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Shootings, Scuffles on Black Friday; Shoppers Pounce on Black Friday Deals; Getting a Jump on Friday; Black Friday Starting on Thursday; "Last Chance" Protests in Cairo; "Idol" Vet Flubs National Anthem; Teen Hurt at Nail Salon Brawl; Missing Dog's Owner Tries Bikini Stunt; "Small Business Saturday" is Tomorrow; Shoppers Say They Were Pepper Sprayed; Listen to Your Heart; "Occupy Black Friday"; Soccer Team Breaks 17-Year-Skid; How Things Can Change in White House Races

Aired November 25, 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: We start this hour with Black Friday. It is upon us. A day retailers have been looking forward to all year, but at times the quest for bargains has gotten out of hand.

Overnight, there have been shootings at Wal-Marts in North Carolina and Northern California and at a mall, as well, in North Carolina. There are no reports of any deaths, but some people are spending Black Friday in the hospital all to get their hands on a TV or something else.

And then there's this story from the Los Angeles area. Authorities say a woman waiting in line pepper sprayed other customers apparently so she could get a better place in line.

About 10 people were hurt when the crowd scattered. No serious injuries are reported. The woman paid for the items and ran out of the store. Detectives hope a store security camera will help identify her.

Hopefully these will be exceptions throughout the day because there should be many people jamming the stores today. A CNN/ORC poll found that nearly one in four Americans will shop today. That's more than in recent years. It will be good for the economy if there's that kind of turnout.

One retail group expects the number of shoppers this weekend will be up 10 percent this year. Let's see if some of the predictions are coming true. CNN's Chris Knowles has been at Macy's in Manhattan all morning.

So Chris, it's turnout, but it's also how much each individual consumer spends. That's going to be important, as well.

CHRIS KNOWLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think you're right. Some of the incentives here at Macy's, you spend a certain amount on one product. They throw you a little extra like the Justin Bieber cologne for the ladies, "Someday." You get the holiday CD, too and a special download available, of course, only at Macy's.

Now the crowds are steady, but still streaming. You mentioned more and more people shopping, almost one of them here today. In and around the Herald Square area, but at midnight that's where the action was.

First time ever, Macy's opened up at midnight. A crowd rushing in to the store looking to snap up those early bird specials, thousands of upon thousands of people making their way in to this part of the city.

And I'll tell you, we spoke to the CEO of Macy's a little bit earlier and he is loving what he's seeing so far.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TERRY LUNDGREN, PRESIDENT AND CEO, MACY'S: We tested 12 stores at the request of those stores last year and it was a big success right from the gun at midnight. So it was clearly a big success here at Herald's Square with over 10,000 people standing outside waiting to get in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KNOWLES: And wait they did. And, you know, the stream is still happening here. We're expecting the crowds to continue throughout the day as the specials go on in to the night. Now, of course, we have cyber Monday to look forward, as well.

And the CEO of Macy's says that business is doing particularly well for the company, as well so, so far, so good. I think the Black Friday experience is a pleasant surprise for the bosses at Macy's.

GORANI: Thanks, Chris Knowles in Manhattan there at the Macy's store. One reason for the extra busy Black Friday could be that it did not start on Friday at all.

Some stores opened on Thanksgiving and that might be good for shoppers, but some store employees are not very happy about the lost family time. Here's CNN's George Howell.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 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 opened early for Black Friday, but what about the employees who give up their Thanksgiving.

RICK MELARAGNI, BEST BUY EMPLOYEE: We are retail workers and we're kind of expected to work odd hours. This is the first year that Best Buy as a whole has 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 got more than 15,000 signatures.

MELARAGNI: I understand that there's money to be made and we need to make that money, but families 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: Think about 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 they'd like to shop Best Buy on Thanksgiving Day. That's why we're opening at midnight. Ellen Davis with the National Retail Federation says stores open 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 the 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 everybody should just say thank you for being here today.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: And now, a live picture at this Best Buy in Georgia where it's certainly a busy day for customers and clearly busy day for the employees here. Many of them started at 10:00 p.m., Thanksgiving Day. They will finish work, finish their shift around 11:00.

