can you believe it? the queen of talk taking a walk. this hour, oprah will be announcing live to her audience that she is done, finito with her show. we are getting reaction from her millions of fans. plus, casey anthony's defense team taking a new approach. who they say could have killed little caylee. how about this story coming out of washington. have you heard about this? how about taxes with the summy tuck. some lawmakers think plastic surgery could be a great fund-raiser for health care reform. welcome and happy friday to you. i'm brooke baldwin in for richard lui. here are some of the stories topping the headlines right now.

oprah winfrey will be making her biggest announcement ever. yeah, it's kind of bigger than her book club. you remember that big give away back in 2004? yes, it is bigger than that. she will officially announce she is ending her daily talk show. the show will end september 9th, 2011. oprah really changed everything in the business. >> i don't think i could be here without her. i think she has blazed a trail that is -- she's an amazing, amazing woman. she will always be the queen of daytime television and she also said she's leaving me all of her money, which i really -- i was like, gosh, thanks, oprah. >> nice deal. pretty penny. when it is, the oprah show will have been on the air 25 years? but oh, no, oprah will not be retiring. in fact, she's launching a cable network called o.w.n. called

oprah winfrey network. the man charged with kidnapping a 5-year-old north carolina girl will also be charged with murder and rape. we're talking about mario mcneill. her mother was the one who originally reported her missing. but investigators think she was prostituting her daughter. they found the little girl's body monday and yesterday her aunt spoke out to reporters. >> the last time i saw is shaniya was four weeks ago on a friday. i went and took her to visit her mother. i packed her two days' worth of clothes. i got her out of the car and i kissed her good-bye and i told her to be a good girl. she turned back to me and said, i love you, aunt carrie and see you later. i have to go.

i'm sorry. no more comments. ♪ and i know he's watching over you and me ♪ >> this is part of a virgil. about 100 people gathered to remember shaniya. police still are not sure where she was killed, but preliminary autopsy results indicate she might have been suffocated. ladies, listen up here. there is another new set of testing guidelines for women. this time it involves cervical cancer. most women in their 20s only need a pap smear every two years instead of every year. the group says women do not need their first one until they're 21. unlike the controversial mem gram guidelines, the american medical society supports these findings. shannon ross miller says she worked on this 2008 study to

help the military spot people just like the shooter, major nidal hasan. >> the report was written from a military perspective. it was entitled radicalization of members of the d.o.d. and what it was for was for them to have tools to look within their ranks to spot different criteria that showed signs & like the radicalization and how to spot those, identify them, and from there be able to head the problem off so we could avoid anything from materializing -- >> she also says she contacted the military after those ft. hood shootings to see why no one mentioned that 2008 report. she was told it's now classified. pentagon officials denied comment. new this friday morning, casey anthony's attorneys say a former meter reader is another possible suspect in the death of anthony's daughter, kayly. roy kronk discovered the baed

last year, remember? 24-year-old casey anthony is the only person charged in the death of her daughter. talking turkey day now because senators cutting their vacation, with thanksgiving vacation a bit short here to vote on health care reform. in this rare move, the senate meets tomorrow to decide whether or not they should open debate on the democrats' plan which could possibly extend coverage to at least 30 million americans. but we heard about the price tag this week of this proposed health care bill, $848 billion over ten years. republicans are against the bill to provide a government run insurance option. and it's funny to start thinking about thanksgiving, but i'm already hungry thinking about it. >> i told my wife, we had other last child 2 1/2 years ago, i told her to keep the maternity pants. it's fantastic. >> good morning. >> i'll show you what's going

on. if you're trying to get away this weekend, it will be a tough gol go from the pacific northwest stretching down into central california. a couple storms we're watching. november, february, your big rainey month for the pac northwest. but the rain is in there, it's been around seattle for the last couple of days and it's been heavy at times. there's saturday's storm. look at the rain and the snow. snow levels are relatively high right now. she should drop to about 3,000 feet when you get in towards the cascades. look at the radar picture coming in across northern parts of california. that's the eureka radar sweeping. this rain has been moving eastward over the last few hours and now dropping down to the south. san francisco, right now you guys are dry. let me take you live there and show you the tower cam. winds are up to 15 to 20 miles per hour. those will increase this afternoon to about 40 miles per hour. so far, no problems on the road, but the airport is taking a hit because of the wind. currently there's an 83-minute delay because of the wind that will only increase as the rain gets there. what about the snow?

that's what you'll find across the sierra. 1 to 2 feet of snow over the next couple of days. that's why it blb a winter storm warning. winds gutting here to 65 miles per hour. not the only travel trouble spot. texas and new england are having problems of their own. we'll talk about that in just about a half hour. >> busy day. >> a lot going on. especially the west coast. >> west coast. snow. crazy. >> they have to love it, but -- >> all right. it is ski season, i guess. >> yep. you probably heard this story, you know the woman who is accused of cutting in line at walmart? it's what happens after she cut in line that has this town divided and could land her in prison for 15 years. churches, yes they help people out all the time. but one pastor is being told not to feed the homeless.

how about this story, a woman is facing 15 years in prison over a racially charged

incident at a missouri walmart. check out this newly released video because it might shed a little bit more light as to what happened here. you are looking at heather ellis, she's this woman. she's moving another customer's items off the conveyor belt. well, witnesses say she cut in line and she was swearing. ellis says customers, show though, shoved her and she switched lines to join her cousin. the manager says ellis brought race into the scuffle. >> she looked at me and she told me that i wasn't anything but a stupid, white quarterback uneducated walmart employee. and she called betsy an old gray-headed lady, the cashier. and that's when i said, wait just a minute. i said, you don't know me and i don't know you. >> so the video goes to show police arresting ellis. officers say she kicked them, she hit them. ellis says she was assaulted and police told her to quote/unquote go back to the ghetto.

a jury will get the case today. the pentagon could do a intensive interview in the case of the ft. hood shootings. it will look into military screening programs and security at u.s. bases nationwidewide. the army has also launched their own investigation. we all pay taxes on cigarettes, alcohol, and now lawmakers are looking to tax our vanity. some people call it the botax. it's a tax on elective surgeries. it would raise money to pay for the health care overall. there are those who are not a big fan of this idea. they say it would hurt people at every income level. >> i'm really against this idea. >> nice botax look. >> there's no good segue. i'm going to read.

treasury secretary tim geithner says the white house wants to shut down the $700 billion bank bailout. what are we hearing? >> this was at a hearing yesterday. so many americans are furious about the idea that so many wall street firms messed up and got bailed out. and that -- a lot of lawmakers were channeling that anger. they were giving it to geithner in the meeting yesterday. some of them said they wanted him to quit. >> public has lost all confidence in your ability to do the job, reflecting on your president. >> congressman, can you -- >> liberal democrats agree that it really is time for a fresh start. >> if you look at any measure of consumer and investor confidence today, if you look at any measure of the strength and stability and health of the american economy, if you look at any measure of confidence in the financial system, it is substantially stronger today than when the president of the united states took office. congressman -- >> tell all of that to the

millions of americans who no longer have jobs. >> now, that's geithner's side, right, that confidence is back and that the financial markets and the economy didn't collapse. it's also kind of wall street's side, too, the treasury's side, even the white house's side, but not necessarily the feeling of that other lawmaker and millions of americans. again, geithner is saying that they hope to close out that program as soon as possible. it's get to go be around that time of year when you have that meeting with your boss, you talk about your performance through the year and your pay. they tell you if you're going to get a raise for the next year, how many it might be. well, this year you might get a little raise. that's some good news in a bad economy. by the way, don't forget to toot your home. that's the time to do it. last year, the average raise 1.8%. companies are interested in spending more this year. the average raise will be 275%.

