Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

152 Million Shoppers; AT&T And T-Mobile; Three Americans Still Jailed In Cairo; Wife Of Former Chicago Mayor Dies; Black Friday Impact; Peru's Legacy Of Mass Sterilization, Corbett Gets Heat for Sandusky Case, Iowa Social Conservatives Seek Candidate Other Than Romney, Egyptian-American Reporter Sexually Harassed in Cairo; NASA to Launch Vehicle to Mars; Texas Town Running Out of Water; Gingrich Misses Missouri Primary Deadline

Aired November 25, 2011 - 13:00   ET

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

T. J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello there, everybody. Top of the hour now. And any time you try to get 152 million people together to do anything, you're probably going to have a problem. And so is the beginning of this holiday shopping season. Yes, shoppers are busy but would you believe police are busy as well? Let's start in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Where robbers attack two people who were leaving a Wal-Mart.

In Kissimmee, Florida, a fight breaks out at a Big Box Jewelry counter. Turning to L.A., a woman actually used pepper spray to fend off her fellow shoppers.

And in (INAUDIBLE) North Carolina, an off-duty police officer pepper sprays an unruly crowd. Happy shopping season, folks. These of course are just the exceptions, there are a few among them out there, you know the one thing mostly the shoppers out there are trying to fight is just maybe some just fight off some fatigue. The only thing they want to attack is their Christmas list, but still, 152 million people, that's the number the National Retail Federation said the estimated number of people that are going to be shopping over this Thanksgiving weekend.

Also roughly the population of France, Italy and Saudi Arabia combined just to give you perspective there. Still not impressed? We have a CNN poll that finds 23 percent of Americans plan to shop today, just today alone, on black Friday. Now, we're not going to know until much later how much they're actually spending and if that's going to help stimulate the economy at all, but the CEO of Macy's, feeling pretty good right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TERRY LUNDGREN, PRESIDENT, CHAIRMAN AND CEO, MACY'S: We're having the best year we've had in a decade. Macy's Inc. is up 5.3 percent on same-store sales. We had record earnings in the third quarter for us and so things are going very, very well and we just see that momentum continuing on in through the fourth quarter.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HOLMES: Well, they're taking off a bit early today on Wall Street. Take a look at this, down 25 points, about even today. That's how the Dow is going to be closing. We're going to be going live to the stock exchange at "Facetime," that's just moments from now.

We're just past the top of the hour, let's turn now to these occupy protesters. They're setting their sights on black Friday retailers now. The group is using a Facebook page to organize a series of demonstrations. One is planned this hour at Macy's Flagship store in Manhattan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You need to shop, shop with a conscience.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, people change their behavior, until they do and send a different message through the system about what their values are, then the system will start to respond.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And we don't have word yet, if any, on what impact the occupy rallies are having on retail sales.

Also, it turns out there is a lot more Is to dot and Ts to cross with the AT&T-mobile merger. The two giant cell phone companies are putting their merger plans on hold, at least where the FCC is concerned. The federal communications commission is refusing to sign off on the deal without an administrative hearing. So, the companies say, never mind, they'll focus on fighting instead an anti-trust suit filed by the justice department and then refile their papers if they win that. In the meantime, AT&T is setting aside $4 billion in break-up costs just in case.

Also, three American college students are actually still behind bars in Cairo, a day after authorities ordered their release. They were arrested on suspicion of throwing molotov cocktails during a protest in Tahrir Square. The mother of one of the students says she is still hopeful they'll be out soon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOY SWEENEY: I'm truly grateful that he's alive, he's going to be released.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And we had gotten word yesterday that in fact they had been released. turns out not the case. And in a separate case an Egyptian- American filmmaker also arrested during protests in Cairo has been released.

Also, let's turn back to news here in the U.S. and sad news about the wife of former Chicago mayor Richard Daley, she has now died. According to a family spokeswoman, Maggie Daley passed away last night of complications from breast cancer. The 68-year-old Daley was well known for her work with children. President Obama issued a statement remembering Daley as, quote, "an extraordinary woman who dedicated her life to public service. Maggie's commitment to the children and people of Chicago was surpassed only by her devotion to her family." End quote.

Well, we're just about five minutes past the hour now. We're going to turn back to this black Friday. All those door busters, those big deals, those coupons, all those big sales, well, still, it's a big day but was it big enough? Will it really help us? Will it really stimulate this economy? We'll find out.

