EVEN MORE AND THEY KNOW THAT THIS IS NOT OVER.

>> Suarez: CAIN SUGGESTED IN AN EARLIER INTERVIEW WITH FOX NEWS THAT THE EXPLOSION OF THE STORY WAS AT LEAST IN PART RACIALLY MOTIVATED. HASN'T HE BEEN A CANDIDATE WHO POOH-POOHED THOSE ACCUSATIONS IN THE PAST? REJECTED ATTEMPTS TO FIND RACE IN EVERYTHING?

>> HE CERTAINLY HAS. BUT I THINK IT WAS INTERESTING IN HIS FOX NEWS INTERVIEW. HE SAID HE THOUGHT IT WAS RACIAL ON THE LEFT BUT HE SAID HE DID NOT THINK RACE WAS INVOLVED ON THE RIGHT. MEANING THAT REPUBLICANS WEREN'T BEING RACIAL IN THIS. SO HE HAS NOT TALKED... HE HAS NOT TALKED VERY DIRECTLY ABOUT RACE IN A WHILE ON THIS CAMPAIGN BUT, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY THAT IS ONE OF THE UNDERLYING DYNAMICS HERE IN THIS CONVERSATION. WOULD HE BE TREATED DIFFERENTLY IN HE WAS A WHITE CANDIDATE RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT? I HAPPEN TO THINK HE WOULD BE, AT LEAST TERMS OF ALLEGATIONS AND THINGS COMING FORWARD. WE'VE SEEN SEVERAL EXAMPLES OF THIS, OF COURSE, OF OTHER POLITICIANS FACING SIMILAR CHARGES. BUT A LOT OF HIS SUPPORTERS, A LOT OF CONSERVATIVES BELIEVE THIS IS LIKE THE CASE OF CLARENCE THOMAS. THAT THIS IS... THAT HE IS BEING SMEARED AT THIS RISE IN HIS CAMPAIGN. OF COURSE, ALL OF THIS WILL SORT ITSELF OUT HERE BUT IT WILL BE INTERESTING TO SEE HOW MUCH MORE HE BLAMES THIS ON RACE BECAUSE IT WAS UNUSUAL FOR HIM TO SORT OF GO DOWN THAT ROAD YESTERDAY.

>> Suarez: QUICKLY REGARDING THE ACCUSATIONS OF THE FIRST TWO WOMEN THAT WE'VE HEARD ABOUT, OFTEN WHEN THERE'S A SETTLEMENT PAID, THERE'S ALSO A NON-DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT BUT HE'S BEEN TALKING A LOT ABOUT THE CASE. DOES THAT NON-DISCLOSURE STILL BIND THE TWO WOMEN?

>> WELL, THAT'S PRECISELY WHAT'S AT ISSUE HERE RIGHT NOW. A LAWYER FOR ONE OF THE WOMEN HAS ASKED THE NATIONAL RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION TO RELEASE HIS CLIENT FROM THIS NON-DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT. HE ARGUES THAT MR. CAIN HAS BEEN ALREADY TALKING ABOUT THIS FOR SEVERAL DAYS NOW WHICH IS, IN FACT, A POSSIBLE VIOLATION OF THIS. SO THAT'S SOMETHING THE NATIONAL RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION IS GOING TO HAVE DECIDE, WHETHER THEY ARE GOING TO RELEASE HER, THEN SHE'LL HAVE TO DECIDE IF SHE'S GOING TO SPEAK ABOUT THIS RIGHT NOW. BUT A LOT OF THE PEOPLE THAT WE ARE TALKING TO ARE VERY CONCERNED THAT ONE SIDE OF THE STORY IS GETTING OUT HERE. SO IF THESE WOMEN EVER SPEAK UP, WE CERTAINLY WILL HAVE A SECOND SIDE OF THE STORY AND WE'LL FIND OUT THAT IN THE COMING DAYS.

>> Suarez: JEFF ZELENY OF THE "NEW YORK TIMES," THANKS FOR JOINING US.

>> RAY, THANK YOU.

>> BROWN: NEXT, PROTESTERS IN OAKLAND CHANGED TACTICS AND GATHERED FOR A MORE ACTIVE RALLY TODAY. THE PLAN: DISRUPT LIFE IN THE BUSINESS HEART OF THE CITY. "NEWSHOUR" CORRESPONDENT SPENCER MICHELS HAS THE STORY.

>> REPORTER: THOUSANDS OF PROTESTERS JOINED WITH THE OCCUPY OAKLAND MOVEMENT TODAY IN A GENERAL STRIKE AIMED AT SHUTTING DOWN BANKS, CORPORATIONS, THE CITY'S BUSY PORT, AND SCHOOLS. THE STRIKE-- BILLED AS OAKLAND'S FIRST GENERAL STRIKE SINCE 1946- - WAS DESIGNED TO FLEX THE MUSCLE OF THE OCCUPY OAKLAND MOVEMENT, WHICH HAS PROMOTED A CAMP-OUT IN A PLAZA IN FRONT OF CITY HALL FOR MORE THAN TWO WEEKS. THE STRIKE AND THE MOVEMENT HAVE TARGETED THE WEALTHY-- THE 1% OF THE POPULATION THAT DEMONSTRATORS SAY HAS MOST OF THE NATION'S WEALTH-- THE SAME GOALS AS ON WALL STREET AND ELSEWHERE. SHON KAE, A MUSICIAN AND ONE OF THE ORGANIZERS ANSWERED CRITICISM THAT THE MOVEMENT DOESN'T HAVE CONCRETE GOALS.

>> WHAT WE ARE ACCOMPLISHING IS WIDENING AND EVER-GROWING CONVERSATION TAKING PLACE IN OUR OWN GENERATION, AND SPANNING UP TO OTHER GENERATIONS. WE'RE SWEEPING OUT A CITY BLOCK IN THIS CITY AND OTHER CITIES, TO SIT DOWN AND TALK, WHICH OUR GENERATION HAS NOT DOWN A LOT OF.

>> Reporter: ONE GOAL OF THE STRIKE WAS TO SHUT DOWN THE BUSY PORT OF OAKLAND TOWARDS EVENING. BUT AT 9:00 IN THE MORNING, A RETIRED DOCK WORKER SAID THE MEMBERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL LONGSHOREMEN'S AND WAREHOUSE UNION HAD STOPPED WORK ON THEIR OWN.

>> THE TRUCKS WITH CONTAINERS ARE BACKED UP FOR AT LEAST A MILE. CARGO IS NOT BEING WORKED EFFECTIVELY. NONE OF THE CRANES ARE MOVING. MEMBERS OF THE UNION DID THIS ON THEIR OWN. THE LEADERS OF THE UNION WANTED THEM TO WORK TODAY, BUT BY AND LARGE, THEY ARE NOT WORKING THE PORT. THE PORT IS DOWN. THEY DID THIS ON THEIR OWN.

>> REPORTER: THE GENERAL STRIKE WAS SUPPORTED BY SOME UNIONS, INCLUDING HUNDREDS OF TEACHERS WHO CAME OUT TO SUPPORT THE THE SERVICE EMPLOYEES UNION, WHICH REPRESENTS CITY WORKERS WAS THERE AS WELL. DWIGHT MCELROY IS PRESIDENT OF THE OAKLAND CHAPTER.

