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Woman Punished for Being Raped; Police, Protesters Clash in Cairo Streets; Republicans Debate National Security; Jerry Sandusky Faces New Allegations; Filming the "Occupy" Eviction; Stocks Staying in the Red; New England Winter Storm Warnings; Talk Back Question; Checking Seafood From The Gulf

Aired November 23, 2011 - 12:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour now.

I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Let's get you up to speed.

CNN's presidential debate exposes deep rifts among Republican candidates on national security. Newly-minted poll leader Newt Gingrich may have irked the conservative base with his stand on illegal immigration. He says people who have been in this country for decades and obey the law should be allowed to stay. His rival Mitt Romney called that amnesty.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Amnesty is a magnet. When we have had in the past programs that said people who come here illegally are going to get to stay illegally for the rest of the life, that's going to only encourage more people to come here illegally. The right course for our immigration system is to say we welcome people who want to come here legally. We're going to have a system that makes that easier and more transparent. But to make sure we're able to bring in the best and brightest.

NEWT GINGRICH (R), 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 in which destroys families that have been here a quarter century, and I'm prepared to take the heat for saying: let's be humane and in enforcing the law without giving them citizenship but finding a way to create legality.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And new information today on the Penn State scandal. Sources close to the investigation say Child and Youth Services is looking at two new cases of alleged child abuse by long time assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. The boys making the allegations are still under the age of 18. Sandusky is formally charged with molesting eight boys. All are now adults.

Egypt's highest-ranking Muslim cleric is calling on police to stop attacking protesters. And he's calling for protesters to stay the course.

The country's uprising is getting bolder and bloodier. Authorities say at least 35 people have been killed and almost 2,000 injured in five straight days of pitched battles.

Three American college student ace accused of throwing Molotov cocktails are expected to face additional questioning today, this time in the presence of U.S. embassy representatives.

And breaking news now out of Yemen: the country's president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, has signed an agreement to step down after 33 years in power. Tens of thousands of protesters have been protesting since January for an end to Saleh's regime. But it's still unclear if demonstrators will be satisfied until more sweeping political changes takes place in one of the world's poorest countries.

And U.C.-Davis is trying to make good after the pepper sprayed peaceful Occupy protesters last week. It was all caught on video.

The school is now promising to pay the medical bills of students who were sprayed. Charges against students who were arrested are being dropped.

And a judge in Texas who was criticized after a YouTube video showed him whipping his daughter has been suspended. The Texas Supreme Court did not give a reason for suspending Judge William Adams. Video shows Adams hitting his then-16-year-old daughter repeatedly with a belt and cursing at her. Adams says she was punished for using the Internet to illegally download music and games.

And tens of thousands of Americans are traveling by road, rail, or air to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends. More than 23 million people are flying to their destinations. Two major storms in the Northeast and Pacific Northwest are expected to make travel quite the hassle for many.

And a stunning helicopter crash is caught on camera in New Zealand. Just look.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

WHITFIELD: Amazing. It could have been far worse. A rotor blade clipped a cable as the pilot was preparing to put up a Christmas tree. That caused the chopper to flip and slammed to the ground, as you see there. The pilot was not seriously hurt.

And we want to update you on an incredible story of injustice that we brought to you yesterday, about an Afghan teenager who was raped and jailed for being raped. And then she was faced with either marrying her rapist or risking being killed. While the young woman's sentence has been reduced from 12 years to three years.

Our Nick Paton Walsh has details on her horrific ordeal.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Gulnaz remembers clearly the smell of her rapist's clothes.

GULNAZ, RAPE VICTIM (through translator): He had filthy clothes on as he does metal and construction work. When my mother went out, he came into my house and he closed the doors and windows. I started screaming, but he shut me up by putting his hand on my mouth.

WALSH: Her rapist was the husband of her cousin, but in Afghanistan's draconian society, this 19-year-old was also blamed.

Her rape, sex with a married man, was seen as adultery by the courts. And she was sentenced to 12 years in jail. To her, there's only one way out, a dreadful choice.

GULNAZ: I was asked if I wanted to start a new life by getting released by marrying this man. My answer was that one man dishonored me. And I want to stay with that man.

WALSH: Inside the prison walls she agreed to be interviewed with her face hidden. Here she can't escape her attacker. Her daughter is the child of the rape.