But first, there is an old saying out there about anybody can do great when everything goes right. Well, for Lauren Elena, everything didn't go so right. Did you see this? Yes, we got another one. the "National Anthem," the American Idol runner-up had the honor of singing the anthem at Thursday's the Packers, Lions game. This is the game that everybody in the country loves watching. She had the honor, you're on, and look at what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What so proudly we hail through the twi --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Oh, goodness, gracious. That's rough. That is just tough. She recovered though. If you heard it there, she essentially threw herself off. She said one wrong word and she stopped and paused, thought she was really about to screw this thing up, but instead she did recover. She got a roar of applause from everybody and awkward moment there. She didn't leave anything out like Christina Aguilera when she sang at the super bowl. But still, for that, Lauren Alaina, for recovering the way you did, that makes you today's "Rock Star."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, just about eight minutes past the hour now and this black Friday means bargains for consumers, profits for retailers, and a half-day for stock traders who are all too happy to see this week come to an end. But Alison Kosik, did we get any kind of a black Friday rally?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: No, in the end there was no rally. We saw stocks go as high as 100 points higher, I'm talking about the Dow up, but we saw that come off that, the Dow falling 25 points today. The truth is, you know what? Not many investors were taking part in the trade, and those who did were focusing more an Europe especially those Italian 10-year bond yields. They're back above that 7 percent mark. So, that's the level that eventually required bailouts for Greece, Portugal and Ireland. So, what you're seeing is a little confidence that Italy can make good on its investments and that lack of confidence played out right in stocks today -- T.J.

HOLMES: Well, what about Wall Street's expectations for the holiday season overall?

KOSIK: You know what? Sales are expected to be better than last year. You know, not as good as what we see in a healthy economy but improving, nonetheless. The National Retail Federation says 152 million people are expected to get out there and shop this weekend. That's 10 percent more than last year and here's the big reason. Retailers rolled out their black Friday deals early and they opened up their stores earlier than ever before.

Yes, more time to shop and spend your money. Stores are also putting many of their Black Friday deals online. They're trying to tap into those people who don't like to go out in the chaos today. Best Buy, for one, is offering 95 percent off of their Black Friday deals -- or they're, rather, offering 95 percent of their Black Friday deals online. So, you know, what you see T.J. are retailers giving everybody more opportunities to shop and we are certainly biting to say the least -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right, last thing, why was there a duck down there today?

KOSIK: There wasn't just a duck, so we'll start with the duck. Aflac ran the closing bell -- did you guys get a shot of --

HOLMES: Yes, we have it.

KOSIK: Yes, we had the duck wearing the closing bell, but it is also kid's day here at the New Stock Exchange, sort of like a duck and pony show. Ha ha, get it? Kids were running all over the place. I think I saw more diapers and strollers than traders today on the floor. You see some of the kids there.

HOLMES: Yes.

KOSIK: A lot of the traders got to bring their kids in today. See the duck?

HOLMES: And the duck's on the left. To our viewers, look to the far left, folks. That's the duck. That guy over there holding the duck.

KOSIK: The duck was terrified.

HOLMES: Yes, I would be, too.

KOSIK: The duck is terrified with everything going on here.

HOLMES: OK. Alison Kosik, we were curious when you told us there was a duck down there, we were trying to figure it out. There it is. Alison Kosik for us at the --

KOSIK: Never a dull moment.

HOLMES: -- at all at the Stock Exchange. Thank you, as always. Thanks so much.

We're 11 minutes past the hour now here. We're going to turn here in a moment, not going to go too far, of course, from what's happening on Wall Street and what's happened today on black Friday. It wasn't just all about shopping and getting a deal. Had some strange stories across the country, and we'll bring those to you. And also another one we want to bring to you that we really believe is "Undercovered." Women unknowingly sterilized? Why in the world was this going on? We'll tell you where as well. That's next, stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: We're at about a quarter past the hour now. And human rights activists say it's the infamous legacy of Peru's disgraced former president, Alberto Fujimori. The mass sterilization of thousands of women. It happened during the late 1990s, but even today many victims are still waiting for justice and compensation. Our Rafael Romo has more on this "Undercovered" story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR: (voice-over): For the last 15 years, here in Peru's capital, Victoria Vigo has been trying to find the truth about her infertility. After her third child was born dead, Vigo was never able to conceive again. She was sterilized, she says, without her knowledge.

VICTORIA VIGO, STERILIZATION VICTIM (through translator): I felt mutilated. That's the truth. My rights as a mother and woman were violated.

