Mark Memmott

A Chicago woman just told reporters that in a 1997 encounter with 2012 Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain in Washington, D.C., he reached under her skirt and tried to pull her head toward his crotch.

A Cain spokesman calls the story "more false accusations."

Sharon Bialek, who said she had come to Cain for employment advice, claimed he took her out to dinner and then in his car "suddenly reached over and put his hand on my leg under my skirt and reached for my genitals." Then, she said, he "grabbed my head and brought it toward his crotch."

Attorney Gloria Allred's office just sent this message to reporters:

"A woman who alleges that she was sexually harassed by Presidential hopeful, Herman Cain, when she sought his help with an employment issue when he was President of the National Restaurant Association will hold a news conference with her Attorney, Gloria Allred on Monday, November 7^th, at 1:30 p.m. (e.s.t.) at the Friars Club, 57 East 55th Street New York, NY 10022.

You didn't have to be a boxing fan in the '70s to know the name Joe Frazier and to know that he'll forever be linked to Muhammad Ali.

Smokin' Joe was, as The Associated Press reminds us, the first man to beat Ali, "knocking him down and taking a decision in the so-called Fight of the Century at Madison Square Garden in 1971. He would go on to lose two more fights to Ali, including the epic 'Thrilla in Manila.' "

It's never a good sign for a leader's longevity when he has to issue a statement like this:

"The rumors of my resignation are groundless."

That's from Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi this morning, on his official Facebook page.

As The Associated Press writes, earlier today:

There's been a huge increase in the wealth gap between older Americans and those just entering adulthood, according to a new analysis of Census Bureau data done by the Pew Research Center.

According to Pew's study:

In 2009, "households headed by adults ages 65 and older ... had 47 times as much net wealth as the typical household headed by someone" under 35 years of age. Pew says that "back in 1984, this had been a less lopsided 10-to-1 ratio."

Good morning.

Our early headlines were:

-- Penn State Abuse Allegations: Paterno 'Deeply Saddened'.

-- Report: Iran On 'Threshold Of Nuclear Capability'.

Other top stories of the day so far:

The alleged sexual abuse of children by a former assistant coach on the Penn State University football team was allowed to continue for at least a decade because of "a culture that did nothing to stop it" at the school, Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan just told reporters in Harrisburg.

"Intelligence provided to U.N. nuclear officials shows that Iran's government has mastered the critical steps needed to build a nuclear weapon, receiving assistance from foreign scientists to overcome key technical hurdles," The Washington Post reports this morning.

Don't panic if you're a fan of those tiny beads of ice cream. They're still going to be available.

But the cold, hard fact is that Dippin' Dots this week filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, according to WPSD-TV in Paducah, Ky., where the company that makes the so-called ice cream of the future is headquartered.

"I will get stronger. I will return" to Congress, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, (D-Ariz.), vows in a new book she has written with her husband about the devastating injuries she received last Jan. 8 when a gunman opened fire during an event she was hosting in Tucson.

It's one of the surest signs yet that she intends to remain in politics and seek re-election next year.

Fast-forward to about the 3-minute mark in this video if you want to see the moment when six men who had lived together in a mock spaceship for 18 months emerged today in Moscow.

President Obama held a news conference today in Cannes, France, where he and other leaders from the G-20 nations have wrapped up a two-day summit. We live-blogged as he spoke.

Update at 11:20 a.m. ET. On The President's Comments About GDP And The Economy Since He Took Office:

The It's All Politics blog is handling most of NPR.org's coverage of the sexual harassment allegations against Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain — who has said the charges that stem from his time as head of the National Restaurant Association in the late 1990s are baseless.

Good morning.

Things have been a bit busy already today. Our early headlines:

-- Unemployment Rate Dips To 9 Percent; 80,000 Jobs Added.

-- Corzine Resigns From MF Global.

The nation's unemployment rate ticked down to 9 percent in October from 9.1 percent in September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics just reported.

Meanwhile, there was a net gain of 80,000 jobs on public and private payrolls. Private-sector employment went up by 104,000 jobs. Government agencies reduced their payrolls by 20,000.

We'll have more from the report shortly.

Update at 8:40 a.m. ET. More Details:

(A new top and some other material were added to this post at 11:50 a.m. ET.)

The headlines this morning on the websites of The Atlantic and National Journal certainly grab your attention:

-- "The Ally From Hell." (The Atlantic)

-- "The Pentagon's Secret Plans To Secure Pakistan's Nuclear Arsenal." (National Journal)

The most-anticipated economic news of the week — word about the October unemployment rate and, hopefully, how many jobs were added to payrolls last month — is due at 8:30 a.m. ET.

A month ago, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said the jobless rate in September was 9.1 percent and that 103,000 jobs were added to private and government payrolls.

Getting arrested for using pepper spray on a group of people has at least temporarily cost self-proclaimed Seattle superhero Phoenix Jones his day job helping autistic children.

Hillary Adams, who videotaped her father beating her in 2004 and released it to the world last week because she believes he should not be serving as a judge in Texas, said this morning that such punishments happened regularly and that she believes her father "needs help and rehabilitation."

For his part, Judge William Adams says that "in my mind I haven't done anything wrong. ... She wasn't hurt, it was a long time ago" and she was just "being disciplined."

Good morning.

Our early headlines:

-- Greek Prime Minister Under Pressure To Resign.

-- Jobless Claims Dip Below 400,000.

-- Cain Allegations: The Latest Developments.

(We're updating this post as the story develops. Hit "refresh" and scroll down to see our latest additions.)

Under intense pressure from the European Union, Greece's prime minister has scrapped the idea of asking the country to vote on whether to accept the terms of a bailout package.

There were 397,000 first-time claims for unemployment benefits last week, down 9,000 from the week before, the Employment and Training Administration just reported.

Catching up on the latest news about the allegations, which he says are false, that Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain sexually harassed some women when he was heading the National Restaurant Association in the late 1990s:

There's quiet now in the streets of Oakland, the local Tribune reports.

But what began as a "mostly peaceful" general strike that "drew thousands Wednesday for rallies and marches ... turned chaotic early Thursday after protesters took over a vacant building and police moved in, firing tear gas and flashbang grenades."

Update at 6:56 p.m. ET. French President Nicolas Sarkozy says that the next round of rescue loans will not be paid, until after Greeks vote on whether to accept the terms of the bailout package.

This is significant, because Greece has said it will run out of money some time this month and the referendum is so far slated for early December.

Weekend Edition Sunday host Audie Cornish will be filling in for Michele Norris on All Things Considered for a year, starting in January, NPR just announced.

Good morning.

Our early headlines:

-- WikiLeaks' Julian Assange Loses Extradition Appeal.

-- Lawyer: One Of Cain's Accusers Wants Her Story Told.

-- Crisis Talks In Cannes Over Greek Bailout Plan.

The Paris offices of a French newsweekly that in its latest issue "invited" the Prophet Muhammad to be a guest editor and satirically wrote of what a "soft version" of Sharia law might be like, were burned early today.

According to The Associated Press:

After a bad day Tuesday, financial markets are faring better so far today.