So 11:00 this morning, a long 12-hour shift. You talk to some -- some of them may not agree with the policy. Some are fine with it. But also when you talk to the two employees who started that petition, Hala, they both say that they're thankful that they work for companies where they can share their opinions and have no problems with it.

GORANI: All right. George Howell, thanks very much for reporting there outside of Atlanta.

A sea of people in the heart of Cairo today for what protesters are calling their, quote, "last chance rally. It comes a day after Egypt's military leaders named a new prime minister. A man who'd already held the post under Hosni Mubarak, the deposed dictator.

CNN's Ivan Watson is right in the middle of things in Cairo and Dan Lothian is tracking reaction from the United States at the White House.

First, let's bring in Ivan. We have seen violence over the last few days. There are big protests today in Tahrir and adjacent streets. Is there any violence today?

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So far, fortunately, we haven't heard of any violence and that is a blessing because at least 41 people have been killed since the protest movement began on Saturday.

Moments after the new prime minister, the newly-appointed Prime Minister Kamal Ganzouri addressed the nation in a televised address and swore that he would be afforded more powers, more authority than the successor had had. I heard the crowd behind me here in Tahrir chanting meaning leave.

I don't know if that referred to him or the ruling military council that this protest movement has been so against, but definitely, that has not had any effect on diminishing the people power protest movement that we have seen here in Tahrir Square.

GORANI: And of course, the big question is in three days there are elections, parliamentary elections. The first of many stages in this electoral process in Egypt and the question is how will these elections unfold? Can they be held in the current environment even?

WATSON: That has been a big debate. The ruling military council says, yes, we got to go ahead. One of the biggest political blocks, the Muslim Brotherhood also wants elections. They're predicted to do quite well because they're so well organized and so well funded.

Some of the demonstrators here say this is no time for parliamentary elections. It is worth noting that today is also a day of rival demonstrations. Across town, there is another protest in the works where you have tens of thousands of people expressing their support for the military.

Their support for field marshal who's so reviled by the people behind me here and they are chanting that Tahrir does not represent all of Egypt so really a complicated picture here today.

GORANI: Thanks very much, Ivan Watson is live in Cairo. Over to our White House correspondent, Dan Lothian, let me ask you about the White House and the U.S. position.

The White House has been rather quiet. Of course, it wants this process in Egypt to unfold peacefully. But there is some bumps in the road. So what are people saying in the White House or even if it's not officially on the record about what's going on there? DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Right. Well, look. I can tell you that here they are very concerned about what's been unfolding, taking place on the ground there in Egypt. The White House seems to be applying more pressure now in the push for democratic reforms saying that the situation requires a fundamental solution.

White House Spokesman Jay Carney in a statement released said, quote, "The United States strongly believes that the new Egyptian government must be empowered with real authority immediately. We believe that the full transfer of power to a civilian government must take place in a just and inclusive manner that responds to the legitimate aspirations of the Egyptian people, as soon as possible.

What you have been hearing over the last few days here at the White House is a condemnation of the violence there, calls for restraints on all sides. But also, calls on the Egyptian officials to launch an independent investigation in to deaths there.

And then, of course, the reassurance that the United States will continue to stand with the Egyptian people as they push for democratic reforms -- Hala.

GORANI: All right. Well, to put it bluntly, the U.S. does send money to Egypt, still the military in control of the country. Those that complain about the revolution saying we got rid of the president. We didn't get rid of regime.

If the military, for instance, does not hand over power to a civilian government in a peaceful manner, what might the U.S. reaction be to that?

LOTHIAN: Well, I think we'll have to wait and see at that point what the reaction will be. Clearly, it would not be the situation that this White House foresaw pushing so hard for the end to the long regime of Mubarak.

They wanted there to be a peaceful transition to democracy and clearly as even President Obama has pointed out before this would not be an easy and smooth transition.

But they're hopeful that that eventually will take place and that there won't have to be any sort of other things that the White House will have to do here on this end.

GORANI: Thanks very much. Our team of correspondents at the White House, Dan Lothian and Ivan Watson in Egypt.

