that's it for us for the week. have a good weekend. i'm christine romans. see you next week. >> i'm alina cho. "cnn newsroom" with fredricka whitfield begins right now. let's begin this hour with some big news on the economy. just minutes ago, we learned that the nation's unemployment rate has fallen to 8.6%. that's the lowest rate in nearly three years. christine romans back with us in new york now. so, christine, what a marked improvement. 120,000 jobs added in november, where are we seeing the most growth here? >> we had the last two months

here res have hire, as well. many more jobs created in september and october than we thought. the growth we're seeing is in the retail industry, no surprise there. 50,000 jobs created in the retail industry and half of those were in clothing stores and also in apparel, you know, accessory stores. you also saw leisure and hospitality. that means hotels, restaurants, too, food and drinking places. anything that has to do with people starting to get out and spend money there. you saw them adding workers in those places. also, professional and business services. 27,000 jobs created there and in health care and education, we saw about 20,000 jobs created. so, retail, food and drink, professional, medical system, medical places. this is where we saw jobs created and more jobs created as i was pointing out in october and in september than we had thought. so, on average, running more than 125,000 jobs on average created every month so far this year, fredricka. >> you spelled out the growth

sectors, but we're talking about a very sizable drop in a very short amount of time. i imagine the markets are going to respond very positively as a result of this. >> yeah, you know, futures are up. they have been up all morning, but, certainly, they have been up on anticipation that maybe this jobs report was going to show that you are seeing a little bit of momentum. growth in the labor market and certainly anything below 9%, psychologically, is good. it's been kind of stuck up there. stubbornly high at 9% for a long time. a couple other technical factors to keep in mind. two factors. one that counts and how many jobs are created and the other one that is used to count the unemployment rate. sometimes they don't work in tandem. big job gains for adult men age 28 and older. you saw men gaining in jobs in that particular survey and you saw more women dropping out of the workforce. when you see people kind of getting discouraged after a long time and dropping out of the

workforce, sometimes the unemployment rate falls and the false sense of optimism that sometimes things are better, not that much better because you have fewer people in thework frs. that's one reason why the number dropped, but it did, it did drop from that 9% level and it does correspond with jobs gains in the other survey that show that people were adding jobs. government jobs, just for the record, fredricka, we lost another 20,000 government jobs in the month. >> thanks so much, christine romans in new york, thanks so much. >> sure. all right. not necessarily because of the economy, but newt gingrich is a very happy man and a confident one these days with just a month until the first contest of the 2012 primaries, he has zoomed to the top of the pack and says that he says he is gaining steam by the day. >> it's very hard not to look at the recent polls and think that the odds are very high i'm going

to be the nominee. >> polls like this one out of florida yesterday. check out the numbers. a full 50% of the state's likely primary voters now choose gingrich. that's up from 11%, just one month earlier. candy crowley is our chief political correspondent and host of "state of the union." good to see you, candy. >> good morning. >> all right. so, we have seen several candidates surge in popularity just like this and then fade just as quickly. so, what does gingrich have to do to maintain this momentum leading into the iowa caucuses? >> well, he has less than a month to put together an organization that can deliver a vote that matches what he is getting in polling. one thing to call people and say, who do you like? another thing to show up they show up in iowa on a caucus night. kind of two schools of thought that we're looking at now. some people say newt gingrich, who has been operating on a shoe string, who just opened his first campaign headquarters in

iowa cannot get it together between now and the caucuses in early january. much less in new hampshire for the new hampshire primary. so, there is that and then there's others who say, look, this is a brand-new world. you don't have to organize the world the way you organized the old-fashioned way. there's the twitterverse and blogging in general and friend will tell friends and they'll show up at the caucuses. i don't see signs that newt gingrich has a huge presence. you send a person to a house to knock on a door and say, you need to come and caucus for newt gingrich. so, he's got to somehow find the organization to match those poll numbers. he's got to put it together in a very short time. >> all right, meantime, so, he's

winning over the voters, at least if you listen to the polls and look at the polls, but at the end of the day, he has to win over his own party and we know that there's been a concerted effort by the party to say, we're not necessarily crazy about this candidate, so how about this one? is newt somebody the party is excited about? >> the party will be excited about whoever wins and, so, if he wins the nomination, the party will be excited about newt gingrich. the question is, you know, what is the big question? it is, as we say, and newt gingrich put together the organization, but it is also, can newt gingrich convince republican voters that he can beat barack obama? you can say all you want about how what the conservatives in the party really want as a pure conservative. perhaps that's true. but what they most want is for barack obama not to be in the white house after the november

elections, in the january after the november elections. the fact of the matter is that newt gingrich has to prove his electability. right now what we're seeing at least in a recent cnn poll, most folks looked at mitt romney as the more electable of the candidates. he had almost twice the votes that newt gingrich did. he has to show some electability there. the party will come around the numbers. you can say all they want. they don't like him, they don't like him, they'll like him if he can win. >> candy crowley, appreciate that. we'll watch this sunday at 9:00 a.m. herman cain faces the toughest day of his presidential bid and far from the campaign trail. he meets with his wife about allegations of a 13-year sexual affair. cain says it was only friendship and he never told his wife about it. senior political editor mark preston is in washington. so, mark, is the future of cain's candidacy riding on this? >> oh, to be a fly on the wall

of that conversation later today that we expect to happen in atlanta. you know, since the accusations have come out last monday that he had an extra marital affair, herman cain has stayed on the campaign trail. he has not met face-to-face with his wife. in interviews he said he has spoken to her several times a day and appears that she's supportive enough to let him stay on the campaign trail for the past five days. however, the day of reckoning is today. herman cain himself has said, fred, that there are three things he is going to look at as he decides whether to continue on with this presidential bid or abandon it. the first thing is the emotional toll it's taking on his family. the second thing is, does he have the support to continue on and the third thing is, does he have the money? as for his timetable about what's going to happen. let's take a look at what he said last night on fox. >> before monday, i haven't set the exact date, before monday, we will make a decision. we will make a decision.

>> and this is really what the conundrum is for herman cain at this point. this weekend he is also opening up his atlanta headquarters. $80,000 worth of television ads running in iowa. at the same time, he is saying that he is considering abandoning his presidential bid. this is not the message you want to be sending to supporters or potential supporters, fred. >> not at all. mark preston, thanks so much. another political update with you next hour and a reminder for all the latest political news, go to our website, cnnpolitics.com. overseas, al qaeda's new leader has claimed responsibility for capturing a 70-year-old american aid worker in pakistan three months ago and he reportedly posted a statement online listing his demands. cnn's zain verjee is following this story for us from london now. zain, what do you have? >> hi, there, fred. yes, he's saying that there's specific demands that need to be met in order for warren weinsten

to be released. he is an aide worker and living in pakistan for seven years and then just disappeared in august. it wasn't really clear whether he was kidnapped by criminals or what was exactly going on. it seems, though, based on this message by ayman al zawahiri. zawahiri wants all al qaeda prisoners released that the west is holding. he wants all prisoners in guantanamo bay released. he wants all of osama bin laden's relatives that are being held released and he is demanding that the u.s. stop its bombing of afghanistan, of yemen and other places like somalia and also in pakistan where the u.s. is reportedly operating drone attacks in those area. now, u.s. officials have said that they're going to follow every single lead to try to get hold of this hostage. the family is really concerned. they have been appealing to the captors over the past while saying their hostage has asthma and a serious heart condition, as well.

they're really concerned about the situation. zawahiri also said, fred, that the fate of warren weinsten really lies in the hands of president obama. the list of demands is never going to be met. >> zain verjee, thanks so much for keeping us posted on that. also, coming up, the winds grew stronger, the concerns grew louder. new insights at the moments before this tragedy at indiana state fair. and we'll have the latest on those ferocious winds that ripped across southern california and we'll get a closer look at the damage, as well, right after this. how did i get here? dumb luck? or good decisions? ones i've made. ones we've all made. about marriage. children. money. about tomorrow.