>> WE SUPPORT THE CORE PRINCIPLES AND MORALS OF THE OCCUPY OAKLAND; THE UNIONS ARE NOT CALLING IT A STRIKE; BUT UNIONS ALL CALLING IT A DAY OF ACTION, AND A DAY TO STAND IN SYMPATHY WITH THE PRINCIPLES AND THE COURAGE OF THE OCCUPY OAKLAND PEOPLE.

>> Reporter: BUT AT THE SAME TIME, SOME UNION SPOKESMEN SAID THEY HAD CONTRACTS WITH COMPANIES THAT FORBADE STRIKING. AND AT LEAST ONE UNIONIST EXPRESSED DISDAIN OF UNEMPLOYED PEOPLE CALLING A STRIKE. ONE OF THE ORGANIZERS OF THE PROTEST-- RYAN, WHO CALLS HIMSELF "SWEET POTATO" AND WHO IS UNEMPLOYED-- FIRED BACK.

>> THIS IS A PEOPLE'S MOVEMENT. THIS IS WHAT 99 % WANT; IT GOES BEYOND RACIAL AND CLASS LINES. MOST PEOPLE ARE NOT IN UNIONS.

>> REPORTER: AMONG THOSE AT TODAY'S RALLY: FORMER COMMUNIST AND ACTIVIST ANGELA DAVIS.

>> THE EYES OF THE WORLD ARE ON OUR CITY.

>> Reporter: THE OAKLAND PROTEST ATTRACTED NATIONAL ATTENTION LAST WEEK, WHEN POLICE SWOOPED IN AND TORE DOWN THE CAMPSITE AND BATTLED THE PROTESTORS, USING TEAR GAS AND HARSH TACTICS. OAKLAND'S MAYOR, JEAN QUAN, WAS OUT OF TOWN DURING THE CONFRONTATION, BUT THE POLICE ACTION BROUGHT CRITICISM OF HER FROM PARTS OF THE COMMUNITY, AND TALK OF A RECALL. SHE HAS TRIED TO SMOOTH THE RUFFLED FEATHERS, BY KEEPING HANDS OFF THE PROTESTORS, ALLOWING THEM BACK ON THE PLAZA THE VERY NEXT DAY, RETURNING AND ENDORSING THE GENERAL STIKE, EVEN ALLOWING CITY WORKERS TO PARTICIPATE TODAY. DURING THE EARLY PART OF THE RALLY, THERE WAS NOT A POLICEMAN OR WOMAN IN SIGHT. PROTESTERS DIRECTED TRAFFIC AROUND THE DEMONSTRATION. FOR HER PART, QUAN URGED BUSINESSES IN DOWNTOWN OAKLAND TO NOT SHUT DOWN TODAY, THOUGH SOME OF THEM DID. THIS SECTION OF THE CITY IS ALREADY SUFFERING FROM HIGH VACANCIES, AND SOME RESIDENTS FEARED THE SPECTOR OF OCCUPIERS WOULD HURT AN ALREADY AILING COMMUNITY. AN OBSERVATION: AS CONTROVERSIAL AS OCCUPY OAKLAND ACTIVITIES ARE, VERY FEW PEOPLE, ORGANIZATIONS OR POLITICIANS HAVE SPOKEN OUT AGAINST THE PRINCIPLES OF THE DEMONSTRATION. THE STRIKE AND THE ENCAMPMENT HAVE ATTRACTED A MIXED GROUP OF PROTESTORS AND DENIZENS OF THE COMMUNITY. ALTHOUGH THE GROUP CLAIMS IT HAS NO LEADERS, PARTICIPANTS GATHER OFTEN FOR PLANNING MEETINGS WHERE THEY WORK OUT THE LOGISTICS OF A CITY HALL CAMP IN. AMONG THOSE OFFERING SUPPORT TO THE MOVEMENT WAS AN UNEMPLOYED COMPUTER SALESMAN, MARK DINING, WHO PASSES THE ENCAMPMENT ON HIS WAY TO LOOK FOR A JOB.

>> THE PEOPLE THAT ARE LIVING HERE, MANY OF THEM ARE ON THE FRINGE, BUT THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE UP THE MOVEMENT ARE MUCH BROADER THAN THAT. IN ANY URBAN CENTER THERE WILL BE A FEW CRAZY PEOPLE, BUT THEY SEEMED TO BE REGULATING THEMSELVES.

>> REPORTER: HOW LONG THIS ENCAMPMENT WILL LAST AND OTHERS IN COLDER CLIMATES HAS BECOME A KEY QUESTION AROUND THE COUNTRY.

>> LOOK AT NEW YORK. IT'S GETTING COLD THERE. PEOPLE AREN'T SHYING AWAY FROM IT. THE WEATHER HERE IS PRETTY MILD. WHEN THIS FIRST STARTED, IT WAS NEVER A DAY OR A WEEK; IT WAS ALWAYS A MONTH AND BEYOND, A LONG-TERM THING, AND I'M STICKING TO THAT.

>> REPORTER: FOR NOW, MEMBERS OF THE OCCUPY OAKLAND MOVEMENT SAY THEY FEEL ENERGIZED. THEIR TWO-MILE LONG MARCH ON THE PORT AT SUNDOWN WILL BE ONE TEST OF THE MOVEMENT'S STRENGTH AND THE CITY'S TOLERANCE FOR DISRUPTION.

>> BROWN: AND TO SYRIA WHERE THERE WAS WORD OF A POSSIBLE AGREEMENT TO END MONTHS OF POLITICAL UPHEAVAL AND DEADLY VIOLENCE. EIGHT MONTHS INTO SYRIA'S VERSION OF THE ARAB SPRING AND THERE'S NO END TO THE BLOODSHED. AT LEAST 20 MORE PEOPLE WERE REPORTED KILLED OVERNIGHT IN HOMS, AFTER PROTESTERS TOOK TO THE STREETS AGAIN. IN ALL, AT LEAST 3,000 CIVILIANS HAVE BEEN KILLED BY SECURITY FORCES, ACCORDING TO U.N ESTIMATES. BUT TODAY, A POSSIBLE ACCORD WAS ANNOUNCED. MEMBERS OF THE ARAB LEAGUE MEETING AT THE GROUP'S CAIRO HEADQUARTERS REPORTED A DEAL WITH SYRIA'S PRESIDENT BASHAR AL-ASSAD.

>> OUR BROTHERS IN SYRIA ACCEPTED AN ARAB LEAGUE PROPOSAL. WE ARE HAPPY TO REACH THIS AGREEMENT AND WILL BE HAPPY THAT IT WILL BE ENFORCED IMMEDIATELY. WHEN I SAY IMMEDIATELY I DON'T MEAN IT AS AN ORDER BUT I SAY IMMEDIATELY OUT OF CONCERN FROM OUR BROTHERHOOD AND OUR BROTHERS IN SYRIA.

>> BROWN: TANKS AND TROOPS WOULD BE TAKEN OFF THE STREETS, THE CRACKDOWNS WOULD END, A DIALOGUE WITH PROTESTERS WOULD BEGIN AND JOURNALISTS AND RIGHTS GROUPS WOULD BE ALLOWED TO MONITOR THE SITUATION INSIDE SYRIA. BUT ALL THIS DREW A CAUTIOUS RECEPTION IN WASHINGTON. WHITE HOUSE OFFICIALS CALLED AGAIN FOR ASSAD TO STEP DOWN. AND A STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESWOMAN QUESTIONED THE SYRIAN LEADER'S REAL INTENTIONS.