last year all the headlines were about pay cuts, job cuts, companies asking people to willingly take a pay cut so other people wouldn't lose their jobs. hopefully it will be a little different in there. remember, i say toot your own horn. a lot of people are uncomfortable about that. but if you don't tell your bosses about your accomplishments, they may not know. sometimes you have to tell them. and you can say, well, they should know. well, they don't always. >> hey, bosses, jen westhoven, big fan. two thumbs up. there you go. i'll take a percentage of your raise, yeah, there you go. >> okay. >> there we go. anyway, how would you like to own your own town, perhaps? one man just bought the texas town of albert. population -- oh, microphone down. let's go back. town of population four. the 13 acre spread is southeast of fredericksburg. it includes a dance hall and a historic schoolhouse that president lyndon johnson attended. the new owner will not say how

much he paid for albert, but it was listed for more than $800,000. outrage over tuition hikes erupt at california colleges. and some students, they fear they will have to end their education because of this hike. we'll explain why this chicken, there he is, flapping around during a city council meeting. keep it here.

the aclu is offering to help an arizona church that was told it had to stop feeding the homeless. the judge recently ruled the church violated a city ordinance

by serving food to the homeless in a residential area. residents say the folks that are bused in often stay and cause trouble. >> not find anything food and rifling through the preschool children's lunchboxes to try to find foot food. >> you do feel like david in david and goliath. you're just a little church, just a little group, but we serve a big god. >> the pastor, who has not decided whether to accept the aclu's help. a big hike in tuition is not going over so well in california. police arrests dozens of students at the university of california in davis after they occupied an administration building. take a look. yeah, not a lot of happy students there. hundreds more marching at ucla. the increases will cost students about $2,000 extra in the next two years. university execs passed a 32% increase after deep cuts in spending. students want help.

>> two passes increased today. when i go home tonight to san diego, i will have to drop all my classes because i cannot afford this any more. you are not making this university affordable. >> reejts has promised more aid to help lower income students and they will be meeting with concerned students today to discuss all these increases. former nba star appears to be headed to prison instead of heading back to court to face man slaughter charges. larry smith has the details on that. it's been almost eight years since that fatal shooting. now the former nets star is expected to plead guilty to aggravated assault and serve up to three years in prison. williams was acquitted of aggravated man slaughter back in 2004. he was convicted at that time of covering up the shooting. williams was facing a retrial on the man slaughter charge in january. the ku klux klan will rally

and protest outside of ole miss's football game tomorrow. the university president banned the song. the kkk's mississippi white knights say banning the song is, quote, an attack on our southern heritage and identity. end quote. the georgia bulldogs' mascot has died. it is huge. people are in mourning today. the 4-year-old thoroughbred english bulldog was just completing his day on the job when he died of a heart attacks. no replace hymnment for him. have you seen the clip of the 5-year-old who can recite hockey coach herb brooks' speech back in 1980? >> a great opportunity. that's what you have here.

tonight, boys. that's what you've earned here tonight. >> he even dresses like herb brooks. >> can i take him home? how cool. >> the minnesota wild has invited this young man to tonight's game out there to help fire up the crowd. he learned the speech by watching the movie "miracle" with his dad 100 times. that movie miracle depicts the usa's hockey team win a gold medal at the olympics. >> larry, thank you. the army now says it will give the media a little bit of access to sarah palin's visit to ft. bragg on monday. she will be there to promote her new book. it had previously said it would not let crews in because it might turn into political grand standing against president obama. still supporters will not be able to ask palin any questions.

how a shot some of you might have gotten last year could be giving your bodies a fighting chance again the swine flu, come up.

hey, oprah winfrey fans, big news coming out this hour. she is set to officially announce she is ending her talk show. winfrey's last show will be in september of 2011, which means the show will have been on the air for 25 years. >> i don't think anyone can fill oprah's shoes. she has maintained such incredible integrity throughout her career. that's the thing i admire most about her and i'm really proud of her for that. and the man accused of kidnapping a 5-year-old girl will be charged with murder and rape. marco mcneill will be in court

today. police say she was the last person to see her alive. investigators think she was prostituting her daughter. preliminary autopsy reports show that the little girl was suffocated. and the man who police say secretly taped erin andrews in her hotel room, he has his first court appearance today. he's accused of filming her through the peep hole of her door. he's charged with interstate stalking and faces up to five years in prison. welcome back and good morning to you. i'm brooke baldwin in for richard lui. there is another set of guidelines for cervical cancer. most women in their 20s only need a pap smear every two years instead of every year. the group says women do not need their first one, in fact, until they're 21. unlike the controversial mammograms guidelines, the

american cancer society supports these recommendations. and some gruesome details emerging in the case of this man and his son accused of abusing young relatives for something like a decade. berl mohler and his sons allegedly abused two girls back in 1986. one alleged victim told police that summers were the worst because that is when they spent time at their fun. his brother faces two rape counts, as well. and people who got a vaccine for the regular flu last year, you might have gotten some protection against the swine flu that will be in effect this year according to a military study in the usa today. what it found is that people ages 17 to 24 and older were protected from h1n1 the most. health officials say that those are the h1n1 protection are best.

three 15 yields have pleaded not guilty with setting a friend on fire. prosecutors say they poured alcohol on michael brewer and set him on fire last month. apparently she is all over 40 bucks wab bicycle and video game. brewer has burns over 50% of his body. >> i know i couldn't do what i was doing. if this had happened to me, i probably wouldn't be here. he's incredibly strong and he's my hero, he really is. and i tell him every day. >> the other day, he wanted to talk to his uncle danny and i let him. i put the phone up to his ear. he said, hey, dan, i got burnt. i'm in the hospital. >> how awful is that? witnesses told police one of the boys set fire to brewer while the other two just encouraged the attack. brewer jumped into the apartment swimming pool just to try and put out the flames. guess what? you may have to share the cost

on the war on afghanistan if some house democrats get their way. yesterday they proposed what's called the share the sacrifice act. it would take a little bit of the pressure off of the government to keep borrowing all this money. an aide says there would be different rate levels for people depending on how much you make. what a way for an astronaut to wake up. alarms went off overnight in the intersnait national space station. but nasa says, false alarm. not to fear. yesterday ostro naughts finished the first of three space walks. a close inspection of the shuttle revealed no launch damage. i love looking at those pictures up there. >> those guys are so talented, too. >> i totally went to space camp. i'm going to out myself right now. >> you did? >> i totally did. i was such a geek. until physics happened. then it was over. >> those guys are talented as

heck. >> so are you, right? >> no, no, i'm brute force guys. across the region, rain, showers and thunderstorms. we had them specifically in texas. here is yao new wave of low pressure. spinning in across the west, getting in towards quebec right now. it's up rooted itself, but the rain is out there ahead of the cold front. that's getting in towards that region by cape cod down to nantucket, too. new york city, you guys are dry now. in nyc, if you're traveling up here, the rain has gone. but the winds will shortly pick up. you can see central park right here. it's gorgeous. only about 60 is your high as that cold front has gone on through. winds will be due westerly. not a huge cooldown for you. let me show you the rain showers. mainly off the coast, the gulf just alive with a lot of action. get in towards dallas. here is the cold front. it's helping channel and steer that moisture towards the east.

here is houston. light showers there. that's getting in towards dallas, too. it's been raining steadily here for the last six hours and it's going to continue for at least the next two. here is storm number one, storm number two, it's on the way. just below parts of alaska now, but here comes the rain and snow. it's piling it on tough. full details on that coming up in just a bit. that's the weekend. >> one to two feet. >> yeah. >> love it. bob, thank you. if you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen. martha stewart has some biting words about fellow tv chef rachel ray. and a church trying to help people that have hit rock bottom, but their efforts have opened up this legal can of worms. rachell carey is following this story.

amazing, a window washer is okay after falling eight stories. this happened in yesterday in seattle. the man on top of the building, when he fell. i guess this is the building. he hit a window on the way down, but his safety rope broke his fall before he hit the ground. the fire department says, of course, yes, he was hurt, but amazingly, no life threatening injuries. sounds like a cat fight could be in the making. martha stewart told abc news that rachel ray's efforts are, quote, not good enough for me. but even rachel ray says, not a big deal. >> she's different. she's more of an entertainer

than she is with a bubbly personality than she is a teacher, like me. >> when it comes to producing a beautiful, perfect, high quality meal, i'd rather eat martha's than mine, too. >> both women have made appearances on one another's show. ray has admitted in the past she has no formal training and can't even make coffee? really? we're all giggling in here about that one. >> i'd like to hunt through stores and spend $15 on a martha stewart ingredient. so i'm with rachel ray. simplify. jen westhoven, evidence that there is still maybe a huge number of foreclosures on the horizon. really? >> yeah. and that even though we had heard so many signs, we've seen a lot of signs that housing was stabilizing with the billions of dollars in government aid. but all along, experts have said that foreclosures could be the hidden iceberg that sinks the ship.

reports by the mortgage banker's association shows a record high in foreclosures and homes that are in danger of foreclosure, where we're talking about people that are behind in their payments. and, of course, if you lose your job -- if you get behind in a payment, it becomes very difficult to keep up. how do you pay that back? sometimes there's fees on there. so it's something to watch out for. but it has been one of those, pardon me, hidden icebergs, right? the weather can be fine, all the signs look good and then you have this problem out there. let's move on to a topical story about the real estate market. today is the day that sets the release of the "new moon" movie. how would you like to own the very home that edward cullen lives in, at least during the filming. this is the home of the cullens. the vampire movie. it's in vancouver, british columbia and you can have it. $3.3 million.