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checking news across country now. this morning, new insights into this summer's disastrous collapse at the stage at the indiana state fair. cnn affiliate wthr compiled all the emergency radio traffic, including the growing sense of alarm as strong winds swept into the area. >> all units, all units. severe thunderstorm warning until 9:45 for marion county. use your best judgment. find shelter when needed. >> have they released fans from the grandstands yet? >> have no information on that. i will check and advise.

in southern california, wicked santa ana winds have toppled trees and scattered debris for miles. nearly 500 power lines were down just in los angeles county. gusts as high as 140 miles were reported. hurricane-force winds also battered utah. some 50,000 homes and businesses lost power there and at least 16 semi trucks were knocked over by these winds. rob marciano in our weather center. so, rob, you know, this is pretty incredible. i was in los angeles, actually, just hours before those big santa ana winds came in. people were talking about it all day preparing for these big winds, but i don't think anyone anticipated that. >> well, because it happens a lot, santa ana wind. folks in l.a. get them this time of year. certainly several times during this time of year, but not like this. such a widespread event. let's go through what's happening right now. relatively light stuff. so, that's the good news. the bad news is that we're going to see winds kick up again today

between 40 and 60 miles per hour and then another resurgeance of some of these winds. look at the winds from yesterday. mammoth lakes, now, granted, this is up at 11,000 feet. 1 150-mile-per-hour wind gusts but that's high as high as that instrument can record. higher than that. but even some spots outside of los angeles. okay, centerville, utah. salt lake city downtown 69 mile per hour wind gusts. that's how extraordinary this event was and widespread damage across parts of utah and also damage to parts of las vegas. and snows at the higher elevations. the issue today and tomorrow is going to be the ongoing threat for critical fire danger, low levels of humidity and still those gusty winds. we have the typical, more typical santa ana winds today. more localized, i should say. and a little pulse tonight and tomorrow. so, we're not quite done with this event yet. we're not going to see the winds we saw yesterday morning in excess of 100 miles per hour. but still strong enough to fly some debris around that is still

on the ground, obviously. any trees that were weakened may come down in the next 48 hours. >> that is incredibly severe to see the kind of trees that came down. >> huge oak trees and beautiful ones, so, it's quite a loss to place like pasadena and other spots. the job market takes a step forward. a new report showing the unemployment rate is the lowest it's been in three years now and enough to power a rally on wall street. we go live to the new york stock exchange momentarily. plus, we'll take a journey to fantasy land aboard the world's largest model train and railroad. pretty spectacular, especially if you're really into trains. you'll like this one. you'll see it for yourself.

let's hop aboard the world's largest model train railway and take a journey into a wonderland. i am talking about an exhibit in hamburg, germany. you're in london, but you're at the controls. >> well, it's a wonderland that we should say, seeing it's in germany. it's pretty incredible. just look at this, you have 39,000 feet of tracks. now, this has been built since 2001 and it's supposed to go on until 2020. they've got 890 trains, 300,000 lights, 215,000 trees, 200,000 human figures just all over the place and they have these little humans everywhere and in a really realistic things like funerals or, well, some unrealistic things like they have some humans being chased by

ufos and weightlifting cows and some people breathing fire. but the thing about this is that the detail, fred, is totally crazy. >> it's incredible. >> it's so incredibly meticulous and they have europe and they have switzerland and baltic sea and then they have the u.s. in this. mt. rushmore and it's in this incredible mini detail and they're working on now is the baltic sea and they're simulating high tide on it every 30 minutes and then they're going to put on a fleet of ships and just make it really cool. so, this is, this is kind of the world's biggest model. yeah. >> i'm looking at this, okay, this is an exhibit. is it in a museum? you as a patron want to come see it and can you look at it in one big spanse or do you have to go from room to room? this just looks gigantic and colossal. 39,000 feet. >> it's in one massive space in

hamburg and you can go in and take a look at this exhibition and it's 39,000 feet and by 2020 it's actually going to be double this size. so, people have just been working on it and you can see, look at this cruise liner. i mean, everything is just mind blowing the way that they've done this. in this city, yeah, they've got like fake firemen and policemen and working engines and sirens and incredibly realistic. yeah, if you're in hamburg at any point, swing by. >> you might as well just schedule the entire day to do this because it looks to really take it all in and appreciate all the intricacies here you will have to be there a few hours. it's starting to look more and more real the more i look at it. like real life. all right, zain. >> except cleaner. >> except cleaner, that's bright. i saw no litter on the streets there. appreciate that, zain. thanks so much. all right, back to this country now and the economy. some very encouraging signs on

the job front. the economy added 120,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate plunged to 8.6%. down from 9%. alison kosik is at the new york stock exchange. this is some pretty huge news and how are people reacting to it? >> it is big news and some of the folks i'm talking to are pleasantly surprised by it. you can see how wall street feels about it. we are expecting to see a triple-digit gain for the dow at the open and stocks were open before the jobs' report and we were seeing the gains seven minutes before the opening bell and these gains are holding following the jobs report which was very upbeat. the unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in almost three years. we're also seeing stocks getting a lift from europe and german chancellor angela merkel wants new laws put in place in europe and rules to fix the debt problems there and not just lip service, she wants to see something concrete and that is

also helping to give the markets a boost, fredricka. >> back to the unemployment rate in this country, is it too good to be true and will it be revised somewhere in the near future or should we settle on this 8.6% for now for a while? >> all good questions, fredricka. first of all, the unemployment rate it's never revised like other unemployment rates are. it could tick up next month. don't be surprised if it does that. some analysts and traders i'm talking with, they're skeptical and they're questioning the unemployment rate at this point because they say this drop is huge. you usually see the unemployment move a tenth of a percent, this was a move of almost 0.5%. it was a huge decline. why this happened is really up for debate. the more popular view is that people are either leaving the labor market altogether or finding temporary work because the fact is the labor market, the labor force got smaller in

november. it means people literally dropped out and they stopped looking for work and got discouraged and the economy gained a lot more jobs in september and october than originally reported. the other side of it, fredricka, people may be finding full-time jobs. fredricka? >> alison kosik, thanks so much. baby boomers as millions enter retirement age, they now run the risk of actually outliving their money. >> i don't want to be a burden to my son. frankly speaking, hope that i'll be killed in a car accident. that's the best that i can hope for. >> my goodness. straight ahead we continue our look at baby boomers and the challenges they face. [ nadine ] buzzzz, bzzzz, bzzzz, bzzzz,