>> SYRIA'S MADE A LOT OF PROMISES IN PAST. THERE IS CONCERN THAT EVEN AS SAY THEY'RE PREPARE FOR PEACE, STILL EXACTING VIOLENCE ON OWN PEOPLE.

>> BROWN: IN CAIRO, PROTESTERS OUTSIDE THE ARAB LEAGUE OFFICES DENOUNCED ASSAD AND RENEWED CALLS FOR MORE VIGOROUS INTERNATIONAL INVOLVEMENT.

>> WE ARE DEMANDING A NO-FLY ZONE AND THE SUSPENSION OF SYRIAN MEMBERSHIP IN THE ARAB LEAGUE.

>> BROWN: IN FACT, SOME SYRIANS BOTH INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE COUNTRY ARE NOW CALLING FOR NATO-LED ACTION MODELED ON THE BOMBING CAMPAIGN IN LIBYA THAT HELPED TOPPLE MOAMMAR QADDAFI. BUT IN TRIPOLI ON MONDAY, NATO'S SECRETARY GENERAL CATEGORICALLY REJECTED ANOTHER ALLIANCE ACTION.

>> I CAN COMPLETELY RULE THAT OUT. HAVING SAID THAT, I STRONGLY CONDEMN THE CRACKDOWNS ON THE CIVILIAN POPULATION IN SYRIA.

>> BROWN: FOR NOW, THEN, THE FOCUS IS ON THE ARAB LEAGUE PROPOSAL. IT MANDATES THAT ASSAD CONFORM WITHIN TWO WEEKS. BUT IT DOES NOT MENTION ANY CONSEQUENCES IF HE FAILS TO DO SO. JOINING US NOW FOR A CLOSER LOOK AT RECENT EVENTS IN SYRIA AS MURHAF JOUEJATI WHO HAS RECENTLY BEEN APPOINTED TO THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE SYRIAN NATIONAL COUNCIL, AN OPPOSITION GROUP CREATED TO HELP OVERTHROW THE ASSAD REGIME. ANDREW TABLER A FELLOW AT THE WASHINGTON INSTITUTE WHO SPENT MORE THAN FIVE YEARS AS A JOURNALIST IN SYRIA AND. WELCOME TO BOTH OF YOU. SUBPOENA THIS A POTENTIALLY IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENT?

>> IT SOUNDS VERY NICE BUT IT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. THE ASSAD REGIME HAS MADE MANY PROMISES INTO MANY INTERLOCUTORS BEFORE INCLUDING THE U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL, INCLUDE THE PRIME MINISTER OF TURKEY AND THE KING OF JORDAN AND THESE PROMISES HAVE NEVER MATERIALIZED INTO ANYTHING. I BELIEVE THIS IS SIMPLY A MEASURE TO BUY TIME ON BEHALF OF THE ASSAD REGIME.

>> YOU DON'T SEE ANY IMPACT ON THE GROUND?

>> TWO HOURS AGO THERE HAVE BEEN THE FIRST VIOLATIONS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD IN HOMS AND A CITY HAS BEEN SHELL SOD WE DON'T BELIEVE IT.

>> Brown: WHAT IS THE CALCULATION BY THE ARAB LEAGUE? WHO'S BEHIND THIS AND WHAT ARE THEY THINKING THEY CAN GET FROM ASSAD?

>> WELL, THE ARAB LEAGUE PUT ASSAD IN DILEMMAS. AND UNTIL NOW, ASSAD HAS JUST TRIED TO SHOOT HIS WAY OUT OF THE CRISIS. NOW THIS SEEMS TO BE THROWING A LIFE PRESERVER TO ASSAD BUT AT THE SAME TIME IT PUTS HIM INTO THESE KEY DECISIONS IN WHICH HIS CHOICES, IS HE GOING TO PULL BACK THE SECURITY FORCES FROM THE STREETS? IS HE GOING TO STOP THE MILITIAS? IS HE GOING TO LET PEOPLE OUT OF JAIL? IS HE GOING TO ALLOW JOURNALISTS INTO THE COUNTRY? IS HE GOING TO ALLOW PROTESTORS TO FREELY ASEMI-ABLE? WE DOUBT THIS AND I DON'T SEE HOW HE COULD DO THESE THINGS AND HOLD ON TO POWER.

>> Brown: THERE DOESN'T SEEM TO BE A LOT OF BITE HERE. THERE'S NO CONSEQUENCES.

>> I GUESS THE IDEA IS THAT'S TOTALLY TRUE. AT THE SAME TIME IF HE FAILED TO DO THOSE THINGS AND HIS HAND IS COMPLETELY EXPOSED THAT WILL BE A SERIOUS POLITICAL LOSS FOR BASHAR AL ASSAD AND WE EXPECT IF HE DOES TRY AND CONFIRM IT WOULD LEAD TO THE CONTROLLED DEMOLITION OF HIS OWN REGIME. NOBODY THINKS HE'S GOING TO DO THAT.

>> Brown: IF ASSAD WERE TO AGREE TO TALK, WHO WOULD HE BE TALKING TO? THIS COULD BE A QUESTION WE LOOKED AT FOR MONTHS NOW. IS IT THE STATE OF THE OPPOSITION, HOW WELL UNIFIED IT IS.

>> THE OPPOSITION IS UNIFIED UNDER AN UMBRELLA ORGANIZATION, THE SYRIAN NATIONAL COUNCIL IT CAME TOGETHER RECENTLY, IT'S IN DIRECT CONTEXT WITH THIS AND RECEIVES ITS LEGITIMACY AND THE MANDATE FROM THE STREET. THE SYRIAN NATIONAL COUNCIL IN THE EYES OF SYRIANS IS THE SOLE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE SYRIAN PEOPLE. WE DO NOT BELIEVE THAT ASSAD IS GOING TO ABIDE BY THESE COMMITMENTS I THINK THE DAYS AHEAD ARE GOING TO CONFIRM THIS TO US. HE WON'T BE ALLOWED TO ALLOW ANY FOREIGN PRESS IN. HE WILL NOT ALLOW ANY ARAB MONITORS TO GO IN. SO THERE IS REALLY NOTHING TO TALK ABOUT AND IF THERE IS IT IS ONLY THE TERMS OF HIS DEPARTURE.

>> Brown: WHAT'S YOUR SENSE OF THE UNIFIED VOICE OF THE OPPOSITION? ESPECIALLY BETWEEN STREET AND POLITICAL OPPOSITION?

>> Reporter: THE S.N.C. HAS BROUGHT THE SYRIAN OPPOSITION TOGETHER. THERE ARE STILL SOME DIVISIONS AND THEY'RE TRYING TO GET THEIR ACT IN ORDER AT THE MOMENT. SORT NOVEMBER A HISTORICAL SENSE WHAT THE OPPOSITION HAS BEEN ABLE TO DO IS ENORMOUS OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS. THE REAL PROBLEM HERE IS THAT... TRYING TO COME UP WITH SOME SORT OF CRITERIA BASED ON WHICH TO JUDGE ASSAD'S BEHAVIOR. AND HIS CHOICES GOING FORWARD. THE OPPOSITION SHOULD BE SPENDING A LOT OF TIME ON TRYING TO JUDGE AL ASSAD'S MOVE AND WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO BE IN ORDER TO TAKE THIS IN THE DIRECTION IN WHICH ASSAD LEAVES THE COUNTRY.