Coming up, fists and hair were flying in one knockdown drag-out nail salon brawl. Details when we check the news cross country.

If you finished your Black Friday shopping, get ready for round two, small business Saturday. Find out what's behind the push to drop some cash at mom and pop shops. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Welcome back. Let's check the news cross country.

An "American Idol" veteran flubs America's national anthem. Lauren Alina kicked off the NFL game last night in Detroit and in the middle of the song she stopped for about five seconds and picked up a few words later. Afterwards she tweeted, I have no excuses. I messed up.

No excuse for this brawl at a Georgia nail salon. Some mothers and daughters started swinging and throwing bowls at each other. One hit an innocent bystander in the face. The teenager got a big gash on her chin and some teeth knocked out even. Police are looking for the woman responsible for it all.

And a California woman says she'll stand on the street corner in her bikini until she gets her missing dog back. The Chihuahua ran away last week and she thinks a neighbor may have taken him. She's also on a hunger strike.

Well, today is Black Friday and then we have cyber Monday. In between, there's now Small Business Saturday. Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange.

So Small Business Saturday, self explanatory. Buy items, purchase services from small businesses. Do they account for much of the economy in the U.S.?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: They do. They're a huge portion of what makes our economy move. You know, and what this movement really is all about is all about shopping locally, Hala.

It's meant to encourage people to go ahead and shop at their independent stores in their communities. Not at those big box stores that we know and love anyway. Small Business Saturday, by the way, is being spearheaded by American Express and even President Obama, he's stepping on board supporting it.

He says small businesses are the backbone of our economy. Amex says small business created 65 percent of all the new jobs we have had over the past 20 years. Supporting local businesses keeps the money in your area because those businesses pay taxes and they hire workers -- Hala.

GORANI: All right. So, that is going to be a big test. Is this the first time that they do this Small Business Saturday then to see -- and I do wonder, I mean, will consumers heave the call to come out and help the mom and pop stores?

GORANI: Well, you know, there's an incentive here because as you can guess American Express, which is sort of launching this idea says, you know, you can benefit from this if you use your Amex card.

There's an incentive there. So if you go ahead and register your Amex card and then use it, you'll get a $25 credit for them using the card. Amex makes more money because the retailer pays a fee and you'll pay interest if you carry a balance.

Also, you know what? It's good branding for Amex to lead this cause. It boosts their image and these days when it comes to consumers, reputation is almost everything -- Hala.

GORANI: And some small businesses have shunned Amex. So we'll see if it all works out for everyone involved. Thanks very much, Alison Kosik. Coming up, do not ignore your heart.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: I was lucky I didn't die of a heart attack.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Former President Clinton talks about his heart surgery, hoping he can help you avoid a heart attack.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Welcome back. It is Black Friday so sometimes people sort of -- there's some tension, tempers get a little heated. Shoppers at a Wal-Mart in California say they got pepper sprayed.

Anna Recalde is joining us from Mission Hills in California. Anna, thanks for being with us. Were you one of the people in the line when the pepper spray incident happened?

ANNA RECALDE (via telephone): It was my children. I didn't get pepper sprayed, but my son and my daughter got a bit of it.

GORANI: So what happened exactly? Did you see it?

RECALDE: We were passing through the aisles, trying to get through from one side of the building to the other side where they had lines for the TV sales they were having.

As we were passing through, it was very packed in the aisles. As we were passing through, a woman in a black hoodie decided to wave out and spray at the same time some pepper spray.

And as we were waiting to try to get through, because there was limited space to get through, a lot of people got pepper sprayed due to that. They were waiting in the video section of the store, which is all in the middle in the back.

GORANI: Let me get the story straight, Anna. People were waiting in line to pay for things that they were at Wal-Mart like TVs and electronics and that kind of thing.

And then a woman wearing a black hoodie walked up to the line and pepper sprayed people, why, to cut the line? Because I understand she actually paid for her items.

RECALDE: Actually they were waiting to get video games in that section. GORANI: I see.

RECALDE: They were getting to get the video game. The store had opened earlier in the day and people were coming through because the sales -- some of the sales did not start until 12:00. Some of the stuff started at 10:00 were they opened up the bulk of the items and passed them out.

