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Americans Arrested in Egyptian Protests; Presidential Candidates to Debate Foreign Policy; "Million Man Sit In" In Cairo; Fresh Clashes in Cairo; Three Americans Arrested in Egypt; Flooding Closes Arkansas Interstate; Marijuana Discovered in Abandoned Plane; Police: Mob of Teens Rob Store; GOP Candidates on Foreign Policy; Attorney: Sandusky Could Be Jailed Soon; Cyber Monday: Record Sales Expected; Obama's Salute to Country Music; Stars Dance for the Crown; Pippa's Bridesmaid Dress Sold Online; Teen Admits Killing Gay Classmate; Newt Gingrich Surges to Top; DNC Fires Back at New Romney Ad

Aired November 22, 2011 - 10:00   ET

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

HALA GORANI, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Egypt's Arab spring has become an autumn of discontent and violence and death. At least two dozen people have been killed in anti-government protests. Three Americans are accused of throwing Molotov cocktails at those protests. We'll take you to Cairo live in a few minutes.

And how would a President Romney or Gingrich or Cain handle a situation like this? America's most important Arab ally. That is the kind of questions Republican candidates will be asked about 10 hours from now right here on CNN.

This is the 11th major GOP presidential debate so far, but the first one to focus on national security and foreign policy. We're talking about it with Pentagon correspondent, Chris Lawrence and CNN's Joe Johns.

Let's start with Joe. He's at Constitution Hall where the debate will take place. What are the expectations tonight for this foreign policy, national security debate, Joe?

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Well, Hala, you have to start with the news of the day, and the news of the day is that the congressional "Super Committee" that was supposed to figure out all the budget problems for the next several years, has failed.

And there is a place where the national security debate and the "Super Committee" issue actually very much intersect, and that is automatic cuts. Because the "Super Committee" has failed, automatic cuts are supposed to go into effect that a lot of people say would severely limit the ability of the Department of Defense to do its job.

Now, some of the candidates have already weighed in on what has happened with the "Super Committee." Let's listen to a sampling of what some of them have said going up to tonight's debate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE: The failure of the "Super Committee," which I had suggested several months ago was the dumbest single legislative idea that I have seen --

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You have a president who didn't get involved in the process, who didn't pick up the phones. Bring in the Republicans, bring in the Democrats, and make a proposal of his own.

MICHELE BACHMANN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Barack Obama has been AWOL, and with no disrespect to the president, it's kind of like "where's waldo?"

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: So you can expect a lot of talk about the president and his foreign policy and why so many different Republicans are against it. But the question, of course, is what would they do affirmatively?

What would they do if they were in the White House? What would they do differently than President Barack Obama? So all of these have a lot of anticipation for in the next several hours, looking forward to tonight's CNN national security debate here in Washington, D.C. Hala, back to you.

GORANI: All right, it's at 8 p.m. Thanks very much, Joe Johns. Let's go to CNN's Pentagon correspondent, Chris Lawrence. What's happening in Egypt right now is the kind of situation any president is going to have to worry about.

It's America's most important Arab ally. The military assistance that the U.S. still sends to Egypt is $1.3 billion a year. These candidates are going to have to answer these questions.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Hala, and we're going to get a better insight on how they would handle a situation like the crisis going on right now in Egypt. Herman Cain has been very critical of the Obama administration's handling of the entire Arab spring, saying it's gotten completely out of hand.

He says that the Obama administration did not do the right thing by abandoning former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Newt Gingrich has been extremely out spoken on the issue of Egypt. He said the Arab spring could quickly become an anti-Christian spring, saying that Egypt could go the way of Iran and become an Islamic dictatorship.

He's also ruled out the United States reaching out in any way to work with the Muslim Brotherhood in fact, calling the Muslim Brotherhood a mortal enemy of the United States. Just some of the ways in which we get an idea of where these candidates stand.

But it's not just about Egypt. We're also going to get a bigger picture on how they would deal with threats -- or potential threats in the future.

For example, both Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich have said military action is possible, that they would take military action to stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons. Whereas Herman Cain and Ron Paul, for example, have said they would not take that action -- Hala.

GORANI: Well, let's talk about foreign policy once again and how some candidates have changed their positions on certain foreign policy issues. Who could that hurt, and how important in the grand scheme of things are these foreign policy questions for ordinary primary voters who are very much worried about the economy right now?

