leader of the free world. >> i'm with t.j. on this one. >> thank you, guys. reminder for you. cnn politics.com for more. this is a joke here in the building. there's the other black guy. this is the evidence, folks, that we are not the same guy. >> have a great show my friend. >> hope you had a good thanksgiving. >> we'll catch up. at the top of the hour here from studio 7. i'm in today from suzanne malveaux. let's get you started here. we're watching your money and maybe you're making some today. a big rally underway on wall street. the dow surged more than 300 points in early trading. looky, looky, how high is this thing going to go. up 430 points right now. why? they're responding to actions by the federal resever and central banks. their action is making it cheaper for banks around the world to trade in u.s. dollars. maybe some technicalities there and things you might not be that up on. all you need to know is that the

markets are up because of things happening around the world and action happening. that is a good thing. let's turn to los angeles where police have cleared out and shut down the camp set up by occupy protesters. they've arrested dozens of people who still refuse to leave. about 1400 los angeles police officers moved in after midnight. the camp had been there a couple of months. 200 people arrested. police say the operation was mostly peaceful. another alleged victim speaks out about the child sex abuse allegations at syracuse university. mike lang is his name. 's a former syracuse ball boy and he told cnn that the assistant coach, bernie fine, molested him. fine has denied the allegations but yet he has not been charged with any crime. >> he kept touching me. >> where? where did he touch you?

>> in my leg and my penis. >> did you say something to him? >> yes. i said, bernie, please stop this because i'm not that kind. i won't tolerate it. if you don't want me to come over here no more, i won't come over here. if you keep doing it, i'm not going to come over here. this was actually the scene last night. syracuse fans giving the head coach, jim boeheim, a standing ovation at last night's game against eastern michigan. also earlier in the day the chancellor of the school gave her support. the two have been friends for 38 years. with more allegations out there he said the investigation will have to determine what happened, quote, on his watch. also word we are just getting of a lawsuit. the first lawsuit filed in the penn state sex abuse scandal. an alleged victim of former defensive coach jerry sandusky is suing the school, sandusky,

and his charity. he says he was sexually assaulted more than 100 times in the '90s. penn state holds a question and answer session tonight. students will be able to talk about the child molestation charges against the former coach. only students will be admitted to this. it will be streamed live online. we'll do politics now. presidential candidate herman cain is making a stop in the next hour where he will reassess whether his presidential candidacy can continue. cain denies an allegation by an atlanta woman that the two of them had an on-again, off-again affair. in an interview cain's accuser was asked if she thinks he's fit to be president. >> in my opinion, no, i do not. i honestly do not think that he is n my opinion, would make a good president as far as i'm

concerned. my views are different than his views, but at the end of the day this is not political. this is absolutely not political. >> again, we are waiting for his event coming up top of the next hour. this video you're seeing, this is 30 years ago now. man shot the president and today that man, john hinckley jr., is in court seeking his freedom from a mental hospital. hinckley's motive for the attack on reagan was to impress actress jodie foster. he was found not guilty by reason of insanity. britain being hit right now with its worse strike in decades. up to 2 million workers staging a 1-day walkout to protest pension cuts. 60% of schools are closed. hospitals have canceled nonemergency services. international travelers are being told to expect long delays at heathrow.

a big day for the millions of people taking the high cholesterol drug lipitor. pfizer's patent runs out today. other companies can start making less expensive generics available. pfizer says more than 17 million people have been prescribed lipitor to lower their cholesterol. you're accustomed to banks judging you based on your credit. they're dealing with a downgrade in their credit rating. christine romans is in new york for us. we're not talking about any banks. big banks are getting a look. >> yeah. i'll tell you something, here's the interesting thing. you get a downgrade of america's big banks and they're all up in trading because of this big, huge market surge. you can see the dow is up 400 plus points. that's because the fed and a bunch of central banks came in and said they were going to keep the oxygen flowing in the global banking system. they were going to keep money flowing so that no one was going to have trouble borrowing money overnight.

that's because of the european crisis. that blunted the effect we had expected because of this downgrade. standard and poor's downgrading six big u.s. banks, jpmorgan, bank of america, citigroup, you know these names, goldman sachs, wells fargo, morgan stanley, bank of america as of yesterday was down 61% already so far this year. it's up big this morning because of the fed's move. essentially standard and poor's saying the playing field is different now. the u.s. credit rating has been dropped and where these banks operate is really important. we've got a slowing u.s. economy. s&p has downgraded a bunch of banks overseas and that's because of the escalating credit crisis there. >> what does this mean for me, christine? >> well, if you're paying your bills on time, t.j., and you have a little bit of money in your account and not getting hit by fees, it doesn't mean anything for you or your bank account. what it means for the direction

of this country and the stability of the banking system is this, it means that there is growing concern about danger signals that are flashing in the credit markets, in the ability for banks, commercial banks, central banks to borrow money and get money, keep money moving around the world. it's one of those signals of a much bigger issue. that is a crisis in europe that is a real problem because of the interconnected nature of the world economy, you hope it doesn't mean down the line that it means fewer job opportunities here, higher cost of borrowing here, factories having to close here. we're at a dangerous moment in the global economy. it plays in here together. >> thank you. what is this thing? is it a christmas tree? is it a holiday tree? whatever you call it, be ready to defend yourself. that brings us to our talk back question of the day. carol costello here with us.

people get a little fired up about this topic sometimes. a christmas tree or holiday tree? >> yeah. is there a war on christmas? is there such a thing. that's the talk back question. it's that time of year. no, not for good cheer. time to wage war on christmas. yes, it has begun. the first bomb allegedly dropped in rhode island. neither republican or democrat, independent, called the statehouse christmas tree a holiday tree. fox news, as it does every year, went crazy. >> if it was a maple tree, or an elm in there, maybe it's a holiday tree. it sure looks like a christmas tree. >> if it has lights, ornaments, angel, it's a christmas tree. >> you're right. >> but chafe fee's sticking to holiday tree. he says the use of the term holiday tree is continuation of past practice. it does not represent a change on my part. the word holiday symbolizes religious freedom.

it's ridiculous depending how you look at t. there is no war on christmas, never was. he goes on to write, in fact, many christians, myself included, register a basic level of annoyance at the way the christmas season now stretches back into october because we don't really need a basic reminder of how to properly celebrate the birth of christ or his divinity on the count of the fact there is a basic concept called faith that we keep in our hearts. the talk back question, is there really a war on christmas? facebook.com/carol on cnn. >> i might write in on this one. carol costello, we'll see you again here shortly. nine minutes past the hour. dozens arrested and police clear out an occupy camp in la.