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all right. the opening bell is just minutes away on wall street and stocks are ready to take off. just about an hour ago, investors got a new jolt of optimism when we learned that the jobless rate has plunged to its lowest level in nearly three years. down now to 8.6%. christine romans is breaking down the jobs report. alison kosik is at new york stock exchanges. christine, let's begin with you. this is an amazing boost to the economy. should people feel overly confident that, indeed, the joblessness, okay, now the markets are opening. that the unemployment rate is seeing some encouraging signs. >> yeah, i wouldn't call it an amazing boost to the economy. i would call it a labor market moving in the right direction. and here's why. you had 120,000 jobs created in november. that's not even enough to be

into overall the unemployment rate and that's really important to note that you've got to be creating more jobs in this every month. the unemployment rate fell and that is a very good thing. it's below 9%, but it fell for a variety of different reasons. among them, because some people did drop out of the labor market. 315,000 people said, you know what, i'll stop looking because they were so discouraged, they dropped out of the market. that's one of the reasons why you saw the labor market have these two different reactions. jobs created 120,000 of them created in the month, but you saw the unemployment rate drop so much. you saw the unemployment rate drop so much because revisions from the prior couple months. more jobs created in october and november than we had thought. more around 200,000 jobs. boy, we want to be creating jobs like that every single month and then maybe in five years we would get back to where we started. only about a third of the jobs lost of the 8.8 million jobs have been lost in the great recession have been recovered here. where are you getting jobs? it's in retail, it's in leisure

and hospitality and education and medicine and eds and meds that category saw some jobs creation. jobs lost from the government. some 20,000 jobs lost from the government. so, you always see this pull and push in these numbers. you also see revisions because the government is always taking a look at new data and res having for the last few months. but, overall, unemployment rate below 9%, definitely good news. futures, though, or stocks, ralther, off their highs and taking a close look at europe. 8.6% is still not good enough, fred, but certainly better than 9%. >> christine, it didn't seem like more than a couple weeks ago some analysts were saying that they didn't see the un unemployment rate would dip below 9% for some time to come and then a 9 % drop in just a matter of weeks, seemingly overnight. >> and what we'll need to see is if next month, it stays at 8.6% or goes to 8.7 or 8.5.

something that economists like to call noise. statistical noise in these numbers. there's two different surveys. i'm not going to get too technical on you. the job report is two different surveys put together that each measure something else. so, we're going to be looking to see what kind of noise there is in the unemployment. i'm not diminishing the importance of 8.6%. i want to be clear. that is a good number, better than 9%. we need it at this stage of our recovery to be better than 8.6%, but it shows you there is hiring and things are getting better, no question. but you'll see a lot of analysis today as we dig into these numbers. what is the move behind that? some people did drop out of the labor market and that's one reason why that number dropped. >> christine romans, thanks so much. let's check in with alison kosik over at the new york stock exchange markets opening 92 points up. what are the other indicators? >> of course, the debt issue is

still going to be sort of keeping the losses in check, but, really, i think that the jobs report that we just got is really going to be the driver today and a lot of what christine said is absolutely true for quhaut is working on wall street today. you know, one month, meaning this one month of a job report. it does not make the trend and, sure, the unemployment rate dropping this much is a great thing for a headline and that's really what you're going to see when you open up the newspaper tomorrow, that's really going to be the headline and you have to look deeper into it because it's true. the workforce did get smaller. that labor force participation rate, it did get smaller and, also, you have to realize that we are in that holiday shopping season. those temporary workers are finding that temporary work, which means they're not filing for those unemployment benefits that could also be a factor in it, as well. you know, people dropping out because of just getting discouraged that they can't find a job. that could be a factor, as well. then you flip the coin on the other side and it could be, you know what, those numbers in

september and october about those jobs added to the economy, those were upgraded. meaning more jobs were added than first reported. so, you know what, people may actually be following full-time jobs. anyway you cut it, good news jobs are being created. the fact is, it's a slow go and we need to see more jobs created. >> alison kosik, thanks so much. christine romans, as well. thank you, ladies. we'll keep an eye on the money throughout the day. meantime for americans, for those who do have jobs. the future size of the paycheck is being decided on capitol hill. last night the senate rejected partisan plans to extend the bush era tax cuts. now, lawmakers are scrambling to find a compromise that will prevent a hike of more than $1,000 a year for the average american family. brianna keilar is at the white house. brianna, how likely is a compromise? >> i think this is really the thing to focus on, fred? the bottom line is, compromise of some sort is expected to pass congress before the end of the year and this is something that a lot of americans care about because they've gotten a payroll

tax cut over the last year. if it were to expire, that would mean, as you said, about $1,000 less per family. and you know in this economy, that really can make a difference. so, last night what happened? you had two bills that the senate rejected. you said their partisan plans, yes. a payroll tax extension with different ways to pay for it. a republican plan that would have taken it out of the federal payroll. so, what pays for federal employees' salaries and then the democratic plan which would have put a tax on americans making a million dollars or more. so, both of them failed. kind of back at square one here and there's still this disagreement over how to pay for them. what we're seeing is a lot of uncertainty and a whole lot of politics. just take a listen or take a look, i should say, at what president obama said last night following this vote. he said tonight senate republicans chose to raise taxes on nearly 160 million hard-working americans because they refused to ask a few

hundred thousand millionaires and billionaires to pay their fair share. that is unacceptable. he added, it makes absolutely no sense. now, republicans say, fred, that this surtax on millionaires, that it hits job creators, it hurts small businesses, but this is really, as you can see what the president is doing, what democrats are doing, they're really seeing that republicans are unfriendly to the middle class while protecting the rich and they're going to continue with that message for some time. >> brianna, before i let you go, i wonder the unemployment rate dipping to 8.6%, possibly a real shot in the arm for this white house as it talks about moving forward with the economy. any reaction thus far from them about these new jobless numbers. >> we don't have reaction yet. president obama will be speaking next hour. he may say something. you know, it could have been worse, the numbers you could say for sure from the white house. these numbers will be welcome. but they're not really enough to

really trumpet. certainly, they could be worse. certainly you'll hear president obama. as we heard him months and months before, fred. you know, it's not to where he would like to see it. >> brianna keilar, thank you very much. she calls elvis daddy and i'm not talking about lisa marie.