LAWRENCE: The economy is number one by any stretch. But Americans do expect a base level of competence in terms of foreign policy and national security. They want to be able to imagine the candidate as the commander in chief.

Who is going to get hurt by some of these flip-flops? Potentially the two frontrunners, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich. Mitt Romney has made a number of statements on Libya, for example. Back in March, he criticized the Obama administration for letting Europe take the lead, letting NATO take the lead, not being aggressive enough in going into Libya.

But then a month later, he said the U.S. had far exceeded its no fly zone mission. That they had gone well beyond that, and then when Gadhafi himself was killed, Mitt Romney came out and said he was a brutal tyrant and needed to be taken down.

So some of that is some inconsistencies there that Romney may have to clarify. Newt Gingrich, when President Obama made the announcement to pull troops out of Iraq by the end of the year, seemed to say that he agreed with the decision.

Saying there was no short-term advantage for the United States to keep troops in Iraq. But then just a few days later he said, you know, that this was a failure that thousands of lives, presumably talking about the troops that had lived and fought and died there, were going to be just lost to failure.

That leaving Iraq so soon would be a failure so, again, some contradictions that these candidates will be called on to explain tonight.

GORANI: All right, Chris Lawrence, thanks very much. Live at the Pentagon with a preview of the debate tonight. We'll talk more about how candidates should talk about foreign policy tonight, especially the ones with little or no experience, those who have made pretty big gaffs out there on foreign policy.

Senior political analyst, David Gergen, joins us in a few minutes with that.

As those clashes get uglier in Cairo, pro-democracy activists are mounting a mass rally in Tahrir. These are live images. It's really the heart of the revolution in Egypt right now. Take a look.

And for a fourth day, Egyptian forces have been using tear gas, rubber bullets against protesters in the streets and around the Square. Meantime, thousands of people are joining what's being dubbed the million man sit-in. CNN's Ivan Watson is right in the middle of all the chaos.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: These are the front lines of the running battles over here. The police have set up a barricade in this direction. The police have been throwing rocks at them. The tear gas is coming constantly.

You can see the corrosive effects of it. Everybody is showing these shells that they pick up and many of them claiming they're made in the USA. In fact, this is made in Jamestown, Pennsylvania, riot smoke.

That's made a lot of anger against the U.S. The crowd here is angry, young, furious at the loss of life here over the course of the past three days, demanding that the supreme council be involved in a sit-down.

The soldiers around the corner here, the army has set up barricades along one road, but it's riot police that they're facing off against. If we turn in this direction, it's riot police down here.

This is one pocket of turmoil in the center of the Egyptian capita capital, but it is throwing the entire country into a political crisis just days before elections are scheduled to be held, and that's called into question whether those elections can be held at all. Ivan Watson, CNN, in Cairo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: All right, and that's the question being asked today, can they be held? Ivan joins us now live where it is night time now in Egypt.

And I want to ask you about three Americans that have been arrested by Egyptian authorities accused of taking part in the demonstrations. What more can you tell us about them?

WATSON: Well, Hala, they were shown on Egyptian state TV late last night. We saw their I.D. cards. It looked like they were American University of Cairo students, one from Indiana.

Since then CNN has spoken with a spokeswoman for the American University of Cairo who has in fact confirmed that three semester abroad students have been detained by the Egyptian police. She named them.

A Gregory Porter of Drexel University and Luke Gates of Indiana University, still trying to confirm the third person's name. The Egyptian authorities are accusing these three young men of throwing Molotov cocktails and basically charging them with, quote, "hooliganism," which could be very serious given large numbers of people have been detained here.

You've had dozens of people killed over the past three to four days, and more than 1,700 people wounded as well. We just got off the phone with the prosecutor's office here. He says the three young men are currently still being questioned -- Hala.

GORANI: All right, interesting we got those names out. Ivan Watson is live in Cairo with our team of correspondents, producers on the ground covering these historic moments in Egypt. Thanks very much.

Coming up, video catches a mob of teenagers as they invade a Maryland convenience store, and we'll tell you what they got away with, next.