>> whew! >> yeah. apparently vampires like pools. i don't know if they showed that in the movie. but manner architecture, high ceilings, lots of trees all around them and lots of books, too. >> yeah. lots of windows. i'll admit, i saw the movie. i thought it was a pretty cool house. but $3.3 million, not so much. earlier, this morning, we told but a church that by law cannot feed the homeless and it's causing a lot of controversy in phoenix. it is our news and views question of the day. they can't feed the homeless? >> right now they can't, but they're not done. it's still working its way through the courts. the aclu is trying to help this church. the church has been told you have to stop feeding the homeless. because that's the judge said this church was violating a city ordinance by serving meals to the homeless.

it's not saying all churches have to stop, but specifically because of the location in this church. neighbors are upset. they say these people who are bused in sometimes stay, sometimes cause trouble. what do you think about this? is this pushing the rule of law too far? or what if this were your neighborhood? maybe you understand where the neighbors are coming from. they're not necessarily heartless, they may have a point. but helping the less fortunately, though, to supersede the law, maybe you have to do the right thing regardless of what the law says. the older you get, you realize there's a lot of gray areas. >> and i've never heard of this before. because it's a residential area, they cannot feed. >> and there may be other situations that are like this but the residents have said anything yet. i'm sure there are plenty of other churches in neighborhoods feeding the homeless, but it's just this particular area. >> so e-mail us, call us if you want. we can talk about this.

1-877-tell-hln or text us at hln tv. you can also leave comments on my facebook page. we're not advocating breaking the law. we just want to hear what do you think? >> have a conversation with rochelle carey. thank you. it would be nice to skip the customs line at the airport, wouldn't it? yes. well, you might be able to do that soon, but it will cost you.

many u.s. troops will begin leaving iraq by springtime. defense secretary robert gates said a legislative crisis threatening to delay iraqi elections will not affect this big troop pullout for u.s. troops here. the fear was apparently troops would have to stay longer to provide security for that vote. right now, there are more than 100 nous u.s. troops in iraq. and soon, could it be you could skip that long, long customs line? homeless security wants to expand an experimental program for prescreened travelers. so if you pay this one-time $100

fee and undergo a background check, you can report your arrivals and make declarations at computerized kiosks. it would cut the wait from 10 minutes to three. ten minutes? a lot longer than that, i think. have you heard about the growing trend of real life super heroes? it's people like this man who says he's the watchman and dresses up to patrol city streets. this guy is in milwaukee and the watchman says he just wants to help. >> most important piece of equipment i carry on me is my cell phone. if i need to call police, call 911, that's what i'm going to do first. i don't consider myself a vigilante. i'm just out there to help where it's needed. >> the watchman says he once helped a woman who was having heart problems. there are an estimated 300 real-life super heroes across the country. >> i didn't know that. >> i didn't know that, either.

you learn something every day on this show, larry. who was the biggest sports cheater ever? one magazine's answer might surprise you. larry smith. >> it's not a superhero. they don't cheat. this guy doesn't. french superstar thierry henry says the playoffs should be replay. henry says that's the only way to probably make amends for this, his controversial handball led to the winning goal over the irish who later asked for a replay. but earlier this morning, soccer's governing body rule against replaying the match. henry apologized for the handball and said it was just a reaction. this just in, former nba star jason williams will not enter a plea agreement as discussed as the judge has delayed that hearing. he reportly was going to plead guilty to the aggravated assault of his limo driver in 2002.

he has a second trial slated for january. hard to believe that a man born without legs would have an advantage in a race. but two scientists have researched the effect that those blades have on south african oscar pistorius, and determined that they do give him an edge. pistorius was known as the blade runner. pistorius hopes to compete in the 2012 olympics in london. he's a true champion any day, but our true champion on this day is ricky sanchez. he got a local businessman to buy 40 new york yankees championship caps not for himself, but not to put on ebay, but to send to his brother, and his troops in iraq.

have a good weekend. >> thank you. you, too. you never know what might happen who two comedians get together. take a look at too. take a look at what george lopez told hln's joy behar last night about former president george bush. >> other people during the bush administration, myself included, took many shots at george bush for being dumb. okay, the truth hurts, but still. >> well, i think bush was latino too, because he lived in a house that wasn't his and english wasn't his first language. >> you see, that's my point. >> you can catch "the joy behar show" 9:00 p.m. eastern time right here on hln. tonight's guest, nia vfrom "my big fat greek wedding." clients pay for what they want to for the arrangement then

the sisters change the money into plours and leaves. >> even funerals, we've had people buy it. you send it to the house, and that way the people if they want to use the money to donate, they can, if not, they can use it for expenses. >> that's kind of nice. kind of cool. the business based in canada, they make arrangement made here in the u.s. using u.s. dollars as well. you can go to moneycreationsbysandy.com. a group of volunteers now stepping forward to help answer letters from santa claus. yesterday we told you that the u.s. post office is stopping its service of answering letters sent to the north pole, alaska. but now "usa today" is saying that a group is working with local officials to get the service back up and running. a lot of people upset over that. one main challenge, keeping children's names and addresses private. and police say they caught some men carrying a plastic container full of human fat. what peruvian officials think the men were doing with the stuff. @@@@@@@@@@@@@

right now on "showbiz tonight," hollywood at war over sarah palin. why hollywood is drawing a line in the sand over whether to support sarah. >> she'd probably make an excellent tv host. >> i wouldn't watch her if you paid me. she's a very boring to me, very boring. >> and with hollywood at war over palin, "showbiz tonight" dares to ask, is levi johnston actually a bigger celebrity than sarah? will donald trump save

carrie prejean? tonight, is the former beauty queen really reaching out for career advice to donald trump after her sex tape scandal? "showbiz tonight" investigates. plus, the great debate. after johnny depp is named "people's" sexiest man alive, why wasn't "twilight" star robert pattinson chosen? the shocking results of our "showbiz tonight" poll. tv's most provocative entertainment news show starts right now! hello. i'm a.j. hammer broadcasting tonight and every night from new york city. >> hi, there, everyone. i'm brooke anderson, coming to you from hollywood. tonight, hollywood at war over sarah palin. >> yes. tonight "showbiz tonight" is revealing just how much sarah palin is dividing hollywood as she storms the country on her no-holds-barred tell-all book tour. wait until you hear what martha stewart just told us at "showbiz

tonight" about palin. talk about a smackdown. there was also a brand-new jaw-dropping revelation today about sarah's archnemesis, her almost-son-in-law, levi johnston, and it all made for big news breaking today. >> he's the biggest celebrity in the world. >> reporter: it was more than a year ago when republicans used the word "celebrity" to mock barack obama. now there's someone from the 2008 presidential campaign who's getting massive tv ratings, selling tons of books, and causing a major stir in hollywood. and this celebrity isn't president obama. it's former republican vice presidential candidate, sarah palin. >> she is on every program, whether you turn on to cable news, whether you turn on network news. whether you turn on the entertainment shows. whether you turn on the late-night shows, it is all about sarah palin this week. >> reporter: so who's a celebrity now? >> sarah palin. >> reporter: "showbiz tonight" has learned that palin's appearance this week on oprah,