GULNAZ: My daughter is a little innocent child. Who knew I would have a child in this way? A lot of people told me that after your daughter is born give it to someone else, but my aunt to me to keep her as proof of my innocence.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Nick Paton Walsh is live now from Kabul.

Nick, the sentence was reduced from 12 to three years. But she's still being held. Explain the circumstances here. What's going on

WALSH: Well, this is actually what's quite remarkable. Clearly, the judge and prosecutors looked at the circumstances of her case and decided she needs to spend more time in jail. Now, the justification for this is not that necessarily put more behind the charge of adultery that she's been convicted of. They say she should stay in jail because she didn't come forward fast enough to report the original crime.

Now, that is -- to many people, of course -- deeply confusing to me people. The same breath that prosecutor says they don't believe necessarily she was raped. They conceive this to be adultery.

So, a deeply confusing picture from prosecutors who in one hand busy lowering the amount of time she should be in jail. On the other, saying she should stay in jail because she didn't report this crime in the first place.

Anyway, we asked the United Nations here exactly what recourse Gulnaz and the many other women like her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGETTE GAGNON, HUMAN RIGHTS DIR., U.N. AFGHANISTAN MISSION: Well, her case should go up to the Supreme Court and she should pursue, and I think she is pursuing, all legal means. But, at the end of the day, there is some action that may need to be taken by the president to address these types of cases of violence against women across the country. But it would be much better if the courts addressed it properly in the first place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALSH: Now, Gulnaz herself directly appealed to President Karzai to intervene and get her released.

And of course, sanctuary or asylum is the next question. The prosecutor spokesman today did suggest the possibility of a presidential pardon in the coming months, but that hasn't happened actually yet. She remains in jail with her child -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Nick Paton Walsh, thanks so much for brining us that update.

Now, here's your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day as you're preparing for the holiday. What are you most grateful for this Thanksgiving?

Carol Costello joins us from New York with more -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Well, after Nick's story, I know one thing I'm grateful for, right? It's unbelievable.

But, anyway, getting back to the matter at hand: are you getting ready for the Thanksgiving Day prayer? You know, the one before dinner when you thank God for all that's good in your life. I know. It will be tough again this year.

With unemployment at 9 percent, the stock market on a rollercoaster ride from hell, and partisan politics, it's tempting to skip to thank and ask God for help, please.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEEPAK CHOPRA, SPIRITUAL GURU: These guys are feeling insecure. America is at war outside and inside. Inside, you know, so much divisiveness in our political parties, and feeling a lack of self- esteem. We think, oh, we can't produce anymore. But everything that's right still exists.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: That's easy for him to say. He has a media empire. And I'm sure he whispered everything that is right still exists to yourself every time you get a job rejection.

Still, on this Thanksgiving Eve, let's look at the bright side. Overall, for 2011, we've added 1.2 million jobs. While it's not as many as we'd hoped for, we're not losing jobs, right?

Interest rates are at record lows and staying that way at least 2013. Not bright enough? Look around you. Most of you have love in your life from family and friends.

So, let's focus on that today. So, the talk back question: what are you grateful for this thanksgiving? Facebook.com/CarolCNN, Facebook.com/CarolCNN. I'll read your comments later this hour.

WHITFIELD: I can't wait to hear more because I like to listen these other comments, too. That was really sweet.

COSTELLO: They were great.

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much.

COSTELLO: Sure.

WHITFIELD: All right. Here's a rundown of some of the stories we're covering over the next hour.

First, Egypt's protesters aren't backing down despite a violent police crackdown. We're live from Tahrir Square.

And two more alleged victims claim former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky molested them. We'll take a look at the new charges.

And then, a year and a half after the Gulf oil spill, many scientists are now saying the seafood may not be safe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I personally think we can occupy the hearts and minds of people much easier than occupying the park.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Behind the scenes in Occupy Wall Street's media room.

And later, a telescope so powerful that it can look back almost to the dawn of creation? We'll tell you about the budget battle to keep it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Military police today poured into Egypt's square in hopes of stopping clashes between protesters and police. You're looking at live pictures right now from the square. The government of Egypt says a truce has been declared through a group of clerics. This comes on day five of the demonstrations calling for the military rulers to step down.