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12 minutes past the hour now. after two months the occupy camp in los angeles is shut down. l.a. police moved in after midnight to close it. casey is live in l.a. how did this go down, peacefully? >> reporter: it went down relatively peacefully, t.j. local officials are saying they're very pleased with the big success of this operation. >> casey, hang tight there. looks like we lost his microphone, the audio there. this encampment from last night, where about 200 people were arrested. thousands have been there over the last couple of months. seven weeks that they had been there at city hall. at first a lot of people there in city government certainly did support the fact that they were there, but after time a lot of people, like a lot of cities, got fed up with them. we'll get casey back. we'll talk with one of the police officers out there as well who took part in what was,

for the most part, peaceful. told i have casey back again. you hear me again? we lost your audioalmost immediately there. >> reporter: i've got you, t.j. you got me? >> go right ahead. >> reporter: as i was saying, sorry for the audio problems, last night they moved in and they arrested about 200 protesters. los angeles police department said that there were only three incidents where they had to use force last night, which is pretty incredible when you consider the manpower they brought in and the number of people, thousands of people that were camped out. two people didn't want to be arrested. they actually see these trees here. i believe my photographer can pan over to these trees. there was one protester living in a tree house up there. they had to shoot bean bags at that protester to get him out. he sustained minor abrasions according to the lapd. that was it. what happens now is going to be perhaps the most difficult part of the task. you can see in front of me

they've set up a perimeter here fencing. what they want to do is make sure the occupiers don't come back in and occupy this park. they are expecting minor protests later today. some of the occupiers who were not arrested have gathered at a church near here. they're strategizing figuring out what they're going to do next. meantime, the process of cleaning up the mess is going on. as you can see, sanitation department trucks are here. they've started cleaning up what was left behind by these protesters. when the police went in here last night, they had to put on hazardous material suits. it was a giant pile of them here earlier this morning. the sanitation department has cleaned that up. the other thing that they are trying to do is some of the personal belongings that are not trash were left behind by some who were not arrested or fled the area. they are trying to gather those and get them back to the protesters once they're released from custody. >> all right.

thank you so much. let's go cross-country look at some of the stories making headlines today. four amish men are being arraigned in federal court in ohio on hate crime charges. the police say he and the other suspects held down several other amish men and cut off their beards. the family went searching for the perfect christmas tree. rescuers went searching for them. they got lost in the wilderness out there trying to find a tree. they wandered around for hours before they finally called 9-1-1. the dispatcher used the cell phone's gps to find them. they were cut ld around the fire in the dark in the wilderness. police in florida, they were acting like kids shoving each other, the kids did a good thing. they were fishing in a canal when a 3-year-old boy stumbled

in the water. >> we were sitting here fishing and we could see the kid. we could barely see the kid from over there. next thing we know, he fell in the water. >> there were ducks around him. there were arms in the air. next thing you know, we saw the head. he was bobbing up and down. we got up as fast as we could. >> the little boy had wandered out of the house when his mom wasn't looking. he's going to be okay. 17 minutes past the hour. presidential campaign of herman cain up in the air now after the latest allegation against him. he is denying a claim by an atlanta woman that the two of them carried on a long-term affair, but he says all the accusations are taking an emotional toll on his family. he is now, quote, reassessing his campaign. what would it mean for the republican race if cain quits? let me bring in our senior political analyst, david gergen. we do know, cain is having an event in ohio, rally. we do plan to bring you some of

that live. it's supposed to start 45 minutes from now. is there any indication yet, david, that the republican primary voters are fed up with this? >> reporter: there are a lot of indications that in iowa, south carolina, some key early states, conservatives are leaving herman cain. his campaign seems pretty well over as a serious candidate whether or not he decides to continue. the question then becomes what happens as a result of that. he has been commanding the support recently of about a sixth of the american voters. where do they go? i was in sacramento last night speaking to about 2,000 people. no one was interested in talking about cain. all the buzz was about newt gingrich. >> it sounds like you're saying this is a done deal, only a matter of time before he gets

out. >> reporter: there's just too much baggage on the sled. people like him, they enjoy his company. he can continue to speak at forums, but we are talking, after all, about the most powerful position in the united states and, indeed, in the world. i think a great number of people have concluded whatever you think about the particular facts, this man is not prepared to be president. he's prepared to do a lot of other things but not be president. i think it's over. >> we can put this poll up. cnn orc national poll. what happens if he gets out? talking about where his support might go. 38% of the folks, cain supporters, where would your support go, gingrich would get 38%. romney at 25%. this is a poll, of course. nobody has cast a vote. does the good news keep piling up for gingrich right now? >> reporter: it sure does. that's what i was saying about the buzz out here in sacramento.

this is northern california. you wouldn't expect many people to be talking about newt gingrich. they wanted to know more about him. is he different? has he changed? is he someone we could seriously look at? newt gingrich himself has told me and others, he may not survive the next few weeks of vetting, but if he does, he has emerged as a powerful and potentially upset rival to mitt romney. he's getting a lot of -- there's some excitement about him and mitt romney needs to bring some of that magnetism back to his own campaign. look at the polls, what we've seen here in the last few days. newt gingrich has now moved ahead in iowa. he is second in new hampshire. he surged in new hampshire. second to romney. he has opened up a lead in south carolina of some 15 points. there's a poll out of florida today, these are early, poll out of florida today shows newt gingrich up by 24 in florida. if he were to sweep all those

states except new hampshire, he'd be hard to beat. this may not last. as we've seen, it's mercurial in republican primaries. there's something going on that we can recognize, a search by conservative voters for an alternative to mitt romney. he's still the favorite to win the nomination, i think, but for the first time he is being seriously, seriously challenged. >> i have time enough for one more topic. it was going to be romney or rick perry. rick perry is probably more fun here. let me play that clip if people have not seen it. he had another moment. this one had to do with the voting age. let me run it for the viewers and i'll come back to you. >> those of you that will be 21 by november the 12th, i ask for your support and your vote. those of you who won't be, just work hard because you're going to inherit this. you're counting on us getting this right. >> what do you make of that? just another clingworthy moment?

we all have those types of moments. he's had one too many, has he not? >> reporter: i'd say when he couldn't remember getting ready of the energy department, that was the turning point. i am very sympathetic with rick perry. i don't know him well. i've met him, talked to him. he's a good fellow. been a good governor. but to be president you need to be on a different level. you need to be at a very, very high level of confidence. pem assume that in their presidents. when they don't see it, you don't get into that circle. he, himself, knows that. he's going to play out his strength. he'll go back to texas, but this has become increasingly a two-person race. can somebody else possibly break into that charm circle? we'll have to wait to see. maybe santorum will get a little support, maybe michele bachmann. in new hampshire john huntsman

has gotten into double digits. right now it's a romney/gingrich race. >> it's not going to go away. we'll continue our conversation with david after the break. we're going to turn away from politics. david was one at the white house having conversations after president reagan was shot. now it turns out that the man who shot president reagan wants to be free. >> breaking the bank. so to guin: ..row. lile cbby one to yell row! guineaig: ro's kof strange. guinig: row...row. such a simple word... row. anncr: t an easierayo save. get online. go to geico.com. get a quote. e u 15% or more on car insurance.

president. john hingically jr. hinckley jr. fired four shots. he was eventually found not guilty by reason of insanity. here we are three decades later. in a court in hopes of getting released from a mental hospital. we rejoinour senior political analyst. he was working in the white house the day reagan was shot. a handful hubbled in "the situation room" at the time trying to decide what to do next and what to do if the president died. david into some of the details of the day for a second.