her first big interview about her tell-all, gave oprah her highest ratings in two years. palin's star power even has the queen of all media looking in her rearview mirror. >> should i be worried? should i be worried, because i have heard that you're going to get your own talk show? >> reporter: if oprah's worried, then maybe hollywood should be too, because sarah palin just might be coming to take over. and "showbiz tonight" can tell you, sarah palin's white-hot celebrity is splitting hollywood. between those like donald trump, who tell "showbiz tonight" she's got the right stuff -- >> i've watched her on television. i think she's doing a very good job. >> reporter: and those like martha stewart, who tell "showbiz tonight" that palin doesn't belong in the celebrity club. >> i wouldn't watch her if you paid me. >> reporter: martha stewart ripped palin apart when "showbiz tonight" caught up with her in new york city. >> she's a very boring to me, very boring, and very, to me,

kind of a dangerous person. i mean -- she's dangerous. >> reporter: but other stars disagree with martha. "showbiz tonight" was right there last night in hollywood at "gq's" men of the year party, where rainn wilson, star of "the office," told us palin was made for tv. >> she'd probably be an excellent tv host. be like a rachel ray type. >> reporter: but comedian sarah silverman tells "showbiz tonight," she's not setting her tivo for palin just yet. >> i could not [ bleep ] care less. >> reporter: hey, sarah, tell us how you really feel? >> reporter: joe maquel sure did, the star of "the community" spoofs talk shows on the spoof. >> i think she will -- has already outrated me in pretty much everything this week for all of the ratings that we've ever gotten for the soup. she's pretty dang popular. >> there are some celebrities that disagree with her so much, there's no way they'll ever welcome her into their crowd. there are other celebrities like donald trump, for example, who

understands the medium, understands the media, understands that she would give great ratings if she ever came on his show, for example. politics aside, whether you agree with her or don't agree with her, there are something that people are drawn to about her. >> reporter: but the big question is, does sarah palin even want to go the celebrity route? in her interviews this week with abc's barbara walters, palin revealed she's gotten all kinds of big-time hollywood offers. >> reality shows -- >> did you say no to that? >> absolutely not. i would never. >> reporter: we don't quite know yet if palin's got hollywood stardom in her eyes, but based on what the stars are telling "showbiz tonight," palin is just as polarizing in hollywood as she is everywhere else. >> so there you have it. hollywood divided over sarah palin, the star. and i've got to tell you, this "showbiz tonight" exclusive with martha stewart and her sarah palin smackdown is truly incredible. joining me tonight in new york, rachel zalis, a contributing

editor for "life & style weekly," and in hollywood, hyla, an entertainment journalist with fivedollarprep.com. rachel, hyla, you just heard some of martha stewart's smackdown of sarah, but we just gave you a taste of this "showbiz tonight" exclusive. here's a lot more. "showbiz tonight" producer jenny detoma asked martha what show thought was a simple question and jenny could not believe her ears as martha just wouldn't let it go. watch more of this. >> why do you think she's so polarizing to so many people? >> she's a very boring to me, very boring. and a very, to me, kind of a dangerous person. i mean -- she's dangerous! >> in what way? >> she speaks -- she's so confused. and anyone like that in government is a real problem. >> meanwhile, they're saying her book is already a best seller. do you find it -- >> good for her. good for her. >> have you been able to catch sarah palin's interviews? >> why's everybody asking that.

i wouldn't watch her if you paid me. >> martha turning up the heat there. as i watched this, i was thinking, hey, martha, what did sarah palin ever do to you? hyla, why do you think she's so riled up? >> i think because if sarah palin ever got a talk show, she would whoop martha stewart's ass. even oprah said it. oprah said, are you going to be my competition? yes, hollywood will never accept sarah palin. the rest of the country, they love her and she could rival oprah on the talk show circuit. i have no doubt about that. >> rachel, let me ask you this. how do you think that sarah would respond to martha, who is saying that she's boring, she's dangerous? >> i think she would say, martha, that's pretty funny. the woman who thinks cake stands and skonss are fascinating is calling me boring. really, sarah palin is probably the most famous woman in the world this week. and, you know, i think martha's not too keen on that. >> and i love the whole dangerous thing. because on paper, who's been to

prison? >> exactly! >> who's actually more dangerous right now? yeah. obviously, sarah palin is really getting under martha stewart's skin. and what she told "showbiz tonight" became a viral video today. it is everywhere. and our "showbiz on call" phone lines have been on fire over this. ellen from california says, shame on martha. >> caller: regarding the idiotic comment martha stewart made about sarah palin, would she be able to sell the number of books that sarah palin is selling? no. would she give oprah winfrey the highest ratings in two years? no. so how can she say that sarah palin is boring? i wouldn't read martha stewart's book even if she paid me, so, there, martha. >> now, ellen from california had it right when she said that sarah's interview with oprah went frye scored oprah her biggest ratings in two years. hyla, why do you think martha has it in so for sarah palin? >> i don't know. there's some ego factor.

we know that martha stewart has a big ego. we know that she has a little bit of a chip on her shoulder. she's not afraid to go toe to toe with donald trump or whoever else she's had a little beef with in the media. she likes to pick on this girl. you know what, good for her, because now we're talking about both of them. so we're giving them both a little publicity. >> yeah. martha's not playing nice at all. we also heard from carrie who called into "showbiz on call," but she is siding with martha stewart. take a listen. >> reporter: hooray for martha. she's right. she is dangerous. martha knows best. >> i have to say, a lot of people hate, hate when big stars speak out like this. take a look at this video, just in today to "showbiz tonight" of sarah palin greeting her fans in grand rapids, michigan. rachel, could martha's comments actually help sarah palin? >> yeah. i mean. i think the big issue right now

is, you know, sarah palin's obviously on her book tour, but is he going to run for president? and i think hollywood has a really hard time with sarah palin and people like martha stewart, there's a lot of other people that are very opposed to her and don't let it get lost on anyone that she launch heed her book tour in michigan, the state she had a big conflict with john mccain over, because that state eluded them. >> and a lot of people in hollywood not afraid to express how they feel about sarah palin politically. we'll leave it there for now. rachel zalis, hyla, don't go anywhere. we'll have a huge debate you don't want to miss. coming up on "showbiz tonight," sarah versus levi, who's the bigger celebrity? and now we want to hear from you. it is our "showbiz tonight" question of the day. sarah palin versus levi johnston, who is the bigger celebrity? vote cnn.com/showbiztonight. e-mail us, showbiztonight@cnn.com. tonight, carrie prejean needs help. is the former beauty queen really asking for advice from donald trump on how to deal with her career after that pesky little sex tape scandal? and will he help her?

also, johnny depp named sexiest man alive. people go nuts. the great debate, is johnny really sexier thanning "twilight's" robert pattinson. plus, miley cyrus diss robert and company. >> i don't like vampires. i don't like any of the stuff. i don't like the wolf that pops out on the screen when i'm watching my tv at night. i don't like it. i don't want anything to do with it. >> miley, you have to know that your fans, they're probably "twilight" fans too. was this a great idea? this is "showbiz tonight" on hln. it's time for the "showbiz news ticker," more stories from the "showbiz tonight" newsroom making news right now.

will farrell, you aren't worth your paycheck.

will, that's not according to me. i'm a big fan. but the "forbes" list of hollywood's most overpaid stars, it's out today. will is number one. apparently for every dollar will is paid, his films make only $3.29. farrell starred in "land of the lost" this summer. it was a big bomb. they are doing an "old school 2," so maybe that will help will out. i hope so. welcome back to "showbiz tonight." i'm a.j. hammer in new york with brooke anderson in hollywood. we've all seen this video of university of new mexico soccer player elizabeth lambert doing some really nasty things to a brigham young opponents during a soccer game, including grabbing a woman by her ponytail and yanking her to the ground. well, tonight, for the first time, elizabeth is opening up. here's cnn's jeanne moos for "showbiz tonight." >> reporter: it was the ponytail pull that floored everybody who saw it. the ponytail pull and punch that became a late-night punch line.