Also, tonight's Republican debate gives candidates a chance to focus on foreign policy, an area some of them have found challenging. Our senior political analyst, David Gergen offers his advice. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Checking other news across the country, heavy rain swept across parts of Arkansas on Monday, flooding streets and some drivers were stranded as well. And it got very bad because a major interstate closed for about three hours.

And now to Texas where a small plane carrying several large bundles of marijuana made a crash landing at a Houston Airport last night. It skidded into the grass after the plane's nose slammed into the runway and investigators are still looking for the pilot.

In Maryland, police believe a flash mob robbed a convenience store Saturday night. Surveillance cameras captured the frenzied crowd of about 50 young people rushing into the store. They got away with snacks and drinks before quickly leaving.

Tonight's debate on CNN is the 11th major Republican meet ups so far and the focus shifts abroad. The candidates will tackle foreign policy, an area that's tackled some of them already.

CNN's senior political analyst, David Gergen joins us from New York. We've heard, David, some gaffs from Herman Cain and others, placing in the wrong continent for instance or Herman Cain hesitating on Libya.

Who is this going to hurt and who do you think this is going to help, the topic tonight?

DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I think there are three candidates on stage that actually have a fair amount of exposure of and have thought about foreign policy. Obviously, Jon Huntsman, who has been the ambassador -- American ambassador to China and to Singapore at a very young age and he's been around a lot of foreign policy, including the trade issues.

Newt Gingrich actually has a lot more experience in this area than people think because as a member of Congress for so long and then speaker, he was involved time and time again in big foreign policy questions.

So he's, you know, I think he knows about as much as one would expect a presidential candidate to know. Mitt Romney has had less experience directly, but it was striking that in his book called "No Apologies," about the first third or so of the book.

It's the front third is about foreign policy and defense, national security. So he studied up on that in order to get it. I think he feels comfortable going in. The rest of them, you know, it depends.

You can't have a Herman Cain moment in a debate like this. You can't have a Rick Perry moment, as Rick Perry discovered, on these foreign policy issues because while it's not on top of the agenda for American voters, they do expect someone to be a competent commander in chief.

They do expect someone -- frankly, this is an area where Barack Obama is showing he's much more sure-footed now than he was when he first started. This is a tough area for a Republican challenger. He's got a record of some successes now, not all, but that is formidable.

GORANI: Right, but you mentioned foreign policy not being at the top of the list of concerns for ordinary voters. In the end, unemployment is more than 9 percent. The economy in the United States is not picking up in the way Americans want it to pick up.

How much does it matter in the foreign policy arena a candidate is familiar with? Is it more about how much they know or how much they trust they can learn?

GERGEN: Well, it is a question whether knowing a person is generally of sound judgment in the overall area, and then you do want to know in foreign policy who is going to be surrounding that person, what kinds of people will he draw upon?

Newt Gingrich is a former security team leader, let's see who is in that and you've got a better sense of which way their policy is going. Let me make one more point. The focus on foreign policy has shifted a lot from the traditional cold war, which was geopolitical.

Now it's much more about the economic aspects of foreign policy. Start with the proposition and every candidate ought to be winding this back in. start with the proposition that outgoing chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mullen, Bob Gates, the former secretary of defense, and many, many others have said the single most important threat to our national security is our debt here at home.

So you can wind that back in. And beyond that, you really should be more conversant of what's happening in the euro zone. This could throw us in a recession. You really should be more conversant on what's going on with the Chinese rivalry.

In terms of where we're going economically, what's happening to the jobs going overseas? So I would think that's why they would kind of come back to, the number one issue of jobs.

GORANI: All right, thanks very much. David Gergen, our senior political analyst there with a preview of the foreign national security debate that airs tonight on CNN.

Thanks, David, and don't forget to watch the Republican presidential debate moderated by Wolf Blitzer. He will question those candidates on those topics tonight, 8 p.m. Eastern on CNN.

An attorney for former Penn State Coach Jerry Sandusky reveals part of the defense strategy and the alleged child rape case. We'll talk about it next.

And the busiest online shopping day of the year is just days away, and sales on cyber Monday are expected to hit a record high. But before you click and shop, beware. Your employer may be watching you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: The attorney for Jerry Sandusky believes prosecutors could bring new charges against his client based on new alleged sexual abuse victims.