you tell me your personal feelings of seeing the man who shot president reagan possibly going free. >> reporter: i hope they keep him locked up. he tried to shoot the president of the united states, ronald regan. he came within an inch of killing him. he got off on an insanity defense. that does not mean he would not be a menace to society if he returned. i know there's room at heart for forgiveness, but in this case i have very, very little forgiveness. >> it sounds like in the way you said it he got off on an insanity defense. of course there are plenty of doctors who would disagree and say this man was a sick man who could be rehabilitated and many say he has been. you don't buy that. >> reporter: look, i think maybe there's evidence and maybe there are rules of law, but justice i think is well served by him remaining in a mental institution and not menacing

anyone else. this is an imprecise science, and i'm sorry, i'm very biased on this question. i don't see this as -- i see it as a question of what's just. he's lucky to be alive. >> i think no one would argue in seeing you being biased on this particular topic. that day, how difficult was it? you all had a job to do in keeping the country running, calm, keeping things in order but at the same time dealing with this man, the president, the person you were all close to wondering what was going to happen to him. what were those first few moments like? what was priority number one? >> reporter: well, of course, the immediate sense was enormous sadness and fear for ronald regan's life. no one knew quite how serious it was. we had to wait. we knew our good friend, jim brady, had gone dourngs was grievously wounded. at one point abc went on the air

mistakenly and said brady had died. we had a report from the secret service that brady had died. we had a prayer in "the situation room" on his behalf. there was a lot of fear about the human side of this. there was, t.j., also a second concern, and that was just as in the john f kennedy assassination and the issue arose very quickly, did lee harvey oswald act alone. there was this question, did john hinckley act alone? if he was a lone gunman, that didn't pose any threat to the national security. if he was part of a conspiracy of some sort, then you had no idea whether there were others out there who might be trying to bring down the government or stop things and, therefore, there was a big, huge argument in the situation room between the second of state,al hague, cap wineberger, very good men,

about whether we should increase the national security alert. should our forces be on a higher alert? the defense secretary thought we should. hague as secretary of state said we shouldn't. it would send a signal that, in fact, something serious was going onto the soviets. it would put the whole world on edge. they fought this argument out, and then larry speaks, our deputy press secretary wandered into the press room, that's when he was asked all of these questions about our state of alert. he was uncertain. hague jumped up out of his chair and said, i have ee got to get up there and get on this podium and stop this. we can't send out this uncertainty. dick allen, the national security advisor ran down the hall after him. i decided, maybe i ought to run too. that's the moment, the historic moment when al hague burst into the press room and was asked questions. the cameras were in there. very hot.

the reporters were in there. they were pressing him, what's going on? who's in control here? he said, i'm in control here, which he was not, of course, but that statement, don, in haste costal al hague his reputation. i had worked with him in the nixon days and he was a pillar of strength during the nixon resignation period. he was chief of staff at that point. there was a lot going on here. it was a very, very emotional day. i think just a lot of us were just so thankful for the doctors and that reagan got through it. i have to add one more thing if i might. >> go ahead. >> that was a turning point for ronald regan because what the country saw was a man who continually cracked jokes when he was near death. told the doctors, i hope you're all republicans. a nurse grabbed his hand and

said, i hope nancy knows about this. people saw that. what they saw was what hemming way called courage. grace under pressure. grace under pressure. it made a huge difference in america's respect for reagan. he was, in fact, a much stronger president after that. >> david, we appreciate you sharing that story. i know you've had to tell that story. it can be painful at times. thank you very much. we'll watch again. hingically sta c hi hing. >> we're past the bottom of the hour now. keeping a close eye on the stock market today. stock markets around the world. the dow up 415 points. we'll give you a check of what's happening there.

35 minutes past the hour now. here's a rundown of some of the

stories we're working on. there's no keeping the debt crisis in europe from crossing the atlantic. we're live in london and new york in just a moment. herman cain's bid for the white house taking another hit. an accuser says she had a long affair with cain. we'll look at what this means not just for herman cain but for the other candidates. a little later, jet man takes to the sky. he's actually flying around with wings on with jet fighters. we'll explain. if you're trying to find a job or keep a job, maybe you're trying to get a small business loan. maybe you have money to retire some day. there's a story you need to be watching right now. something the presidential candidates are doing today. no, it's not them. not going to the presidential candidates or members of congress. it's happening in europe. leaders over there are trying to save the common currency. this could be a close call. whether they succeed or fail. you will be affected.

we talk about their success or failure. when will we really know? can we ever know if they have succeeded or failed in this venture? >> reporter: oh, yes. there are lots of barometers by which we will be able to tell as they start to solve the european debt crisis. the first and most obvious one will be interest rates for countries like italy will start to come down, same for ireland and others. insurance swap rate, they will start to come down. thirdly, you'll see bank lending improve. most important of all, all the barometers of economic growth will start to move more positive. at the moment, according to the lecv just this very week, the eurozone, the 17 member countries that use the euro, they are facing at the moment real possibility of a double dip recession. yes, we will know when things start to get better.

but, t.j., the announcement of the central banks to have swap lines, highly technical move, that's not the pursuit we were looking for. >> stay with me for a second. i'm going to bring in alison kosik who's at the new york stock exchange keeping an eye on things. we hear how badly things are going over there. in a dangerous position with the economy. people turn on the tv and say what's going on with the u.s. markets. explain what's happened. >> you know what, i'm going to say what richard said. he said it's not the bazooka. what you're seeing happened in the markets, it really shows that the market has some support. they like support. realization finally came over all the central banks that europe is, was much closer to the brink than anyone realized. the fact that the markets made support, it shows what kind of

dire situation this is. at the same time, you flip the coin on the other side. there is relief that all of these central banks are getting together, finally addressing the problem. that's a positive sign. at the same time, this move alone does not solve the european crisis. europe still has to get a handle on its debt crisis. what one trader told me that this move by central banks is a short-term life preserver. buying some time. giving these banks some time to kind of collect themselves and get on the right footing at this point. >> i see you trying to get in there, richard. go ahead. >> there are three reasons today why the markets are up. you can take any one of them and extrapolate which is the more important. the central banks have agreed to add liquidity. the u.s. has a better job creation numbers. the adp employment survey. china has reduced its reserve ratios, thus, allowing china's

banks to lend more money. taken together, they all show that things are slowly picking up. we see that for example today. the price of oil has gone up. over $111 a barrel. better economic growth means more industry, more demand for oil. all these factors are in the market today. i have to say, maybe alison agrees, to see 400 points on the dow on such flimsy evidence shows the nervousness of confidence rather than the strength of recovery. >> sure, i agree with you, richard, because this continues to be one of these markets where you see investors react to every headline. when you see a headline getting this much support, that it's going to be easier and cheaper for banks to loan money, sure, you'll see that sort of

knee-jerk reaction. tomorrow will be a new day. all these investors will be sleeping on it. they'll be thinking about it again. you may see a 180 tomorrow. >> richard quest in london, alison kosik at the stock exchange. we're about 40 minutes past the hour. the story coming up, you have to see it to believe it. he's flying literally with jets. he only has a jet pack. e. spark cash gives me the most rewards of any small business credit card. it's hard for my crew to keep up with 2% cash back on every purchase, every day. 2% cash back. that's setting the bar pretty high. thanks to spark, owning my own business has never been more rewarding. [ male announcer ] introducing spark the small business credit cards from capital one. get more by choosing unlimited double miles or 2% cash back on every purchase, every day. what's in your wallet? this guy's amazing.