>> WHAT ABOUT THE CALL WES SAW IN THE REPORT FROM SOME QUARTERS FROM INSIDE SYRIA FOR INTERVENTION FROM THE WEST, A NATO TYPE INTERVENTION. HOW STRONG IS IT?

>> I THINK THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE LOOKING AT THIS... WHO HAS BEEN LOOKING AT THIS FOR EIGHT MONTHS, THEY'RE WORN OUT AND WOULD LIKE SOME SORT OF WESTERN MILITARY INTERVENTION OR SOME KIND OF INTERVENTION OF SOME TYPE BUT I THINK THOSE PEOPLE ARE BY AND LARGE IN THE MINORITY. MOST OF THE PROTESTORS WOULD LIKE TO CONTINUE WITH CIVIL RESISTANCE AND GO DOWN THIS ROUTE. THEY'RE TIRED AND LOOKING FOR A WAY OUT.

>> Reporter: WHAT IS YOUR SENSE OF THAT?

>> IF IT'S BECOMING INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT TO KEEP THIS RESOLUTION PEACEFUL, AS MUCH AS THE SYRIAN OPPOSITION WANTS IT TO, AND IT'S THE MISDEEDS AND BEHAVIOR AND AND BRUTALITY OF THE REGIME THAT ARE FORCING TALK ABOUT INTERNATIONAL MILITARY INTERVENTION THAT NOBODY WANTS REALLY. SO THE POSITION OF THE OPPOSITION IS TO AT LEAST ALLOW FOR CIVILIAN PROTECTION BY INTRODUCING MONITORS, HUMAN RIGHTS MONITORS AND SO ON TO CONTROL THE SITUATION ON THE GROUND THAT IS PUSHING IT FURTHER WHICH MAY LEAD IN THE END TO SOME VIOLENT CONFRONTATION.

>> THE ARAB LEAGUE IS SO SLEEPING TO AVOID FOREIGN INTERVENTION IN THEIR ACT TODAY. EXPLAIN THAT. WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE? THEY HAD A STRONG ROLE WHEN IT CAME TO LIBYA GAVE A SANCTION TO THE U.S. AND NATO TO COME IN.

>> I THINK THERE'S AN UNDERSTANDING IN THE ARABING THREE THE INTERVENTION IN LIBYA BROUGHT ABOUT THE VERY QUICK DEMISE OF THE REGIME... NOT A QUICK DEMISE BUT THE DEMISE OF THE REGIME AND THAT SCARES A LOT OF RULERS IN THE ARAB WORLD HAVING TO DEAL WITH WHAT THEY CONSIDER THE CONTAGION. AT THE SAME TIME, THERE HAVE TO... THEY HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE FACT THAT THE AASSAD REGIME IS CARRYING OUT HORRENDOUS HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS AND THEY HAVE TO BE DOING SOMETHING. SO IF THIS INITIATIVE FAILS AND THE ARAB LEAGUE THROWS UP ITS HANDS THE QUESTION IS THEN WHAT? ARE WE GOING TO THE U.N. WHERE THE RUSSIANS AND CHINESE HAVE BLOCKED U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL ACTION? ARE WE GOING TO LOOK FOR A COALITION OF THE WILLING OR FRIENDS OF SYRIA GROUP THAT WOULD INTERVENE? IT WILL OPEN UP A WHOLE OTHER CAN OF WORMS.

>> Brown: WHAT ABOUT THE DEBATE IN THE U.S.? WHAT ARE YOU HEARING IN TERMS OF... AND OTHER WESTERN NATIONS IN TERMS OF WHEN AND HOW TO HELP INTERVENE?

>> THE THING IS THE MILITARY OPTION IS SOMETHING THAT HAS THUS FAR BEEN CONSIDERED OFF THE TABLE. HOW SOON DOES IT MOVE ON TO THE TABLE IF THIS GOES DOWN THE ROAD TOWARDS MORTAR SHOOTING. WOULD THAT MEAN THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION WOULD STAY OUT OF IT? NO MATTER WHAT? EVEN IF THE IRANIANS INTERVENED ON BEHALF OF THE REGIME. THOSE ARE A LOT OF QUESTION MARKS.

>> Reporter: WHAT IS THE COUNCIL ASKING OF THE U.S. AND OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES AT THIS POINT?

>> THE SYRIAN NATIONAL COUNCIL AS THEIR REPRESENTATIVE, FOR THE UNITED STATES TO MAKE ITS WEIGHT MORE FELT IN THE SECURITY COUNCIL. IT IS OUTRAGEOUS THAT 3,000 UNARMED CIVILIANS WOULD BE KILLED WHILE THE SECURITY COUNCIL FROM TIME TO TIME DEBATES THIS AND COMES UP WITH NOTHING. THE UNITED STATES CAN DO MORE WITH ITS ALLIES IN TERMS OF IMPOSING FURTHER SANCTIONS ON SYRIA. AND CERTAINLY TALKS WITH THE RUSSIANS INTO REGAINING SOME SENSE BECAUSE THIS SITUATION OF AN ARMED FORCE SHOOTING AT UNARMED CIVILIANS IS ABSOLUTELY OUTRAGEOUS.

>> LET ME ASK YOU BRIEFLY. DO YOU SEE SIGNS OF WEAKENING IN THE ASSAD GOVERNMENT? ONE SIGN WE HERE A LOT ABOUT IS MILITARY DEFECTIONS. HOW MANY ARE THERE? HOW MUCH CAN YOU TELL US?

>> MILITARY DEFECTIONS ARE IMPORTANT. I HAVE HEARD THE NUMBER OF 10 HAVE DEFECTED THUS FAR FROM THE ARMED FORCES BUT WHAT IS SIGNIFICANT IS THAT TWO DAYS AGO BASHAR AL ASSAD DID NOT EVEN RECOGNIZE AN OPPOSITION AND SAID THAT HE'S TOO BUSY TO THINK OF AN OPPOSITION AND TODAY SEEMINGLY HE AGREES TO AN APPROACH IN WHICH HE IS TO TALK TO THE OPPOSITION.

>> SO THERE IS A POTENTIALLY IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENT TODAY THAT I ASKED YOU AT THE BEGINNING YOU DON'T THINK ANYTHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN.

>> IT SIGNIFYS THAT NOT ONLY IS HOE HE TOTALLY INCONSISTENT BUT I THINK HE AND HIS REGIME IN A PANIC.

>> Brown: I SEE, OKAY. MURHAF JOUEJATI, ANDREW TABLER, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

>> SUAREZ: NOW THE DOMESTIC TERROR PLOT UNCOVERED IN GEORGIA. MARGARET WARNER HAS OUR STORY.