ROMO: Vigo's not the only woman in Peru who was sterilized in the '90s during the government of president Alberto Fujimori. Human rights organizations say they have documented more than 2,000 cases of women whose tubes were tied without their consent. Human rights attorney, Rosey Salasar says there could be many more cases.

ROMO: Vigo is not the only woman in Peru who was sterilized in the '90s during the government of President Alberto Fujimori. Human rights organizations say they have documented more than 2,000 cases of women who had their tubes tied without their consent. Human rights attorney Rossy Salazar says there could be many more cases.

ROSSY SALAZAR VILLALOBOS, DEMUS LEGAL COORDINATOR (through translator): What happened was that the government instituted a policy of quotas in a way forcing and giving incentives to doctors, gynecologists and nurses to sterilize a minimum of three women every month.

ROMO: Salazar says that women in rural Peru, especially those who spoke no Spanish, were the main targets. In her native Ketua (ph) tongue, this woman says she was taken by force to a clinic where she was sterilized in spite of her objections. This other woman says she and her husband were coerced to sign a consent form for sterilization. Government officials say birth control was part of a comprehensive health care campaign during the '90s. Marino Costa Bauer was the Peruvian health minister between 1996 and 1999. He denied any wrongdoing then and denies it now, but says the campaign could have been executed better. MARINO COSTA BAUER, FORMER PERUVIAN HEALTH MINISTER (through translator): Of course there were problems. I'm not going to deny it. I've never denied that there were problems. But what did we do about it? First we investigated all of the accusations that were filed. Absolutely all of them, without exception.

ROMO: Costa Bauer categorically denies that the government was targeting poor indigenous women in rural communities.

BAUER: There was never any order or instruction from my office favoring one method over another. Much less did we ever provide incentives for that to happen.

ROMO: So far, Victoria Vigo is the only woman in Peru that has won a case of forced sterilization. After a seven-year trial, she was compensated $2,750, but her doctor didn't serve time in prison. She's now trying to prove that her doctor was acting on government orders and that it was all part of a campaign to deceive women, especially the most vulnerable.

ROMO (on camera): Nobody really knows how many women were forcibly sterilized throughout Peru. That case was shelved in 2009 and it was not until late October that the new Peruvian attorney general's office announced it was reopening the investigation. It has been more than a decade since those accused of being responsible for the forced sterilizations left office.

Rafael Romo, CNN, Lima, Peru.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Well, Pennsylvania's governor is now coming under fire because he knew about the allegations surrounding the former Penn State assistant coach and now many people are asking, could more have been done sooner? Stay with me.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Twenty minutes past the hour now. The question a lot of people are asking, could more have been done sooner? That's the question that has weighed on the public's conscience since the former Penn State coach, Jerry Sandusky, was arrested on child rape charges.

Now Pennsylvania's governor is the one coming under some scrutiny. His actions are the latest that we're talking about here.

Give you a little background about this. Before the governor, Tom Corbett, was governor, he was Pennsylvania's attorney general. That was until January of this year. But in March 2009, Corbett was the one that launched a grand jury investigation into Sandusky. When he then became governor this year, Corbett automatically became a board member at Penn State.

Sara Ganim, who is with "The Patriot-News" in central Pennsylvania, has been digging into this story since it broke and we've been talking to her about it here on CNN. Thank you, once again, for joining us here.

What is the governor's response? Are people buying his response that his hands were tied? There's nothing he could have done?

SARA GANIM, "THE PATRIOT-NEWS" (via telephone): Well, the governor's response is exactly that, that a grand jury secret (ph), that he was bound by the rules of the grand jury, not to talk about what they were doing, what was going on. But he is getting a lot of criticism. People, you're right, people are not really buying that. They believe that he could have said something to Penn State, maybe to the Second Mile, could have let people know that this was going on. Even if he didn't go into details about the investigation, maybe he could have said something to warn people a little bit more.

Now, of course, his spokesman denies that. Says it would have been a crime punishable by jail if he had actually talked publicly about a grand jury investigation. And, you know, there is that idea that if you're investigating someone, you don't want to tip them off almost and tell them what you are going after because that can hinder the investigation in some cases. But these are all things that people are talking about right now.

HOLMES: But, Sara, also as a board member, is there any indication, or maybe he's even admitting, that he tried to sway other board members, even without telling them the information he knew, trying to tell them that, hey, maybe we should do this or do that? Did he try at least to shift the board in a certain direction as far as firing people at Penn State, including Paterno, even though he wasn't admitting he knew what he knew?

