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Prayer & Protest in Egypt; Black Friday's A Bummer for Some; Psychology of Violence on Black Friday; Pakistani Woman Kills, Chops Up, Cooks Husband; Newt Gingrich Leads Polls, Catches Heat on Illegal Immigration; AT&T, T-Mobile Merger Hits Snag; Kitten Rescued on Thanksgiving Day

Aired November 25, 2011 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Good to see you. Have a great weekend unless I see you here this weekend.

HALA GORANI, CNN ANCHOR: No, you won't.

WHITFIELD: OK. Have a good Thanksgiving weekend, Hala. Appreciate that.

GORANI: Thank you. You, too.

WHITFIELD: All right. Live from Studio 7, I'm Fredericka Whitfield.

Let's get you up to speed for this Friday, November 25th. Black Friday shoppers are swarming stores today for deals and some are going to the competitive brink to get a bargain. A woman at Wal-Mart in Los Angeles went to the extreme, squirting pepper spray on other people waiting in line for an Xbox video game console. The line quickly cleared. She paid and then left. Paramedics treated 15 people for pepper spray burns.

And a shopper shot in the foot outside of a Wal-Mart in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, early today. Police say two men robbed a group of bargain hunters and they were filling the trunk of their car.

Gunshots also greeted early morning shoppers at Cross Creek Mall in Fayetteville, North Carolina. The shooting began outside and then moved inside. No one was hit. Police are looking for two suspects.

Pro and anti-government demonstrations are being held across Egypt today.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

WHITFIELD: Protesters paused for Friday prayers. This demonstration in Tahrir Square is dubbed last chance, implying that military rulers are running out of time to give in to demands to step down. A former prime minister has been renamed to the post by military leaders and asked to form a government of national salvation.

Egypt's interior ministry is responding to claims by Egyptian American journalist Mona Eltahawy who says that she was beaten and sexually assaulted by riot police. A government spokesman says its police do not treat journalists or females in that manner and if Eltahawy she claims took place, it may have been a, quote, "isolated incident." Eltahawy's left arm and right hand are broken.

She spoke to us live from Egypt yesterday and then talked about the assault to CNN in Cairo again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MONA ELTAHAWY, JOURNALIST: There's only one way to describe it. It's like a bunch of just wild beasts, kind of, finding their prey because, I mean, these riot police guys were out of control. And it was extremely -- it was horrifying and traumatic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: This week's violence in Egypt left 41 people dead and more than 3,200 injured.

A Los Angeles judge will sentence Dr. Conrad Murray Tuesday for causing the death of legendary pop icon Michael Jackson. Prosecutors say Murray has shown no remorse. They're asking for the maximum penalty. Four years in prison. They also want him to pay Jackson's children more than $100 million. Murray's defense team wants probation.

A New Zealand pilot is talking about this incredible escape from a helicopter crash. Take a look.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

WHITFIELD: Greg Gribble was using his chopper to set up a Christmas tree when the blades appeared to get caught on some cables sending causing it to crash to the ground, as you see there. Gribble explains what happened next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GREG GRIBBLE, PILOT WHO SURVIVED CHOPPER CRASH: Because it happened so quickly it was like a dream really. It was like "bang" and then the next thing I had a couple of guys undoing my belt. There's a bit of blood on the back there. But I don't know if it was my head that hit the back there or if it was my seat. Bit of a graze there -- left leg's got about two of those.

That's your main belt that's connected to the floor of the aircraft, OK? I must have slid right inside of it, and thrown me out and drag me back and backwards. You know, if I wasn't wearing that, it would have been all over.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Gribble walked away from the accident with only a few scratches.

And here's stateside, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas at the White House, especially, with the official Christmas tree arriving at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

First Lady Michelle Obama is receiving the special delivery of Wisconsin and we'll take you to the White House live in a few minutes for a closer look.

All right. Let's get back now to Egypt. Prayer and protests in Tahrir Square today. Demonstrators are calling it the last chance protest.