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about 45 minutes before the hour. can you make out what that is at the top of your screen? guy thinks he's superman. 's flying with a jet pack on. jeanne moos wants to introduce you to the guy. check this out. >> reporter: it seemed amazing back in 1928. it seems just as amazing in

2011. most amazing when the swiss aviator known as jet man actually flew with jets. what's it feel like? >> like unreal. hey, i'm flying almost naked with nothing, but i am with jets, and fast. >> reporter: fast for jet man, around 137 miles per hour. slow for the actual jets. >> the jets, they are at their minimum speed and i was at my maximum. >> reporter: it was a stunt high above the alps the other day. 52-year-old eyeefs rossy. for his ran day view with the real jets, he had a chopper drop him off. he says he doesn't steer, it's pure flying. >> i just turn a little bit of the shoulders to the right and i turn right. i bend down, i go down. >> reporter: he has only enough

kerosene for the four engines under his wing to last for about eight minutes of flight, but oh, what a flight it was. jet man carefully stayed out of the tail turbulence of the two jets. watch maker is jet man's sponsor. as for the pilots? >> when they saw me beside, they were a little bit afraid to hurt me. >> reporter: the leader of the jet team described it as emotional. just outside your cockpit you can see the eyes of a man flying next to you keeping pace with a jet. when's the last time you saw a guy in a skin tight suit flying around outside a jet aircraft? that's superman saving a passenger plane as it nose dives into a baseball stadium. he doesn't have to worry about running out of fuel. rossy said he's had to bail out

of an uncontrolled spin about 20 times since he first started developing his wings. in an emergency he detaches and then both he and the wings float to the ground on separate parachutes. there was no emergency this time, and jet man landed gracefully. talk about winging it. jeanne moos, cnn, new york. one presidential candidate just can't seem to get his words right. even his apology turns into a blunder. we'll tell you who we're talking about. political ticker update is next. mine was earned over the south pacific in 1943.

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ttd# 1-800-345-2550 so talk to chuck, and see how we can help you, not sell you. ttd# 1-800-345-2550 10 minuteshour. herman cain is under fire once again. and it could be a game-changer for the republican field. joe johns is with us from washington with the political ticker. hello to you, again, kind sir. and cain says he's reassessing. we're still trying to figure out exactly what that means. >> that's true, t.j. cain's, we know, returning to familiar territory, saying he's a victim again, claiming it's character assassination. listen. >> as you know, i have already been attacked. not just i have bad ideas. because the ideas are solid.

they're attacking my character, my reputation, and my name. in order to try and bring me down. >> the cain campaign is also trying to convince people that he is going to stay in the race. and that issue of reassessment, as it were, that everybody was reporting yesterday, is essentially a reassessment of strategy, if you will. whether to try to maintain a primary strategy, and a national strategy at the very same time. so he's going to make some more statements, we think, and we'll find out a little bit more. but, as it stands right now, the cain campaign is being very firm about the point that he is staying in the race, t.j. >> to our viewers, we're expecting in the next several minutes, cain has a campaign event in ohio. we expect to listen in, and maybe he will address this whole idea of reassessment. let's turn on to rick perry. now, the guy just can't catch a

break sometimes when he gets up to a podium and speaks in front of a crowd. take a listen to this latest one here. >> those of you that will be 21 by november the 12th, i ask for your support, and your vote. those of you who won't be, just work hard. because you're going to inherit this, and you're counting on us getting this right. >> okay, joe, that's the drinking age, not the voting age. >> right, right, i know. and look, not only did he say the voting age is 21 when it's 18. he also said election day is november 12th. it's november 6th. i mean, his point is, he's human. he's going to make mistakes. the problem for him is that he's gotten the attention of a lot of people, including late night comedi comedians. they don't give you a break as you know. michele bachmann got the very same treatment just a few months ago. it's the kind of position where a candidate has to be very careful about what he or she said because the slightest slip-up gets magnified and adds

to the narrative that's building about a candidate, t.j. >> oh, yeah, give the guy a break. it's a lot of pressure out there, right, joe? >> yeah. >> good job. always a pleasure. thanks so much. we're getting close to the top of the hour. we've got the latest political news. cnnpolitics.com. also our question of the day, talkback question of the day, is there really a war on christmas? angie says, i'm tired of anyone thinking their religion deserves more respect than any other. we'll have more of your responses on this talk back question of the day. [ mujahid ] there was a little bit of trepidation, not quite knowing what the next phase was going to be,

you know, because you been, you know, this is what you had been doing. you know, working, working, working, working, working, working. and now you're talking about, well you know, i won't be, and i get the chance to spend more time with my wife and my kids. it's my world. that's my world. ♪

as we get close to the top of the hour, let's say hello one again to our carol costello who has the talk back question of the day. is there really a war on christmas? so, is there, carol? >> well, let's ask our facebook friends. this is from mike. is there really a war on christmas? he says too much pc-ness for me. christmas may have lost much of its original meaning, but a christmas tree is a christmas tree, period. this from adam, i don't mind if you observe some other holiday through some other religion. however i do have a problem with someone telling me i can't express my christmas spirit and/or customs because it might offend someone else. this from jeffrey, there's no war. this is an issue created by the

far right. i find its insulting when people take a holier, more patriotic than thou stance. i'm devout and i'm patriotic but i'm also pragmatic. and this from vivi. you know who really declared war on christmas? the puritans. fun fact, christmas festivities were outlawed in the massachusetts bay colony in 1659. that's a war on christmas. wishing someone who isn't christian a happy holidays is not. keep the conversation going. facebook.com/carolcnn. i'll be with you in just about 13 minutes. >> all right. we'll see you here shortly. carol costello. thank you so much. occupy protesters in los angeles get their orders to get out. dozens are arrested as police move in. we are talking to the lapd commander who was there. stay with us. till getting dandr? neutrogena® t/gel shampoo defeats dandruff after just one use. t/gel shampoo. it works. neutrogena®.

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now we're at the top of the hour, noon eastern time here in atlanta, georgia. thank you for being with us. i'm t.j. holmes. get you up to speed now. herman cain coming under fire for an alleged affair. but he is swinging back. >> as you know, i have already been attacked. not because i have bad ideas. because the ideas are solid. they're attacking my character, my reputation, and my name. in order to try and bring me down.

>> well, yesterday cain told his staff he was, quote, reassessing his run for the white house. this was after ginger white, a single mother of two, said she and cain had a 13-year affair. cain is making campaign stops across ohio as we speak. he's expected to explain exactly what he means when he says reassessing his presidential bid. mean while in an interview on abc's "good morning, america" cain's accuser ginger white was asked whether she thinks he is fit to be president. >> in my opinion, no, i do not. i honestly do not think that he is, in my opinion, would make a good president, as far as i'm concerned. our -- our -- my views are different than his views. but at the end of the day this is not political. this is absolutely not political. >> all right. just at the top of the hour here, of course, we're keeping a close eye on the markets today because the dow shot up about 300 points, so right after opening this morning, and now still continues to go up, around