GANIM: Well, we don't know because those board meetings were not public. Those discussions in those board meetings were not public. However, the press conference immediately after the firing of Joe Paterno and president Graham Spanier, Tom Corbett, the governor, did say that he supported that decision to fire those two individuals. So we get the sense that he, you know, he was in on those conversations, but we really don't know what the discussions were.

HOLMES: Well, the other thing that's come up now, Sara, is that as governor he okayed a grant for Second Mile of some -- and correct me if I have it wrong -- I think it was about $3 million. What is his response to that? Why, if he knew what he knew, did he still OK that money going to this charity that Sandusky was a part of?

GANIM: Again, his response is that he couldn't talk about a grand jury investigation and that he believed at the time, you know, that was what they were going to do was support the Second Mile, give them this grant. And now, of course, that's been put on hold pending, you know, the rest of the investigation.

I think we all have to remember, this is an ongoing investigation. It's not done. The Second Mile is still being looked at. Jerry Sandusky is still being looked at. And some parts of Penn State are still being looked at. So there could be more coming. This has only been going on for about two and a half weeks publicly and I think that there's a strong possibility that moving forward this could get bigger.

HOLMES: All right, Sara Ganim, who has been covering this story extensively for "The Patriot-News," thank you so much. I'm sure we'll talk to you again.

Well, at 24 minutes past the hour now. We'll turn back to some politics. And it seems like each week there's a different GOP front- runner. But one name consistently hovers near the top. That's Mitt Romney. But why social conservatives see this as a problem. That's "Fair Game" and that's next.

First, though, our political junkie question of the day. What U.S. president signed the bill into law marking the fourth Thursday in November the national holiday of Thanksgiving? I'll have that answer for you when we come back. You stay with me.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Before the break we asked you, name the U.S. president who signed the bill into law making the fourth Thursday in November the national holiday of Thanksgiving Day? Did you know the answer? Well, it is, there he is, Franklin Roosevelt back 1941.

Well, turning to some politics -- some current politics now. Different candidates have led the race for the GOP nomination for president, but one name has hovered consistently around the top of the polls. And that is, that man, Mitt Romney. Now due to that support, representatives for leading social conservative groups in Iowa held a meeting this week with one goal -- find and rally their support around someone who can stop Romney. Joining me today to talk Mitt Romney and the social conservative problem, if you will, Democratic pollster and strategist Bernard Whitman and also Republican analyst Lenny McAllister.

Lenny, let me start with you. Doesn't this spell trouble for the guy who the polls say can beat President Obama? Your own party doesn't seem to like the guy.

LENNY MCALLISTER, REPUBLICAN ANALYST: Well, this is nothing new for the guy, either. This is something that's been around for him since 2007. So this is not a big surprise. But if he continues to kind of leave Iowans alone, hope that he can bank on New Hampshire and perhaps Florida, he may run the risk of what happened to Hillary Clinton in 2007 going into 2008, taking Iowa for granted, saying I'm not going to win there, I won't put too many resources there, letting someone else catch lightning in a bottle and not being able to catch up.

Newt Gingrich is not the one that he wants to win Iowa or place ahead of him in Iowa, because Newt has name cache in New Hampshire, will probably win South Carolina subsequently and it will be hard for Romney to catch up. It's not a new problem for Romney, but with this new person at the top of the polls, this is a different situation, a different twist to this that he better get a handle on quickly with these social conservatives.

HOLMES: But, Bernard, at this point, if he tries to woo social conservatives in Iowa, isn't it a little late in the game? He's had years to do this. And to swoop in last minute and say, hey, I'm your guy now, I mean, really, are they going to buy that?

BERNARD WHITMAN, DEMOCRATIC POLLSTER & STRATEGIST: This is exactly the problem Mitt Romney has had for the last five years that he's been running for president. The Republican primary voters have been playing an ABR, anybody-but-Romney strategy literally since he started running five years ago. You've seen what happened in the last year, 18 months. The Republican primary electorate has been desperately searching for alternatives. First, they try to get Trump in. Then it was Mitch Daniels from Indiana. Then it was Chris Christie from Jersey. Then they went to Cain, Bachmann, now Gingrich, Perry. They are desperate to find anybody but Mitt Romney. And the longer the delay of Romney's coordination takes, the greater position it is going to be for President Obama. Because the truth is, support for Romney is broad but very, very thin, particularly among Republicans. And conservative Republicans would far rather have Newt Gingrich on the ticket. The problem is Newt Gingrich can't beat President Obama.

