National News from NPR

Here are some of the latest developments in the scandal at Penn State, where former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky has been charged with sexually abusing young boys for more than a decade (he says he's innocent) and head coach Joe Paterno has been fired after coming under withering criticism for not having done more to investigate the allegations:

There's so much that can be said about this day's date.

The arrival of Nov. 11, 2011, or 11-11-11, brings with it:

-- "Nigel Tufnel Day." Spinal Tap fans know: 11 is "one louder."

-- All Songs Considered's 11 songs you can turn up to 11.

Angry that her daughter was eliminated from a 4-H competition, Jeannie Groat of upstate New York protested, using the F-word. According to the Walton Reporter, she was charged with disorderly conduct and sentenced to 15 days in jail. Even prosecutors say they didn't ask for such a harsh penalty. Another judge blocked the jail time.

The Corduroy Appreciation Club loves Friday's date, 11/11/11, because of its visual likeness to corduroy wales. To get into a party Friday night in New York, you must wear at least three items made of corduroy.

Before we move on to the day's news, serious and silly, we want to pause for a moment to note that it's Veterans Day.

As President Obama's declaration states, on this day Americans "pay tribute to our veterans, to the fallen, and to their families." And, the proclamation adds, "to honor their contributions to our Nation, let us strive with renewed determination to keep the promises we have made to all who have answered our country's call."

Suzanne Opton is the author of Soldier/Many Wars.

When the war in Iraq began, I worried there would be a draft. What if my son was called? How would he ever recover from going to war?

I decided that I wanted to meet the young men and women who voluntarily sign up. I began at Fort Drum in upstate New York where I photographed soldiers between tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. There was little conversation as I asked each soldier to adopt a vulnerable, intimate position, and lay his or her head on a table. I did not give these images captions.

Florida Tea Party activists helped push presidential candidate Herman Cain to the head of the GOP pack at the state Republican straw poll in September. Since then, a series of women have come forward with sexual harassment allegations against him. Cain's campaign has raised $90 million since Oct. 1 — more than double the amount raised in the previous 9 months.

A law passed after the Exxon Valdez oil spill requires the government to assess the biological damage from big spills so fines can be fixed and damage paid for. The National Academy of Sciences has a report describing the methods and metrics of determining the "ecosystem services" that have been lost due to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

On this Veterans Day, Steve Inskeep talks with General Eric Shinseki, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, about veterans returning from war and trying to find employment in a tough economy.