CNN's Ivan Watson joins us from the square in Cairo.

So, Ivan, what's the situation today?

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Fredericka.

Well, hundreds of thousands of Egyptians have turned out in to the streets in Cairo today. So far, peacefully, at two rival demonstrations. The one here in Tahrir Square, after days of bloody violence, teargas canisters, rubber bullets.

What we're seeing fireworks and cheers from the people and in another part of town, another rally in support of the ruling military council that the people here seem to hate so much. It's good that we haven't seen any bloodshed thus far here in Cairo.

And the ruling military council has issued a decree saying due to the big turnout, the unprecedented turnout in the two rallies, they have decided to suspend (ph) voting on Monday and the first phase of parliamentary elections and extra day so that people can have more time to cast their ballots. They're planning on going ahead with elections even though at least 41 people were killed in the last five, six days of violence here -- Fredericka.

WHITFIELD: And, Ivan, you have spoken with a Egyptian-American journalist Mona Eltahawy, who says he's been beaten and sexually assaulted and groped by riot police. How's she doing now as best you know?

WATSON: Well, she's been in Tahrir Square meeting with supporters and fellow so-called revolutionaries and they have been signing her cast. She's been very proud of that, and posting that on her Twitter feed.

Take a listen, an excerpt of her interview with us late last night shortly after she had been released from the hospital.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELTAHAWY: I was surrounded by four or five riot police who just beat the heck out of me with their sticks. And then they dragged me to the side, inside the barricade now, in to no man's land and started to sexually assault me, groped my breasts, put their hands between my legs. I lost count of the number of hands trying to get in to my belt and I was literally pulling hands out of my belt and just saying, no, no, and trying to push them away. But the beatings continued as I was trying to push them away, as I was trying to push their hands away and they were dragging me by my hair to the ministry because the ministry is a few minutes away.

And I just like there's only one way I can describe it. It's just like a bunch of wild beasts, kind of, finding their prey because, I mean, these riot police guys were out of control. And it was extremely -- it was horrifying and traumatic. And it didn't stop when they took me just outside of the interior ministry because they continued groping me all the way. It was like I was fair game. Anyone I passed who wanted to grope me would grope me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: Now, Fredericka, the spokesman for the ministry (AUDIO BREAK) says the police do not attack or sexually assault Egyptian citizens though he said there may have been an isolated incident here -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Meantime, Ivan, what about the three American students who were arrested for allegedly throwing Molotov cocktails at riot police? They were released. But what's their status right now?

WATSON: Well, it turns out that the prosecutors' office here ordered their release. But they're still in police custody since they were arrested on Monday. I just got off the phone with a spokesman for the U.S. embassy here in Cairo. He says that part of the hold-up is there appear to be some kind of administrative procedures to allow them (AUDIO BREAK) to be released from the police.

Their friends and family are denying accusations from the Egyptian security forces that these three American students were involved in throwing Molotov cocktails at the police. The friends and family say that was not possible. These are not violent people.

But as of yet, they're still not free men, Fredericka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Ivan Watson, thanks so much for those updates. Appreciate that.

Meantime, here's run down of the stories straight ahead:

First, a woman in Pakistan allegedly kills and then tries to cook her husband. We are live in Islamabad with details.

Then, we've asked a psychologist to break down the Jekyll and Hyde mentally that comes along every Black Friday.

Plus, mama mia, a CNN hero. A California chef inspired by his mother hands out free pasta dinners to underprivileged kids every day.

And then, AT&T may be not be adding another "T" after all. How a $39 billion merger with T-Mobile may be in jeopardy.

And firefighters, police officers and volunteers spent eight frustrating hours trying to get a kitten out of a pipe.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. The countdown to Christmas begins at the White House. The official White House Christmas tree arriving there, right outside the White House. It's beautiful. Right there on the carriage.

First Lady Michelle Obama receiving the special delivery from Wisconsin, at the north portico and there, her daughters Sasha and Malia along with her. Here's the pictures recently taken just moments ago as they're kind of surveying the tree, making it a real family affair there with the dog. The 19-foot balsam fir is from Schroeder's Forever Green near Neshkoro, Wisconsin. I hope I got that right.