>> WARNER: FOUR GEORGIA MEN APPEARED IN A FEDERAL COURT IN GAINSVILLE TODAY ARRAIGNED ON TERRORISM CHARGES. THEY WERE ACCUSED OF CONSPIRING TO MANUFACTURE A DEADLY BIOLOGICAL TOXIN, RICIN, AND PLANNING TO USE IT TO KILL U.S. CITIZENS, AMONG THEM GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS. THE FOUR ARE SUSPECTED MEMBERS OF A MILITIA GROUP. RAY ADAMS, 65 YEARS OLD, AND SAMUEL CRUMP, 68 ALLEGEDLY SOUGHT TO DEVELOP AND PRODUCE THE RICIN FOR USE AS A WEAPON. FREDERICK THOMAS, 73, AND DAN ROBERTS, 67, WERE ACCUSED OF SEEKING TO ACQUIRE WEAPONS AND AN EXPLOSIVE DEVICE IN THE PLOT. THE U.S. ATTORNEY FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA ANNOUNCED THE ARRESTS YESTERDAY.

>> MANY OF US ARE REALLY FOCUSED ON INTERNATIONAL VIOLENT EXTREMISTS BUT I THINK THIS CASE REALLY POINTS OUT THAT WE HAVE TO BE VIGILANT AND TO STAY ON TOP OF THOSE OF US WITHIN OUR OWN BORDERS HERE WHO WILL R ATTEMPTING TO DO HARM TO THEIR OWN GOVERNMENTS AND THEIR OWN

>> WARNER: FOR MORE ON THIS WE ARE JOINED NOW BY GREG BLUESTEIN, WHO COVERS LEGAL AFFAIRS FOR THE ASSOCIATED PRESS IN ATLANTA. HE WAS IN THE COURTROOM TODAY. GREG, WELCOME AND THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. TELL US WHAT IT WAS LIKE IN COURT TODAY.

>> IN A WORD, IT WAS BIZARRE. IMAGINE SEEING FOUR MEN BETWEEN THE AGES OF 65 AND 73 SHUFFLE INTO THE COURTROOM. SOME OF THEM HAD WHITE, GRAY HAIR. ONE HAD A BIG BUSHY WHITE BEARD. THEY STOOPED FORWARD, SOME OF THEM, AND THEY CRANED THEIR NECKS TO TRY TO HEAR THE JUDGE. AT ONE POINT THE JUDGE STOPPED THE PROCEEDINGS AND SAID TO ONE OF THE MEN "IF YOU CAN'T HEAR ME PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND, THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT PROCEEDING." THEY SEEMED VERY OUT OF PLACE.

>> Warner: WELL, THE COURT DOCUMENTS MAKE IT SOUND LIKE QUITE A CONVOLUTED PLOT. LAY IT OUT FOR US.

>> I HAD TO READ THE DOZENS OF PAGES OF DOCUMENTS A FEW TIMES TO TRY TO COMPREHEND IT. IT SAYS THESE FOUR MEN LIVED IN TWO NORTH GEORGIA TOWNS IN THE NORTH GEORGIA MOUNTAINS AND SAID THEY WERE PART OF AN OBSCURE MILITIA GROUP ONLY KNOWN AS THE COVERT GROUP AND THEY STARTED MEETING... THEIR FIRST MEETING, AT LEAST THE FEDERAL PROSECUTORS WOULD SAY, WAS IN MARCH AT FREDERICK THOMAS' HOME. FREDERICK TOM SMAS A 73-YEAR-OLD WHO HIS... HIS WIFE SAYS HE'S A 30-YEAR NAVY VETERAN AND THAT'S WHERE THEIR FIRST MEETING TOOK PLACE. UNBEKNOWNST TO THEM THERE WAS A CONFIDENTIAL INFORMANT TAPE RECORDING THE MEETING. THAT'S WHERE MR. THOMAS SAID HE HAD A QUOTE/UNQUOTE BUCKET LIST OF GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS HE WANTED TO SEE DISAPPEAR FOR THE BETTER OF THE COUNTRY.

>> Warner: WHAT WERE THE TARGETS THEY WERE PLANNING TO HIT AND HOW? WHERE DOES THE RICIN FIT IN? WHERE DOES THE EXPLOSIVES FIT IN?

>> THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT USING ALL SORTS OF VIOLENT MEANS TO CARRY OUT THIS SORT OF WAR ON THE GOVERNMENT. THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT GETTING EXPLOSIVES, GETTING GUNS, GETTING A GUN SILENCER, MAKING HOMEMADE MINES. AT ONE POINT... SEVERAL TIMES THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT MANUFACTURING RICIN FROM CASTOR BEANS BECAUSE EVEN SMALL DOSES OF THIS TOXIN CAN BE DEADLY AND THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT USING IT EVEN DISSEMINATING IT THROUGH THE BACK OF A CAR ON BUSY HIGHWAYS IN ORDER TO KILL THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF PEOPLE. AND THEY WEREN'T... THESE PROSECUTORS SAY THEY WEREN'T DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN FEDERAL EMPLOYEES AND JUST EVERYDAY CITIZENS WHICH IS ONE OF THE SCARY THINGS.

>> Warner: BEFORE WE GO ON WITH THIS STORY AND INVESTIGATION, WHO ARE THESE GUYS OTHER THAN THEIR AGES AND WHAT WAS THEIR MOTIVE? WHAT COMES THROUGH IN THE PAPERS ABOUT THAT, ALLEGEDLY?

>> WELL WHAT COMES THROUGH IN THE PAPERS IS THAT THEY HAD THIS VIOLENT HATE OF THE GOVERNMENT. WE'RE NOT QUITE SURE WHY OR WHAT EXACTLY THEY HATED BUT WE DO KNOW THEY TARGETED... THEY WANTED TO TARGET THE A.T.F. AND THE I.R.S., BECAUSE THOSE TWO AGENCIES ARE MENTIONED OVER AND OVER AGAIN. PRESUMABLY THEY WERE UPSET ABOUT GUN CONTROL ACTIVITIES AND WHAT NOT AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES. BUT ONE OF THEM, MR. THOMAS, AS I SAID, HIS WIFE SAYS HE'S A 30-YEAR NAVY VETERAN. ANOTHER MAN WORKED FOR THE U.S.D.A., U.S.D.A. AGENCY AND EVEN BOASTED OF SHOWING OFF SOME OF HIS CERTIFICATES HE OBTAINED FROM THE U.S.D.A. OR FROM TRAINING CERTIFICATIONS TO THE OTHER SUSPECTS. AND ONE OF THE MEN WAS A CONTRACTOR FOR THE C.D.C. IN ATLANTA.

>> Warner: DID THEY DO MORE THAN TALK? DID THEY... WHAT DID THEY DO, SUPPOSEDLY, IN FURTHERANCE OF THIS PLOT? ACTUALLY DO.