HOLMES: Yes, but, Lenny, on point he just made, the longer it draws out, can't that be an advantage? Because it is going to keep the media's attention, it is going to be a long fight. A lot of people say that helped with Obama and Hillary Clinton going at it for so long. It kept the national interest.

LENNY MCALLISTER, REPUBLICAN ANALYST: It kept the national interest. And that's something I have to go against what Bernard said. Listen, Gingrich, Obama, in three debates in the general election, Gingrich wins two out of those three debates. The contrast would be so great, Gingrich would be able to close the gap on those polls. Gingrich just got to the GOP polls just a second ago. Of course, when you contrast him to President Obama, he's not going to do very well right now, in November. Let's see what it looks like after Newt Gingrich wins a couple of primary contests and see where we go from there. I think it will be a completely different game.

Right now, Romney, one of the mistakes he made he'll have a hard time doing, especially with Iowa being a couple weeks away, he should have continued to try to engage the Tea Party folks. Say, listen, we will disagree on some things but I can get you back to work, I can beat President Obama, and I can lead a Republican-run Congress to turn this country around. He started doing that. He gave up on that message because he started focusing on New Hampshire and the east coast, and it may come back to bite him later on.

HOLMES: How big of an issue -- and you racked this up for me, Bernard -- is religion? How big of an issue is that or challenge for Romney? He's a Mormon. A lot of people just don't know a lot about it. Some polls show a good percentage of people don't eastern think Mormons are not Christians. Is that going to be a bigger issue? Maybe we aren't talking enough about it.

MCALLISTER: I think it is a huge problem for Romney not among the general electorate, writ large, but among the Republican base. The evangelical voters make up a huge swath of primary voters and they are simply worried about Romney's social conservative credentials. And frankly, they distrust him because of his Mormon religion, which I think is wrong. But if Romney is at the top of the ticket, turnout is going to be a huge problem for Mitt Romney. And I think, with respect to Newt Gingrich, I say bring him on. Newt Gingrich is the guy that brought us the Contract with America, overreached and ultimately led to President Clinton's re-election. So I think a match-up of President Obama versus Newt Gingrich -- Newt Gingrich frankly is a retread from the mid-90s and the last thing we need to do is go backwards. We need to go forward. and I think in contrast with either Newt Gingrich or Mitt Romney, President Obama will do extremely well with the American people come next November.

HOLMES: Bernard Whitman, Lenny McAllister, thank you both for --

(CROSSTALK)

HOLMES: Hey, I'm going to have you on tomorrow morning. I promise I'll let you finish that thought.

WHITMAN: OK.

(LAUGHTER)

HOLMES: Gentleman, thank you for spending some of this holiday weekend with us.

WHITMAN: Thank you.

MCALLISTER: Thank you.

HOLMES: We're just past the bottom of the hour now. Coming up, it is the most populous country in the Arab world, rich in archaeology, literature, culture. Where are we? We'll take you there when we go "Globe Trekking."

Also, a week into retirement, what has Regis Philbin been up to? What are his plans post-"Live," and who does he want to fill his spot next to Kelly? Brooke talks to him about his new book, a little dish on celebrities like George Clooney, Steven Spielberg. And Brooke Baldwin also has a surprise up her sleeve for Regis. That's coming your way in about 30 minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: An Egyptian-American journalist, covering the deadly unrest in Cairo, says she was sexually assaulted and beaten by Egyptian riot police. Mona Eltahawy first described her ordeal in a series of tweets posted on her Twitter account. She later told CNN's "American Morning" that the attack happened Wednesday night while she was reporting on protests in Tahrir Square.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MONA ELTAHAWY, EGYPTIAN-AMERICAN JOURNALIST: I was cornered by four or five riot police and they beat me with their sticks. That's how I got the break on my left arm and on in my right hand. And then they dragged me beyond what was basically this front line into this no- man's land, all the way to the interior ministry, which was close by. And as they were taking me there, I experienced a terrible sexual assault. It was basically just hands everywhere, groping my breasts, hands between my legs. I lost count of the number of hands that tried to get into my trousers that I was trying to push off. They were calling me all kinds of terrible names. I fell to the ground at one point and they dragged me by my hair.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Our Ivan Watson is live for news Cairo.