415 points now. this is after banks across the country -- around the world, i should say, did a coordinated effort to really shore up confidence in the markets, and the entire financial system across the world. banks are responding. investors are responding. we'll keep a close eye on what's happening. also in los angeles, police there have cleared out and shut down the camp set up by the occupy protesters, arresting dozens of people who refused to leave. about 1400 police officers moved in just after midnight to shut down the camp. on the lawn of city hall. it had been there about two months. 200 people were arrested. police say the operation, though, was for the most part peaceful. a massive public sector protest kicking off in britain. up to 2 million public workers and teachers and nurses and

immigration officers staged a one-day walkout to protest pension cut cuts. some 60% of schools are closed, hospitals have canceled nonemergency operations. international travelers are being told to expect long delays at heathrow. and attorneys filed the first lawsuit today against former penn state defensive coach jerry sandusky. ed alleged victim is identified only as john doe. the lawsuit claims sandusky molested him more than 100 times beginning when he was 10 years old. the document also says sandusky threatened the boy and his family if he told anyone. >> it is against jerry sandusky. who abused him and violated his trust as a child for over four years. >> the lawsuit also names penn state and sandusky's charity, second miami, as defendants. meanwhile, another alleged victim speaks out about the

child sex abuse allegations at syracuse university. mike lang was a former syracuse ball boy, told cnn that assistant coach bernie fine molested him. fine has denied the allegation. he has not been charged with any crime. >> he touched me. he kept touching me. >> so where, though? where did he touch you? >> in my leg and my penis. >> and did you say something to him? >> yes, i said, bernie, please stop this because i'm not that kind, and i won't tolerate it. if you don't want me to come over here no more, i won't come over here. but, if you keep doing it, i'm not going to come over here. >> and this was of the reception that syracuse head basketball coach jim boeheim got last night at their game against eastern michigan. earlier in the day chancellor nancy chancellor voiced her support. boeheim initially defended bernie fine. the two have been friends about 48 years. now with more allegations out there he says the investigation will have to determine what

happened, quote, on his watch. 30 years ago, he shot the president. yeah. a lot of people will remember this scene. but now, today, john hinckley jr., the shooter, is in court seeking his freedom from a mental hospital. hinckley's motive for the attack on reagan, strange as it may sound, was to impress actress jodie foster. he was eventually found not guilty by reason of insanity. senior political analyst david gergen was on reagan's white house staff and remembers that day. >> that was a turning point, yeah, a turning point for ronald reagan. because, he -- what the country saw was a man who continually cracked jokes whenever he was near death. told the doctors, i hope you're all republicans. a nurse grabbed his hand and said, i hope nanny knows about this. and people saw that and what they saw was what hemingway called courage. that is grace under pressure.

grace under pressure. and it made a huge difference in america's respect for reagan. he was a much -- in fact, a much stronger president after that. >> pfizer has lost the patent today on one of its biggest moneymakers. lipitor is going jenngeneric. now other companies can start making less expensive versions available. lipitor sales topped $5 billion just last year. that was just in the u.s. pfizer says 17 million people have prescriptions for it. >> you are on the wrong side. >> turn back to los angeles now. police have shut down the occupy protest camp. 1400 officers moved in just after midnight. about 200 people were arrested. l.a. commander andrew smith is with us now. we appreciate your time. for the most part most people down there wanted to go peacefully? >> you know what, most of them did. a couple hundred needed to be convinced by going to jail.

but for the most part, it was a pretty cooperative crowd. and very nonviolent. so we're happy about that. >> about 200 arrested. what was your estimate of how many were actually down there? >> you know what? it's awful tough to make an estimate because the crowd swelled early in the evening they sent out some twitters saying the cops are coming to get us, come down and join us. literally hundreds of people flowed in from all over the area. so it was really tough. it started out relatively small. but both of these streets behind me were filled up with people. >> it's described, some of the accounts that i have read, you all employed a technique where you essentially encircled this entire camp. is that what happened? and how did you come up with a strategy for what could have been an explosive situation? >> well, we've learned a lot in the city of los angeles about crowd management and crowd control. one of the things we used to do is put a long skirmish line of officers out and push the crowd in one direction or another. this time we surrounded the park

and flooded the interior of the place we surrounded with officers. our cops did a great job last night staying focused, being disciplined, being completely professional and totally patient. and i think, when the protesters realized that there were cops all around them, they pretty much gave up and decided either i'm going to leave, or i'm going to get arrested. >> how do you keep them from coming back? >> well, there's a k-rail fence behind me. you can see that. it's got a big cement bottom and about a ten-foot fence on the top. that was designed originally for nascar races to keep cars from going through it. but it's going to be awful tough for anybody to get back in there. in addition we've got officers lining the entire perimeter. until the grass gets back and we can rehab the lawn and the area over there, no one's going to be allowed in. >> how much has this occupy encampment cost hur department over the past couple of months it's been there? yes, in dollars, but also in manpower. >> yeah, we don't have a dollar figure yet. that's going to take awhile to

compile. but, for instance, last night taking 1400 police officers, most of them on 12-hour shifts and pulling them from all over the city, it's -- it's staggering, i think, the amount it's cost. mostly in terms of decreased policing in other areas. we don't pull these cops out of nowhere. they either have to come in on overtime or we have to pull them from other neighborhoods where they should be out there handling radio calls and providing police service in the area. >> in some ways maybe a couple of your officers, i'm sure around the department, maybe this conversation came up where in some ways you sympathize with the protesters and maybe some of the officers conflicted about having to grab some of them and pluck them out of there because i'm sure some of your officers may feel like maybe they wish they could be out there protesting in some way. did you find that some of your officers do have that conflict? >> well, you know what, i know some officers have their own personal feelings about it. but they knew they had a job to do last night. we certainly support people's first amendment right to protest. we're all about protecting that, and ensuring that people are able to do that. but it just got to a point

where, you know, hundreds of people living on this little patch of grass behind me just became unsustainable. it was being co-opted, i think, by a lot of other groups from the outside that really mad no interest in the original occupy message but were more into, you know, smoking marijuana and hanging out and looking for trouble. >> all right. commander andrew smith. we appreciate you taking the time with us. we'll check in again. we're ten minutes past the hour now. it is christmas season? or the holiday season? getting a christmas tree? you getting a holiday tree? whatever you call it, you better be ready to defend your position. that brings us back to our talk back question of the day. carol costello here with us once again. this comes up every year. can get kind of heated. >> it does. and it certainly does get heated, t.j., no doubt about that. it is that time of year. not that time for good cheer. it's time to wage war on christmas. yes, it has begun. the first bomb allegedly dropped in rhode island.