Authorities say 35 people have been killed and almost 2,000 injured so far.

In the meantime, the country's highest Muslim cleric is calling to stop attacking protesters.

Our Ben Wedeman joins us now from Tahrir Square.

So, Ben, are police kind of heeding that call from these religious leaders who say no more violence?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's a significant call, but they are earlier today, just about two hours ago, we were in an area where the army had interceded between the police and protesters.

And for a couple hours, things were calm. The protesters were still trying to move ahead, but there was a barrier put up across the road. But suddenly rocks started to fly. And the army was simply outnumbered by the police. The police opened fire with volley after volley of tear gas. Rocks were being thrown in both directions.

So this truce, which we're two or three hours promised a period of relative calm, not here in Tahrir, but to the east of it, just completely collapsed. And you may be able to hear in the background all the ambulances, which are rushing to the front lines to get protesters who have been hit by rocks. They are suffocating from tear gas. In some cases, maybe hit by rubber bullets as well.

So, it appears the truce is a thing of the past.

WHITFIELD: And so, describe for me, you know, Ben, what's going on behind you there. We can see clearly there are still, you know, large crowds. Is it essentially a standoff where you got demonstrators on one side and police on the other, just sort of challenging each other or almost a stare down?

WEDEMAN: Let me explain the geography. The Tahrir square is behind me, it's full of people. And there are no clashes going on. All the clashes are happening to the east of here, just a couple hundred yards on the roads leading to the interior ministry.

Now, the government and the police have said that as far as the presence of protesters in the square, that's fine. They have no problem. The problem is in the area around the interior ministry, where at this point, it's more of a battle than a standoff.

I can tell you from the number of people that are showing up at the hospital down below me and the number of ambulances, clearly, it's a major battle raging at this moment -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Ben Wedeman, thanks so much, from Cairo. Thanks for that update.

And we want to take a moment to honor a member of the CNN family.

Sadly, long time CNN Radio anchor Stan Case was killed in a car crash in Birmingham, Alabama, Tuesday night. His wife, Angela Stiepel Case, was injured and remains hospitalized. She's one of CNN's writers, one of my lead writers on my weekend team.

Stan Case came to CNN in 1985 after working for a correspondent for KABC-AM in Oklahoma City.

CNN Radio news manager Mike Jones says Case was, quote, "In many ways, the backbone of this network."

Tyler Moody, vice president of CNN Radio, says, quote, "Our thoughts now are for his wife Angie's recovery and his family during this difficult time. For over 26 years, Stan was our friend first and colleague second. He will be missed."

Stan Case was 59 years old.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A new CNN/ORC poll is out today. It shows President Obama holding steady at a 44 percent approval rating.

The big question, of course, right now is: whether that will be enough to win him another term in office.

And then there are the Republicans. Eight candidates, eight very different opinions on everything from the war in Afghanistan to immigration.

Our Jill Dougherty has the highlights from last night's CNN debate.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With eight Republicans onstage, President Barack Obama got a few nicks.

RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you like what Barack Obama has done to our economy, you'll love what he's done to our national security.

DOUGHERTY: But these candidates had the knives out for each other.

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Are you suggesting we take all out of troops out next week? What's your --

JON HUNTSMAN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Did you hear what I just said? I said we should drawdown from 100,000. We don't need 100,000 troops.

DOUGHERTY: There was heated debate whether the post-9/11 Patriot Act should be extended.

NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: All of us will be in danger for the rest of our lives. This is not going to end in the short run, and we need to be prepared to protect ourselves.

REP. RON PAUL (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You can still provide security without sacrificing our Bill of Rights.

HUNTSMAN: I think we have to be very careful in protecting our individual liberties. We forget sometimes that we have a name brand in this world.

DOUGHERTY: Should specific ethnic or religious groups in America be profiled for security screens?

WOLF BLITZER, DEBATE MODERATOR: Who would be profiled?

SANTORUM: Obviously, Muslims would be someone you'd look like. Absolutely. Those were the folks who -- the radical Muslims are the people that are committing these crimes.

PAUL: It's digging a hole for ourselves. What if they look like Timothy McVeigh? You know, he was a pretty tough criminal.

DOUGHERTY: In the midst of a heavy debate, a light moment.