It was selected in early October and harvested this month. And ready to be perched in its place and decorated for everyone to see and enjoy.

All right. Now that Thanksgiving is over, Americans are embracing another holiday tradition -- Black Friday, when retailers slash prices to entice the crowds like these.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: Three, two, one!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: OK. Well, at least they weren't storming through and running. Some are starting to pick up the pace -- mst walking, though. This taking place at Macy's at the flagship store in Manhattan. It opened at midnight in New York.

And Target, Best Buy and Kohl's also opened their doors at midnight.

While savvy shoppers may get a rush out of bagging some early bargains, not everyone is as thrilled.

George Howell is at a Best Buy in Atlanta. He's thrilled to be there. But who is unhappy?

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredericka, first of all, as far as customers, they are pretty satisfied with what we're seeing. This store opened, as you mentioned, at midnight.

But customers started camping out 6:00 p.m. Wednesday. I don't know if there's such a thing as black Wednesday, but a lot of people in here now and certainly a busy time for the employees here. Many of them started their shift at 10:00 p.m. Thanksgiving Day. They will be ending that shift this hour, 11:00 Eastern so 12-hour shift, a long day for them.

You get a mix. You get some worker who is are fine with it who take it in stride and you also find some that we focused on, that we talked to, who have a problem with these big stores opening on Black Friday early.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have a notebook for $79 but I didn't get soon enough for that one.

HOWELL (voice-over): It's 6:00 a.m., the doors are open at K- Mart. But this is Thursday, Thanksgiving Day. We found customers like Elaine and Carlos Gonzalez putting turkey dinner on the back burner in search of bargains.

ELAINE GONZALEZ, SHOPPER: We got him a Kinect for his birthday and I got my oldest son a big TV and we got a camera for the family.

HOWELL: From Macy's to Wal-Mart, customers are finding good deals when stores open early for Black Friday.

But what about the employees who give up their Thanksgiving?

RICK MELARAGNI, BEST BUY EMPLOYEE: We are retail workers and expected to work odd hours. This is the first year that Best Buy as a whole asked us to miss our Thanksgiving.

HOWELL: Rick Melaragni started an online petition against Best Buy for asking employees to work Thanksgiving Day. He's gotten more than 15,000 signatures.

MELARAGNI: I understand that there's money to be made and we need to make that money. But family should always come above any form of money.

HOWELL: Another petition started by a Target employee in Omaha, Nebraska, has gotten some 200,000 signatures.

Anthony Hardwick explained via Skype.

ANTHONY HARDWICK, TARGET EMPLOYEE: The store management is very friendly. Think about the people who are having an issue with this petition are up in Minneapolis.

HOWELL: Both Minneapolis-based retailers responded. From Target, "We have heard from our guests that they want to shop Target following their Thanksgiving celebrations rather than only having the option of getting up in the middle of the night." And from Best Buy, "We have customers who have told us that they'd like to shop Best Buy on Thanksgiving Day, and that's why we're opening at midnight."

Ellen Davis with the National Retail Federation says stores opened early to stay competitive.

ELLEN DAVIS, NATIONAL RETAIL FEDERATION: For the last several years, Black Friday has been the biggest shopping day of the year. And retailers know that they need to do everything they can in order to maximize the sales on that day.

HOWELL: While some may choose to enjoy the holiday at home, those out for the deals are giving thanks for those giving up their holiday.

GONZALEZ: They're giving up their family time and they need to -- everybody should just say thank you for being here today.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: I want to come back to a live picture here in Atlanta, Georgia, just to show you how busy this Best Buy is. It's been consistent since midnight through the morning. And just here in the last few minutes, Fredericka, we are starting to see a change of faces as these employees who have been working since 10:00 p.m. are starting to go home and new employees are coming in.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. They're tuckered out.

All right, George Howell, thanks so much for that view of Black Friday.