all right. elvis presley's estate has just been hit with the king of all lawsuits by a woman who says she is his daughter. a.j. hammer is here with all the details on this. something tells me this is going to be ugly. >> well, it's certainly going to be strange, fred. the swedish woman, her name is

lisa joe hanson and she claims she is the real daughter of elvis presley. she's not claiming she's the ilegitimate daughter of elvis, she is claiming she is the real lisa marie presley and filed a suit against elvis' estate and asking for 130 million bucks in damages. the woman did write a book back in 1988, i, lisa marie, the true story of elvis presley's true daughter. she was whisked away to scandinavia after elvis' death to be raised in safety. she refused to do a dna sample but now she's reportedly saying she has take on the dna test and ready to prove her claim. it has been a while now, so we kind of forget how strange the furor was around elvis' death. you remember all the speculation that elvis was actually alive. this is perhaps just another strange chapter in elvis' afterlife. >> no picture of her? i mean, come on, it begs.

we want to see resemblance. is there? >> certainly hear her sing. let's move on to all of these celebrity shows, wife swap, reality, et cetera. there's a new, i guess, addition to the celebrity wife swap. who is it? >> the wife swap fran comes is now exploring the celebrity world. this is the first time they're doing it with celebrity. the cast of the premiere season of the show was just announced. pretty eccentric. gary busey swapping with ted hagger. flavor flav and d. snider and the rest of the pairings include tracy gold who is swapping with wilson phillips star carney. you have comedian nash with tina

yuthers. a lot of these stars are getting to be just as famous for their reality show appearances more so than their original careers. flavor flav was in one of the most groundbreaking rap groups of all time, they wouldn't just quite connect that with the fact that is the guy from the reality show "flavor of love." that's what this cast is like. >> this is what you call reinventing one self, they have just taken it to another level. >> there you go, always glass half full. we'll see you again next half hour with more headlines. we'll tell you about 50 cent teaming up with one of the guys from "jersey shore."

remember the case of an atlanta mega church pastor who was accused of sexual relations with young men? well, now apparently the wife of bishop eddie long of new birth missionary church baptist church outside of atlanta has filed divorce. vanessa g. long filing for divorce one year after those allegations first surfaced. checking our top stories across country now. a young boy turned away from a private school in pennsylvania because he is hiv positive. the 13-year-old is suing milton hershey school for discrimination after it refused his enrollment because of his status last february.

the school says it made the right legal decision under the law. in san francisco, b.a.r.t. says it will no longer blackout cell phone usage at its train and bus stations. the transit service came under fire after it blocked the communications during summer protests. b.a.r.t. says that action will be used only in the most extreme of cases. 72 hours under water. that's the goal for florida diver alan. he is attempting to break the world record for the longest saltwater dive. he began his three-day dive yesterday. all right. now a look at jobs and uncertainty low the eyes of baby boomers. millions of them are entering into their retirement years, but will continue working for one simple reason. they have to. many face the terrifying prospect of running out of money in their declining years.

>> no matter what your spouse or partner says to you, save your money for retirement. i listened and i shouldn't have. my name is betty wung and at this time i'm 68 years old and fortunate enough to work as a part-time recruiter at city harvest. am i worried? am i apprehensive of my future? yes. 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'll 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 what you're used to, but i had to do that. 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 am working. and what more can you ask from life? >> wow, poppy harlow of cnnmoney.com. poppy, betty is not alone.

a lot of people who really fear getting fear getting older, thoe declining years, worried that retirement isn't going to be what they had hoped it was going to be. >> absolutely. i spent a long time talking to betty about this, and she said the feeling that she has and that frustration, the inability to get a full-time job to make enough to live comfortably is common among her friends. she even said that in her group of friends, fred, they feel discriminated against by employers. she might not be able to prove it, but she said it's so hard to get full-time work. if you look at someone like betty, she told me she used to run her own company, a recruiting company. she's now making one-fifth of what she used to make, and the problem is health care is so good these days, people are living longer. things, food, energy is getting more expensive but incomes are depressed. people are making less and that is a reality and a fear that so many people have. i think that betty embodies that. >> that's incredible.

very sobering eye-opening look. thanks so much. so the generation that gave us free love and high divorce rates now finds itself at a crossroads. what it's like to be divorced, widowed, or a boomer trying to reinvent one's self. how hashed is dating after 65 and can popular online dating sites help or hurt this generation? we take a look later on today as our baby boomer series continues. 1 [ knock on door ] cool. you found it. wow. nice place. yeah. [ chuckles ]

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checking stories making headlines later on today. more than 60 members of the california national guard will return home from iraq at 1:30 eastern time. three members of a breakaway

amish group charged with hate crimes will be arraigned in federal court in ohio at 2:00 eastern. then at 2:20 p.m. eastern time president obama will deliver marks at a tribal nation's conference hosted by the white house. we're following lots of developments in the next hour at the "cnn newsroom." paul stein houser. >> fred, herman cain is facing allegations he had a 13-year affair. will he keep his campaign for the white house going. details at the top of the hour. >> i'm christine romans in new york. digging into the latest jobs numbers, hiring is up. unemployment is down. i'll tell you why and just how much better the jobs market is getting and where there are, i don't know, some fool's gold. we'll show you that at the top of the hour. i'm rob marciano. winds dropped in southern california after the historic southwest wind event.

thanks so much, everyone. appreciate that. tim tebow is on a roll. the denver quarterback's success this season may be tied to faith and not just his own. we'll talk about that. impact wool exports from new zealand, textile production in spain, and the use of medical technology in the u.s.? at t. rowe price, we understand the connections of a complex, global economy. it's just one reason over 75% of our mutual funds beat their 10-year lipper average. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. request a prospectus or summary prospectus with investment information, risks, fees and expenses to read and consider carefully before investing.

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♪ hah -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com penn state back in the headlines for a different reason though. penn state now donating more than a million to help sex abuse

victims. jeff here and now. jeff, the money is coming from where? >> it's from the football program. it's a nice gesture by penn state. coming out of the share of the bowl game money penn state will get from its conference, the big ten. the school will donate $1.5 million to the pennsylvania coalition against rape and the national sexual violence resource center. the question is would the bowl game want all the controversy. i think the lions will get an invitation. they will accept if invited. they don't want to say no, punish the players now. nfl now, philadelphia eagles, their season continues to spiral out of control. seahawks intercepted backup quarterback vince young. took one back for a touch down. mike vick still out with broken ribs. the eagles miss him. meanwhile, seattle is running back marshawn lynch. then he pops out, 148 yards

rushing, two scores. after each one he's rewarded on the side lines with skittles. it's a tradition his mom started with him when he was a kid. seahawks roll 31-14. eagles are a disaster. we have san update on the michigan state cheerleader who took a frightening fall wednesday night. there she is, taylor young. she did get tested at the hospital. she's fine. after her family found out that al's well. check out her dad with his facebook post. quote, i'm glad to see your booty isn't getting big. no one likes a chick with a big butt. love you. that's from her dad. >> okay. >> the family has a special sense of humor. >> okay. >> some people are saying, dad, that's a little out of bounds. one of the comments after his was, too soon. another one was, come on. >> sense of humor? >> clearly dad and the daughter have a relationship. >> very interesting. definitely makes you take pause.

jeff, thanks so much. today herman cain faces the toughest day of his presidential bid. it's far from the campaign trail. he meets with his wife about allegations of a 13-year sexual affair with someone else. cain says it was only a friendship. >> my wife did not know about it, and that was the revelation and the surprise that my wife found out about it when she went public with it. >> her text messages to me were asking for financial assistance because she was out of work, had trouble paying her bills, and i had known her as a friend. she wasn't the only friend that i had helped in these tough economic times. >> dep pi political director paul steinhauser is in washington. is is the future of his candidacy riding on his meeting with his wife and family.