Joe Amendola, attorney for the former Penn State coach, spoke to ABC's "Good Morning America." Amandola believes new charges could come before next month's preliminary hearing and prosecutors could ask for Sandusky to be jailed until trial.

Amendola also told ABC that Sandusky could not have committed any sexual act at his home because there were too many people around. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People have sex in hotels.

JOE AMENDOLA, ATTORNEY FOR JERRY SANDUSKY: Yes, people have sex in hotels, but this was a house. The house was filled with people and Jerry, by the way, had six adopted kids and three foster kids.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: "In Session's" Jean Casarez from our sister network, TruTV has been covering the Penn State story and she joins us from State College, Pennsylvania.

What do you make, Jean, of this argument, too many people in the Sandusky house? So, therefore, sexual crimes couldn't have occurred? I believe that's going to be part of the defense here?

JEAN CASAREZ, CORRESPONDENT, "IN SESSION" ON TRUTV: I think we definitely have learned where the defense is going, and we knew that in the defense before. What I do is I look at the grand jury presentment. That's the document that has come out from the grand jury.

And let's look at the fact. It talks about that it is the basement of the home that these children would be in. The presentment talks about that they would be in bed, they would come and spend the night, that Jerry Sandusky would come down to the basement, would start giving them backrubs and cracking their back, would then start blowing their stomach.

That would lead to a kiss. So it's a secluded area, according to this grand jury document. Was it an area that nobody else went, a secret location down in the basement? I don't think we know, but anything is possible.

And child after child in the presentment talks about that basement and that bed that they would come over and sleep in at night.

GORANI: But that wouldn't affect the alleged rape in the showers that was witnessed by one of the assistant coaches. I mean, this is just one set of accusations on one set of boys, but what could the strategy be for other accusations and allegations?

CASAREZ: Well, you're right, they don't touch on that. I was looking through this document last night of all the alleged locations where the sexual assaults occurred, and I think I counted almost 10.

Because not only is it showers, it's two different showers at the university, it's the basement, it's hotels, it's also an area here where they have golf tournaments. I mean, there are just many various areas that the allegations are that these sexual assaults took place of these children.

GORANI: Now the question is, Jerry Sandusky right now is not in jail despite the fact that all these allegations are swirling around him, that there's been an indictment, and the accusations are there. How unusual is that?

CASAREZ: Well, I think it's very unusual. I was just talking right before our shot with a gentleman that is associated with the university that says the anger with this local community here is that the legendary coach, Joe Paterno, was fired.

And someone who was accused of sexually assaulting, at this point, eight children is free in a community on unsecured bail. So I think that's where the community is at. We've heard locally that more victims are coming forward. Ultimately charges could definitely be brought.

GORANI: All right, Jean Casarez, our sister network TruTV. Thanks very much for joining us live. Republican presidential candidates gets to show off their foreign policy skills in less than 10 hours. Count them, ten. Some of them have a lot more experience than others. So who has a lot to gain and the most to lose tonight? We'll ask our "Political Buzz" panel after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Checking our top stories now, police and protesters are fighting for a fourth straight day in Cairo. The protesters, who are calling for a million-man sit-in, want Egypt's military to hand over power to civilian leaders as promised.

President Obama with a stern message to Congress after the "Super Committee" failed to reach a deficit reduction deal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I will veto any effort to get rid of those automatic spending cuts, domestic and defense spending. There will be no easy off ramps on this one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Those automatic spending cuts now set to take place in January 2013. The president is urging Congress to come up with a balanced budget plan before that date.

And three astronauts have returned safely to earth after spending almost six months in space. A Russian spacecraft touched down earlier in Kazakhstan. NASA Astronaut, Michael Fassim and two Russian cosmonauts are returning from duty on board the international space station.

"Political Buzz" is your rapid-fire look at the best political topics of the day. Three questions and 30 seconds on the clock and playing today with us, Democratic National Committee member, Robert Zimmerman, Republican strategist and columnist for the "Hill" newspaper Cheri Jacobus and Patricia Murphy, the founder and editor of "Citizen Jane Politics" and a contributor to the "Daily Beast".

First question, panel. CNN hosts the Republican national security debate starting tonight at 8:00 Eastern as you all know. Now, who benefits the most and who has the most to lose? Robert, I'll start with you.