BLITZER: Is it OK for Muslim-Americans to get more intensive pat-downs or security when they go through airports than Christian Americans or Jewish Americans?

HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No, Blitz. That's oversimplifying it. I happen to believe that if you allow our intelligence agencies to do their job, they can come up with an approach -- I'm sorry, Blitz. I meant Wolf, OK? Blitz -- Wolf.

(LAUGHTER)

DOUGHERTY: And what about aid to Pakistan?

REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R-M), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I also think that Pakistan is a nation that it's kind of like too nuclear to fail.

GOV. RICK PERRY (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Until Pakistan clearly shows that they have America's best interests in mind, I would not send them one penny, period.

BACHMANN: With all due respect to the governor, I think that's highly naive.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And that was Jill Dougherty reporting.

So, while a lot of the candidates have strong showings last night, our Wolf Blitzer says from where he was standing on stage, Newt Gingrich looked like the big winner.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER (via telephone): He's doing really well in Iowa and South Carolina, even in New Hampshire. So he has a lot going right now. He's been good in all the debates. He's been around Washington for 50 years.

He knows these issues. He's obviously a smart guy. He's very confident. He goes into the debates strong.

And it's one of the reasons he came from disaster last summer with the Tiffany's credit card thing came out, and he took that little cruise to the eastern Mediterranean, half of his staff, he's got all of his staff basically quit in New Hampshire.

He was nowhere then. And now, he's at the top of the pack. So, you got to give him credit. And I think one of the reasons he does well in the debates.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And right now, Gingrich is certainly enjoying a surge in popularity. The last CNN poll has the former House speaker leading the pack with the backing of 24 percent of Republican voters.

The International Space Station didn't smash into a piece of junk today as NASA feared. A four-inch piece from an old Chinese weather satellite had flight controllers worried for a while. They ordered the crew to take shelter and the Soyuz.

But it was a false alarm. The debris wasn't as close as NASA thought, so the crew went about their business.

NASA plans to put a new telescope in orbit in 2018. It's so powerful experts say it will make Hubble look like something for a backyard astronomer. But anything that good comes from a pretty big price tag, as our John Zarrella found out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the future, outside the Maryland Science Center. It's a full-scale model of NASA's James Webb space telescope. Scientists believe the real thing will redefine our understanding of our place in the universe.

It will be so unique, it can look further back in time than the Hubble telescope, almost to the dawn of creation.

JOHN MATHER, SENIOR PROJECT SCIENTIST: The James Webb telescope is to help us find our history, from the first things after the Big Bang, to how the first galaxies are born.

ZARRELLA: And astronomers say if they look in the right place and get a bit lucky --

ADAM REISS, ASTROPHYSICIST: This may give us our clues about the existence life in another solar system.

MATHER: If we could see a planet like earth with an ocean, I think that would be really cool.

ZARRELLA: Webb will orbit one million miles from earth. Its instruments are designed to image primarily in the infrared range. Light we can't see. Webb's capabilities will allow it to literally look where Hubble could not into gas and dust clouds at the birth of the first stars and planets.

Sounds incredible, right? Webb might get us another step closer to solving the puzzle: are we alone?

REISS: I don't even know how you put a price on being able to answer questions like, how old is the universe? How did this all start? Where's it going? What is it made of? Are there other people out there like us?

These questions are just so intrinsic.

ZARRELLA: But there is a price tag. When Webb is launched in 2018, it will be years behind schedule and cost about $8.8 billion, $6.5 billion more than the original estimate. At one point, Congress came close to killing it.

So, what happened? How did it end up astronomy at an astronomical cost?

RICK HOWARD, WEBB PROGRAM DIRECTOR: When you're going inventions for the first time, you don't know exactly what you're going to run into. And we found several things that we had to work around.

ZARRELLA: And it better work from the get go.

When Hubble ran into problems, space shuttle astronauts came to the rescue. But Hubble was only 300 miles up. At one million miles away, even if the shuttle was still flying, it couldn't get there to fix Webb.

John Zarrella, CNN, at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And just as his lawyer predicted, new allegations surfaced against Penn State's Jerry Sandusky. And this time, our sources say the alleged victims are minors right now.

My guests will tell us how the development could reshape this case.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Here's a rundown of the stories we're working on right now. Next, two new allegations against Penn State's former coach, Jerry Sandusky.