In this particular section, which is the video section, their sale started at 10:00, but there were people there waiting in line and some of them were waiting in line. Some of them were just waiting around the section.

And they kind of created like a big rounded area around that section, which blocked the passageway to go anywhere in that section. So as we were passing by to try to get through to the other side, they decided to, I guess, open the section and people started grabbing things.

GORANI: I see.

RECALDE: And when people started grabbing things this woman just decided to spray. When she sprayed, I guess she got everybody because, you know, we were just passing by and we got a whiff of it.

Other people that were closer were affected, you know, in the face. There was 20 people all taking care of by the fire department.

GORANI: But you weren't pepper sprayed. Your kids got a whiff of it, but everyone's fine?

RECALDE: Yes.

GORANI: All right.

RECALDE: The kids, you know, they're OK. They just kind of ran off and they kind of felt uneasy. They went to the bathroom and washed up and because it was up in the air, you know? If it was maybe on to the floor it wouldn't have affected so many people.

GORANI: Sure. It does end up lingers. Anna Recalde, I want to thank you for your time. Sorry your kids had to go through that. People out there shopping, calm down, you know? The flat screen, the video game, it will be there for a few more hours.

While out shopping this holiday season, why not take some time to do something for yourself? Learn to recognize the signs of heart disease.

Former President Clinton is perhaps the best known heart patient in America. He talked to CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta about his bypass surgery hoping it will help others.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLINTON: I was lucky I didn't die of a heart attack.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Former President Clinton, like too many people, was busy. And for years he ignored warning signs from his heart. But in 2004, during an exhausting book tour, there was something different.

CLINTON: I had a real tightness in my chest when I was getting off the airplane and only time I'd had it unrelated to exercise.

GUPTA (on camera): We're here outside New York Presbyterian Hospital and just a couple of hours, President Bill Clinton, former president, is scheduled to undergo surgery.

CLINTON: So I immediately went down to our local hospital and they did a test. They said you got real problems. They hustled me down to Columbia Presbyterian and they confirmed the determination I had serious blockage and needed the surgery.

GUPTA (voice-over): The doctors immediately knew. Options were limited. The 58-year-old Clinton need to have his chest opened, his heart stopped and surgery performed.

DR. CRAIG SMITH, NEW YORK PRESBYTERIAN/COLUMBUS: There's no medical treatment for reversing the obstructions that formed in the blood vessels.

CLINTON: I got Hillary and Chelsea there and it was happening fast. Everybody who cared about me was scared and I felt rather serene. I thought, gosh, we dodged a bullet.

GUPTA: On Labor Day in 2004, Mr. Clinton had four blood vessels bypassed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Starting this morning around 8:00 he had a relatively routine quadruple bypass operation. We left the operating room around noon and he's recovering normally at this point. So, I think right now everything looks straightforward.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: Well, President Clinton has made some dramatic changes and there are things you can do right now, as well, to prevent a heart attack. Watch "Dr. Sanjay Gupta Reports, The Last Heart Attack" tonight at 7 and 11 Eastern.

When we come back, how does Mitt Romney close a seven- point gap in Iowa with Newt Gingrich? That's one question we'll put to our "Political Buzz" panel coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Checking top stories now. Shoppers got an earlier than ever Black Friday start with some stores opening late last night, but violence marred shopping in at least five states. Fifteen people suffered minor injuries at a California Wal-Mart when a customer used pepper spray apparently to move others out of the line.

Congresswoman Gabby Giffords met with some of her constituents for the first time since being wounded in January's shooting. Giffords and husband, Mark Kelly, help served meals to military families.

Also, Harry Potter author, J.K. Rowling says she was so hounded by paparazzi at one time that she felt like a hostage in her own home. Rowling testified before a committee in Britain investigating the phone hacking scandal there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.K. ROWLING, AUTHOR: This doesn't apply to the whole of the press, but the attitude seems to be utterly cavalier, indifference. What does it matter? You're famous. You're asking for it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Rowling was outraged she said after a journalist slipped a note into her 5-year-old daughter's school bag one day.

