WASHINGTON

Cain’s wife says accusers’ claims don’t ring true

Herman Cain’s wife says the claims of sex harassment against the GOP presidential candidate don’t ring true because he “totally respects women.”

Gloria Cain told Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren: “I’m thinking he would have to have a split personality to do the things that were said.”

In an interview to be aired today during the show “On the Record,” Gloria Cain said she can’t believe the claims he harassed women when he led the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s.

“You hear the graphic allegations and we know that would have been something that’s totally disrespectful of her as a woman,” she said. “And I know the type of person he is. He totally respects women.”

Excerpts of the interview were released Sunday.

ATLANTA

Department store has to cut Christmas tree that snapped

It’s the Drought That Stole Christmas.

Macy’s at Atlanta’s Lenox Mall must cut down a new Christmas tree after the 60-foot white pine selected for the holidays snapped while being hoisted atop the department store Sunday.

Melissa Goff with Macy’s said the store usually selects its tree from a Georgia forest, but drought conditions have made it difficult to find a healthy tree this year.

She said the 11,000-pound tree was from Douglas County. She said a backup tree has been selected and will be brought in this week.

MOSCOW

Russian engineers try to fix probe bound for Mars moon

Russian space engineers are still struggling to fix a probe bound for a moon of Mars that instead got stuck in Earth’s orbit.

The Phobos-Grunt was launched Wednesday and reached preliminary orbit, but its engines never fired to send it off to the Red Planet. The unmanned probe will come crashing down in a couple of weeks if engineers fail to fix the problem.

The ITAR-Tass news agency reported Sunday that efforts to communicate with the spacecraft have so far been unsuccessful .

KAPOLEI, Hawaii

Obama meets with leaders on Iran nuclear bomb report

President Obama says sanctions on Iran are having “enormous bite,” but he still wants to work with Russia and China to find more ways of putting pressure on Tehran to halt its nuclear program.

At a news conference Sunday after the APEC summit in Hawaii, Obama didn’t specify those measures – and said he’s still not taking any options off the table.

At the summit, Obama met with Russian and Chinese leaders to discuss a new report from the U.N. watchdog agency that included evidence Iran’s program is working on research and design efforts to develop a nuclear bomb.

Obama said Russia and China share America’s goal of making sure Iran doesn’t build the bomb. But both countries have said they oppose new sanctions.

PORTLAND, Ore.

Demonstrators stage march after eviction from parks

Several hundred protesters, some wearing goggles and gas masks, marched past authorities in a downtown street Sunday, hours after riot police forced Occupy Portland demonstrators out of a pair of weeks-old encampments in nearby parks.

Police moved in shortly before noon and drove protesters into the street after dozens remained in the camp in defiance of city officials. Mayor Sam Adams had ordered that the camp shut down Saturday at midnight, citing unhealthy conditions and the encampment’s attraction of drug users and thieves.

More than 50 protesters were arrested in the police action, but officers did not use tear gas, rubber bullets or other so-called non-lethal weapons, police said.

After the police raid, the number of demonstrators swelled throughout the afternoon. By early evening, dozens of officers with nightsticks stood shoulder-to-shoulder to hold the protesters back. Authorities retreated and protesters broke the standoff by marching through the streets.

Demonstrators regrouped several blocks away, where they broke into small groups to discuss their future.