>> it sure seems like today could be judgment day from herman cain. he doesn't start the day in atlanta with his family. he's in south carolina. he has a campaign event early this afternoon. then he heads back to atlanta to talk about these allegations of that 13-year affair. in an interview last night herman cain for the first time gave us a time line of when he will or won't decide whether he continues on with his bid for the white house. listen. >> before monday, i haven't set the exact date, before monday we will make a decision. we will make a decision. >> that decision, of course, will be whether he continues on with his bid for the republican presidential nomination or whether because of concerns he says from his family or how his family is dealing with all of this he drops out. stay tuned. we'll monitor herman cain all weekend long. you know what's odd about this too, tomorrow in atlanta herman cain is scheduled to open up his national headquarters. also at the same time in iowa

his campaign is up with tv advertisements as an independent group supporting him. if you want evidence of how this latest allegation and the sexual harassment allegations are hurting his bid for the nomination, look at this brand new poll, from the des moines register. late october he was at 31% support among people likely to take part in those iowa caucuses. now down to 8%. this poll was conducted before and after those revelations came out monday, fred. you can see from that poll this is trouble for herman cain. >> i'm sure his staffers are trying to figure out too what's next for them. appreciate that. we'll have much more on herman cain coming up at the bottom of the hour. for americans who do have jobs, the future size of the paycheck is being decided on capitol hill. last night the u.s. senate

rejected partisan plans to extend the bush era tax cuts. now lawmakers are scrambling to find a compromise that will prevent a hike of more than $1,000 a year for the average american family. kate baldwin is on capitol hill. how likely is a compromise? >> i think there's general sense up here, fredricka, that in the end democrats and republicans in the house and senate will be able to reach some compromise to extend this payroll tax cut but by how much and how it will be paid for seems to be the question. what we saw last night is the latest fight between democrats and republicans around this payroll tax cut that's set to expire at the end of the year. the payroll tax of course is say percentage of a worker's paycheck is taken out to fund social security. democrats, they want to extend and expand this payroll tax cut for a year to employees as well as to extend it to employers to help spur job creation. republicans, they want to extend the current payroll tax for one more year and to this point, at least up to this point the fight

has centered around at least in part how to pay for this tax cuts. democrats are proposing a surtax on income over a million dollars. republicans have rejected that. republicans, they want to extend the current pay freeze on federal workers as well as cut the federal work force by 10% to pay for this tax cut. while it was expected that both of these opening salvos, opening offers, while it was expected they would fail, as they did, you can see if you listen here that both sides are clearly trying to win a poe lij call edge, political advantage with this issue. >> when we have stood up for those working families and middle income families for a basic payroll tax cut to help them survive, the republicans opposed it. they opposed it because they wouldn't impose one penny of new taxes on the wealthy people in america. >> there's no reason folks should suffer even more than they already are from the president's failure to turn his jobs crisis around.

but there's also no reason we should pay for that relief by raising taxes on the very employers we're counting on to help jolt this economy back to life. >> reporter: as i said, these two proposals that they voted on last night that were both rejected in the senate, can you see it as the opening offers for both sides. i'll tell you though that it is interesting on the republican proposal when they voted on it last night, the republican proposal did not garner a majority support among republicans themselves, something very interesting that we'll continue to follow today. now the real negotiating begins, fredricka. i assure you that it is already underway. house republicans are meeting as we speak right now to figure out their position on the payroll tax, how to extend it and how to pay for it. that, again, will be the big question going forward. again, the latest fight on capitol hill will be no surprise that they don't agree, but it is a very sensitive issue. they're both trying to win a political edge on it. >> kate baldwin, thanks so much.

shifting now from capitol hill to wall street. stocks have been in the positive territory since the opening bell. investors got quite the jolt of optimism for the latest jobs report. we'll have more on that in a moment. the dow up 102 points. let's hope it stays in the positive territory, especially now with the unemployment rate dipping to 8.6%. more on that now. the jobs report that is helping to drive the markets or is it? earlier this week we learned the jobless rate has plunged to its lowest level in nearly three years. christine romans is in new york. christine, should this be a short-lived celebration or one that people can feel fairly comfortable about? >> house speaker john ban ner had a statement saying this is the 34th consecutive month of an unemployment rate of 8%. it's proof that president obama's plans have failed. the white house saying this is more proof, more evidence that the economy, labor market is slowly healing after the worst

crisis since the great depression. those are the two political interpretations of these numbers. let me give you what the numbers are overall. we saw jobs growth, we saw hiring and there's no question about that. you saw low-wage jobs being added to the roster, in particular retail trade, leisure and hospitality saw some gains. food, drinking places, restaurants and bars added workers. professional and business services also added a lot of different kinds of jobs in this category. there was also some job creation on medical campuses and education campuses as well. government jobs though fell. health care, as i pointed out, going up. government jobs fell, no surprise there because you're seeing state and local governments tightening their belts. why do you have an 8.6% unemployment rate? the lowest in a couple years, three years almost, but only 120,000 jobs created. two different surveys. one of the surveys asks employers how many they've hired and another one asks people

whether they have a job. there's some speculation among economists, forecasting economis economists, that you have people who were counting themselves self-employed when asked by the government, or they've been working for small companies that wasn't caught in the other survey. also you had women dropping out of the work force and you had men above the age 28 getting a lot of jobs, finding jobs in the month. those are some of the little trends. we can't tell you the why of any of those things. we can tell you those are the trends the numbers show. >> christine romans, thanks so much. overseas now. al qaeda's new leader has claimed responsibility for capturing a 70-year-old aid worker. he reportedly posted a statement online listing his demands. cnn's zain verjee is following this store refor us. >> hi, fred. there are a bunch of demands. eight specific ones.

generally they essentially say from ayeman al-zawahiri, the u.s. has to release everyone in kwaun tan any mow bay. the u.s. has to totally stop bombing of yemen, s so malia, pakistan and afghanistan. u.s. officials have been quoted as saying they're following every single lead they can to try and find out where warren weinstein is. he was kidnapped back in august. he's an aide worker for u.s. government programs operating in pakistan. he had been living in pakistan for seven years or so when this happened. his family obviously is so worried and really concerned about this. they're really appealing to his cap tors. they say he has a serious health issue. he has a heart condition as well as asthma. they're begging the captors to let him go or give him the medical attention he needs. >> i know it's frightening moments for his family in particular. has his family spoken out?