"Political Buzz." "Political Buzz" is your rapid fire look at the best political topics of the day. Three questions, 30 seconds on the clock and playing today with us Democratic strategist John Rowley; Goldie Taylor, she's a political analyst and editor-at-large with the Grio.com; and Georgetown Professor Chris Metzler.

Hi, everyone. Happy Black Friday. First question.

JOHN ROWLEY, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Good morning.

GORANI: Five and a half weeks to go until Iowa and Newt Gingrich as we've seen in the latest polling is leading out of the state. Romney is seven points behind. So the question is, what does Romney need to do now to close the gap? Chris?

CHRIS METZLER, PROFESSOR, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: Well, in terms of what Romney needs to do is what he's not been able to do which is win over the conservative base. At this point, we're not sure which Romney is going to show up. And unless and until he can win over the conservative base, he is not going to be able to close the gap.

In fact, Newt has come out and has primarily been beating him because, in fact, while we may not agree with a lot of what Newt says, we understand that he is the conservative in the race and as a result of that, I think unless and until Romney can close this gap with conservative base it's going to be hard.

GORANI: Goldie?

GOLDIE TAYLOR, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, GRIO.COM: That's about right. You know Newt Gingrich is known as the father of conservatism, modern conservatism here in Georgia and Mitt Romney really can't be what he isn't. And I think that's what conservatives are really responding to. The political expediency and the flip-flopping back and forth on the issues over the years has left him with an air of distrust among conservatives and so really it is an anybody but Mitt kind of race right now.

GORANI: All right. And John, what do you think? Do you agree?

ROWLEY: Well, Romney needs to channel Newt and Newt needs to channel Romney. I mean, Romney needs to say or do something interesting which is Newt's specialty to prove he is not the android candidate with the chip in the back of his neck and Newt needs to not melt down. He's been a ticking time bomb his entire political career and he just eventually says or does something that melts down whatever his political fortunes are.

Maybe another vacation to the Greek isles for Newt would be the best thing to stay on top of the polls.

GORANI: All right, you know what? A vacation to the Greek isles is always a good idea no matter who you are. The bipartisan group American-elect has raised over $20 million to try to put a third presidential candidate on the ballot next year. You prediction, who is most likely to fill that ballot slot, Goldie?

TAYLOR: Nobody. You know, at the end of the day, Independent candidates are spoilers. If we look back to Ross Perot, they're spoilers. This year when we've got a lot of social media and other things, certainly it gives Independents a bigger chance, a better chance to run but if anybody's going to fill that slot it has to be somebody really with their own money somebody like Michael Bloomberg and I just really doubt that the mayor of New York is going to run for the presidency this year or any other year and so maybe you've got Ross Perot who, you know, certainly -- not Ross Perot. Certainly you have a -- you know who I mean.

GORANI: John? John, what do you think?

ROWLEY: Well, I think the dream ticket for Democrats would be Sarah Palin and Donald Trump. That's what we're hoping for. And then I think the fascinating ticket would be George Clooney and Michael Bloomberg. You would have two guys from the top one percent who can make a case that they could fight on behalf of the 99 percent.

GORANI: Right. But how likely is it?

ROWLEY: I would say -- I would agree with what Goldie says. I think it's unlikely that any of the major players are going to make a move for it right now.

GORANI: Chris?

METZLER: Yes. Absolutely. I agree. There's nobody who's going to fill that spot. I mean, Independent candidates are just not going to do it. I think, you know, for Republicans, the dream candidate would be, oh, I don't know, Russ Feingold of Wisconsin. But I don't think that's going to happen so I think we're pretty much done here.

GORANI: All right, this is the field then. Now you're "Buzzer Beater" 20 seconds each. Nothing says Thanksgiving like a Charlie Brown special but Jimmy Kimmel gives it a political twist. Watch.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

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

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Rick, I don't think that I've ever hired an illegal in my life. And so I'm afraid, I'm -- I'm looking forward to finding your facts on that because that just what the facts are --

(CROSSTALK)

PERRY: I'll tell you the facts.