>> watch this. >> this display of rough action and hair pulling has caused sports fans across the nation to stand up and say, hey, maybe i need to start watching women's soccer. >> reporter: elizabeth lambert was called nasty, dirtiest, most violent cheap shot. and now she gets the bully pulpit to say -- >> she's just trying to say that she's not a monster that she's being portrayed to be. >> reporter: the university of new mexico junior gave her side of the story only to "the new york times," no media circus. >> she came across as very remorseful, i think, and stunned not only that this happened, but stunned that she was the one that did it. >> reporter: speaking about the hair yanking, she told "the times," i look at it and i'm like, that is not me. she's seeing a psychologist, suspendeded from soccer. her roommates try to not let her get near a computer to avoid vicious comments or a reenactment or an impersonation of her making a dating video.

>> think about putting the soccer ball in the shot. >> [ bleep ] about this, do you think all i do is play shocker? >> reporter: but it's been far from funny for hambert. she said she's stunned and scared by the vehemence of comments like this. >> you should be taken to a prison. >> reporter: the rest of what was condensed in that video was normal jostling, but she was elbowed in the rips before what canning back and her opponent tugged at her shorts. elizabeth lambert says the whole incident got blown out of proportion because it was a woman doing it. if it had been men's soccer, guys are expected to be rough. >> and then there are all the cat fight comments like this one from wiener guy. he's appalled the incident's been portrayed in a sexy way. >> she's got messages from guy saying, we ought to meet up. >> reporter: she looks like a j. crew model in this picture. she's also the model of remorse. it could take a lifetime to live

down this takedown. >> what happened to linda? she was here a second ago! >> here's the thing about lambert's on the field nastiness. i've been wondering all along where the heck the refs were. how did they miss that? that was jeanne moos for cnn. and we've got a cat fight of our going on the "showbiz on call" phone lines. the big issue, johnny depp being voted this year's sexiest man alive by "people" magazine. >> is johnny really the sexiest or should the honor have gone to smoking hot "twilight" star robert pattinson? we got a call from jennifer in alabama who says, no doubt about it, "people" got it right. >> caller: i think "people" magazine made an excellent choice picking johnny depp. i've always loved him and think he's one of the best actors. i'm looking forward to him one day getting his academy award. they made a good choice. >> thank you, jennifer. >> now clarissa in texas called in to say that robert has to wait his turn. >> caller: i do believe that

robert pattinson is incredibly sexy and incredibly hunky, and in a couple years, he will be the johnny depp of our new generation and will make "people's" sexiest man alive at 46 like johnny depp has. >> thank you, clarissa. >> the "showbiz on call" phone lines are always open. the number is 1-888-sbt-buzz. simply leave a voice mail. we will play some of your calls right here on "showbiz tonight." and tonight, the brand-new sarah versus levi war. just who is the bigger star? it's a "showbiz tonight" fired up debate. and thanksgiving is just around the corner. will these two really have a turkey truce? you know, sarah did invite levi over. also, the raging debate over the sexiest man of the year. "people" magazine picked johnny depp, the "showbiz on call" phone lines went nuts over this. was "twilight's" robert pattinson robbed? is he really the sexiest? we have the great debate.

also, miley cyrus trashes "twilight". >> i don't like vampires, i don't like any of the stuff, i don't like the wolf that pops out on the screen when i'm watching my tv at night. i don't like it. i don't want anything to do with it. >> i guess you won't find any vampires at miley's party in the usa or anywhere. but is it a bad move for miley to dis a movie her fans are probably totally obsessed with? and now the "showbiz news ticker," more stories from the "showbiz tonight" newsroom making news right now.

now on "showbiz tonight," the brand-new sarah palin/levi johnston war. she was a vp pick and is a best-selling author. he is the father of her grandson and just posed nude. tonight, the fired up debate, who's the bigger star? will the donald save carrie? tonight, carrie prejean reportedly reaches out to donald trump, right in the middle of her sex tape scandal. but didn't she dis him? will the donald help her? i don't like vampires, i don't like any of the stuff, i don't like the wolf that pops out on the screen when i'm watching my tv at night. i don't like it. i don't want anything to do with it. >> miley trashes "twilight" "new

moon." "twilight" is something her fans are probably obsessed with. is this a really bad idea? plus, more stories breaking from the "showbiz news ticker." welcome back to "showbiz tonight." it is 30 minutes past the hour. i'm a.j. hammer, broadcasting tonight and every night from new york city. >> and i'm brooke anderson, coming to you tonight from hollywood. and tonight, it is sarah versus levi, the great celebrity debate. >> yeah, that's right, brooke. it is the battle of the century going on here. sarah's gone rogue and levi's gone hollywood. and their dueling star power made for even more big news breaking today. palin's on oprah, barbara, and now she's hitting the road for a big-time bus tour, all to push her tell-all book. but levi johnston has unveiled

his new "playgirl" photo and he's hitting hollywood's biggest parties. tonight, we've got the heated debate. is levi becoming a bigger star than palin? also tonight, talk of a palin/levi turkey truce. "showbiz tonight" right there in hollywood as levi was pressed for answers on whether or not he'll take up palin's invitation on oprah to come to thanksgiving dinner with the palin. and in more big news breaking today, levi says he's been invited to appear on "dancing with the stars." and i've just got to say, are you freaking kidding me? joining me tonight in new york, rachel zalis, a contributing editor"life & style weekl weekly." also tonight in hollywood, hyla. let's kick things off by showing you two images, they are straight out of hollywood and i mean that literally. take a look at this, charles, when i see this photo, please, we're going to do a little split screen for you. on the left side, levi johnston, all spiffed up and living it up for the camera last night. he was at the "gq" men of the

year red carpet in hollywood. "showbiz tonight" was right there with him. on the right we have sarah palin, standing in front of thousands of her adoring fans as she embarked on her nationwide book tour. hyla, is levi becoming a bigger celebrity than palin? >> whoa, whoa, everyone slow down. we're getting a little excited with him being in "playgirl" and in our little bubble of hollywood, the big talk of the tame. but if you talk about famous nationally, internationally, this guy doesn't even come close. when i traveled to europe this past summer, people would come up to me and be like, yo, what's up with this sarah palin person? are you taking her seriously? she is on a much bigger scale, because the things that she does could one day affect our lives on a daily basis. whatever levi does, it's just fun to make fun of. >> well, i do have some facts and figures to perhaps back up everything you're saying, hyla. in my hands, the ratings just in today for oprah winfrey's show with sarah palin that aired on monday. get this, sarah gave oprah her

highest ratings in two years. that's a big deal. an estimated 10 million people tune in to see sarah palin on oprah. >> it's a great point. you think, who has she had -- she's had jennifer aniston on, mike tyson just this season. she's had some big megastars. you're not going to say that levi johnston is bigger than jennifer aniston, are you? >> not necessarily, but let's not count levi out just yet, because he did just turn the fame tide back his way by releasing the first photo from his naked "playgirl" shoot. rachel, let me ask you, do you think that levi is, if not bigger than sarah, certainly stealing sarah's spotlight here? >> oh, absolutely. i totally disagree with hyla. we expect sarah to be famous. she was the vp nominee, she's a huge book, what did levi do? got a girl preggers, posed for "playgirl," and yet he is going toe to toe, or maybe toe to tush with palin in the press. this guy is huge this week. every cover, every interview, reality shows, it's insane.