>> YEAH. FEDERAL PROSECUTORS SAID THAT THEY WENT BEYOND JUST IDLE TALK, THAT THIS IS NO LAUGHING MATTER. THEY SAY TWO OF THE MEN WERE ACTUALLY ABLE TO DEDUCE THE FORMULA TO MAKE RICIN OUT OF THESE CASTOR BEANS AND EXTRACT THE RICIN FROM THE CASTOR BEANS AND THE CONFIDENTIAL INFORMANT SOMEHOW GOT THEIR HANDS ON WHATEVER THEY MADE AND WAS ABLE TO TEST IT. THE GEORGIA OFFICIALS WERE ABLE TO TEST IT, IT WAS RICIN. IT WAS FOUND TO BE TRACES OF RICIN. SO THEY ACTUALLY HAD SOME SORT OF RICIN, WE'RE NOT SURE IF THEY WERE GOING TO USE IT, WHAT THEY WERE GOING TO DO WITH IT BUT THEY DID HAVE IN THEIR POSITION RICIN. MR. THOMAS, ACTUALLY, WENT DOWN WITH THE CONFIDENTIAL INFORMANT, DROVE FROM NORTH GEORGIA DOWN TO DOWNTOWN ATLANTA AND STOKED OUT THE A.T.F.'S HEADQUARTERS IN ATLANTA, IN THE NORTHEAST PART OF THE CITY, AND THE I.R.S. HEADQUARTERS IN DOWNTOWN ATLANTA. SO THEY CASE IT HAD BUILDINGS. ON THE WAY BACK PROSECUTORS SAY HE TOLD THE INFORMANT THAT HE WANTED TO BLOW UP THE BUILDING LIKE TIMOTHY McVEIGH DID, THAT HE DIDN'T MIND IF... HE WASN'T SURE IF HE MINDED THAT THERE WAS INNOCENTS WHO DIDN'T WORK AT... WORK FOR THE GOVERNMENT WHO WERE ALSO VICTIMS OF THE ATTACKS. AND HIM AND MR. ROBERTS, ONE OF THE OTHER SUSPECTS, WERE ALSO ACCUSED OF WORKING WITH AN UNDERCOVER AGENT TO BUY A HOMEMADE... TO BUY EXPLOSIVES DEVICE AND A SILENCER TO CARRY OUT THIS VIOLENCE.

>> Warner: THIS RICIN, WHICH IS SUCH A DEADLY TOXIN, IS IT CLEAR WHETHER THEY ACTUALLY... THEY HAD THE BEANS OR HAD SOMETHING THAT HAD BEEN PROCESSED?

>> IT'S NOT EXACTLY CLEAR BUT THEY HAD... ONE OF THE SUSPECTS' HOMES, PROSECUTORS SAY THE INFORMANT NOTICED BEAKERS, LAB EQUIPMENT, THEY OVERHEARD MEN TALKING ABOUT BUILDING MORE LAB EQUIPMENT BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY MAKING RICIN IS VERY DEADLY BECAUSE THE TOXIN ITSELF IS DEADLY. SO THEY WERE WORRIED ABOUT THES REFOY MAKE THIS TOXIN AND WHETHER OR NOT THEY WOULD FALL VICTIM TO IT AS WELL. BUT AS I SAID EARLIER, THE INFORMANT WAS ABLE TO SOMEHOW GET HIS OR HER HANDS ON THE... ON AT LEAST A SAMPLE OF WHATEVER THEY WERE MAKING AND IT WAS TESTED IN A GEORGIA LABORATORY AND FOUND TO HAVE TRACES OF RICIN IN IT.

>> Warner: FINALLY AND VERY BRIEFLY, I GATHERED ONE OF THEM SAID THEY WERE TRYING TO FOLLOW A PLOT OUTLINED IN A NOVEL CALLED... BY SOME MILITIA GROUP, WRITER?

>> YEAH, IT'S CALLED "ABSOLVE" AND IT'S FROM AN UNDERGROUND NON-FICTION NOVEL THAT WAS WRITTEN BY A FORMER MILITIA LEADER IN... FROM ALABAMA AND ONE OF THE... MR. THOMAS SAID HE WANTED TO CARRY OUT WHAT THIS UNDERGROUND NOVEL INTENDED TO. THE AUTHOR OF THE NOVEL HAS SAID IT'S FICTION, NOT MEANT TO INSPIRE VIOLENCE OR HATE AND THAT HE DOES NOT WANT TO SEE THIS HAPPEN, OF COURSE.

>> Warner: BIZARRE, INDEED, AS YOU SAID. GREG BLUE AND SEEN THE OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, THANK YOU.

>> THANK YOU.

>> SUAREZ: FINALLY TONIGHT, THE WORK OF A SCIENTIST WHO SPENDS HIS DAYS TRACKING KILLER DISEASES.

>> REPORTER: A NONDESCRIPT OFFICE BUILDING IN DOWNTOWN SAN FRANCISCO MAY SEEM AN UNLIKELY HEADQUARTERS FOR ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST PROMINENT VIRUS HUNTERS, BUT IT'S WHERE STANFORD UNIVERSITY BIOLOGIST NATHAN WOLFE HAS SETUP HIS WAR ROOM TO MONITOR AND STUDY NEW, AND POTENTIALLY DEADLY, VIRUSES EMERGING AROUND THE GLOBE. THE 41-YEAR-OLD WOLFE IS THE FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR OF THE GLOBAL VIRAL FORECASTING INITIATIVE. THE MISSION SOUNDS SIMPLE BUT IT'S NOT: DETECT PANDEMICS AND STOP THEM BEFORE THEY SPREAD. HOW WOLFE AND HIS TEAM DO THAT IS A MIX OF HIGH TECH DETECTIVE WORK AND OLD FASHIONED ON THE GROUND EPIDEMIOLOGY RESEARCH AND IT'S THE SUBJECT OF HIS NEW BOOK THE VIRAL STORM-- THE DAWN OF A NEW PANDEMIC AGE. I SAT DOWN WITH WOLFE IN HIS OFFICE.

>> WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS THIS INTERFACE BETWEEN HUMAN AND ANIMAL POPULATIONS. AND WE'RE TRYING TO CATCH THE REALLY EARLY STAGES OF THESE PANDEMICS THE MOMENT AT WHICH FRANKLY THE PANDEMIC IS BORN. I ALWAYS JOKE THAT IF YOU GO TO YOU KNOW OCEAN BEAN HERE IN SAN FRANCISCO, YOU'LL ALWAYS SEE YOU KNOW PEOPLE RUNNING UP AND KISSING THEIR DOGS. AND THAT'S A MOMENT OF CROSS SPECIES TRANSMISSION.

>> REPORTER: A MUCH MORE SERIOUS, BUT FICTIONAL, CROSS SPECIES TRANSMISSION WAS THE FOCUS OF THIS SUMMER'S THRILLER "CONTAGION," IN WHICH MILLIONS DIED FROM A VIRUS FOUND IN PIGS AND BATS. WOLFE WAS A TECHNICAL ADVISOR ON THE FILM. BUT IN THE REAL WORLD, VIRUSES-- MICROSCOPIC PATHOGENS THAT INVADE AND DESTROY HOST CELLS-- HAVE BEEN JUMPING FROM ANIMALS TO HUMANS FOR AGES. BUT WITH THE HUGE INCREASES IN MODERN AIR TRAFFIC, AN OUTBREAK IN ONE COUNTRY QUICKLY BECOMES A PROBLEM FOR THE REST OF THE WORLD.

>> THE CHALLENGE THAT WE FACE RIGHT NOW IS WE'RE SO INTERCONNECTED THAT THESE VIRUSES CAN SPREAD IN A DAY AROUND THE WORLD. I MEAN, IT CAN GO FROM CENTRAL AFRICA, SOUTHEAST ASIA, THEY CAN GET TO TOKYO AND THEY CAN GET TO NEW YORK CITY. THAT'S CRYSTAL CLEAR.