Ivan, hello to you. Her story is hard to hear but are we hearing other stories like Mona's as well?

IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There was a French television reporter who says that she was assaulted, not far from where I'm standing, yesterday. An organization, Reporters Without Borders, based in Paris, is issuing a warning to female reporters, saying be careful because they could be at risk reporting here and working here. and sadly, we know the famous case of CBS's Laura Logan, who was assaulted here in Tahrir Square nine, 10 months ago, terribly. And I myself have witnessed an Egyptian-American female television producer assaulted in front of my eyes a few months ago here in Cairo by a mob and felt powerless to try to pull her out of that mob. Is really is something that you can't predict and it is a terrible trend that I've seen in this country -- T.J.?

HOLMES: Ivan, let's turn to what we are seeing on the streets, what are you seeing on the streets there now. We know the first five, six days there were significant clashes, even deadly clashes between police and many demonstrators. Does that continue or have things subsided a bit?

WATSON: Throughout the day, things have been relatively peaceful here in Cairo. Five miles from where I am standing, there was a large rally, peaceful, in support of the ruling military council here in Egypt. Behind me, in Cairo's famous Tahrir Square, hundreds of thousands of people are denouncing that same military council. The military council, the generals, have appointed a new prime minister today. The crowd here were chanting "leave" when they heard he was announced. Some of them lined up in front of the offices of the prime minister and tried to stop him if he tried to show up to his new offices.

Best to probably listen to some of the young revolutionaries, to hear why they're coming to Tahrir Square.

Take a listen, T.J.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NADAS, MEDICAL STUDENT: They are going (INAUDIBLE). Then (INAUDIBLE). And also bullet (ph) in the eye, and bullet (ph) in the chest and the head. Sometimes there are cuts.

BASSAM AHMED, DENTIST: I can't do protesting. I can't offer so much in the field. So I came to give blood. It is the simplest thing to do for my country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: So there you have a volunteer nurse who was helping with people who were getting hurt when this was in a combat phase, and a dentist who was donating blood to the demonstrators who had been fighting against riot police for days.

Cairo's more peaceful, the second city of Alexander, the street battles, residents tell us, demonstrators throwing petrol bombs and rocks against security forces firing back with tear gas and rubber bullets right now -- T.J.

HOLMES: Ivan Watson for us there in Cairo. Ivan, thank you, as always.

About 40 minutes past the hour now.

We'll turn back to the search for life in outer space. This is the mission to Mars now. But will the big, red planet show signs of life? That is next.

But first, former President Bill Clinton, perhaps the world's best- known heart patient, after leaving office, he had bypass surgery. And he spoke with our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, about his experience. Watch the interview tonight, 7:00 eastern, on CNN.

Here's just a snippet of it for you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I had a real tightness in my chest when I was getting off the airplane and it was the only time I'd had it unrelated to exercise. So I immediately went down to our local hospital and they did a test. They said you've got real problems. They hustled me down to Columbia Presbyterian and they confirmed the determination that I had serious blockage and needed the surgeries.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: It is as big as a Mini Cooper, weighs nearly a ton, loaded with lasers, drills, high-tech cameras and a nuclear battery, it can go more 354 miles. No, folks, it is not available at your local dealership. We are talking about something NASA's doing.

Our John Zarrella now on NASA's launch tomorrow of a vehicle designed to search for life on another planet.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mars, does life exist there? Did it ever? NASA is poised to take its boldest step towards answering questions that could change forever our view of humanity's place in the universe. ASHWIN VASAVADA, DEPUTY PROJECT MANAGER: I think the best way of saying why we're so excited about this mission is that it sets us up for the future of finally answering that really age-old question of does life exist on other planets?

ZARRELLA: The mission is called the Mars Science Laboratory, or MSL. The most sophisticated vehicle ever sent to Mars, it has the capability to detect signs of life. If it works, come next August, after traveling 350 million miles, a 2,000-pound, six-wheel rover, called "Curiosity," will arrive at the red planet.

Using a tethering system never tried before, it will be lowered down to a place called the Gale Crater. The size of a small car, "Curiosity" is the Cadillac of rovers.

JESSICA SAMUELS, SURFACE SYSTEMS ENGINEER: We are choosing to make the rover is bigger and bigger because we want to cover more ground. We want to be able to put an arm out and drill a rock.

ZARRELLA: Drill a rock? Why?