ROBERT ZIMMERMAN, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE: OK. Well, what makes this debate so exciting and so unpredictable is that they have a credible rational discussion of foreign policy, like internationalist, like Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney could do. They lose their Republican caucus and primary voters, the Republican base.

So as a consequence, I think you're going to see a lot more irrational discussions where New Gingrich is talking about zeroing foreign aid to countries like Israel where Mitt Romney promised that in fact he would guarantee no nuclear weapons in Iran, where Herman Cain said that Taliban was in Libya which is news to the Taliban. So I'm betting on irrationality over credibility.

GORANI: Sherry what do you think.

CHERI JACOBUS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, I disagree totally. I think that Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich especially are the ones who going to have a great of credibility. They're the ones everybody is looking at right now.

Newt Gingrich probably has the most to gain and the most to lose. The debates are his strengths obviously, I don't expect him to make any mistakes or to have any gaffs, but if he would I guess he would be the one we will expect to lose the most but I don't think there's any expectation that he'll mess up.

So he is going to do very well. Mitt Romney will do very well, Michele Bachmann, Santorum et cetera so I think it'll be a strong debate and I think that the Democrats has something to be very, very worried about.

GORANI: All right, some optimism there from Sherry. Patricia.

PATRICIA MURPHY, FOUNDER/EDITOR, "CITIZEN JANE POLITICS": Well, I think it's obvious that New Gingrich certainly does have the most to gain. He is just edging up the top of these polls. This is where he could close the door on his rivals. He is so well-versed in foreign policy.

I think Jon Huntsman also as the former ambassador to two countries is so well versed in foreign policy; knows so much about what he's talking about. He just hasn't broken out a lot, really at all. If he's going to, it's going to be at this debate.

The person who has the most to lose definitely is Herman Cain. He cannot afford one single slip-up, but if the past tells us anything about the future, he's going to be in a lot of danger tonight.

GORANI: All right, thanks.

Question number two, Newt Gingrich is on top in a new CNN poll. What does he have to do now with 24 percent, 20 percent for Romney, what does he have to do to sustain this lead? Cheri, I'll start with you.

JACOBUS: You know, I think what he has to do is be consistent with these excellent performances like he's had in every debate. This is a guy who nobody expected to be in this position, although we all agree he's pretty much the best one on the stage. So his entire candidacy has been built and built up for all the right reasons; out of competency, out of being competent on the issues, knowing what he's talking about.

He doesn't have to have slogans, he doesn't have to have gimmicks. So you know, he does keeps going and going like this he really kind of lifts everybody up, but especially himself.

GORANI: All right, Patricia, your thoughts? MURPHY: I think Newt Gingrich actually has a real problem with his past and what he's trying to do in the future. He has taken several positions that are totally anathema to the conservative base. He supported TARP, he was an advisor to Freddie Mac which something that conservatives had a huge problem with. He supported individual mandate for health care insurance.

So I actually don't know exactly how he goes forward with this much scrutiny with conservatives watching him so closely, but he needs to figure out a way to tell those conservatives, what I did in the past, that's not what I'm going to do in the future. That's what Romney is also trying to do and it's not working for him, either.

GORANI: And Robert?

ZIMMERMAN: Ok. Realistically, what Newt Gingrich has got to do to stay on top is keep Herman Cain and Rick Perry in the race. The reality is, the issues you outlined before, Patricia, are -- where Mitt Romney, where Newt Gingrich, for example, advocated TARP or climate change or talks with the housing prices, he's now flipped on all those issues.

So the reality is for Newt Gingrich, he's got to keep changing the topic. Today it's child labor law and now he's talking about repealing that and putting children to work; that's his strategy for staying on top. Keep ducking and keep changing the topic.

GORANI: Ok your "Buzzer Beater" 20 second each. Last night candidate Michele Bachmann played "one word" with Jimmy Fallon, it's when you say one word and the person responds with the first thing that pops into their mind. Let's listen to how she answered.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY FALLON, TALK SHOW HOST: Romney.

REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hair. No, just a minute.

FALLON: Just one word. Do you have another one?

BACHMANN: Vice President.

FALLON: Gingrich.

BACHMANN: Newt.

FALLON: Newt. Ok. Newt.

BACHMANN: Newt.

FALLON: Ok. Cain.

BACHMANN: Nine.