have they said anything more about any kind of interaction, demands being made to them directly? >> no, nothing to them directly. this is significant because the leader of al qaeda al-zawahiri has surfaced on these websites making demands. the family is likely to be in close contact with the u.s. government. they're the ones frying to figure out where exactly he is. >> zain verjee, thanks so much. keep us posted. coming up in this country, weatherwise, wow. the winds were stronger. the concerns grew louder. new insights into the moments before this tragedy unfolded at indiana state fair. coming up nfl quarterback tim tebow does not have the stats but he has the faith. we'll talk about it with our belief blog guest. apparent problems for bishop eddie long.

the wife of bishop eddie long, the controversial georgia pastor has filed for divorce. vanessa long says the decision came, quote, after a great deal of deliberation and prayer. it comes a year after bishop long was sued by three young men for allegedly coercing them into sex. the case wrs settled out of court in may. mrs. long is the pastor's second wife. they have four children together. checking news cross-country now. this morning new insights into this summer's disastrous collapse of the stage at the indiana state fair.

seven people were killed and at least 40 people injured. wthr has compiled all the emergency radio traffic, including the growing sense of alarm as strong winds swept into the area. >> all units, all units, severe thunder storm warning until 9:45 for marion county. use your best judgment. find shelter when needed. >> have they released fans from the grandstands yet? >> i have no information. i will check and advise. in southern california wicked santa ana winds have scattered debris for miles. power lines were down. gusts as high as 140 miles an hour were reported. hurricane force winds also battered utah. 50,000 homes and businesses lost power. 16 semitrucks were knocked over by the winds. let's check in with rob marciano. >> what makes this incredible really is what you just said.

it happened in utah, happened in nevada, parts of arizona as well. it was widespread. i'd rather call it a southwestern wind event because it included all these other places. man mouth mountain, 150 mile an hour wind gusts. the instrument failed to record anything higher. it gives you an idea of the strength of upper and lower level winds. utah, not at that altitude, 102 mile wind gusts. salt lake city seeing high wind gusts. relatively kwaum weather. especially the closer you get to the coast line. we think the winds are going to pick up as you go through the morning hours today not to this extent. you won't see 100 plus mile an hour winds. 40 to 60 mile an hour winds across southern california. they'll calm down. make kicking back up again

during the overnight period tonight with another little impulse. then the whole pattern should break down a little bit. the next two days regardless of the winds, the humidities have dropped. near the canyons and mountains we have critical fire danger. the other aspect that makes it extraordinary is as the storm moves east into arizona and mexico, significant snows. the panhandle of texas also. this thing is affecting millions of people. >> this is already shaping up to be a pretty crazy winter. >> off to a fast start. >> thanks, rob. up next, the iphone's newest feature is accused of being pro-life. >> we're standing outside of a planned parenthood clinic here in new york. where can i find an abortion clinic? this is the latest iphone with the siri app. >> sorry, i couldn't find any abortion clinics. >> we reached out to the company and you'll be hearing their explanation after the break. plus the ebenezer scrooges

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lets a talk your money. stocks popped out of the opening bell up like that. gains are holding. alison, is this all in large part because of the stronger jobs report? >> well, it's a little bit of the jobs report, fredricka, a little bit about europe. positive signs coming out of europe. angela merkel is pushing to fix the debt problem. analysts are telling me you're seeing some of that lingering feel-good effect from the central bank's move on wednesday to boost liquidity. yes, you're seeing stocks rally because of the jobs report. that 120,000 new jobs in november. that was a good number. you're seeing those additions in every sector except for government positions. september and october numbers, those were revised higher. everybody's also keying in on that unemployment rate. the lowest in almost three years. now at 8.6%. the question is for everybody, not too sure if it's going to

hold. wall street will be focusing on ts positive. >> we're hearing that some big banks are getting in the spirit of the season and giving folks a break as it pertains to foreclosures. in what way? >> yeah. a bit of a reprieve. you're looking at about a one to two-week reprieve for homeowners who are looking to be foreclosed on. it doesn't mean that people won't be losing their homes in the holidays. fannie mae and freddie mac will stop foreclosing on properties between december 19th and january 2nd. the paperwork will still be filed for eviction. people can stay in their homes during the holidays. chase, wells fargo, bank of america, they'll also be holding off on foreclosures though. their dates are a bit different. realty tracks that, they show 89,000 foreclosure options happen a month. it could make the holidays a bit less stressful for a lot of people. after those weeks are up it's back to the harsh reality. >> all right. thanks so much, alison. republican presidential

contender newt gingrich says he's going to be the republican presidential nominee. is he jumping the gun a bit? our political panel will be weighing in next. [ female announcer ] the humana walmart-preferred rx plan gives you the lowest plan premium in the country... so you can focus on what really matters. call humana at 1-800-808-4003. it's like having portable navigation. a bluetooth connection. a stolen vehicle locator. roadside assistance. and something that could help save your life - automatic help in a crash. it's the technology of five devices in one hard-working mirror. because life happens while you drive. this holiday, give someone you love an onstar fmv mirror for only 199.

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when you think of the u.s. justice department, the word billion dollar money maker probably doesn't come to mind. crime doesn't pay, but it turns out the ill gotten gains of white collar criminals are paying off big time for the feds. cnn's deborah farek has the story. >> reporter: name any luxury item, yachts, manages, art collections, race cars, diamonds, even ancient artifacts. the chances are the u.s. government likely owns it. that's right, your government. it's all legal. in fact, it's justice.

>> whether they're narcotics traffickers, terrorists, publicly corrupt officials or your standard security yis fraudsters, in even single type of case we bring we try to make sure that we are looking at ways in which we can take the profit out of the crime and return the money to the victims. >> reporter: it's called asset forfeiture. $1.6 billion was made this year seizing property. almost half of that money, $800 million came. >> in the last fiscal year alone we had managed to bring in through the concept of forfeiture approximately $800 million in funds or property which is 16 times of our operating funds. >> reporter: prosecutions of white collar crime, ponzi schemes and financial frauds are at an all tie hiem.

given the call ber of the cases you're going after, are you ever surprised it's simply what certain people own? do you think, oh, my god? >> you know, not much surprises us these days. oftentimes the motivation for engaging in some of this criminal conduct is greed. the fact that some of these items are so high is a reflection of what the motivation was in engaging in those crimes. >> reporter: this is a small sample of what the government has. want a bentley? a new one will cost a quarter of a million dollars. these will be auctioned to the highest bidder. >> reporter: bernie madoff's home sold for almost $9 million. ann hathaway's jewelry was sold for more than $63,000. >> reporter: some people might wonder do you ever think about the cases you'll pursue based on the amount of money you'll bring in. >> no. we pursue cases to hold people

accountable for their crimes. >> reporter: the 800 million will be distributed to victims and different law enforcement programs. next year it will be an equally good year financially. with the government hiring freeze, it's going to be a bit more challenging to keep up the current pace of these intensive investigations. deborah farek, cnn, new york. checking our top stories right now. al qaeda leader al-zawahiri is claiming to have captured this consultant. warn wine steen was abducted in august. republican candidate herman cain e-mailed supporters today. he wants to know where they stand as he reassesses his campaign. cain said that he plans to speak face to face with his wife today about an alleged extramarital affair. doctors at a north carolina hospital are treating billy graham for pneumonia.