ROMNEY: Rick, again -- Rick I'm speaking. I'm speaking. I'm speaking. I'm speaking. You get 30 seconds. Time for you to -- the way the rules work here is that I get 60 seconds and then you get 30 seconds to respond, right?

(END AUDIO CLIP)

GORANI: Ok. It's funny. It's hilarious, it's always funny when you take an actual debate and sort of conversation and put it in the mouths of anyone else but the politicians themselves but this in particular is funny.

Which cartoon do you think sums up the 2012 presidential race, Chris?

METZLER: I think it's --

(CROSSTALK)

GORANI: And why?

METZLER: -- it's think it's "Family Guy" because I think what you have is just a bunch of dysfunctional people just kind of running around here. We're not sure exactly what's -- what's going on so I think "Family Guy" probably sums it up the best in this political season.

GORANI: John?

ROWLEY: "Beavis and Butthead." Because it's been a race to the bottom in terms of the quality of the candidates, the quality of the debate. Now the music hasn't been that good but the jokes have actually been funnier.

GORANI: Ok. Goldie?

TAYLOR: I'm going to show my age here. "Josie and the Pussycats." I think it's like an all-girl band who keeps singing the same tune show after show after show. GORANI: All right thanks to all three of you, John Rowley, Goldie Taylor and Chris Metzler for joining us on this Black Friday "Political Buzz" panel. Have a great weekend, all of you.

Coming up, the "Occupy Wall Street" movement attempting to "Occupy Black Friday." But shoppers say it won't stop them from snagging those bargain priced flat screens. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Checking news across the country. In Texas, the draught there is drying up lakes and underneath one lake is an old town called Bluffton. Also, discovered when the lake dried up, a never before seen artifacts and ruins, including a cemetery that dates back to the 1930s.

And in animal news in Missouri, a pet wallaby decided to take a stroll around town. Took off while being fed and the wallaby got caught and taken back to the Kansas City Zoo.

In Everett, Washington, parents of a 4-year-old say their daughter was forced to scribble her little signature on a form banning her from a store for shoplifting. A Safeway security guard informed the girl and her father that the store would be pressing charges after he watched the small girl open a bag of fruit, eat some of it and put it back on the shelf. Safeway says it's investigating the incident.

That's impressive, she can sign.

The holiday shopping season is officially started but not everyone is taking part. In fact, there's a movement against Black Friday.

Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange. Now, we hear the protesters may look a little bit familiar from the Wall Street area. Tell us more about what they say they hope to achieve by doing this today.

KOSIK: And you talk about them, familiar -- sure, they should seem familiar. These are the same Occupy Wall Street protesters or protests that have spread nationwide against corporate greed. But today they're focusing on retailers. This one though seems to be much smaller.

It's not in every city. But this initiative is called Occupy Black Friday. Now, you look on the group's Facebook page and they say they want to show corporations that they're nothing, nothing without the 99 percent. They're encouraging people to go ahead and shop at local stores and not go to those big box stores.

Take a listen to one of the Black Friday protesters in Oakland, California, listen to what one had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You need to shop, shop with a conscience. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Until people change their behavior and send a different message to the system of their values, then the system will start to respond.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need stuff for our families and I work every day and this is the best deal. And going to go get in, they're not writing my checks and saving me money so I'm here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: So you see, Hala, that there's a message against corporate America but as you can tell from the last woman, you know what? They have to go out there and shop for holiday gifts anyway. Some people just need to get a deal and to save some money so you know what? Two sides to the story, Hala.

GORANI: Thank you Alison.

American Samoa has never or had never won a soccer match in 17 years of international play. Earlier this week, they finally won. And now, they're on a roll. That story after the break.

Also ahead, several people have reportedly developed seizures after seeing particular scenes in this popular vampire movie. The story is next in your "Showbiz Headlines."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Welcome back.

Let's get your "Showbiz Headlines." Efforts to bring ABC's daytime soaps to the Internet, hitting a snag. Prospect Park is the company that's licensed to continue production on "All My Children" and "One Life to Live" online. But according to the Hollywood report those efforts have been suspended because negotiating parties cannot reach a deal.