FALLON: Palin. BACHMANN: Gorgeous. Gorgeous.

FALLON: Obama.

BACHMANN: Finished.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: She also said President when Fallon said her name. Let me ask you, one word, each of you, one word only that would describe Bachmann.

MURPHY: Brave.

GORANI: Robert?

MURPHY: I give her a lot of credit for showing up there.

GORANI: OK, one word, though. Robert?

ZIMMERMAN: Kim Kardashian, both got a heck of a lot of media and I really -- and I really don't know why?

GORANI: Cheri?

JACOBUS: Trailblazer. Michele Bachmann like so many Republican women like Condoleezza Rice, like Sarah Palin, like others as a self- made woman does not have to come from a political family or marry to have a family money. She's her own woman.

GORANI: That's way more than one word. Ok, OK we're a little more flexible here.

Thanks very much to all of you for joining us there. Robert Zimmerman, Cheri Jacobus, Patricia Murphy.

JACOBUS: Thanks.

MURPHY: Thank you.

GORANI: And don't forget at home or wherever you are to watch the live coverage of tonight's Republican presidential debate. Wolf Blitzer questions the candidate on national security topics tonight 8:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN.

Cyber Monday, the busiest online shopping day of the year, is just six days away, and forget the weak economy. The shopping forecast is strong. I don't know how you could forget the weak economy.

Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange.

So ok, so retailers on a serious note, this economy Alison as we've discussed for many, many months now since the beginning of this economic slowdown is two-thirds dependent on consumer spending. So this is a huge number that we're going to analyze Cyber Monday. What are the expectations?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It is. And it shows you just how important this is to retailers.

Listen to this. The expectation is that for Cyber Monday, sales could reach, Hala, $1.2 billion. If it does reach that, that would be a record high. These numbers, by the way, coming from ComScore. You know what that means that's 75 million Americans are going to go ahead and get on line and shop. That's equal to the population of California, Texas, Pennsylvania all combined. That's a lot of people.

Now retailers notice so most are playing to rollout big deals and, of course. as you said in this weak economy many are going to go ahead and offer these Cyber Monday deals early. Target, Staples; they're going to start offering these Cyber Monday deals on Saturday -- on Sunday rather. Wal-Mart is going to say, forget this Cyber Monday, we're going to have a whole cyber week.

Ann Taylor by the way is already offering 40 percent off everything right now -- Hala.

GORANI: Nice, nice. Do we have time, I just need to ask you really quickly though. People at work who do their online shopping, should they be -- should they not be doing that?

KOSIK: Well, you know what, that's up to them. I don't know if I do but if I'm shopping on line, I see my boss walk by, I'll quickly minimize it. I'm sure I'm not alone. So --

(CROSSTALK)

GORANI: Look 40 percent off.

KOSIK: I know, how can you deny yourself, right? But you know what, employers are catching on to this. In fact there's a technology research firm Hala that says 60 percent of employers, they already block access to online shopping sites, and some employers, they allow it, but they're watching you. They are -- they're monitoring it.

So of course, workers, they're figuring this out. They are saying fine, you monitor me, I'm going to step outside and shop on my iPad, and my Smartphone instead -- Hala.

GORANI: And with this weak economy I think employers should maybe make an exception this season.

Thanks very much Alison Kosik.

KOSIK: Now that's an idea.

GORANI: Pippa Middleton made headlines as a bridesmaid in her sister's royal wedding. Now the gown that had world talking is available online. Speaking of online shopping, find out where you can buy it and how much it costs after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) GORANI: Well, the White House was transformed into a concert hall last night, but not for a symphony. Country music stars performed for the President and first lady.

A.J. Hammer's here with all the details. Hi, A.J.

A.J. HAMMER, HLN HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Yes. It sounded like a great night, Hala. The first lady started up this music serious at the White House. And the President acknowledged the relevance of country music last night, saying it is the music of everyday life and it can remind us what we have to fight for and who we have to be.

Really an amazing line-up of stars on hand at the White House to perform. You had Lyle Lovett, Kris Kristofferson, Dirks Bentley, Alison Krause, the great Darius Rucker, James Taylor and the band "Perry" all there performing. You'll be able to see all these performances tomorrow night. It's going to be on PBS.