So, with all the Black Friday hype, you'd think that just about every American might be in a store today. Well, apparently not the case. A new CNN/ORC poll finds just 23 percent of Americans, fewer than one in four, will actually hit the stores today. A whopping 76 percent say no thanks. They'll happily sit out Black Friday.

And a lot of people working the cash registers today are part- timers who can't find full-time work. Before the recession, 4 million Americans were working as part-timers.

For that reason, how many are there now? Nine million? Or is B, 5 million? Or C, 3 million?

The answer in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. So, a lot more Americans working part- time jobs these days because they can't find full-time work. There were 4 million of those part-timers before the recession back in 2007.

So, how many are there now? More than double. The Labor Department says about 9 million Americans working part-time jobs because they have no full-time options.

All year, we have been introducing you to every day people who are changing the world. We call them CNN Heroes.

Well, now, I went to introduce you to one of the top 10 CNN heroes for 2011. Since 2005, Chef Bruno Serato has been serving free pasta dinners to more than 300 children through his charity Caterina's Club. Many of these kids come from families who are struggling and live in motels.

Bruno Serato joins me now from Los Angeles.

Congratulations for the amazing work you have been doing.

BRUNO SERATO, 2011 CNN TOP TEN HERO: Thank you. Buon giorno to you. How are you?

WHITFIELD: Buon giorno: I'm doing great.

So, since being named one of the top CNN Heroes, what has happened to Caterina's Club?

SERATO: Well, first of all, I have to take a second to calm down. I was so impressed to be one of the 10 honorees. Isn't it amazing? Caterina is doing what it's been doing for seven years, feeding 300 children every day. It's beautiful.

In fact, last night watching the CNN Hero of the last past five years, I enjoy to be part of this great, unbelievable, great human beings. Caterina's Club has been -- it's planning to expand. I mean, that's what CNN is doing to us, is making us worldwide recognition and hopefully, I hope it can go to around the world. This is my goal.

WHITFIELD: So, just looking at the videotape of you, you know, handing out plates of pasta to kids, looks like this is so gratifying to you.

SERATO: Part of the --

WHITFIELD: Yes. You started this to help out the families. But in the end, do you feel like you are getting a big gift, as well, in return?

SERATO: Well, you know what? I think you cannot even ask -- you cannot even ask for a bigger gift. When you see a child smiling at you, when you see a kid give you a hug, when you see a kid eat your own pasta, you just cook for it, this is the most rewarding part of my life. And that's my favorite part of the day between 4:00 and 5:00 when I go there serving the kids.

WHITFIELD: And your mom gets a lot of credit, too, because she gave you this idea? Is that true?

SERATO: Well, mama deserved all the credit because when I went with her the first time to the Boys and Girls Club, she find out with me the moment and a little boy was not eating dinner that night because he was a motel kid. She looked at me and said, "Bruno, you must do pasta for him."

Good son, I listen to my mama and that was first night. The first time was 70 children. And with the economy, we went happy and in the last four years, the children triple from 70 as we start. Now, we are over 300, sometimes 350, maybe even more some days.

It is all thanks to mama. Mama deserves the credit.

WHITFIELD: Oh.

SERATO: Mama Caterina.

WHITFIELD: That's fantastic. You have served so many people and been a great gift for them and I know they congratulate you. And thank you as well.

Congratulations on being a CNN Top Ten Hero. All the best to you. Good luck.

SERATO: Grazie. Caio. Grazie Mille.

WHITFIELD: Ciao.

SERATO: Ciao.

WHITFIELD: All right. Bruno Serato.

Go to CNNHeroes.com now online and on your mobile device to vote for the CNN hero who inspires you the most. All 10 will be honored live at the CNN heroes, all-star tribute hosted by our own Anderson Cooper, Sunday, December 11th.

Straight ahead on the rundown: next, the psychology of Black Friday. What makes some people go just a tad bit and sometimes over the top crazy for bargains?

Then, a bizarre crime out of Pakistan. A woman accused of killing, cutting up and then trying to cook her husband.