governor lincoln chafee, neither republican nor democrat, but independent, called the state house christmas tree a holiday tree. fox news, as it has in recent years, went crazy. >> i mean, if it was a maple tree, or an 'em in there, maybe it's a holiday tree, but it sure looks like a christmas tree. >> steve, if it has lights and ornaments and an angel and decorations on top, it's a christmas tree. >> oh, you're right. >> but chafee is sticking to holiday tree, insisting the use of the term holiday tree is a continuation of past practice and does not represent a change of course on my part. the word holiday, he says, symbolizes religious freedom. i know, it's ridiculous depending on how you look at it. as political reporter jason lincolns writes on the huffington post, there is no war on christmas, never was. he goes on to write, in fact, many christians, myself included, register a basic level of annoyance at the way the christmas season now stretches back into october, because we

don't really need a basic reminder of how to properly celebrate the birth of christ, or his divinity, on account of the fact there is this basic concept called faith that we keep in our hearts. so the talk back question for you this afternoon, is there really a war on christmas? facebook.com/carolcnn. facebook.com/carolcnn. i'll read your comments later this hour. >> all right, carol costello. we will see you again here shortly. here is what ahead -- what is ahead on the rundown. first a patent on the popular cholesterol drug lipitor expires today. find out when cheaper generic versions will hit the market. also a toddler in florida saved by three teenage boys after he falls into a canal. also historic visit to myanmar by secretary of state hillary clinton. find out what she's doing there. also, how do you prove someone is insane? we'll go inside the john hinckley jr. case. a federal judge considers releasing him from a mental hospital where he has been held since 1982 for shooting

president ronald reagan. and finally, a woman struggling financially says she is living in constant fear. >> i don't want to be a burden to my son. and frankly speaking, hope that i'll be killed in a car accident. that's the best that i can hope for. lower cholesterol. [ man 2 ] yummy. i got that wrong didn't i? [ male announcer ] want great taste and whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol? honey nut cheerios. constipated? phillips' caplets use magnesium, an ingredient that works more naturally with your colon than stimulant laxatives, for effective relief of constipation without cramps. thanks. [ professor ] good morning students. today, we're gonna... thanks. ♪ sen♪ co-signed her credit card - "buy books, not beer!" ♪ ♪ut the second at she shut the door ♪ ♪ girl started blowing up their credit score ♪ ♪ she bought a pizza party for the whole dorm floor ♪ ♪ hundred pounds of makeup at the makeup store ♪ ♪ and a ticket down to spring break in mexico ♪

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best-selling drug. >> drug. >> and up until now, only one company has been allowed to make it. and you know what happens when only one company can make a drug? >> set the price. >> they set the price. it's about $160 a month to take lipitor. you can bet that price is going to come down when generics go on the market. they're being shipped out to pharmacies as we speak. >> how much could they come down? >> we don't know exactly. but i'm going to give you an example from the past. when prozac went off patent, this is what happened. this is what can you get now. prozac, the brand-name, if you want that, is $227 a month. the generic is $22 a month. so we could see something very similar to that with lipitor. >> okay, are the drugs just the same? this drug has clearly helped a lot of people. >> yeah. >> so if you get a generic people will have concerned, am i going to get the same results? >> people worry about that but it's the same active ingredient. it is the same thing. i know it sounds so crazy. it doesn't have that nice, fancy lipitor label on it but it is the same thing. >> will some people still go for

lipitor? >> there are some people who still go for prozac, because they want that brand name. it's sort of like wanting gucci, i guess. psychology. >> all right. how do you get the drug you need these days? do you have to wait for the generics to come out, but you want the right drug and you want it for a low price. what's the way you're supposed to get at that? >> you and i are going to do a little role playing. you're the doctor i'm the patient. will you play doctor with me? >> oh, wow. >> i know, not every day someone asks you that >> yes, please. let's play doctor. >> hand me a prescription. >> all right. this is what you need. >> okay, dr. t.j., is this a brand-name? >> yes. >> for a brand-name, yes. well, brand names are expensive. and i'm on a budget. is there a generic version of this drug? >> okay. no, not right now. >> well, that's a problem. is there another drug, a totally different drug, that would work for me, but cost less? and the reason why i ask this is that so many of us are on drugs for cholesterol. blood pressure. depression. common things. there's usually several drug

that would work for us. so if there's a drug that your doctor prescribes to you and it's expensive and there's no generic. ask if there's a totally different drug that would work. >> really? >> can you do that. cnn.com/empoweredpatient, i have all the details on how to go about doing that. >> you need to ask your doctor some questions. is this why we see all those commercials? >> yes. >> because they want you to go in and question the doctors. >> guess what? those commercials work. they work when they advertised expensive drugs, patients ask for them. doctors like to make patients happy. the doctors say yes. and sometimes the patients don't even realize how expensive it is. >> so you don't have to take just what your doctor prescri prescribes. it's not his choice necessarily. >> it is his choice. but you can ask, is there something -- sometimes the doctor will say no. sometimes the doctor will say this is the only drug for you. but for something like depression, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, something common, there's an excellent chance there's another drug that will work for you. >> you've really got me going here. people often think that something cheaper is going to be not as good a quality. >> that's just not the case.

>> okay. elizabeth cohen, good stuff. >> thanks. >> thanks so much. 18 minutes past the hour now. tomorrow, got something coming up here for you, live broadcast on youtube called the beginning of the end of aids. this brings together some big names, including former presidents george w. bush and bill clinton, musicians like alicia keyes and bono. and after the broadcast bono will be joining us live here noon eastern hour to talk about his efforts in his fight against aids. we'll be asking him what life is like these days as a rock icon and, of course, about a lot of the work he's doing. so you'll want to be here for that. but right now let's go cross country, look at some of the stories our affiliates are covering. four amish men being arraigned in federal court in ohio today on hate crime charges. a breakaway amish group, police say he and the other suspects held down several other amish men and cut off their beards. the fleming family of colorado, well they went searching for the perfect christmas tree. rescuers then went searching for the fleming family.

they got lost in the wilderness while looking for that perfect tree. they wandered around for hours. eventually called 911. dispatcher used the cell phone's gps to find them. when help arrived three hours later they were huddled in the dark. they did have a fire going, however. also, police are giving these three young men you're seeing, three teenagers, in florida, they're giving them some credit for just a brave act. the teens were finning in a canal when a 3-year-old boy stumpled into the water. they scrambled to get the kid out. >> we were basically just sitting here fishing, and we could see the kid, we could barely see the kid from over there. and next thing we know he fell in the water. >> we seen the ducks around him, and arms in the air, and you know, you see a head a few times. he was bobbing up and down. >> a lot. >> so we got up as fast as we could. >> apparently the little boy had wandered out of the house, and mom wasn't looking. he is expected to be okay. we're at 20 minutes past the hour. now, and where's chad myers?

>> over here. >> checking -- hey there, what's going on today? chad, what you got going on that map? >> a couple things. i have santa ana winds and we are waiting for herman cain to speak. so if you get in your ear just yell at me and i will be quiet so that we can go to him, t.j. i know that's on its way. low pressure developing here coming down the california coast. a big high pressure system will develop here, and that will push winds at times tomorrow of 80 miles per hour. into parts of southern california. here's how it sets up. the high gets in the great basin over nevada. the low comes down the coast. and just offshore, the water and the air, everything wants to go from high to low. you have a big puddle of water, it's going to start to go down. you have a big pile of air, it's going to go down into this low pressure center. the winds will blow across the canyons and through the deserts and into some of these canyon areas winds will be 80 miles per hour. that's going to be trouble for big trucks, mobile homes, rvs. also trouble for sand or dust in the air.

visibility could go down, power lines could go down and wildfire potential tomorrow in southern california is critical. >> chad myers, thank you. rough ohio today. a couple of campaign stops there. one was expected to get started at noon eastern time, about 20 minutes ago. we're monitoring that. we're expected to hear some comment from him about what he meant when he told some of his staff that he would be reassessing his campaign after the latest allegations of a 13-year affair. we're standing by for that. also, hillary clinton goes where no secretary of state has gone in a half century. she's visiting myanmar to encourage the generals to loosen their iron grip on that country. when you have tough pain, do you want fast relief?