"Twilight" fans are known to have strong reactions to the films but there've been several reports including a Florida man developing seizures during the tense birthing scene in "Breaking Dawn Part 1." One medical expert says the scene may be triggering an episode of photo-sensitive epilepsy.

For 17 years, American Samoa's soccer team gone without winning a game. They lost one game 31-0. But at last for this week, the bad times are over. CNN's Don Riddell joins us from London.

31-0. I didn't know you could actually lose 31-0 in soccer/football which is what we would call it.

DON RIDDELL, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hala, you can if you're terrible. For many years American Samoa have been absolutely dreadful. They've been one of the worst teams in the world. Right at the bottom of FIFA rankings. And during those 30 years or their 17 years, they scored 12 goals but conceded 229. As you say, all that's completely changed this week. They beat Tonga in a world cup qualifying match and then drew against the Cook Islands, which means they're now on an unbeaten streak. And if they win their next game this weekend, they'll be through to the next stage of world cup qualifying. So this is a huge achievement for them.

But Hala, it's a bit early to be getting carried away because even if they get through to the next stage after the weekend, there are still four more stages of World Cup qualifying to go before they book their tickets to Brazil in 2014.

GORANI: I love these stories. These are some of my favorite stories. A team that's lost for 17 straight years and finally makes it through. Well, congratulations to American Samoa. A tiny nation of 60,000 people. Tell us about the sidelines collision at a Dallas Cowboys game.

RIDDELL: Yes. This was quite entertaining. The Cowboys beat the Dolphins last night by a point, Hala. I don't know if you knew this but NFL players of most teams are actually forbidden from dating or fraternizing with the cheerleaders. If you get close to them, you have to be a bit creative. Watch what the Cowboys tight end, Jason Whitten did when he got the ball last night. He went careening off the end of the touch line and absolutely clattered in to one of the cheerleaders there. As you can see, she had her back to him. She didn't see that coming.

We know today that she is Melissa Kellerman. She is laughing about it. She says she's not hurting as much as you would think which she puts down in a tweet to the fact that perhaps the Cowboys' tight end isn't as tough as he looks or maybe she's way tougher than she looks. But --

GORANI: Not hurting today, like some of you all thought I would be. That's cute. She's ok then, right? I'm sure she's bruised here and there.

RIDDELL: Yes. But this is what I think is sad. Because of the Cowboys rules, he took her out but now he can't take her out to apologize, if you know what I mean.

GORANI: Oh dear. All right. Don Riddell in London, thanks very much.

Helping you shop smarter. New apps can save you time and money if you have the right apps. We're going to break down the best Black Friday apps after the break.

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GORANI: Checking stories that will make headlines later today.

At 11:00 Eastern this morning, First Lady Michelle Obama will receive the official White House Christmas Tree. Keeping in the holiday spirit at 5:00 Eastern, National Harbor, Maryland kicks off a spectacular Harbor Lights Festival complete with tree lighting and fireworks and live performances. Also, at 5:00, protesters promise to Occupy Black Friday by holding a series of protests across the country.

Well, mobile phones and tablets can make holiday shopping a lot less stress. Well, it's all about how you use them and all you have to do is download a few apps. Laurie Segall has a look at best Black Friday apps to help you time and money.

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LAURIE SEGALL, TECH REPORTER, CNNMONEY.COM: Hala, it is Black Friday and that means long lines and great bargains. Maybe too many bargains. So if you're looking for some help, we found a couple of apps that can help you get organized, save some time and definitely maximize your savings.

The first one I'm going to show is my favorite app. And it's the go-to app; it's called the Black Friday App. And what you do is you take a look and you're going to through all the major retailers that are offering up different ads and different deals so it really keeps you up to date with the latest. And there are so many bargains happening on Black Friday that this is a really, really important app to have.

You can search by category. If you're looking for some electronics, you can search and see that there's 1,050 ads. So that's, you know, 1,050 discounts happening at retailers. My favorite part of this app is the deal part and what you can do is you can look and every couple of minutes it's going to be updating with different deals.