And a little kitten in big trouble. Firefighters give up the holiday to help it out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: For some, Black Friday is getting a little out of hand. New video in right now.

Take a look at this YouTube video -- a customer shot of a police officer in a Wal-Mart in Kinston, North Carolina, trying to make an arrest. Apparently pepper spray was used. One customer says many people had to be taken to the hospital because of reactions to the spray.

And then in Los Angeles, a woman at a Wal-Mart pepper sprayed other shoppers while trying to cut ahead in line. Police say that she was somehow able to pay for her purchases and then leave the store before they actually got there.

And then on to Fayetteville, North Carolina. Someone fired shots outside a mall entrance around 2:00 this morning as shoppers were gathering for sales there. No injuries were reported.

And in Kissimmee, Florida, police had to wrestle a man to the ground to stop a fight at a Wal-Mart jewelry store.

So, what makes otherwise civil, respectful people push and shove, especially on Black Friday?

Let's ask a psychologist. Joining right now me is Jeff Gardere.

So, good to see you. Happy Thanksgiving and post-Thanksgiving and happy Black Friday -- except it's not so happy in some places. People are out of control and losing their minds as we saw in those examples.

JEFF GARDERE, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Yes.

WHITFIELD: What's happening? What's the explanation behind this kind of behavior?

GARDERE: Well, I think part of it is you look at the economy. People are really desperate and now you throw in this mix of Black Friday and all of the hype and the brainwashing and I think people are whipped into a frenzy, psychologically, physically. It's a major event. An opportunity to hoard, perhaps, some product that they really don't actually need and some that they have to have.

And it becomes really a deadly mix, and then you have that mob mentality with the anonymity and lack of a conscious.

WHITFIELD: So, this mob mentality or even this kind of competitive nature, is it in all of us?

GARDERE: It is in all of us, but we're also civilized human beings and we know when it's time to turn it on and when it's time to turn it off.

But what happens is, when we have this kind of advertising and the retailers use these incredible sales, 40 percent, 50 percent, 60 percent, 70 percent off, people can't help themselves at times. And it is a competitive nature. People get together. Because they're with other people and they're fighting to get the products, they become even more competitive. And then they actually begin to become inappropriate, very rude or even some criminal, very aggressive behaviors.

WHITFIELD: And no one can forget what happened back in 2008 when, at a Wal-Mart, a worker was actually trampled to death by people that rushed through the doors and so anxious to get to those sales. And it took a long time before anyone realized somebody was on the ground injured, which ultimately led to his death.

So, when you see examples like this and even examples that we talked about earlier that have happened today, since midnight, for example, do you feel that it's time for the retailers to take more responsibility and say, you know what, maybe people can't behave responsibly and we shouldn't have these sort of, you know, Black Friday or midnight or 6:00 a.m. rush for a bargain or you have only two hours to take advantage of a particular bargain?

GARDERE: Fredericka, I think you're absolutely right. The retailers do have to take responsibility. They really do need to understand that, in this particular economy, people are very, very desperate. They still can make the money, maybe not as much as they want to make, but you also have to be responsible for your fellow human beings, especially in a society where people have a lot of desperation.

So therefore, they shouldn't be pushing them so much and using all sorts of psychological tactics to get them to feed in to the desperation and competitive spirit. They should work with them, have better crowd control, and if they need to, teach them a better ways to shop where, at the same time, they can be kind to their fellow shoppers.

WHITFIELD: And shoppers need to be responsible, as well. How do you avoid getting hooked up in to that trap of, hey, everybody else is doing it so I'm going to do it, too?

GARDERE: First, don't buy in to the hype. Yes, there are incredible sales on Black Fridays but there's also Cyber Mondays. And the fact of the matter is a lot of people do know, who are seasoned shoppers, that you can go on the net. You can go to different places on the Internet, shopping guides and so on, where you can find some of those sales. Don't get in to the hoarding mentality. But at the end of the day, be responsible for your own behavior. In other words, practice, as much as you can, control. No matter how much you may want a particular product, it is not worth it if you end up getting hurt or hurting somebody else.