>> REPORTER: THAT GLOBAL INTERCONNECTEDNESS WAS HIGHLIGHTED IN RECENT YEARS WITH THE SARS OUTBREAK IN 2003, AND MORE RECENTLY WITH THE H1N1 SWINE FLU VIRUS THAT STARTED IN MEXICO. IT QUICKLY INFECTED MILLIONS. AND THEN THERE'S AIDS, AT A 2009 TED TALK, WOLFE POINTED OUT THAT MILLIONS OF LIVES COULD POTENTIALLY HAVE BEEN SAVED IF THE AIDS VIRUS HAD BEEN DISCOVERED WHEN IT FIRST CROSSED FROM CHIMPS TO HUMANS.

>> THIS PHOTO WAS TAKEN BEFORE THE GREAT DEPRESSION IN BRAZZAVILLE, CONGO. AT THIS TIME, THERE WERE THOUSANDS OF INDIVIDUALS, WE THINK, THAT WERE INFECTED WITH HIV. IF THIS VIRUS WAS IN THOUSANDS OF INDIVIDUALS AT THIS POINT, WHY WAS IT THE CASE THAT IT TOOK US UNTIL 1984 TO BE ABLE TO DISCOVER THIS VIRUS?

>> REPORTER: AT HIS HEADQUARTERS, WOLFE HAS ASSEMBLED A TEAM OF SAVY YOUNG COMPUTER GURUS WHO COMB THE INTERNET, USING SOPHISTICATED ALGORITHMS, TO SEARCH FOR THE DIGITAL CLUES THAT COULD INDICATE THE OUTBREAK OF A DISEASE.

>> PEOPLE IF THEY'RE SICK, WILL SEARCH ON A CERTAIN KIND OF SYMPTOMS OR AT LEAST A NUMBER OF THEM WILL. SO AT EVERY MOMENT, WHETHER PEOPLE ARE SEARCHING OR TWEETING OR TEXTING, PEOPLE ARE INCREASINGLY SENDING OFF MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF DATA THAT GIVE US POTENTIAL CLUES INTO WHAT THEY'RE DOING AND THINKING.

>> REPORTER: BUT TO REALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT VIRAL THREATS ARE OUT THERE LURKING, WOLFE HAS TO GET OUT OF THE OFFICE. WOLFE AND HIS COLLEAGUES HAVE BEEN TREKKING THROUGH DENSE JUNGLES IN WEST AFRICA, AND PARTS OF ASIA, STUDYING THE CLOSE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN HUMANS AND THE ANIMALS THEY HUNT AND EAT. THE UNHYGIENIC CONDITIONS IN WHICH THE BUSHMEAT OR WILD GAME IS CAPTURED, PREPARED, AND EATEN ALLOWS BLOOD, BODILY FLUIDS AND VIRUSES TO PASS BETWEEN HUNTER AND PREY.

>> WE'VE BEEN WORKING SAY IN PARTS OF CENTRAL AFRICA FOR OVER TEN, 12 YEARS JUST WORKING WITH THESE POPULATIONS YEAR IN AND YEAR OUT. WE'RE ABLE TO DOCUMENT THIS SOMETIME, IS LITERALLY TO WATCH THESE VIRUSES AND THEY'RE JUMPING OVER FROM ANIMALS INTO HUMAN POPULATIONS. WE SEE NOVEL RETROVIRUSES, SO VIRSUES THAT ARE IN THE SAME BROAD FAMILY AS H.I.V., MOVING OVER INTO THESE HUNTERS FROM THE ANIMALS THAT THEY'VE HUNTED.

>> REPORTER: WOLFE'S TEAM HAS COLLECTED MORE THAN 200,000 BLOOD AND TISSUE SAMPLES FROM ANIMALS, HUNTERS AND THEIR FAMILIES IN AFRICA AND ASIA FROM FIELD LABS WHICH WOLFE DESCRIBES AS VIRAL LISTENING POSTS. THOSE SAMPLES ARE CONTINUOUSLY ANALYZED BY SCIENTISTS FOR SIGNS THAT NEW PATHOGENS ARE CROSSING OVER TO HUMANS. A LOT OF THE PLACES THAT YOU IDENTIFY AS SORT OF THE PETRI DISHES FOR FUTURE THREATS ARE ALSO PLACES WITH TINY GROSS NATIONAL PRODUCTS, PLACES THAT JUST GETTING THROUGH THE DAY IS A BIG ENOUGH THREAT, MUCH LESS WORRYING ABOUT TINY VIRUSES AND FUTURE THREATS THAT ARE SOMEWHERE OUT THERE IN THE FOREST.

>> LOOK, I THINK THIS IS A REALLY PIVOTAL POINT. WE'LL SIT WITH THESE POPULATIONS AND THEY SAY LOOK, YES, WE UNDERSTAND ANIMALS GET SICK AND DIE. WE SEE SICK ANIMALS. WE ALSO KNOW THAT WE CAN ACQUIRE SOME OF THESE ILLNESSES. BUT OUR FAMILY MEMBERS HAVE BEEN HUNTERING AND BUTCHERING ALL THEIR LIVES, YOU KNOW THIS IS OUR PRIMARY SOURCE AT LEAST FOR NOW FOR ANIMAL PROTEIN. AS A VIROLOGIST, I DIDN'T SORT OF EXPECT THAT I WOULD COME TO BE ADVOCATING FOR FOCUSING ON WORLD POVERTY AND PROTEIN ALTERNATIVES IN CENTRAL AFRICA, BUT THAT'S PART OF THE PROBLEM.

>> REPORTER: THE SIGNIFICANCE OF WOLFE'S WORK IS REFLECTED IN THE ORGANIZATIONS SUPPORTING HIM. THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, GOOGLE, THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH, AND THE SKOLL AND GATES FOUNDATIONS, WHICH ALSO FUND THE NEWSHOUR. WHAT KEEPS HIM UP AT NIGHT AND THE REASON WHY THERE HAS BEEN SO MUCH INTEREST IN HIS WORK IS THE THREAT OF A SUPER KILLER VIRUS THAT'S BOTH EASILY TRANSMITTABLE AND LETHAL.

>> THESE VIRUSES MUTATE AT AN INCREDIBLE RATE, SO SOMETHING WHICH IS HIGHLY TRANSMISSIBLE BUT NOT VERY DEADLY COULD BECOME VERY DEADLY. WHEN H1N1 WAS ON ITS WAY AND THE SO-CALLED SWINE FLU WAS ON ITS WAY RACING AROUND THE WORLD. ONE OF THE DANGERS IS THAT IT WOULD GET INTO SOME PIG OR SOME DUCK, OR EVEN A PERSON THAT WAS SIMULTANEOUSLY INFECTED WITH ANOTHER STRAIN OF FLU, FOR EXAMPLE SOMETHING LIKE H1N1. AND THEN THAT THESE VIRUSES WOULD ACTUALLY SORT OF MIX AND MATCH GENES. IF THAT HAPPENED, THERE'S THAT SMALL PROBABILITY, BUT WE WOULD GET A VIRUS THAT HAD THE CAPACITY TO SPREAD EFFECTIVELY AND HAD THE CAPACITY TO KILL AND THAT'S THE THING THAT OBVIOUSLY WE'RE ALL AFRAID OF.

>> REPORTER: WOLFE SAYS TOO MUCH ATTENTION IS PLACED ON RESPONSES TO OUTBREAKS, AND MORE FUNDING AND RESEARCH NEEDS TO BE PLACE ON EARLY DETECTION.