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25 minutes past the hour. live picture here, and look at there. there he is right on cue for us. herman cain, doing several campaign stops across ohio today. this is the latest. this is in dayton, ohio. just so happens he was just introduced and he is just taking the stage. he, of course, taking the stage, and on this campaign tour just days after a woman came out making the accusation that she had had a 13-year on/again, off/again affair with the married businessman from atlanta. let's listen in.

we're expecting possibly him to acknowledge and say what he meant when he told his staff that he would be, quote, reassessing, his campaign. so he might explain that. let's listen in here for a moment. >> -- turn the mikes up, please. turn the mikes up please so i don't have to strain this bass voice. that's what i'm talking about. that's better. i am glad to be back in dayton, ohio! this is an absolute wonderful turnout. now they got it turned up too much because we're getting an echo. we're going to get it right here in a minute, folks. just like we going to get it right in the white house in 2012. let it be borne in mind that the tragedy of life does not lie in not reaching your goals, the tragedy lies in having no goals to reach for.

it's not a calamity to die with dreams unfulfilled. but it is a calamity to have no dreams. you know, the american dream is under attack. the american dream is under attack. but the good news is we can take it back. because we have become a nation of crises. every day you turn on the tv. every day you turn on the radio, you pick up the paper, it's another problem. it's another decree sis. we have a nation s&l security crisis. we've got an economic crisis. we've got an energy crisis. we've got an illegal immigration crisis. we've got a foggy foreign policy crisis. we've got a moral crisis.

the biggest crisis we have is a severe deficiency of leadership in the white house crisis. but as -- as my maternal grandmother, who used to -- who lived to be 104 years old, as she used to say, it's a mess. but it's our mess. and we have to fix our mess. and she's right. she was right. it's our mess. we have allowed the mess in washington, d.c. to evolve. but the good news is, there's a movement going on across this country, because we, the people, are still in charge, and the people are going to decide who's going to be the next president of the united states.

and like most business people, when you have a problem or a mess, you fix it. you don't just kick it down the road. you fix it. that's what business people do. that's what separates me from all of the other candidates running for this position. you see, politicians propose ideas. that they believe that they can pass. businessmen, businesswomen, they propose ideas that fix the problem. we got problems to fix. we got messes to clean up. let's start with national security. we are much weaker than we were three years ago. national security and foreign policy, we are much weaker. let me tell you what it will look like under a cain administration. because, you know, i will -- i approach every one of those using a basic problem-solving

approach. make sure you're working on the right problem. assign the right priorities. surround yourself with good people. good people. and this will allow you to put together the right plans to fix stuff. national security foreign policy. my philosophy is an extension of the reagan philosophy. peace through strength and clarity. peace through strength and clarity. hour mission is peace around the world. but that doesn't mean we're supposed to be -- >> we're at the bottom of the hour here now, and there is herman cain speaking at an event in dayton, ohio, this is part of a bus tour he was taking.

we were standing by to see if he might make comments about his reassessing of his campaign. he told some of his campaign workers that, in fact, he would be reassessing the campaign. this came just shortly after a woman from atlanta came out and said she had a 13-year on-again/off-again affair with herman cain. he sounds ever much of the presidential candidate. even fired up, energetic on this stop in dayton, ohio. we will continue to monitor it as we continues to go through how a cain white house would look. we are monitoring that. also other stories on the rundown. we are working on for you, up next he shot president reagan 30 years ago. now john hinckley jr. could be a free man. we'll talk about the law that would allow it. also, the finish line for the iraq war. u.s. troops are making one final stop before their long journey home. also later a new app for coach potatoes. just tell it what you're watching on tv and it will show you a list of products you can

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he shot the president. but john hinckley jr. escaped a life in prison by pleading insanity. now, here we are 30 years later, he's in court, hoping to be freed from a mental hospital. want to get into this with criminal defense attorney here in studio with me and psychologist jeff gardere. jeff, i want to start with you. it's pretty difficult, right, to prove or to be declared insane. but once you're insane, can you also be declared that you have found your sanity again? is that what we're talking about here? >> that is exactly what we're talking about, t.j. and what happened here in this particular case, is that this individual, john hinckley jr., was found not guilty by reason of insanity in trying to murder president reagan. and what happened was, he was placed in saint elizabeth's hospital. over the years, by taking his

medication, his psychotic disorder improved. and several doctors said that he was stable enough to have visits on the outside with his parents, and has had actual conjugal visits at times with other females, and been supervised. and now what he wants to say is that he is completely sane, and should be released indefinitely with no supervision. >> okay. holly, i'll bring you in here. how difficult of a challenge is it, one, to prove someone is insane? we were just talking about it in the break. it's pretty tricky to do. but now, what's the legal challenge in convincing a judge that he has now gone the other direction? >> well, basically what they're going to have to do is convince this judge that he no longer poses a threat to society at large. that's the basic bottom line test that they're going to go for. and like we talked about on the break, you know, it's getting harder and harder to prove that somebody's medically insane in a court of law these days because the basic bottom line is back when john hinckley committed this crime, t.j., we were all

shocked. and we as a society would think you have to be crazy to be able to do something like that. but, the sad truth is, we have just been inundated now by the horrible crimes people commit. so we're no longer as forgiving. we're no longer as willing to accept that you're crazy now. we just say you're not crazy, you're just mean. so it's harder and harder to meet that threshold that you didn't know the difference between right and wrong. and that's the legal threshold you have to meet. >> jeff, after society has or a jury, i should say, said a man is insane. what has to happen, what would have had to happen over the past 25 years to get him to the point of sanity? what kind of rehabilitation are we talking about? >> well, basically this is a person who is in a forensic hospital, or the forensic wing of a hospital. he has to be on medication. because holly is right. it is very difficult to prove that a person is insane. that's why less than 1% of the defenses use the not guilty by reason of insanity. only a quarter of them are found

not guilty by reason of insanity. so they have to be really sick. and we're talking about a full-blown psychosis. schizophrenia. that means not just psychotherapy but mandated being on anti-psychotic medications. you have to stay on those medications. and you have to be stable enough that you do know the difference between right and wrong. >> what would have happened, holly, if he would have shot anyone not named ronald reagan? if this man went to trial for doing the same thing with a group of folks who were not a part of the reagan administration? >> well, i think when you're talking about a person who takes a gun, and just fires indiscriminately at a crowd of people, you're still going to see a very vigorous prosecution. because for every person standing out there on the street that day, the bystanders, the onlookers, that shooter could have been charged with one count of aggravated assault against every one of them, even though they didn't get hit. because if you point a gun at somebody it's aggravated

assault. so what we're talking about is if you've got 20 people on the street, that could be 20 different counts of aggravated assault. add in the attempted murder, no matter who the victim is that you're shooting at, add in the aggravated battery. we know poor james brady was shot in the head and suffered so badly he couldn't return to his duties. so you're looking at a possibility, most of those crimes carry a maximum of up to 20 years. when somebody this dangerous is on the street, the judge is going to throw the book at them. and they're going to say, you know what, i'm going to give you 20 years on each one, but i'm going to stack them up. i'm not giving them concurrent, which means you serve one sentence, all of them at the same time. i'm going to run you consecutive and so that person could have ended up with a 300-year sentence for something like this. >> jeff, last one here, are we trying to balance or will the judge try to balance, i guess, this man, john hinckley's rights of rehabilitation, and to get out of a mental hospital, with, i guess, this very public case, and also trying to provide for

the public safety? is that the balance he's trying to strike? >> that is the balance. this is a high profile case. this is a person who tried to assassinate a president. but yet at the same time you have to be open, and honest about the rights of others. people who have schizophrenia, people who are doing better, and to say that you can never get better from schizophrenia, it really is a generalization that hurts so many americans who do have schizophrenia, and who actually do get better, and who are not dangerous individuals. >> all right. jeff gardere, holly hughes. we shall see. starting a series of hearings today that are going to go on for the next week and a half or so. jeff hinckley -- john hinckley trying to get out of a mental hospital. thank you as always. we're 40 minutes past the hour. after years of war in iraq, the finish line is finally in sight for american troops. cnn will take you there. making sense out of tdd# 1-800-345-2550 what's happening right now. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 tdd# 1-800-345-2550 at charles schwab, we're ready with objective insights about