he's responding well to antibiotics. political buzz is your rapid fire look at the best political topics of the day. three questions, 30 seconds on the clock. playing today cnn contributor maria cardona. pete dominic, host of cnn's what the week, and sherry jakobits. this lovely friday, good to see you. it looks like newt gingrich is getting a little ahead of himself. take a listen. >> it's very hard not to look at the recent polls and think that the odds are very high i'm going to be the nominee. >> okay. so will his momentum last until iowa. pete, you first. >> well, he is getting a little ahead of himself, fred. he's got a lot of momentum. there's only 32 days left in the iowa caucus. he set up his first office in iowa. there's still time for other

people to get in the race. rick santorum, maybe ron paul. maybe jed bush. maybe nancy reagan will get in. there's time for somebody else to be the front runner here. why not? jon huntsman. he's making too much sense. he'll probably implode. >> sherry, too much too soon? >> well, on one level you can say that, but then on the other hand there are very few people on the national stage who can get away with that kind of confidence. newt gingrich is one of them. when you look at what he's accomplished, he has a great deal to be confident about. he understands this game. he knows what his record is. being largely responsible for welfare reform, for balanced budgets, for the surplus, he gets this. he understands what his surge is about. while he's also very clear about his failings, i think he has every right to express confidence. i'd rather he say if he's the nominee he'll be president. >> okay. maria?

>> the problem with this, fredricka, is that now is when newt becomes newt's worst enemy because he becomes cocky, full of himself, that's when the famous undisciplined newt can come into play. we also know that what voters hate most is a self-anointed candidate. they hate candidates who have crowned themselves before even one vote has been cast. he would be wise to take a little slice of humble pie and not act like he knows more than the voters before the iowa caucuses. the voters are the ones who are going to make the decision. >> let's talk now about herman cain acknowledging his wife didn't even know about what he called the 13-year friendship with ginger white. listen. >> it may appear now that why didn't i tell her about this when it was going on. you're absolutely right. >> in retrospect. >> in retrospect. retrospect, you know, doesn't necessarily change what we're dealing with. >> your wife knew you two were friends anyway? >> she did not know we were

friends. >> until she came out? >> until she came out with this story. >> oh, boy. all right. prediction time. will herman cain still be in the race come monday? sherry? >> the bigger question is will he still have a marriage come monday. >> i can't hear. >> i think the problem. i have an edition of the hill where i call him to take a page out of barney frank's play book and pull out of the race. i think it's time. he's a distraction. we have a serious primary campaign going on. i don't think he belongs there. i think he needs to leave the stage and let the serious people who have a shot at this take over. >> maria, can you hear me now? >> yes, i can. >> okay. do you see herman cain being able to last until monday? >> yeah, it's actually so sad to see this. it's going to be interesting what happens on monday. this has become and gone beyond being a political tragedy to now

becoming a human tragedy. i so feel for his wife in this situation. my heart goes out to her. i'm sure everybody feels for her in this situation. i think what people have to understand, and i agree with sherry, it is time for him to go. even if you can get past the ick factor, the fact that he has no experience, no knowledge, no expertise on what it takes to be commander in chief says it all right there. >> pete? >> fred, listen, his wife did not know about a 13-year friendship with this woman? i know women that would be upset about a 13-minute friendship with certain women. come on. i mean, if she takes him back, she's got to be the world's most patient and for giving wife of all time. the only reason he's not going home is because he doesn't want to see his bags packed. the only reason why herman cain is in this race, it will be a couple of weeks, so he can try to repair his image. the only way cameras will pay attention to him is if he's running for president. he's trying to repair his image

and that's why he's hanging out for a couple of more weeks. >> speaking of image, trying to repair it, rick perry, trying to poke fun at the recent string of his mistakes. take a look. >> what happened with the brain freeze that night? you had the three things to remember. >> you know, one, two and. >> yeah? >> ah, ah. it happens, man. let me tell you. it happens. every now and then i call my dog by the wrong name. i get that wrong too. >> okay. so will voters get the joke? 20 seconds each. maria, you first. >> the voters i think have already gotten the joke. the joke is rick perry himself. i think though that he's doing -- there's nothing else he can do. i guess he's doing his best in terms of laughing at himself, poking fun at himself. perhaps as pete said earlier, he's trying to repair his image.

that's all he has left. >> pete, you had your head in your hands. >> the only comedian he hasn't sat down with me is me. rick perry, you're invited on my radio show. show of hands if anybody has ever seen rick perry and sarah palin in the same room. come on. i don't get it. this is the least funny guy. the only people that are still hanging on are texas voters that are predisposed to voting for rick perry for governor. he's done, too. >> sherry, last word. >> it was a good move when he first made the gaffe to poke a little bit of fun at himself and show he's not taking himself too seriously. right now i think it's a bridge too far. it was time for him some time ago to get very serious and get better at debates, which he did. he hasn't recovered. i'm not sure this is all that good for him. >> sherry, pete, marie a thanks so much. have a great weekend. coming up in "showbiz," we'll tell you why flav of

flav is swapping wives with a rock star. and why elvis presley is being sued for, the estate that is, being sued for $130 million. a.j. hammer joins us next. i got mine in iraq, 2003. u.s.a.a. auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation, because it offers a superior level of protection and because u.s.a.a.'s commitment to serve the military, veterans, and their families is without equal. begin your legacy. get an auto insurance quote. u.s.a.a. we know what it means to serve.

the folks at celebrity wife swap have just announced the new lineup for the show. a.j. hammer joins us with more on this one. it's quite the motley crue, huh? >> yeah, to say the least. wife swap has already been a big hit with the formula of everyday couples swapping partners. the drama is guaranteed when you do that. why not bring celebrities into the mix. gary bucy swapping with

evangelical minister ted haggard. i want you to picture flavor flav swapping wives with twisted sister. wilson phillips, carney wilson. we'll get to see comedian nease nash will swap with tyler rutters. when you look at this list, it's hard to miss the fact that a lot of these stars are more famous for the reality shows that they've done rather than the shows or whatever made them famous. >> weird, very weird. talking about reality shows, jersey shore, apparently one of the characters or people on it has landed himself a music deal with 50 cent. tell me why. >> just because it's snooky's reality doesn't mean it's not reality. here we're talking about d.j. pauly d.

he signed up with 50 cent gino. they posted this arm in arm picture. he tweeted his prediction of good times with his new addition. this does make a lot of sense. gene o specializes in bands, pop, jersey shore fist pumping music. pauly d has been a dj since he was a teenager. he toured with bring the any spears. he's gotten high profile experience. he has been doing something with his reality fame that i think is fairly respectable in the grand scheme of things. >> interesting. meantime you mentioned brit any celebrating 30 years. let's talk about a pretty sizeable lawsuit that has come by the way of the elvis presley estate by the so-called real daughter. tell me more. >> yeah. this is not some claim by some long lost daughter of elvis. it's a sweedish woman named lisa

johansen. she filed a lawsuit in tennessee against elvis's estate. she wants $130 million in damages for defamation and emotional distress. back in 1998 she wrote a book saying she was whisked away when elvis died. the book got some attention back then but that went away after she refused to step up to the plate and take a dna sample. thirteen years later she has taken the dna test, ready to prove her claim. a lot of people are saying this is a hunk of you know what. we'll have to wait and see. >> not bernie loaf, huh? we'll wait. a.j. hammer. if you want anymore information on everything breaking in the entertainment world. a.j. has it this evening, "showbiz tonight" 11:00 eastern. tim tebow has denver in the

playoff picture. he's running on faith.