There's also a showing for the Armed Forces Network, which is terrific. But really, what a spectacular night for the first lady and the President.

GORANI: All right. That sounded -- or looked even like fun.

Let's talk about "Dancing with the Stars", the final three danced last night. We discussed this last hour so now I'm aware of who the final three are. But who is the favorite?

HAMMER: Well, I still think, Hala, that the mirror ball is going home with the rock war veteran, J.R. Martinez. But we did have a little bit of a shocker last night because Rob Kardashian and his partner, Cheryl Burke, earned the highest score from the judges. First time that happened all season.

Sister Kim was in the audience so maybe I'm thinking Rob just needed to continue to prove how much better of a dancer he is than her. But with Rob at the top of the leader board, J.R. Martinez and Karina Smirnoff still earned the perfect score. They did that on their freestyle dance, just a couple of points right behind Kardashian.

So I think it's all going to end tonight with J.R. as the winner, but I also still think Ricki Lake has done this amazing job. And as you know, Hala, when it comes to reality show competitions, you really never know what's going to end. So we'll find out tonight.

GORANI: All right. Yes, you never do. And they all look like they lost weight.

A dress almost identical to the one Pippa Middleton wore to the royal wedding when her sister Kate married is being sold online. Where can people buy this?

HAMMER: Well this, as you know, is perhaps the most famous bridesmaid dress ever. It is after all the dress that made Pippa's posterior iconic. And you can now buy a copy of the dress in the UK from netporter.com.

Now, we know there have been knock-offs out there since the wedding, but these are the only copies that come from the original Alexander McQueen designer Sara Burton. They are of course, this silk crepe creation, and they're going -- are you ready for this -- for just under 2,000 pounds. That translates to around $3,100.

The only difference between this dress and the one that Pippa wore is the zipper which now runs up the back instead of buttons, and I figure, you know, that will make it easier to wear for somebody who doesn't have royal attendants helping them dress.

But I should add, if you're here in the States and you want to buy it --

GORANI: Yes.

HAMMER: You have to call up to order because it's not currently available on the US side of the Web site, so if you e-mail me later, I'll get you the phone number because --

GORANI: You know what; here's the thing. For that dress to look good, you have to have the posterior to go with it. So that's the other thing you have to take into consideration before you wore it.

HAMMER: There are things you can do for that, apparently.

GORANI: Ok, A.J. Hammer. If you want information on everything breaking in the entertainment world, A.J. is your man. That's "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT at 11:00 p.m. on HLN. So tune in for that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: A California teen has admitted killing a gay classmate in a plea bargain deal that could put him behind bars for 21 years. Brandon McInerney pleaded guilty to second degree murder charges. His first trial ended with a hung jury after jurors couldn't decide whether to convict him of murder or manslaughter.

The case, you'll remember, drew international attention because of its shocking premise. Prosecutors say McInerney gunned down gay classmate Larry King because he was offended by the way King dressed and because King, he said, had flirted with him.

CNN legal contributor, Paul Callan is joining us. How unusual is this plea bargain deal, Paul?

PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR: It's not really unusual. I think you have to look at the history of how juvenile prosecutions have occurred in this country. He was 14 years old, the defendant, when he actually committed this murder. And traditionally, with respect to juveniles in particular, sentences have been very, very light. And then in recent years, they've started to be treated as adults. And one of the reasons I think there was a hung jury the first time around is because the jury kind of rebelled at the idea that he was being treated as an adult when he was only 14 years old when it happened. It is a brutal, brutal homicide, and, you know --

GORANI: Yes.

CALLAN: -- obviously there were claims that it was a hate crime. But nonetheless, it was a hung jury.

So, you know, I think the DA was kind of realistic here. He's saying is if I try the case again, maybe another hung jury, but I have a guarantee now of 21 years in prison. He'll be 39, I think, when he gets out, so it's a pretty tough sentence for a 17-year-old.

GORANI: Let me ask you this. How difficult -- all other things being equal -- is it for a jury to convict a person who was 14 at the time the alleged crime occurred?

CALLAN: I think juries always have problems when they're dealing with children because they really think that they're not fully developed. It's hard for a child to form a kind of criminal intent that you can find very easily when you're dealing with an adult defendant. So there's always a fear that a jury is going to be overly lenient with someone who is 14 years of age, and I think that's what the DA was worried about.