Then behind the scenes at "Occupy Wall Street's" media room. Meet the people trying to spread the message of income and equality on the internet.

And later, attention holiday shoppers. Some malls are keeping track of your every move and they are using your cell phone in which to do so.

A new development to talk about today in the Penn State child molestation case. Sources close to the investigation say Child and Youth Services is checking two new incidents of alleged abuse by long time assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. Sources indicate the cases were filed no earlier than mid-September, and the alleged victims are minors.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARA GANIM, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: These are not the first two new cases that we have heard of. There have been reports of several other cases. Other attorneys said they have victims who say they were abused as far back as the 1970s.

So it's kind of unclear how many of these have been vetted by police and how many might testify before a grand jury. How many are within the statute of limitations that the cases could be prosecuted. We don't know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, I want to talk to criminal defense attorney, Richard Herman in Las Vegas. So, Richard, if these new allegations evolve into prosecutors bringing additional charges based on what they are finding, what does that mean for Jerry Sandusky? He's out on bond. What would be the next step?

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: The next step will be a super ceding indictment or simply a new indictment against him. In that case, he's going to be rearrested. He's going to be dragged into court again. There will be a bail application.

Now all the judges, Fred, in that county have recused themselves for the appearance of any impropriety. They have stepped away from the case due to their contacts either with Penn State or with the charity.

So a new slew of judges will handle it and they watch TV. They read the newspapers. When it comes time to set bail next time around, I think it's going to be onerous and I think he's going to be incarcerated.

WHITFIELD: Interesting, OK. So now Penn State has brought in former FBI Director Louie Freeh this week for this independent investigation. So one has to wonder now this is going to compliment or potentially conflict with the ongoing investigations.

HERMAN: Fred, I think that -- look. They are trying to help their image Penn State so by reaching out to Louie Freeh who is a extremely respected lawman, he has no teeth. He has nothing he can really use.

He does not have subpoena power. The board of trustees have said, whatever his recommendations are, the board will consider them because of the ongoing criminal investigations of potential federal charges being filed here.

Anybody has to be completely insane to speak to Louie Freeh or any of his former agents assisting him. I don't believe they are going to get cooperation. Believe me, if you're a potential defendant, you have to keep your mouth shut. No one is going to cooperate with this.

COSTELLO: OK, so there is a federal investigation going on, at least two, the Department of Education, even Justice Department getting involved here. So is it your feeling that in the end, it's the federal investigation that would super seed I guess, lower jurisdictions investigations?

HERMAN: It's interesting, Fred. You know, double jeopardy could attach. But some of these crimes are state crimes. Some are federal crimes. I'm not sure how it may play out. The state may want to hold on to their claims.

So we'll see what happens down the road. Usually they defer to the feds, but we'll see what kind of case the feds bring. They may potentially bring Ricoh case. And then in that event, the state cases will probably continue on ward.

WHITFIELD: All right, Richard Herman. Thanks so much. Always good to see you from Las Vegas.

HERMAN: Nice to see you, Fred. Happy Thanksgiving.

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Richard.

All right, the New York Police Department doesn't want you to see the next video we're about to show you. We'll hear from the people who defied the "Occupy Wall Street" media blackout.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Police blocked reporters from filming the eviction of "Occupy" protesters from Zuccotti Park, but that didn't stop these photographers from catching it on camera. Our Poppy Harlow reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our mission is to tell stories that won't get told if we're not there to tell them. You experienced some of that this week where if you're not embedded in an activity, you cannot get that story.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When our cameras were blocked from filming the eviction of Zuccotti Park, these guys were live streaming it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We eliminate the area where no one reports anything, where like the police employs somebody back.

HARLOW: In this cramped, tiny room in Lower Manhattan sits the unofficial media headquarters for the "Occupy" movement with a mission as spontaneous as the protest.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What I'm doing is grabbing content of what's happening on the ground and transferring it so people can witness it.

FLUXROSTRUM, VIDEO JOURNALIST, GLOBALREVOLUTION TV: We're dealing with basically 2,000 of people launching at a tile. We monitor live feeds from all over the world. We pick what is the most interesting at any given time and put it on the air and do a split screen with two places that are having activity at the same time.