WHITFIELD: Absolutely.

Jeff Gardere, thanks so much. Good to see you. Happy holiday.

GARDERE: My pleasure. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: A this out of Pakistan, a gruesome and very disturbing story. A woman is accused of killing her husband, chopping up the body and then trying to cook the pieces. And she says why in a television interview.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: We're following a bizarre and disturbing story out of Pakistan of a gruesome murder of a man allegedly by his wife.

Reza, it seems like something out of a horror movie, but it's very real, a woman trying to cook her husband's body parts. What happened?

REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNTIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, oftentimes, we use the word "shocking" in TV news and it's overused, but this time it fits the bill. It doesn't get more grisly than this.

According to Pakistani police, 32-year-old Zana Bebe (ph) from Karachi, Pakistan, drugged her husband and then hanged him, then proceeded, with the help of her 22-year-old nephew, to cut up his body to 51 separate pieces.

But it doesn't end there. According to police, then she proceeded to cook her husband's body parts. Police say she didn't want to consume her husband's body parts. She wanted to get rid of it without being caught and thought this was the way to do it. It didn't work.

According to police, neighbors smelled a putrid, foul odor. They called police. Police arrived at her home. We spoke to an investigator who was on the scene. He said he walked in and saw Zana Bebe (ph) with a bunch of pots and pans on the stove cooking up her husband's body parts. Needless to say, Fredericka, they took her away to jail. They took her nephew away, as well. She is awaiting murder charges along with some other charges, as well.

WHITFIELD: And why, Reza, is she believed to have done this?

SAYAH: Yes, a Pakistani television station did a jailhouse interview with her and she told this television station that this was her second husband. She had a daughter from her first marriage and apparently the husband wanted to divorce her and marry this teenage daughter. Obviously, she was incensed. In that television interview, she wasn't remorseful or sorry. She said he deserved it. She said I did the right thing, he deserved. She said that I killed him before he could get his hands on my daughter -- Fredericka?

WHITFIELD: All right, Reza Sayah, thanks so much, from Islamabad.

All right, imagine being born partially deaf and then choosing to become a rock star. It's the path KISS guitarist and singer, Paul Stanley, took. Find out what he's doing to help others hear the music loud and clear.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: So it happens every year, Somebody starts talking politics at the Thanksgiving dinner table and everything goes haywire. This spoof courtesy of "Jimmy Kimmel Live."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK PERRY, (R), GOVERNOR TEXAS & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Mitt, you hired illegals in your home, mitt, and you knew about it for a year and the idea that you stand here and talk about being that you're strong on immigration is on its face the height of hypocrisy.

MITT ROMNEY, (R), FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Rick, I don't think I have ever hired an illegal in my life. I'm afraid -- I'm looking forward to finding your facts of that because that --

(CROSSTALK)

PERRY: I'll tell you the facts.

(CROSSTALK)

ROMNEY: Rick, again -- Rick, I'm speaking. (CROSSTALK)

ROMNEY: I'm speaking.

(CROSSTALK)

ROMNEY: I'm speaking. I'm speaking.

(CROSSTALK)

PERRY: The newspaper --

(CROSSTALK)

ROMNEY: This is the way the rules work, is that I get 60 seconds.

PERRY: The American people want the truth.

ROMNEY: And you get -- and you get 30 seconds to respond, right?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: In case you couldn't tell, those were the voices of Republican presidential candidates, Mitt Romney and Rick Perry, dubbed over the holiday classic, "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving."

(LAUGHTER)

All right. Newt Gingrich is leading the Republican pack in the polls but he's catching a lot of heat for his stance on illegal immigration. Take a listen to Gingrich talking about that at the CNN debate on Tuesday night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEWT GINGRICH, (R), FORMER SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't see how the party that says it's the party of the family is going to adopt an immigration policy which destroys families that have been here a quarter century. And I'm prepared to take the heat for saying let's be humane in enforcing the law without giving them citizenship but by finding a way to create legality so they're not separated from their families.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, Paul Steinhauser, is live from Washington at the political desk to talk about this.