>> PANDEMIC PREVENTION, THIS IS INCREASINGLY SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE ARE RECOGNIZING AS AN ISSUE. BUT IT'S GOING TO TAKE SOME TIME FOR THE RESOURCES TO CATCH UP. WE NEED YOU KNOW BASICALLY HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO DO THIS WORK. REALLY AT THE END OF THE DAY BILLIONS OF DOLLARS. I JUST THINK AGAIN IT CAN'T BE REITERATED ENOUGH. THESE ARE NOT THE KIND OF THINGS THAT SHOULD BE CUT WHEN IT COMES TIME TO CUTTING BUDGETS. IF SO, WE'RE JUST SITTING THERE, BULLETS ARE DODGING LEFT AND RIGHT AND WE'RE BASICALLY IGNORING THE SHOOTERS.

>> REPORTER: YOUR BOOK IS THE "VIRAL STORM." NATHAN WOLFE, THANKS A LOT.

>> THANK YOU.

>> BROWN: AGAIN, THE MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS OF THE DAY: EUROPEAN LEADERS HELD EMERGENCY TALKS WITH GREECE'S PRIME MINISTER AS THEY STRUGGLED TO THE FEDERAL RESERVE PROJECTED U.S. GROWTH WILL BE SLOWER THROUGH NEXT YEAR AND UNEMPLOYMENT WILL BE HIGHER THAN EARLIER ESTIMATES. AND A THIRD WOMAN CHARGED THAT REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE HERMAN CAIN ENGAGED IN SEXUAL HARASSMENT WHEN HE RAN THE NATIONAL RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION. FIND MORE ON THE OCCUPY OAKLAND MOVEMENT ONLINE. HARI SREENIVASAN EXPLAINS. HARI?

>> SREENIVASAN: OUR COLLEAGUES AT KQED IN SAN FRANCISCO ARE TRACKING THE DEMONSTRATIONS. WE LINK TO THEIR LIVE COVERAGE ON THE RUNDOWN BLOG. A REPORT FROM THE C.D.C. REVEALS THAT LETHAL OVERDOSES OF PAINKILLERS HAVE TRIPLED IN THE PAST DECADE. OUR HEALTH UNIT HAS THE DETAILS. AND "NOVA" BEGINS A SERIES TONIGHT CALLED "THE FABRIC OF PHYSICIST BRIAN GREENE IS OUR GUIDE THROUGH THE REALITY THAT LURKS BENEATH THE SURFACE OF OUR EVERYDAY WORLD. IN THIS EXCERPT, HE EXPLORES THE STUFF THAT MAKES UP OUTER SPACE.

>> THERE'S SOMETHAT THAT FILLS SPACE AND COUNTERACT IT IS PULL OF ORDINARY ATTRACTIVE GRAVITY. PUSHING GALAXIES APART AND STRETCHING THE VERY FABRIC OF THE COSMOS. THIS MYSTERIOUS SUBSTANCE FILLING SPACE HAS BEEN DUBBED DARK ENERGY-- AND IT'S TURNED OUR PICTURE OF THE UNIVERSE UP SIDE DOWN. OVER THE LARGEST DISTANCES, DARK ENERGY DOMINATES THE CONTENTS OF THE UNIVERSE. AND WE DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS.

>> IF YOU DO SORT OF A SURVEY, A CENSUS, OF ALL ENERGY IN THE UNIVERSE, DARK ENERGY TURNS OUT TO BE ABOUT 70% OF THE UNIVERSE! AND UP UNTIL A DECADE AGO, NOBODY IMAGINED SUCH STUFF EVEN EXISTED.

>> SO IN ESSENCE, THE WEIGHT OF EMPTY SPACE ITSELF IS 70% OF THE WEIGHT OF THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE. THAT'S ROUGHLY THE SAME PERCENTAGE OF EARTH'S SURFACE THAT'S COVERED BY WATER. IMAGINE WE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT WATER IS. THAT'S WHERE WE STAND WITH DARK ENERGY.

>> Sreenivasan: "NOVA" AIRS ON MOST PBS STATIONS TONIGHT. CHECK YOUR LOCAL LISTINGS FOR THE TIME. ALL THAT AND MORE IS ON OUR WEB SITE: newshour.pbs.org.

>> Suarez: AND AGAIN TO OUR HONOR ROLL OF AMERICAN SERVICE PERSONNEL KILLED IN THE IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN CONFLICTS. WE ADD THEM AS THEIR DEATHS ARE MADE OFFICIAL AND PHOTOGRAPHS BECOME AVAILABLE. HERE, IN SILENCE, ARE NINE MORE.

>> Suarez: AND THAT'S THE "NEWSHOUR" FOR TONIGHT. ON THURSDAY, WE'LL LOOK AT POVERTY IN THE U.S. AND TALK WITH FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE CONDOLEEZA RICE ABOUT HER MEMOIR, "NO HIGHER HONOR." I'M RAY SUAREZ.

>> Brown: AND I'M JEFFREY BROWN. WE'LL SEE YOU ONLINE AND AGAIN HERE TOMORROW EVENING. THANK YOU AND GOOD NIGHT. MAJOR FUNDING FOR THE PBS NEWSHOUR HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY:

>> OKAY, LISTEN. SOMEBODY HAS GOT TO GET SERIOUS.

>> I THINK.

>> WE NEED RENEWABLE ENERGY. >>. RENEWABLE ENERGY IS VITAL TO OUR PLANET.

>> YOU HEAR ABOUT ALTERNATIVES, RIGHT? WIND, SOLAR, ALGAE.

>> I THINK IT'S GOT TO WORK ON A BIG SCALE. AND I THINK IT'S GOT TO BE AFFORDABLE.

>> SO, WHERE ARE THEY?

>> IT HAS TO WORK IN THE REAL WORLD. AT CHEVRON, WE'RE INVESTING MILLIONS IN SOLAR AND BIOFUEL TECHNOLOGY TO MAKE IT WORK.

>> WE'VE GOT TO GET ON THIS NOW.

>> RIGHT NOW. AND THE WILLIAM AND FLORA HEWLETT FOUNDATION, WORKING TO SOLVE SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS AT HOME AND AROUND THE WORLD. AND WITH THE ONGOING SUPPORT OF THESE INSTITUTIONS AND FOUNDATIONS. AND... THIS PROGRAM WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING. AND BY CONTRIBUTIONS TO YOUR PBS STATION FROM VIEWERS LIKE YOU. THANK YOU. CAPTIONING SPONSORED BY MACNEIL/LEHRER PRODUCTIONS CAPTIONED BY MEDIA ACCESS GROUP AT WGBH

>> THIS IS "BBC WORLD NEWS AMERICA." FUNDING FOR THIS PRESENTATION IS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE FREEMAN FOUNDATION OF NEW YORK, STOWE, VERMONT, AND HONOLULU. NEWMAN'S OWN FOUNDATION. SHELL. AND UNION BANK.

>> UNION BANK HAS PUT ITS FINANCIAL STRENGTH TO WORK FOR A WIDE RANGE OF COMPANIES, FROM SMALL BUSINESSES TO MAJOR CORPORATIONS. WHAT CAN WE DO FOR YOU?

>> AND NOW, "BBC WORLD NEWS."