HARLOW (on camera): It's not just "Occupy Wall Street." It's "Occupy" movements around the world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're working closely with occupations around the world and around the country to teach them how to do this.

HARLOW: How important was that for you guys to have the ability to live stream the eviction?

FLUXROSTRUM: That was the main reason that we were live streaming in the first place.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That was the night of the eviction. That's coming off a laptop and a web cam.

HARLOW: Eventually that night, Lorenzo was arrested. Here's some of the footage live streamed during the eviction.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's really important. Every occupation can show their story to the world and show what's actually happening.

HARLOW: Do you think that what you stream here in this video that you collect is going to be an important part of history?

FLUXROSTRUM: This is history. I don't see anything in my lifetime that rivals it.

HARLOW: Does this show us that you don't need a space or all need to be there to occupy? You're occupying from here?

FLUXROSTRUM: Yes. That could be the next level of occupation. I personally think we can occupy the hearts and minds of people easier than occupying a park.

HARLOW: Poppy Harlow, CNN Money, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: While you soon may be hitting the mall hot on the trail of the best bargains, did you know someone could be tracking you and your every buy? Find out who?

And remember the idea of six degrees of separation and Kevin Bacon?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just an idea and six agrees in general. The fact we're all connected.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Well, now scientists have figured out the average number of acquaintances separating any two people in the world is no longer six. Can you guess how many? Is it 10 degrees, two degrees, or four degrees of separation? The answer in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: OK. So thanks to Facebook and other social media, a lot more of us know a whole lot more people. That means we need just four degrees of separation now. It is now four degrees, precisely, 4.74 degrees of separation.

In the U.S., where more than a half of people are on Facebook, the degree of separation is slightly smaller 4.37. By the way the six degrees concept dates back to 1929 when a Hungarian author wrote a book saying no one is more than a string of six friends away from any other person. There you go. Now it's four.

So if you're keeping an eye on your stocks right now, they are not looking so good. You may feel a little sad today. Alison Kosik joins me now from the New York Stock Exchange. Bring us some good news please on this.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Give you some good news at the top here. So, sure, we're deep in the red. The Dow down 194 points. But, look, there are some decent reports that came out about the U.S. economy today. Jobless claims are pretty much holding steady. How much Americans made and how much they spent, those numbers went up. But, clearly, pretty good data. Not good enough to trump Europe's debt crisis at this point.

Germany, in fact, auctioned off government bonds today. That did not go well. In fact, weak demand there was described as a total disaster. There's just a lack of confidence that even Germany can make good on its investments, and it's the richest country in Europe. It's fiscally sound. You know, Fredricka, it really shows just how pervasive the fear about this euro zone debt crisis really is.

Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Oh, yes. Meantime, some folks are fast forward, thinking ahead after the Thanksgiving holiday. They're thinking about those Black Friday deals. But apparently their patterns of purchasing or shopping are being closely watched by whom?

KOSIK: Yes, yes, the malls. The malls, Fredricka, they're going to be watching you. In fact, two malls in particular have announced that they're actually going to track the cell phones of shoppers from Black Friday through New (INAUDIBLE) and Richmond, Virginia. Now, here's how this whole thing is going to work. The technology is actually just going to track where your phone is. So, obviously, it's going to track where you go. And it's really going to show, you know, how you move your way through the mall. You know, what stores you go to. If you maybe grab a Starbucks after visiting Nordstrom or if you linger a little too long in Victoria's Secret. They'll know how long you stayed there. They want to know, what are the spots in the mall that are unpopular. They really want to know your shopping habits.

Now the company that makes this tracking equipment says it helps these stores improve the shopping experience. But they also say that no personal data is going to be collected. So they're not going to know, let's say, what I buy in the store. They're not going to know what Alison buys in the store. But if you're worried at all, you can opt out by just turning that phone off.

Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: OK. I have a feeling a lot of people will be doing that. Nobody wants to be tracked, do they?

All right, Alison Kosik, thanks so much.

WHITFIELD: I don't.

WHITFIELD: No, me either.

All right, happy Thanksgiving.

In the meantime, a lot of folks in New England will be shopping in less than ideal weather conditions.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Well, if they're in a mall, they might be OK with that, Chad, right?

MYERS: I think the mittens and the scarves are going out the door now, especially north of Massachusetts.

WHITFIELD: They're going to sell out.