Paul, we are certainly seeing a new Newt here. Meaning he's really way out front. Are some calling him -- I guess, revealing a different side of Newt?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: And the immigration stuff that you played just there, plus the stuff from the Peanuts spoof of a moment ago --

(LAUGHTER)

STEINHAUSER: -- it really is amazing, Fred. What's the top issue with Americans? By far, the economy and jobs and creating jobs. But it seems in these debates, immigration becomes the flashpoint. And we saw -- you just played the clip of our debate from Tuesday night right here in Washington, D.C. Listen, illegal immigration and what to do with it was one of the reasons that Rick Perry started dropping in the polls, the Texas governor, after he because the front runner, because of his stance on it. And the big question now, because of what Gingrich said the other night, how will that play in Iowa? For the general election, that's a great, great theme. But in the Republican primaries, amnesty is a four-letter word for some conservatives. And it will be interesting to see how it plays in Iowa and South Carolina, two of the early states.

Look at the polls in Iowa. You talked about Gingrich being the front-runner. Look at this poll, American Research Group, from just of the other day. There he is, now the front-runner in Iowa, according to this poll, 27 percent. Mitt Romney at 20 percent. Ron Paul, the Congressman of Texas, at 16 percent.

Fred, we are just five and a half weeks away from the first votes in Iowa, the state that kicks off the primary and caucus calendar.

WHITFIELD: Paul, Mitt Romney has been out in front for a long time now. What's the explanation as to why he might be dropping in the polls there?

STEINHAUSER: It's funny, isn't it? Romney's been steady along there in the mid-20s, 20 percent to 25 percent in the polls. Take a look at the national poll, the CNN/ORC, and you can see right there, Romney right at 24 percent. Gingrich now at 24 percent, in the top spot. Romney's kind of been consistent all year, either in the number one-position or number-two position. And now Gingrich is the latest Republican candidate to become the anti-Romney, the one to catch fire. We saw that with Michelle Bachmann earlier this year. We saw it with Rick Perry, Herman Cain. Now it's Newt Gingrich's time to shine, I guess.

Five and a half weeks to go until the first votes, and anything can happen. Romney has a big, powerful campaign and a lot of money, so he may start stepping it up soon.

WHITFIELD: Anything can happen. Cain and Perry particularly used to be at the top of the heap, the front of the pack, and now very much at the bottom, as you showed in the latest poll. Anything can happen with them, too, right?

STEINHAUSER: Yes. With Rick Perry, he has a lot of campaign cash and tht buying a lot of commercial time. He's been putting a lot of commercials up on television in Iowa and New Hampshire, those two first states. So Rick Perry has the tool it is try to jump back in to it. But he really needs to beef it up or step it up in his debate performances. As for Herman Cain, to me, he seemed like the missing man at our debate on Tuesday night. His campaign, it seems to be fading. You see the poll numbers there. He is starting to drop. It's those sexual allegations, sexual harassment allegations that have hurt him over the last couple of weeks -- Fred?

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Paul Steinhauser, from Washington.

And, of course, if you want to know more politics and, of course, you do, go to CNNpolitics.com. All right, did you know that one out of every five Americans has trouble hearing? One of those people is KISS singer and guitarist, Paul Stanley. He became a rock star despite not being able to hear in one ear. Chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, brings us his story in this week's "The Human Factor."

(THE HUMAN FACTOR)

WHITFIELD: And a quick programming note. Want to know the secret to preventing the heart attack? Dr. Sanjay Gupta has the answer. Watch "The Last Heart Attack" tonight, 7:00 and 11:00 eastern time.

So one week into retirement, what's Regis Philbin up to these days? Who does he want to fill his spot next to Kelly there? Our Brooke Baldwin will ask him live. Tune in to that interview, 2:00 eastern time, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A $39 billion merger planned between AT&T and T- Mobile has hit a major snag. But first, Wall Street opened for a short day this morning.