You can purchase on the app. You can press Buy Now or you can save it or this is the cool part. You can post it to Twitter or Facebook and ask your friends what they think about it. So that's definitely a go-to app for the holidays.

Another one I really, really like. And let's say you're in bed right now and you really don't want to go get up and go pick up that TV from Target but you don't want to miss that bargain.

What you can do is you can go to a site called Zaarly. And Zaarly is very cool. You can post a task and essentially outsource your errands to your community.

So I posted a task and said, wait in line for me on Black Friday. Of course I would add in more details. You press next. You say, "I would pay $50 and a couple taps and, you know, I would like someone to do this in the next hour and you can Zaarly it as they call it and that's putting it out there to your community. Putting that out there to your friends on Twitter and Facebook and someone might actually want to make $50 by waiting in line for you.

Another one and Hala, this is my favorite. Another is one called "Snap Tell." If you have been in a store and you're looking at an item, a book, a CD, a DVD and they say this is the best price you're going to get, sometimes you don't really believe them.

What you can do is take a picture using Snap Tell. So right now I'm taking a picture of a book and when I do that, what it's going to do is it's going to locate that book and it's going to tell you where it's being sold in my neighborhood. How much it's being sold for and if I can get a better price online.

So right now if you take a look, there are local prices from $1.99 for this book. That's a pretty bargain. And I can get directions and (INAUDIBLE) New Jersey. I can get directions, call them up. I can go get it.

You know, the great thing about these apps, Hala, is you can use most of them past Black Friday -- Hala.

GORANI: Thanks very much.

Just over five weeks to Iowa. Where do the GOP candidates stand? Your political ticker is next.

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GORANI: We have seen many changes in the GOP White House polls so far but that's not unusual at this stage of the race. Deputy political director Paul Steinhauser has that story. What do the latest numbers reveal Paul?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, and you know, five and a half weeks now Hala until those first votes in Iowa, the Iowa caucuses which kick off the primary and caucus calendar. Where does the race stand right now in the battle for the GOP nomination?

Take a look at our numbers. This is CNN/ORC, we put out earlier in the week and there's Newt Gingrich on top for the first time in CNN polling. The former House Speaker at 24 percent. This is among Republicans nationwide. Their choice for the nominee.

Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, he was in the top spot, now at 20 percent. That four-point margin for Gingrich was in the sampling error, basically all tied up.

Herman Cain the business; his numbers fading a little bit. He's now at 17 percent. Texas governor Rick Perry -- remember, he was frontrunner back September, at 11 percent. Everybody else in single digits.

So, will things change between now and January 3rd when those first votes happen in Iowa? Yes, probably will. That's the beauty of this race. Candidates gone up, candidates are going up and down in the polls.

You want to look back four years ago. Let's do this. Let's re- rack four years ago to make my point here. This is our poll from November of 2007. The battle for the nomination on the Republican side. There's Rudy Giuliani. Look,, he was the front-runner, the former New York City mayor in the polls. There was Fred Thompson the former senator in second place at 9 percent.

John McCain, remember, he actually won the nomination; he was in third place at 16 percent. So listen if you look at those numbers back then, it's just a good reminder, things change. Things will change again between now and January 3rd, Hala.

GORANI: Right. And Gingrich wants to hold on to his lead. What's he need to do for that to happen?

STEINHAUSER: A couple things. Listen he's starting to raise a lot of money now in the last couple of weeks. So he needs to probably spend that money, beef up his organization in Iowa, in New Hampshire, South Carolina. Some of those early states. Florida, as well. Maybe go up with ads.

Also we have to see how the issue of illegal immigration plays out. Remember, it's just that our debate a couple of nights ago here in Washington, D.C. where he talking about a -- some of kind of amnesty, a pathway to legitimacy for a lot of illegal immigrants. Now, that in the general election is a good thing but in the primaries it could be trouble -- Hala?

GORANI: Right. Because these polls were conducted before the cnn debate.

STEINHAUSER: Yes.

GORANI: Thanks very much, Paul Steinhauser. We'll have your next political update next hour. That's going to do it for me for now.

I'm Hala Gorani, thanks for watching. Fredricka Whitfield takes it away.