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vice president joe biden is in baghdad. he told iraqi prime minister nuri al maliki today he's looking ahead to a new phase in relations for the two countries, as american troops leave by the thousands. almost all u.s. service members will be out of iraq by the end of the year. after almost nine years of fighting in more than 4400 lives lost, the end of the iraq war, a lot of people have been waiting on it, but it is now actually in sight. as the conflict gears down, things are pretty tight. at one remote u.s. base in northern kuwait. our martin savidge is there. >> reporter: if the war in iraq has a finish line, then camp virginia is it. the last six weeks as many as 350 vehicles a day have been rolling in to this remote base in the kuwaiti desert. delivering soldiers, and

equipment. >> no brass, no ammo. >> reporter: here teams work day and night, guiding convoys through a series of stops. each one, like an assembly line, in reverse, taking off, or as they say, downloading equipment, accumulated over years of war. and so what sort of stuff are they getting out at this particular point? >> they're getting out -- getting oil fuel, batteries, anything that was not issued to them or that they've bought they've downloaded here. >> reporter: throw it all out? everything is sorted and collected to be thrown out, recycled, or put back in service. we brought you to this motor pool because really it's one of the few places where you can go to get a sense of just how much we're talking about. how many vehicles, how many trucks, how much stuff. and this is just the tip of the iceberg. camp virginia has the capacity to house close to 7,000 troops. and more than 5,000 vehicles. and even though officials say they're below those levels, they admit it's been challenging

keeping up with what's coming out of iraq. >> it's very busy. and i will say that we're making use of every available cot we have, all the space that we have. but it's going really well. >> at east. listen up. >> but there are signs of strain. the base has had to greatly increase housing and office space. and the dining hall now remains open 24 hours a day. just to keep everyone fed. the goal is to move the soldiers from convoy to a flight back to the u.s. within five to eight days. but officers admit it can sometimes take longer. and the next convoy into camp virginia is not expected until november 30th, to allow the system time to catch up. yet despite such problems, morale remains high. because as every soldier who makes it here knows, the next stop is home. martin savidge, cnn, camp virginia, kuwait. more and more shoppers are looking for their smartphones and tablets for those great deals. now, an app has upped the ante. .

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it's become the year of the sofa shopper. people who shop with their smartphones and tablets are part of a huge spike in holiday sales. of course, ebay looking to cash in with, what else, a new app. our dan simon spent some time with the executives at ebay. >> well, ebay built its reputation as a way to find and buy just about any product on the planet. now for the holidays, it is launching a feature called

watching with ebay, as a way to discover products that you didn't even know existed. here's how it works. you punch up their app on the ipad, and you tell the app what it is you're watching on television. whether it's a movie, a tv show, or a sporting event, and the app will display hundreds, if not thousands, of products related to what you are watching. they believe this is a fun way to merge entertainment and shopping and engage those couch potatoes in a way that's never existed before. >> the idea is if you're watching a hockey game, you might purchase hockey gear as you're watching it and ebay facilities that? >> yeah. or you might put it into something else which is the cool thing. this is discovery. as it turns out, i was actually testing the app recently and looking at football games, and it was green bay. and somebody actually makes a lawnmower grass catcher with the green bay helmet on that catcher. so you can mow your lawn with your favorite team for everybody to see while you're out mowing the lawn. it's that kind of discovery

which i think is really interesting. >> that is call watching with ebay and they believe it is a great way to discover new products that you might be passionate about. speaking of ebay, paypal, a division of the company, is reporting a six-fold increase when it comes to people using their mobile devices to make those holiday purchases, whether it's their phones or tablets, and they've seen unprecedented numbers of people using their devices to make those holiday purchases. dan simon, cnn, san francisco. >> and it's our talkback question of the day. is there really a war on christmas? paul telling us, christmas tree, holiday tree, whatever, we get so hung up on things that mean nothing. hmm. do you adegree with that one? your response is just ahead. ♪ ...there are no sick days. ♪ vicks dayquil. defeats 5 cold & flu symptoms. [ snoring ] [ indistinct talking on tv ]

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well, you all have been talking, and our talk back question of the day, carol costello has been asking is there really a war on christmas? what do they say? >> got a good response to this question, t.j. is there really a war on christmas? this from carolyn. the only war on christmas is the one waged by retailers to turn it into a six-month spending spree, instead of the beautiful celebration it's supposed to be. this from rebecca, absolutely. i will continue fighting to celebrate christ's birth, after all, that's what merry christmas means. this from chuck, there's no war on christmas. just an assault by christian fundamentalists. now when you say merry christmas you're making a political statement about your support for the radical christian right. christian right has made it so i no longer want to wish anyone a merry christmas. and this from frankie, there's no need to argue over something so small like the name of a tree, especially when we face bigger issues in the united states today. keep the conversation going.

facebook.com/carolcnn. thanks as always for your comments. t.j. will be back right after this. if you've just signed up for medicare or will soon, there's no time like the present to consider all your health insurance options. does medicare alone meet your needs? would additional coverage be better for you? well, now is a good time to take a look at an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. get started by calling for your free information kit and guide to medicare. as you probably know, medicare only covers

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money for retirement. i listened and i shouldn't have. my name is betty wong tonita. at this time i'm 68 years old. i'm fortunate enough to work as a part-time recruiter at city harvest. am i worried? am i apprehensive of my future? yes. a 50 something-year-olds have a problem looking for a job, a woman past 65 is really not going to have much choices. so i thought, well, i'm muddle through. i'll try to cut my expenses as much as i can. that was my solution to my problems. it's hard to move down from, you know, from what you're used to. but i had to do that. i'm -- i don't want to be a burden to my son. i lived through taking care of my mother through her declining years. and i have a sister and a brother. the three of us shared the

responsibility. i only have one son. i don't want to put on him what the three of us had to face. and i don't know how to go about it. and frankly speaking, hope that i'll be killed in a car accident. that's the best that i can hope for. i'm 68 years old. i have lived life. i've had my life. but i can't live under a state of constant fear. i mean, how can you? so i feel i have to live my life now. one day at a time. one month at a time. and i have a good life now. i live in a good place. i have good friends. i'm working. and what more can you ask from life? >> and as for betty, she actually used to own her own company, and today, with that part-time job she has, she's making just one fifth of what she used to