Alison Kosik is live from the New York Stock Exchange.

How are the markets performing?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Markets were doing much better earlier. Right now they are mixed. The Dow up 29 points. At this point, investors, Fredricka, have high hopes as to the way Black Friday sales are going to go today, especially with some good weather across the country bringing everybody out to spend their money. Also optimistic about Cyber Monday as well.

Keep in mind that the market was closed yesterday. Today, the markets are going to be closed early, at 1:00. A little more than an hour actually. Investors are a little bit checked out though. Anyone participating, very miniscule. I think everybody's out shopping at this point.

(LAUGHTER)

So the volatility is a little heightened today because of that -- Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: OK. Now, let's talk more about that merger between AT&T and T-Mobile, a merger not, that is.

KOSIK: Yes. It is seeming that way, but don't count your chickens yet. The signal true is not so strong on this one. AT&T in fact is setting aside money just in case. It is setting aside $4 billion for a break-up fee that companies would typically pay. It is a penalty that they would pay if a deal that they've already agreed on goes through. AT&T is preparing for this because of what happened on Monday. The FCC recommended that the deal go to an administrative hearing, and that's pretty rare. The last time that that happened, it was back in 2002, for a different deal that eventually fell through. So it does have the workings of seeming like it may fall through but you never know when things like this -- Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: OK, Alison Kosik, thanks so much. Have a good Black Friday.

How does a cat say, "Get me out of here"!

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CAT MEOWING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Oh, it meows really loudly. Instead of Thanksgiving turkey, a fire department must spend the holiday instead focused on a kitty in a jam.

(SINGING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Time to go cross-country for a few stories our affiliates are covering.

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords spent a part of her Thanksgiving Day serving meals to U.S. troops at a Tucson military base. Her husband, retired astronaut, Mark Kelly, was at her side. Giffords was only able to use her left hand. She is still recovering from a gunshot wound to the head back in January. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SHOUTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: What a joyous Thanksgiving for military families in Hawaii. About 300 Marines and sailors returned to this Marine base Thanksgiving morning. They had been deployed to southern Afghanistan and now they're back.

And then on to southern California, an army of police officers, firefighters and volunteers spent Thanksgiving Day captivating by a little kitten.

Richard Allen, with San Diego affiliate, KFMB, has the story. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(CAT MEOWING)

RICHARD ALLEN, REPORTER, KFMB (voice-over): The persistence and piercing cries for help began at about 4:00 Thanksgiving morning.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here, kitty, kitty, kitty.

ALLEN: A terrified kitten had managed to tumble several feet down this exposed plastic utility pipe on an El Cajon sidewalk.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Come on, kitty.

ALLEN: Initially, a crew from Emergency Animal Rescue attempted to save it, a tedious and intense rescue operation that ultimately included El Cajon police and Heartland fire.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just trying every different way we could get down there and try to get something behind the kitten and drag him up or try to lasso him and pull him up.

ALLEN: Emergency crews used some old-fashioned ingenuity, creating a kind of catch pole out of wire and cable.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This cable came from animal control. Then with some duct tape we fashioned to get the cat out of the drain tool.

ALLEN: Trying to tempt the elusive feline with tuna --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I see his whiskers.

ALLEN: -- it took these crews dozens and dozens of tries.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He had the cat about a foot from the opening and then the cat dropped off.

ALLEN: And hours and hours of effort --

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're getting closer though.

ALLEN: -- finally close enough to reach down and pull it up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, poor guy. Come on!

(CHEERING)

ALLEN: This terrified ball of fur --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His heartbeat is going a mile a minute.

ALLEN: -- apparently none the worse for wear. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, looks great. He's a happy cat.

ALLEN: Happy and no doubt grateful.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Happy Thanksgiving, little one.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Oh, happy kitty, happy everybody there. That rescue, by the way, that operation took eight hours long. A police officer who helped save the kitten actually plans to adopt her.