ROB MANNING, MSL CHIEF ENGINEER: On Mars if you -- if life exists as single cell organisms or if it ever existed, we believe it will be under the ground or inside rocks.

ZARRELLA: Inside Gale Crater sits what scientists believe is a layered mountain, in essence, the history of Mars told in the layers. And if water ever flowed on Mars, it might have been in that crater.

"Curiosity's" arm will collect samples and place them in its on-board laboratory with the ability to detect organic material.

VASAVADA: Now if we discover organic materials on mars, then it gets very exciting. The chances of it may be low but the payoff is huge. Organic materials are required for life as we know it.

ZARRELLA: But it won't mean life exists, just the building blocks.

MANNING: If you go to the driest desert on earth, can you find life on your samples if you do a year of robotic study? Probably not. It is actually quite difficult. Life has to stick up and make itself seen.

ZARRELLA: Finding life itself would be left to the next wave of explorers, robotic and perhaps even human.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: John Zarrella with me now.

There's a lot of "ifs" in that piece, John. So if, if, if. What is the payoff ultimately for this thing, as a lot of "ifs" about organic, "if" about water? We've heard about water there before.

ZARRELLA: Yes. And where they're going is where -- if it's close to the surface, they might be able to dig in there and find that there was perhaps water in that crater. Like you said, lot of "ifs." But important "ifs." because if they can find organic material, and they really do have evidence that, at one point, in its history, Mars supported or had supported some sort of life form, even if they were just a small little microbes.

HOLMES: Remind us what time is launch tomorrow?

ZARRELLA: Launch time tomorrow is 10:02 a.m. But there is about -- that's eastern time. But there is about an hour and 40 minutes launch window, T.J. Even if they kick off right at 10:02, it can stretch to just right before noon.

HOLMES: All right, to our viewers, John Zarrella will be with me all morning helping me to understand this whole mission a little better. We'll have that launch for you live when it takes place at 10:00 or somewhere in that 40-minute window.

John Zarrella, looking forward to having you tomorrow morning. Thanks so much.

ZARRELLA: Sure.

HOLMES: It is a bone-dry reality for one small town. They are literally running out of water. That could force people out of work.

Also, while you are shopping this Black Friday, watch what you touch? Some germ hotspots out there you'll want to avoid.

But first, football's been part of Thanksgiving for a long time. Hard hits have been a part of it as well. Well, Mdamukong Suh has been in the NFL for only two seasons, all has a rep for being a dirty player. He's a defensive tackle for Detroit, who almost surely faces a fourth unsportsmanlike conduct fine for this. There he is on top of -- oh! You're not supposed to do that. He scuffled with an offensive lineman in yesterday's Lions/Packers game. Stomped him. When it was over, he was promptly ejected. The Lions got beat. And whatever the league has to say, it will go something like this, Ndamnukong Suh, you're 15 minutes, kind sir, are up.

(MUSIC)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Let's head across the country now. While picking up the favorite gift from the mall, you may also pick up germs, bacteria, viruses. Health.com says, if you want to avoid germs, don't touch the mall restroom sink. That's number-one on their list. They're germier than door knobs and toilet handles. Number two, maybe stand to eat that salted pretzel. Avoid the food court tables, also the escalator handrails. That's next on the list. And there's a good reason to spend less. Avoid the ATM key pads. They are the fourth germiest place in the mall. And rounding out the top five, toy stores, the fitting rooms, gadget shops and make-up samples.

Some are calling it the game of the year for the NCC. This is why you noticed I haven't been myself. My number-three ranked Arizona Razor Backs are taking on the number-one team in the country, the LSU Tigers with national championship implications on the line. The Tigers here are undefeated. We have to go to Baton Rouge to play this game. Arkansas, has won seven straight, 10-1. We beat LSU the past three of four meetings we've had. Also, they are playing for the first time the University of Arkansas. After the loss of freshman tight end, Garrett Eckman, died last Sunday from a heart condition. That game is set to kick off in 35 minutes.

California's proposed bullet train could get derailed. Two Republicans want Congress to take back the bullet train's $3.3 billion federal grant. The representatives say the project is deeply flawed. They want a federal audit of the project, the cost of which spiraled to $99 billion. Next month, the bullet train is up for review by a House oversight committee.

Let me turn now to this Texas town that is running out dry. Months of triple-digit temperatures drying up the lakes and rivers so much so that the town of Groesbeck is having problem getting water. It might be running out of it. More than 4,000 people rely on that water for cooking, drinking, sanitation. When the lake drops below a spillway, they started siphoning it out. In two weeks, the lake could be too low to do that anymore.

