All the Straight Poop on Bieber's Baby and Herman's Harasses

Monday,

Oct. 31

Raising a little Cain: Two women said to have accused Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain of sexual harassment; first he denies it, then says charge was "baseless," then admits paying off one woman ... In more trouble for The Hermanator, a Wisconsin-based corporation might have illegally funneled $40,000 cash to campaign ... Snow job: 300,000 in Connecticut still without electricity six days after snowstorm, and they're tired of excuses from Connecticut Light & Power ... Everybody's a capitalist now: Occupy Wall Street movement applies for trademark on the name so it can sell T-shirts, coffee mugs and other tchotchkes ... Close call: J.K. Rowling reveals she considered killing off Harry Potter's best friend, Ron Weasley, "out of sheer spite" because she "wasn't in a very happy place" in her life.

Tuesday, Nov. 1

A baby Biebs? Mariah Yeater, 20-year-old groupie from California, files paternity suit against Justin Bieber, claims they had sex backstage when she was 19 and he was 16. Bieber's lawyers say charge is false ... Just slightly tasteless: Loudon County, VA Republican Committee sends out email showing President Obama as a zombie with bullet hole in his head; state GOP condemns "disgusting image" ... Glad somebody's doing okay: Report by Roll Call shows total net worth of members of Congress topped $2 billion in 2010, up 25 percent since 2008 ... B of A blinks: Faced with consumer outrage and loss of customers, Bank of America cancels planned $5-a-month debit card fee ... Fool's gold: Goldline, a company touted by Glenn Beck and other right-wing icons, charged with running "bait-and-switch operation" in 19-count California criminal indictment.

Wednesday, Nov. 2

"Harass" is not two words: Third woman alleges Herman Cain sexually harassed her, although she decided not to file complaint; former National Restaurant Association exec says he saw Cain grope yet another woman at Virginia restaurant in 1990s; Cain campaign accuses rival Texas Gov. Rick Perry of masterminding smear campaign. And the idea of Rick Perry masterminding anything is pretty funny in itself ... Stepping it up: Hundreds of teachers don't show up for work in Oakland, CA, as Occupy Oakland calls for "general strike" to protest economic conditions; city officials estimate 4,500 demonstrators in streets ... Cain's got nothing on this guy: Ben Dawson, 83, a city council candidate in Centerville, IA, charged with prostitution after allegedly offering to have sex with woman as payment for a loan.

Thursday, Nov. 3

Memory lapse? Records show one woman Herman Cain allegedly harassed got $45,000 settlement, far more than the "two or three months' salary" he claimed, and another one got $35,000 ... Welcome to Banana Republic USA: Census data shows one in every 15 Americans now classed as "poorest of the poor," with incomes less than 50 percent of poverty level ... Meanwhile, study finds 280 of largest public corporations in US paid less than 35 percent corporate tax rate ... Sending the wrong message: "Rogue band" of Occupy Wall Streeters vandalizes downtown Oakland; more than 100 arrested ... Class act all the way: Tea Party heckler calls Massachusetts US Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren a "socialist whore" ... This is reassuring: After 35 minutes of debate, House of Representatives votes to affirm that "In God We Trust" is national motto - as it has been since 1956.

Friday, Nov. 4

Groupon stock soars 31 percent in first day of trading, closes at $26.11; company's market value put at $16.5 billion ... Yep, he's our boy: Koch brothers-backed Americans for Prosperity confirms it funneled money to Wisconsin-based "charity" headed by Herman Cain's campaign manager ... Bet she didn't figure on this: LA police investigating whether woman who claims Justin Bieber fathered her baby committed rape because he was underage at the time of their alleged backstage tryst ... The rot goes deep: London cops arrest Jamie Pyatt, veteran reporter for Rupert Murdoch's The Sun newspaper, in probe of payoffs to police ... If you're reading this, it missed: Huge asteroid to come closer to Earth than the moon on Tuesday, but still will be 210,000 miles away.

Saturday, Nov. 5

BFFs: In what must have been welcome change from dealing with charges of sexual harassment, Herman Cain has friendly, polite debate with rival GOP nomination-seeker Newt Gingrich ... Taking a tragic turn: Woman in her 20s found dead of apparent overdose at Occupy Vancouver campsite, second such death in three days; mayor calls for shutting down camp ... Meanwhile police arrest protesters trying to set up camp in Honolulu ... Big trouble in Happy Valley: Jerry Sandusky, former Penn State football defensive coordinator, charged with sexually assaulting eight underage boys; Penn State athletic director and VP for finance charged with perjury ... Anger management problem: Ledell Peoples, 55, of Chicago charged with fatally stabbing Maria Adams, 49, over missing bag of Halloween candy.

Sunday, Nov. 6

Losing traction: Poll shows Herman Cain's support slipping in wake of sexual harassment charges, drops 9 points among Republicans ... Breathing room: Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, opposition leader Antonis Samaras agree to form unity government, move ahead on debt bailout ... Platinum parachute: Rebekah Brooks, News of the World editor ousted in phone-hacking scandal, got severance package including $2.7 million cash plus London office and chauffeured limo ... The suspense is killing us: Justin Bieber says he'll take DNA test to prove he's not father of Maria Yeater's baby. World waits breathlessly.