>> but if you have to go on her co coattails, that means she's more famous than he is. >> our "showbiz on call" phone lines fired up all day long today over the levi/sarah celebrity duel. let's get to nicole from texas. >> caller: i think sarah palin needs to be the adult and not feed into his little immature behavior, but she is making herself look really, really, like, bad at this point. and, i mean, she is supposed to be the adult. she's giving him more fame than he's actually worth. >> nicole, we appreciate your call. brooke anderson, let me ask you this, could sarah actually be to blame for fueling levi's rise to stardom? what do you think? >> no question. i could not agree with our caller, nicole, more. listen, levi is kind of a joke. i mean, a joke with ripped biceps, but a joke, nonetheless.

and the more sarah palin responds to what he does and what he says, the more people pay attention to him. he has yet to show that he's gotten any depth or any talent for anyone to latch on to. so without sarah palin, i think his ticket to stardom expires. >> brooke, calling it like she sees it. well, after sarah did oprah, he was interviewed this week -- she was interviewed this week by barbara walters. and she revealed that she'd gotten some offers to do reality shows, but she's not the only one. there's a blog called dishrag, and today they revealed this new interview with levi where he says that he has been invited to compete on really one of the biggest reality shows out there, "dancing with the stars." oh, goody. watch this. >> you've been invited to "survivor" and "dancing with the stars"? >> i think thinking about it. we'll see. >> which show would be best suited to your talent? >> i would do my own. >> is that in the cards too? do you think you would do your own reality show? >> i would. >> have you talked about it and what would be the context, do

you think? how about "dancing with the stars"? do you think about doing that? >> i've thought about it, i don't know. >> maybe the "survivor" thing, somebody's just toying with him, they want to drop him on an island and leave. we saw him lose his dignity once so far, taking all his clothes off for "playgirl," but why not lose his dignity again by flopping on "dancing with the stars"? >> i think he can't go wrong with either. "survivor," if he could survive sarah, he would survive any of those contestants on the island. and "dancing with the stars," he should go on, hook up with karina smirnoff, be the hottest thing ever. >> does she want to hook up with him? that's the question. >> one week away from thanksgiving dinner, everybody's getting all excited about this. and one big question out there today, will levi have thanksgiving dinner with sarah palin? we remember when oprah asked sarah if she and levi might actually break bread at thanksgiving. take a look at what she told oprah. roll that, charles. >> this can all work out for

good. it really can. we don't have to keep going down this road of controversy and drama all the time. we're not really into the drama. we don't really like that. we're more productive -- we have other things to concentrate on -- >> does that mean, yes, he is coming, or no, he's not? >> open invitation for levi to come to aunt katie's house for thanksgiving dinner in washington. there, it's there. >> well, "showbiz tonight" was right there with levi at the "gq" man of the year party in hollywood last night and reporters were pressing levi about thanksgiving with the palins. he refused to comment, unfortunately. i was looking for some information on that. but, hyla, after all the venom between sarah and the guy that was almost her son-in-law, can you imagine levi and sarah sharing drumsticks and mashed potatoes at aunt katie's? >> let me think about this. no, absolutely not. not in a million years will this guy be anywhere near the palin compound. >> levi told "playgirl" he thought it would be awkward if

he came to the palin thanksgiving dinner. understatement of the year? >> i think he would be worried that he wasn't actually the guest, but actually the stuffed turkey. although i would love to be a fly on that wall. it would be too good. >> rachel zalis, hyla, thanks so much, guys, appreciate it. we've been asking you to vote on our "showbiz tonight" question of the day. sarah palin versus levi johnston, who is the bigger celebrity? please keep voting at cnn.com/showbiztonight or e-mail us at showbiztonight@cnn.com. tonight, carrie prejean comes crawling back to donald trump? carrie caught up in this embarrassing sex tape scandal, so she reportedly asks the donald to help her out. but didn't she dis him? will trump help her? the raging sexiest man alive debate. "people" magazine picks johnny depp and all heck breaks lose in the "showbiz tonight" newsroom. papers everywhere! typewriters thrown -- well, maybe not typewriters. should "twilight's" robert pattinson been picked as sexiest man alive?

also tonight, omg, omg, i can tell you that miley cyrus is trashing "twilight". >> i don't like vampires, i don't like any of the stuff, i don't like the wolf that pops out on the screen when i'm watching my tv at night. i don't like it. i don't want anything to do with it. >> miley, miley, miley! why would you dis one of the hottest things out there?! you know your fans are going to line up to see "new moon." miley, what are you doing? this is "showbiz tonight" on hln. and this is the "showbiz news ticker," more stories from the "showbiz tonight" newsroom making news right now.

welcome back to "showbiz tonight." i'm a.j. hammer in new york. >> i'm brooke anderson in hollywood. tonight, can trump save carrie? carrie prejean is reportedly turning to donald trump to get her out of the pickle she's now in because of this sex tape scandal. good item? the "new york post" reports today that prejean is turning to donald trump for advice, the same guy who once fired her. does carrie prejean have a lot of nerve? and a great debate erupted today over "people" magazine naming johnny depp sexiest man alive. "showbiz tonight" was bombarded by people saying, no way, it should have been "twilight" star robert pattinson. it's the great hotty debate. but not everyone's a robert pattinson fan. miley cyrus today bashes the "twilight" series and its fans. >> you know, brooke, i'm thinking, miley, probably not such a good idea. not a real smart thing to say there. joining me tonight in hollywood, lauren sanchez, a correspondent for "extra." tonight in new york, megan

alexand alexander, a correspondent for "inside edition." we begin with a brand-new carrie prejean shocker. prejean reportedly asking donald trump for advice on how the heck she can get out of her big old mess. keeping in mind, of course, donald is the owner of the miss,s a franchise, the same franchise that fired carrie because of a breach of contract and of course she just dissed donald in her new book. so should the donald help carrie? >> he kind of did. he said, carrie, you should be a major porn star, make a lot of money, and give all the money to charity. so maybe that is his help. but, come on, you know what, donald, i think if he could make money off of carrie, he probably would give her advice, but i think he knows that she's done. that's what i think. >> however, i was thinking about this, she is keeping his name out there in the public, and, well, we know for one that donald certainly likes that. and "showbiz tonight" did catch up with trump. we had to ask him what he thinks of carrie prejean these days. i thought he would be a lot

harsher than what he was. here's what he said. >> i know carrie very well. hopefully carrie will get her act together. >> he always feels the need to say something like that. it's one thing for him to speak nicely about her, but do you think he should actually help her move on in her career? >> well, a.j., let's see, carrie bashed him and the miss usa pageant in her book, so i find it very interesting that now she's going back to him for advice. i imagine donald would be a little bit too busy for her. and i'm curious about their pr team, that they feel this is their last resort. the only thing i might do is put carrie on "celebrity apprentice," but i think it would be so he could say, you're fired again. >> brooke anderson, another hot debate just in today. johnny depp versus robert pattinson. i know you were listening in to our "showbiz tonight" morning meeting. it nearly came to fisticuffs. >> it nearly did.

papers flying, coffee being thrown on each other. a.j., "people" magazine has just named johnny depp the sexiest man alive but not everyone agrees, obviously, with that decision. check out our "showbiz tonight" question of the day where we got nearly 150,000 responses. we asked, johnny depp, do you agree he is the sexiest man alive? the late results came in late today, and get this, only 25% said yes. 75% said no. i've got to tell you, a lot of people are saying it should be "twilight" star robert pattinson. lauren, are you on team johnny or team robert? >> i kind of want to be on both teams, if possible, but i have to admit, everyone went crazy when they heard johnny depp, they're like, why not robert? i think johnny has earned it. come on, he is sexy, he's been around for a long time, he's hat boat loads of movies. and robert, i know he's the popular boy, the prom king right now, but johnny deserves it just a little bit. robert always has next year, remember. >> you're right. and johnny depp's been in the

business for longer than robert pattinson has even been alive. but do you want an example of how hot a lot of people think pattinson is? he was on the "today" show this morning, and you have got to see the screaming, convulsing, hyperventilating women lined up outside the studio. watch. >> you ready to face your fans? it's going to be chilly, but they'll warm you up, i guarantee it. >> robert, some of these people have been here for more than a day. >> there they go. >> okay, i'm not so sure that johnny depp gets that same reaction from women. the debate continued on our "showbiz tonight" facebook page. michelle g. writes, robert pattinson, you have got to be kidding. but holly n. counters, johnny , omg, hands down. megan, team johnny depp or team

robert pattinson? >> "people" magazine usually gives sexiest man alive to the it guy of the moment. i don't think johnny depp is the it guy currently right now, definitely deserved title in 2003. i think robert would be a good choice. i agree with lauren, he's got many more years to claim this title, but maybe bradley cooper or gehrard butler are the it men of the moment. they could have been good choices too. >> though could have good options as well. no, lauren, you don't agree? >> no, no, no. it was definitely between, i think -- i don't know. i think it was robert or johnny. it had to be. that was it. but i think -- >> had to be one of those two. >> yes. but next year, he'll get it, promise. >> well, speaking of robert, not everybody is a fan. including between sensation miley cyrus. i could not believe what we heard today. miley actually bashing the "twilight" series during an interview with q92 radio in ohio, saying, i've never seen "twilight," nor will i ever. i don't believe in it. i don't believe in it. and she went on and on. listen.