cross-country now. young boy turned away from a private school in pennsylvania because he's hiv-positive. the 13-year-old is suing the school for discrimination after it refused his enrollment because of his status last february. the school says it made, quote, the right legal decision under the law. in san francisco bart says it will no longer blackout cell phone usage at its train and bus stations. the transit service came under fire after it blocked the communications during summer

protests. bart says that action will be used only in the most extreme of cases. 72 hours under water. that's the goal for florida diver alan sharrod. he is attempting to break the current world's record for the longest saltwater scuba dive. he began yesterday. say the name tim tebow and you're likely to get in an argument among foot baul quarterback over his merits. there's no disputing tebow's faith and that could be key to his success. steven's point on the cnn belief blog. steven is a boston university religion scholar. do tell. >> well, we know about the main religion in america which is christianity. we have this religion of football every saturday and sunday. there's the religion of tim tebow who according to his fans is performing miracles on

saturday morning without a lot of -- sunday morning, sorry, without a lot of skill. >> what do we think is behind this? people certainly are arguing whether it is purely athletic ability, whether it's his faith that's behind his phenomenal season. >> right. of course, there's the whole issue of faith which is not his faith in jesus. maybe that's propelling him forward but there's the faith of the fans in him which is blurring between is it faith in tebow, jesus, what exactly is it? what's interesting to me is this bringing of christianity into the public square. after a touchdown tim tebow is there praying on the side lines while his teammates are celebrating. calling attention to christianity in the arena now, not of politics but sports. >> does it seem there has been a turn in tide. initially people have been uncomfortable about his willingness to talk about it out loud, and now it seems that

there is a greater embracing of his psychology, his approach, his willingness to talk out loud about this? >> i think we're equally divided about it, as we always have been. there's a debate about whether he's really any good. the guy can't throw. maybe the team is winning because of defense, running, not because of his capacity. we're equally divided about what's the appropriate level of demonstration, public display of religion in the public square. people want to say, just shut up and play football, stop talking about jesus, stop getting down to pray. there's others who think this is great. we have a country that's 75, 80% christian. people who are christian should be able to come forward in the public space and say who they are. >> stephen, thanks so much. good to see you. boston university. and you can read stephen's piece at cnn.com/belief. you can join the conversation by

leaving a comment for him as well. speaking of the nfl, the philadelphia eagles took on the seattle see hawks last night. the eagles season continues. out of control. seahawks intercepted vince young four times last night. took one back for a touchdown. eagles starting quarterback, mike vick is still out with broken ribs. seattle's running back marshawn lynch had a huge gain. take a look. you can't, because he gets lost in the pile there. then pops up, boom, and scores right there. 148 yards rushing. two scores. after each rewarted with skitless. that's his flaf vor of choice. that's a tradition his mom started when he was a kid. seahawks roll 31-14. the eagles a disaster. coming up, some positive news for the millions of americans with type 1 diabetes.

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americans with type 1 diabetes. headlines later on today. more than 60 members of the california national gurd will return home from iraq at 1:30 eastern time. three members of a breakaway amish group charged with hate crimes will be arraigned in federal court in youngstown, ohio.

let's long been thought to be the holy grail for diabetics. artificial pancreas to control their blood sugar. the fda just took one step closer to making that a reality. senior medical correspondent, elizabeth cohen, on this. tell us why a fake pancreas could actually be great for diabetics. >> fredricka, i bet you don't spend much time thinking about your pancreas. it is working hard for you all the time. >> take it for granted. >> right. you take it for granted because it's way deep in you. if it's not working, you're in trouble. there's the pancreas. you can't even see it from the outside. diabetics have pancreases that don't work. it's a huge problem because the pancreas is what makes insulin which processes sugar. if your pancreas isn't working, you will die unless you give yourself artificial insulin. what this artificial pancreas does is it gives you that

insulin throughout the day. you don't really -- there's very little worry for you. it gives it to you. it detects what you need and when you need it. >> this artificial mechanism is going to help a patient. how is it going to help them moderate their blood sugar level, etc., keep them healthy? >> right. right now what diabetics have to do. this is a real pump they have to do. i'm going to eat something, i have to dial up insulin. i'm going to exercise, i need to dial down the insulin, whatever. you have to think about it every day, every time you eat. >> labor intensive. >> imagine if you're a kid. imagine a 6-year-old doing that, okay? so with an artificial pancreas the theory is that you don't have to do that. it detects what you need and gives it to you. >> when will it be available? >> one type may be available within the next year or two. there are others in the pipeline that are better. they may take several years. >> they'll constantly be

improving. thanks so much. appreciate that. new ad campaign is causing quite the considers controversy. it suggests that israelis shouldn't marry an israeli jew. suzanne malveaux will talk to a rabbi in the u.s. who is, rather, offended by the ads. ♪ [ electronic beeping ] [ male announcer ] still getting dandruff? neutrogena® t/gel shampoo defeats dandruff after just one use. t/gel shampoo. it works. neutrogena®. is all the wrapping a gift needs.

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-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com white house candidate rick perry is making fun of himself in a new ad. mark preston has it for us. mitt -- all right, gosh, mark, is this a hit or a miss? >> it's a brain freeze is what it is, fredricka. you know what, i've got to tell you what, in a situation that rick perry has gotten himself into regarding the brain freeze during the debate, he is trying to make the most of it. shortly after having that brain freeze he went on the letterman show and he did the top ten. he made fun of himself. last night he was on jay leno where he addressed the subject. he was asked the subject. during the show he ran this ad in iowa which also addressed the subject. take a quick look at it. >> what's the third one there? department of energy. we've all lost our train of

thought before, but not many have done it on national tv. if you want a slick debater, i'm obviously not your guy. if you want a clean house in washington with a balanced budget amendment, a flat tax, and a part-time congress, i'm your man. >> so there you have governor perry right there poking fun at himself. the fact of the matter is there is a hidden message in there. he calls himself not the slickest debater. what does he mean by that? he means he's not mitt romney. that's what we've heard from the perry campaign for several months. they continue to try to hammer that point home. as we're heading into the home stretch where the first votes will take place on january 3rd. >> home stretch, indeed. thanks so much, mark preston. this is quite the horse race, isn't it? we'll have the next political update one hour from now. a reminder for all the political news. you know where to go. politics.com. that will do it for me. suzanne malveaux, much more of the newsroom. >> have a great weekend. live from studio 7 i'm suza