MYERS: And we're talking about northern New England. We're talking about the Adirondacks, and Vermont and New Hampshire and into Maine. About six to 12 inches of snow there.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh.

MYERS: It started over night and it's still snowing now.

WHITFIELD: Wow.

MYERS: So we -- so, there you go.

WHITFIELD: OK. Well, folks will enjoy being inside with one another, as long as they can get there.

MYERS: Yes, the snow shovel makers and the salt guys are really happy at this point in time.

Here's what we're talking about now. We're talking about rain from the big cities. That's slowing the airports down just a little bit. From New York City back down to D.C. But the snow is much farther to the north. We're talking about Bangor, Maine, Interior, Maine, back into Vermont, the Green and White Mountains and also back into the Adirondacks here into New York.

Showers across parts of Florida. May need an umbrella for Tampa, Sarasota, shopping right now. And then back up toward the north. You know, I was, Fred, I was sitting in makeup with Susan Hendrix from "Headline News" and she said, I was at the store for an hour and a half just trying to buy a turkey today. Today is Black Friday for food.

WHITFIELD: Oh, that's right.

MYERS: So, yes, so if you're going to be out and about, you may want to take your patience too because it is a little bit longer as you linger longer in the stores, whether you want to or not.

Rain showers up the East Coast. Snow behind it. Rain again across the Pacific Northwest. This is the next storm here. Although it's in the northwest now, it will affect your commute back from grandmother's house or wherever you're going on Sunday, because it will travel across the country by then.

For Thanksgiving Day, if you're traveling there, airports are usually in really good shape. Today is typically the busiest day of the year. And we do have a couple of delays at this point here. This is our Newark departure board. This is from Flight Board (ph). You can actually go purchase this app for your iPad. This -- iPad is running on the weather office right now.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh, a lot of flights canceled.

MYERS: Yes, canceled, canceled, canceled.

WHITFIELD: Oh, no.

MYERS: But these are the Jet Expresses. These are the smaller airplanes into Halifax, into Ottawa, into -- well, here's a shuttle right there. A shuttle from Indianapolis. That was canceled, out of Newark. You can go see whether your flight was canceled.

It's not so bad that the flight came in late or something like that. But when your plane that you wanted to leave on doesn't ever get to the airport, then all of a sudden you're scrambling.

WHITFIELD: Oh, what a horrible feeling.

MYERS: And if you don't -- Fred, if there -- you have two to five empty seats on any plane and all of a sudden you cancel 80 people, how do you put 80 people into two seats, into five seats?

WHITFIELD: No.

MYERS: It takes a long time to get that shoveled out.

WHITFIELD: Oh, that's misery.

MYERS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Well, hopefully people will get there.

MYERS: I know.

WHITFIELD: Get where they're trying to go.

All right, thanks so much. Happy Thanksgiving, Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome. Happy Thanksgiving to you.

WHITFIELD: Appreciate that.

MYERS: All right.

WHITFIELD: All right, as you are preparing for tomorrow's Thanksgiving holiday, what are you most grateful for? That's our "Talk Back" question today. Chazia writes, "I'm grateful to be employed and for my soldier and our four beautiful children." More of your responses moments away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, you've been telling us what you're grateful for in the responses to our "Talk Back" question. Carol Costello joins us now from New York with more of your responses.

So, Carol, people are very, very happy to express what they're thankful for. I like that.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And it's kind of nice, too.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

COSTELLO: The "Talk Back" question today is, what are you grateful for on this Thanksgiving holiday?

This from Kevin. "Starting a new job on Monday after being unemployed the last 15 months, my family, food on the table and a roof over our heads."

This from Jeffer, a U.S. military guy. "No matter how bad the situation is, we are still in a tolerable country that you can leave your house in the morning and almost guarantee that you'll be back at the end of the day."

This from Larisa. "I've been able to find a job this year in a rough economy. My family is doing well. I have love in my life and heart. I have friends. I have my health back. I am grateful for life."

And this from Josh. "I'm thankful that even though my government thinks pizza is a vegetable, and the U.N. thinks water is not a cure for dehydration, I'm lucky enough to live in a country in which I have the power to make my own decisions. Now it's time to call Pizza Hut and order a salad."

Keep the comments coming. Facebook.com/carolcnn. We've enjoyed reading your comments. Really we have. And thank you, as always, for them.