>> i don't like vampires, i don't like -- i don't like any of the stuff, i don't like the wolf that pops out on the screen when i'm watching my tv at night. i don't like it. i don't want anything to do with it. maybe it's because i'm like, people always fall in love with the characters, i don't know, it makes me kind of like -- i don't know. i'm not into it. >> that's all right, that's all right. >> okay, miley obviously realized she made a boneheaded move and she has since apologized by twitter. so she probably thought, maybe not such a smart idea. lauren sanchez, megan alexander, thanks. good to see you. tonight, chaz bono speaking out about becoming a man. >> this was a very difficult decision to make, but it's the best decision i've ever made. >> chaz used to be chastty is the daughter of cher and the late sonny bono. you've got to hear this amazing story of going through a sex change. now the "showbiz news ticker," more stories from the "showbiz tonight" newsroom making news right now.           e

all right. oprah makes it official. after a quarter century on the air, she'll walk away from her daytime talk show. once she steps down, what is a queen of talk to do? and the man caught on a hotel video now formally charged with raping and murdering little shaniya davis. also, a phoenix church isn't allowed to feed the homeless. the city says the church is violating an ordinance by helping the hungry. with thanksgiving just around the corner, do you think the city's going too far? happy friday. take a nice big breath. you can relax a little bit as we head into friday. and thank you for heading into it with us. i'm christi paul. welcome to hln news and views. so glad to have you with us. say it ain't so, o.

we're talking about oprah winfrey, she just made it official, announcing during a taping this morning that she's ending her powerhouse talk show in 2011 after a quarter century on the air, and in our homes too. kareen wynter is outside the chicago studio where the queen of daytime just made that announcement. have you seen anybody come out yet, kareen, who was in there, personally, for this announcement? >> reporter: christi, good morning, a lot of tears being shed all around. oprah shed a few tears. the fans who left the studio, also cried a bit. and i'll get to a little bit about what they had to say in just a second. but this is what miss winfrey said on this historic taping today, talking about the fact that her syndicated talk show will end september 2011. and i'm quoting here, she said, "i love this show. this show has been my life and i love it enough to know when it's time to say good-bye. 25 years feels right in my bones and it feels right in my spirit. it's the perfect number.

the exact right time." and with that, she wiped away tears. she also asked the audience, christi, to take an 18-month ride with her. that's how long she has left for her show and she told them that the countdown was on. that it's going to be an exciting one. look out for season 25, that they're going to really go out with a bang. so she really left things on a high note. but, again, for the fans who have followed her for so many years, for decades, it is really a hard good-bye. >> i'm surprised, i think, but i think it's a great opportunity for her and i think she's going to do very well. >> i was shocked. i had no idea. i thought for sure, i mean, oprah is just synonymous with chicago and with obama being from chicago, i just didn't think she'd ever leave. but i'm really excited, living in california, it will be great for us. >> we're from the area. we kind of heard some rumblings, that she was probably going to stop her show in a couple of years, so it wasn't a complete

surprise. >> she brings a lot of people here, people together, she's great for chicago, a great advocate for chicago. >> i think it's going to be really exciting for her, i'll miss her a ton here, but california's amazing, i love it, and i think she'll have a great time. >> reporter: and christi, this is what's also interesting as well. we found out from sources that oprah pulled her staff aside yesterday before the news break, in the very studio where her shows are taped each week and told them about this pending announcement, the fact that, you know, she was going to be telling it to the world in a matter of hours. and also, you know, we're told that it was quite emotional, that people broke down, including oprah herself. people said, members of the staff said that they weren't entirely, according to our source, said that they weren't entirely surprised, because this is something that oprah had been hinting at for quite some time. but she told them this was a vital move. she's building her new network on the cable channel, the oprah winfrey network called own and that this was vital in its

success and that she would be doing some sort of show at that new network. christi? >> but that's all we know at this point. we don't know anything else about what's in store after september 2011? >> reporter: we don't. not the specifics. as far as harpo studios is concerned, where "the oprah winfrey show" is taped, while that show will no longer be in existence after that date in 2011, that the operations will still continue here. so at least the operations, as we know it, will continue and there won't be any change on that end. >> all righty. well, thank you, kareen wynter. it's always good to see you. thanks for the update. >> reporter: thanks, christi. >> and do not miss "showbiz tonight." the end of oprah, who could replace her? some people think, what, ellen, sarah palin, maybe even first lady michelle obama? those are some of the names going around. the great debate on tv's most provocative entertainment news show at 11:00 eastern and pacific. formal charges have been filed against mario mcneill, the

29-year-old man pictured in a hotel video with 5-year-old shaniya davis. we now know he is charged with first-degree murder and the rape of this child. this 5-year-old little girl. >> i know it's hard to hear, but you heard it live on hln's nancy grace last night as police announced new charges in the disappearance of shaniya davis. that's mario mcneill there. she's scheduled to be in a north carolina courtroom in just a couple of hours, in fact. a search warrant says he picked up 5-year-old shaniya from in front of her mother's home the morning of november 10th and drove more than 30 miles to a hotel in sanford, north carolina. now, surveillance video from that tuesday shows him carrying the 5-year-old into that building there. monday, her body was found six miles from the hotel. now, authorities believe shaniya was sexually assaulted and died of asphyxiation. her mother, antoinette davis is

charged with trafficking her daughter in prostitution. so far she's not been charged with murder, but last night on nancy grace, a defense attorney explained why he thinks it may be harder for authorities to file those charges against her. >> the fact of the matter is maybe she didn't have ill intent. maybe it was not that, listen,, you know -- i mean, no -- she could be accused of bad judgment, her judgment was misplaced, she certainly's ignorant in doing anything like that, but to have the requisite intent and to suggest that she was giving her child and it was going to be -- it was a kidnapping and she's a murderer, i think that's misplaced. >> police are investigating whether davis gave her daughter to mcneill to settle a drug debt. no funeral arrangements for shaniya have been announced yet. nancy grace, though, has all the late-breaking developments after mcneill's court appearance tonight at 8:00 and 10:00 p.m. right here. lawyers for casey anthony say someone else should be investigated for the murder of her toddler, caylee.

defense attorney jose baez filed a motion last night to introduce new evidence in the murder trial. he says roy kronk, this man, had a history of abusing and restraining women with duct tape. now, kronk first reported last december finding something suspicious. it turned out later to be caylee's remains. the motion also alleges that kronk could have had a history of inappropriate behavior with young girls. the defense interviewed two of kronk's ex-wives and his son. >> he duct taped my hands one time. >> when you learned that roy kronk had found the remains of caylee anthony, what went through your mind? >> that he had done it. >> done it, meaning? >> he probably was the one that had murdered caylee anthony or had something to do with it. >> kronk's attorney, david evans, has responded to the allegations by saying, quote,

roy had a giant bucket of mud poured over his head with that motion and he denies all the allegations that are contained within it. he has only been a witness in this case from the beginning and no one from law enforcement has ever indicated that he's been a suspect of any wrongdoing. other than a hefty dose of character assassination, i didn't see anything other than a defense tactic to throw suspicions away from the defendant onto another individual. now, casey anthony is still jailed on first-degree murder charges in the death of her young daughter. and tonight, an exclusive with "issue's" jane velez-mitchell, jane is speaking with jose baez about the new defense tactic. they're also going to talk about casey, her behavior after ca caylee's disappearance, her relationship with her parents. so watch "issues with jane velez-mitchell" right here at 7:00 p.m. eastern on hln. stop feeding the needy. why a church in arizona has been told to stop handing out hot meals to the homeless.