The mayor of the town of Groesbeck, Jackie Levingston, is on the line.

Mayor, how close are you to -- are you literally about to run out of water?

JACKIE LEVINGSTON, MAYOR OF GROESBECK (TX): Literally. Just about two days ago we had a little rain. That caused us to miss running out of water for another week or so.

HOLMES: How much time do you have as of right now?

LEVINGSTON: As of right now, we should have water until Christmas unless we can get our alternative methods into mode?

HOLMES: What is that alternative method?

LEVINGSTON: We are going to pipe water through our park, state park, over three miles to our location where we treat water.

HOLMES: Is that a long-term fix or is this is a temporary Band-Aid?

LEVINGSTON: That's a Band-Aid.

(CROSSTALK)

LEVINSTON: -- from a rock quarry and we are having to now siphon it into the water system.

HOLMES: Is that going to -- I assume that's going to cost you money.

LEVINGSTON: Just a little bit.

HOLMES: Just a little bit.

(LAUGHTER)

How much is a little bit? Can you afford it now?

LEVINGSTON: Actually, no. We're in the process of applying for some grants and some money to do it. We have about $35,000 a month rent, and we're looking at six months of lease right now.

HOLMES: I would assume, like a lot across the country, can't really afford the extra -- these things come up, of course. But you might have a little something in the back, an emergency fund to use. But how confident are you that you will be able to deal with this problem? You'll get this backup plan in place, and maybe, by next season, you get rain and things are OK. How confident are you right now?

LEVINGSTON: I'm pretty confident. We talked with our financial adviser. They will be able to help us get the money in the near future. And then we'll have a couple of months of reserve that we can use to take care of this.

HOLMES: All right. Mayor Levingston, of Groesbeck, good luck to you. We'll continue to follow up with you, and hope it all works out there. Thanks so much.

As we get close to the top of the hour, getting close to Brooke Baldwin, Newt Gingrich has missed the application deadline so he won't appear on Missouri's Republican presidential primary ballot in February.

Joe Johns joins us to tell us what this means for the campaign.

It sounds like a big deal. You should want to compete in every state.

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: That's for sure, T.J. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich may be surging in the polls in the race for the Republican nomination, but multimillion news organizations reporting he will not be on the Missouri primary ballot in February. His campaign was supposed to file papers last Tuesday to get on the ballot. Somehow, they didn't make it. Though this is not what you would call a monumental mistake, the primary, for one thing is nonbinding. No delegates are at stake, in other words. But being on the ballot would really just be a matter of keeping the candidate's momentum going in the primaries, if you will. Still, it is a mistake for the Gingrich campaign. More importantly, another sign that the former speaker of the House's success in the polls is creating a lot of challenges for him in his campaign. Still got some work to do to get that campaign organization up to speed.

We reached out to the Gingrich campaign today for comment. They haven't gotten back to us. He's scheduled to appear at a town hall meeting in Naples, Florida today -- T.J.?

HOLMES: You talked about momentum during the primaries. He's got momentum right now in the campaign, in the polls.

JOHNS: Yes.

HOLMES: Is that continuing? At least in the polls?

JOHNS: Well, the latest CNN/ORC poll shows Gingrich on top, 24 percent. Mitt Romney after that, 20 percent; Herman Cain, 17 percent. And then you see the rest of the field, Rick Perry at 11 percent; Ron Paul, he's interesting, at 9 percent. Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum and Jon Huntsman at the bottom.

Gingrich is looking more and more like the anti-Romney candidate. A lot of people are saying anybody but Romney, as you know, a lot of social conservatives. I think you just had some on this show, didn't you, who aren't satisfied with Romney as a top-tier candidate. Looking for someone else. Herman Cain, meanwhile, seems to be loosing a little bit of steam, especially with his problem related to alleged sexual harassment and some other missteps. Meantime, you have to point out, Ron Paul did very well in the Iowa Straw Poll. Interesting to see if he has any more room to move out of the middle of the pack -- T.J.?

HOLMES: All right, Joe Johns, with out update, thank you as always.

Thank you to our viewers for being with me for the past hour. The hogs are kicking off in 30 minutes.

Brooke Baldwin, please, take it away.

(LAUGHTER)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: You have better things to do, T.J. Holmes.

(LAUGHTER)

I hear what you're saying.

T.J., thank you so much.