Now, of course, the other side of this, Hala, is this crime was such a brutal crime. I mean there was talk that McInerney had Nazi paraphernalia. It was clearly a homophobic anti-gay act, particularly brutal slaying. Obviously if he were in his 20s, this would be a slam-dunk, life in prison case. But when you're dealing with a 14-year-old it's a whole different set of things that get analysed by prosecutors.

GORANO: He will be in his late 30s if he's indeed convicted and sentenced there for manslaughter. Thanks very much, Paul Callan, joining us live on this case.

CALLAN: Nice being with you Hala.

GORANI: Nice being with you.

Political ads always cause a bit of controversy but Mitt Romney's new commercial has Democrats firing back before the ad even hits the air. We'll tell you why.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Checking stories making news later today.

At 12:15 Eastern, President Obama talks about jobs in a speech in Manchester, New Hampshire.

At 1:E0 eastern, Major League Baseball players and owners hold a news conference. They're expected to announce a new labor deal that for the first time includes blood testing for human growth hormones.

And tonight at 8:00 Eastern, be sure to catch CNN's GOP presidential debate. The focus of tonight's debate: foreign policy.

Are you stressed? No problem. Just take a second, focus and breathe. A new study finds that people who meditate are usually happier. MRI images show that if you can focus your thoughts, you can actually switch off areas of the brain linked to daydreaming, anxiety and even ADHD. If you'd like to give it a try, researchers say to focus on something as simple as your breath.

If politicians in Washington can't compromise should they be able to come back to work? In the next hour of CNN Newsroom, we'll talk to a pundit who says Americans should lock Congress out of the Capitol since they failed to reach a debt reduction deal.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Welcome back.

We have a new CNN GOP poll out this morning, ahead of our debate tonight showing Newt Gingrich surging. Senior political editor Mark Preston has a look. He's at Constitution Hall where the debate will take place. Let's talk about these numbers, Mark, first off.

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Sure, Hala. Let's take a quick look at these numbers right here. It shows that Newt Gingrich who really was left for dead back in June -- nobody thought that his campaign was going anywhere -- has surged to the top. He's at 24 percent now in the new CNN/ORC poll. He's within the margin of error for the lead with Mitt Romney, who has stayed steady right around 20 percent.

Herman Cain, who has done very well in the past month or so, remains at about 17 percent and Rick Perry, the Texas governor who came in like a big bang in August, he comes in at 11 percent.

Heading into tonight's national security debate here in Washington, D.C., all the candidates Hala are going to be trying to get an edge on the other one. Very important topic tonight, national security, something that has not been discussed a whole lot in this campaign couple it with the economy which we'll be discussing tonight as well. It should be a very interesting show.

GORANI: And there is a lot going on outside the United States today. Especially with Egypt, I'm sure that will come up.

Now the Democrats are accusing a new Romney ad of distorting President Obama's words. Tell us about that.

PRESTON: Sure, Hala. This is an ad that is airing today as we speak in New Hampshire. The Romney campaign released the ad last night, gave us a quick look at it. They're spending about $134,000 on one television station in New Hampshire. It's airing as President Obama actually is up there today talking about the economy.

In fact, let's take a quick listen to it Hala.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Simpler, smarter approach to government. Getting rid of programs, turning programs back to States and finally making government itself more efficient.

I'm going to get rid of Obamacare. It's killing jobs and it's keeping our kids from having the bright prospects they deserve. We have a moral responsibility not to spend more than we take in. I'll make sure that America is a job-creating machine like it has been in the past. High time to bring those principles of fiscal responsibility to Washington, D.C.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PRESTON: And there, Hala, is Mitt Romney making his case to the New Hampshire voters. The real controversy, though, is they run a clip from President Obama from the 2008 campaign. In the clip they quote the President as saying, if we keep talking about the economy, we're going to lose. The problem with that, though, Hala, is that they've taken it out of context but they don't care. The Romney campaign says they meant to do it. The fact is President Obama doesn't want to talk about the economy much like he was ridiculing Senator McCain back in 2008 -- Hala.

GORANI: All right. Mark Preston. And don't forget, everyone, 8:00 p.m. Eastern tonight the CNN GOP debate.

That's going to do it for me for today. And I hand it over to Jim Acosta.