WHITFIELD: That's so nice. Oh, I love that. And people have sent you comments. They've even sent comments by way of iReports. In fact, Carol, yes, Jannet Walsh from Minnesota says this is what she's grateful for.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANNET WALSH: This thanksgiving I will be thankful for receiving unemployment insurance. I've experienced my second layoff in September in a total of three years. I'm also very hopeful that I will find an even better job than I was laid off from.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, we're thankful for your comments and we're thankful that you are watching with us today too.

All right, how safe is the seafood from the Gulf of Mexico? Hear what fishermen, scientists and the government have to say. CNN goes back to the site of the BP oil spill.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, if you like seafood, listen up. This involves all the fish, crabs and shrimp caught in the Gulf of Mexico and just how safe it is after the BP oil spill. Gary Tuchman has our update.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tom Barrios relies on the Gulf of Mexico for his livelihood. He's a Louisiana crabber and shrimper, who since the BP oil disaster, has been losing lots of money.

TUCHMAN (on camera): How scary of a time is this for you and your wife and your family?

TOM BARRIOS, FISHERMAN: If we had a way out, we would probably get out.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Leaders in the seafood industry say catches are way down, compared to before the disaster. There's just not as many fish. And there is also this.

TUCHMAN (on camera): Are you concerned about the safety of the food?

BARRIOS: I'm very concerned. I have children. Very concerned.

TUCHMAN: So you're concerned as a businessman and a father?

BARRIOS: Correct.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Fishermen certainly don't like to speak negatively of their cash crop, but you don't only hear it from the fishermen. You hear it from their leaders, such as the president of the Louisiana Shrimp Association.

TUCHMAN (on camera): Do you feel safe for you and your family to eat this shrimp?

CLINT GUIDRY, PRES., LOUISIANA SHRIMP ASSOCIATION: I eat it.

TUCHMAN: But do you feel 100 percent confident it's as healthy as it was before the oil spill?

GUIDRY: No.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): The Food and Drug Administration says Gulf seafood is safe to eat.

ROBERT DICKEY, FDA'S GULF COAST SEAFOOD LABORATORY: I eat is every day. And I actually barbequed some shrimp last week. So, I mean, it's safe.

TUCHMAN: But there are other physicians and scientists who disagree in an alarming fashion.

DR. GINA SOLOMON, SENIOR SCIENTIST, NRDC: There's an increased risk of cancer if you eat a lot of seafood contaminated from this oil spill.

TUCHMAN: Dr. Gina Solomon is a senior scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Counsel, a national environmental group. She says a study by the NRDC indicates Gulf seafood is safe for the typical adult, but chemicals from the BP oil make it much less safe for their children.

SOLOMON: Kids who eat a lot of seafood could be at increased risk of cancer. If a mom eats seafood, her baby could be at increased risk of cancer if she eats enough of it. So what the chemicals in the oil do is they damage chromosomes, interact with DNA, cause cell mutations.

TUCHMAN: The FDA strongly disagrees, saying the data was miscalculated and that the seafood is safe for everyone, including children.

DICKEY: The amount of seafood that someone would have to eat would be the equivalent of 63 pounds of shrimp or five pounds of oyster or nine pounds of fin fish every day for five years before they would exceed levels to be concerned about. TUCHMAN (on camera): When the BP oil well was capped, this story started fading from the memories of people. But not for the people whose livelihoods depend on this water. Their fear and anxiety only made worse by the lack of public attention now being paid.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): There will now be more public attention though because of the NRDC/FDA dispute and because of anecdotes like this.

GUIDRY: Fishermen are bringing in shrimp without any eyes. And that just -- you know, eyes pulled off is something that they evidently have lost their eyes and are still alive.

TUCHMAN (on camera): What does that tell you?

GUIDRY: It tells me something's wrong.

TUCHMAN: So on an average day, before the oil spill, you could have 30,000 pounds of shrimp in day?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, definitely. And that's not a good day, that's just an average day.

TUCHMAN: Thirty thousand pounds?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir.

TUCHMAN: And how many pounds have come in today?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Zero.

SOLOMON: It's likely that the population declines in the shrimp are due to the same contaminants that we're worried about if people eat them.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): There is disagreement over the health risk.