we have some new video we want to show you right now that's just in. teen sensation miley cyrus was not on this tour bus when it overturned in virginia this morning, but it is part of her entourage there. virginia state police say one person was killed in the accident, another suffered minor injuries. ten people were on the bus when it went off the road and overtu overturned. about 45 minutes south of richmond there. according to local reports, the person who died was the bus driver. the bus was heading towards greensboro, north carolina, where a concert is planned on sunday. the aclu is offering to help crossroads methodist. this church is in phoenix and had been feeding the homeless when neighbors started to complain. they said the homeless were causing trouble after their free meal in the neighborhood. earlier this month, a judge ruled the church violated a city ordinance by serving meals in a residential area. the church hasn't decided whether it's going to accept help from the aclu, but an

appeal is scheduled for next month. so this is our "your views" question today. richelle has a lot of people that have been spotlighted on your facebook regarding this so far. mine too. it's been pretty interesting. >> the question is, christi, is the rule of law always right? not that we would ever advocate breaking the law, but are there ever situations where you think, hey, i've got to do what i think is morally the right thing, regardless of what the rule of law is. because you realize, the older you get, sometimes there's gray area. so we wanted to reach out and what you thought about this. miss paulette, i understand you're all about solutions, aren't you? >> caller: absolutely. >> okay, go for it. >> caller: okay. i agree with the neighborhood people. almost every day, you hear about a child going missing. some of them are found dead, smom are never found at all. most of the homeless people are good people, victims of circumstances such as losing a

job. some of the homeless are victims of circumstances created by themselves. criminals, addicts, et cetera. that makes them more likely to cause problems in a family home area. there is no way to tell who is out to cause harm. there's not a meal that can be served that justifies placing a child at risk. however, i agree with the church's desire to help the less fortunate. simple solution. instead of busing people to the church, use the buses to transport the food to a nonresidential area facility. people have said, area families aren't exposed to possible serious problems and the city ordinances are satisfied. >> listen to you, miss paulette. we thought that that was such a fantastic option. we don't know if that's the right solution, obviously, we're not there, but we thought, we'll at least call the church to see if that's something they've considered. so we're working on that right

now. thank you. >> caller: that's wonderful. like i say, i agree with feeding the less fortunate, but i also am a hard-core protect the child at all costs. >> thank you, miss paulette, we appreciate it. and even if that may be the solution they decide on, the church still may decide they have a legal recourse they think they need to take. patty is calling from kentucky. patty, you're pretty upset about this? >> caller: yes. i just don't understand why the residents are that upset. they didn't say exactly how the homeless were causing trouble, they didn't say it was involving children, adults. there aren't any zones in heaven. you have to help take care of people like this. they may have got there by something they did themselves and caused them to be homeless, maybe they didn't. but they still need help, now. you know, just because you're living in a residence, tomorrow they might be one of the homeless. how are they going to feel at that time if they can't go next

door to their church and get a male? >> patty, thank you for your phone call. thanks for calling. a lot of comments on my facebook page. the first one we're going to share says something really similar to what patty just said. jim says, i have been homeless and had to get food from churches. it was a godsend. i hope they can work something out. so many people have so little. jim is one of those people like, hey, in a blink of an eye, that could be you. marion posted this. this says more about the selfishness of people than about the rule of law. sadly, we want social problems to be handled elsewhere and are unable to recognize the needs in our own neighborhood. if this were my neighborhood, i would volunteer to help find a solution instead of harassing a necessary ministry. all right, christi, how about that so far. >> i loved paulette's solution. let me read what you tiffany said on my facebook. she said, people need to put themselves in the homeless'

position. if that were them, would they want to be treated like that? we need to help them get back on their feet, just like we would want to be helped if the tables were turned. >> and we want you to put yourselves in the shoes of the people in the neighborhood as well. that's why we want to have a discussion about this. what do you think? is this pushing the rule of law too far? what if this was your neighborhood? does helping the less fortunate supersede zoning laws? let's keep talking about this. e-mail us at cnn.com/hln. call us at 1-877-tell-hln or send us a text at hlntv. not an easy one, christi. >> no, it's not. richelle, thank you so much. a jury could soon begin deciding the fate of a woman at the center of a racially charged incident at a missouri walmart. what heather ellis, the defendant, said when she took the stand in her own defense today.

the woman at the center of a racially charged incident at a missouri walmart says she is not

to blame for what happens. heather ellis took the witness stand at her own trial today and denied any misbehavior during the incident. prosecutors, though, say ellis cut in line at the store, then became belligerent and refused to leave. this is newly released video, as much as we can see of that incident. it allegedly shows ellis repeatedly moving another customer's items off of a conveyer belt. the manager says ellis brought race into the scuffle. >> she just looked at me and told me that i wasn't anything but a stupid white, uneducated walmart employee and she called betsy an old gray-headed lady, the cashier. and that's when i said, wait -- i said, just a minute. i said, you don't know me and i don't know you. >> the video goes on to show police arresting ellis. officers say she kicked and hit them. ellis says she was assaulted, but it's not shown on the tape. the jury could get the case as early as today. ellis is facing 15 years in prison if found guilty.

senators are cutting their thanksgiving vacations short to vote on health care reform. in a rare move here, they'll meet tomorrow to decide whether to open debate on the democrats' plan. it would extend coverage to at least 30 million people at an estimated cost of $848 billion over a ten-area period. republicans have vowed to block the debate, saying health care reform will actually cost $1.5 trillion. homeowners. if you're planning to renovate your home, you might want to act fast. hln money expert clark howard says some banks are cutting home equity lines with little warning. >> i've got a special warning for you i've not given in probably six months, but it's coming up again. if you have a home equity line of credit, your bank may well cut that line on you without any notice at all. a lot of us who own homes and have some equity in them have a standby home equity line of credit, for example, i have one. i've drawn nothing on it, but

it's available there in case i have an emergency need. well, a lot of banks are saying, wait a minute, there's all that liability floating out there that people could draw on. what happens if they don't pay it back? so they're reducing your lines. when does this become important to you? let's say you have a big expense you've already committed to, like you're doing an addition or renovation to your home, something like that. if you're planning to do something like that, go ahead and draw down your line of credit and deposit the money at another bank or credit union so that if they decide to draw your line down, close it on you, you're still okay. i'm clark howard. for more smart money tips, go to my website, cnn.com/clarkhoward. >> watch clark howard every saturday and sunday at noon and 4:00 p.m. eastern. of course, that is right here on hln. well, anyone who's ever been to one knows that city council meetings can be kind of dull. but, there are ways to liven things up. you might wonder, what was this

chicken doing flapping around in council chambers?

last night we found out that she was going to announce this. i mean, you have mixed emotion. it's exciting to be there, but it's also sad. >> yes, i was in there thinking, where were you when this and that event happened. well, we know where we were when oprah announced that she wasn't going to be on anymore. we were there. >> you heard them right. after a quarter century on the air, and really in our homes, the queen of daytime talk, oprah winfrey, is calling it quits on network syndication. "the oprah winfrey show" will end on september 9th, 2011, when its 25th season came to a close. she made this announcement

during the taping of her show this morning, saying, "i love this show, this show has been my life with and love it enough to know when it's time to say good-bye. 25 years feels right in my bones and it feels right in my spirit. it's the perfect number, the exact right time." now winfrey is shifting her attention to her cable channel called own, the oprah winfrey network. there's speculation that she may start up a new talk show there. obviously, people are thinking she's going to do that. don't miss "showbiz tonight," the end of oprah. who could replace her, really? i mean, ellen? sarah palin? maybe even first lady michelle obama? those are some of the names out there. the great debate on tv's most provocative entertainment news show at 11:00 eastern and pacific. formal charges have been filed against mario mcneill, the 29-year-old man pictured in a hotel video with 5-year-old shaniya davis. we now know he is charged with first-degree murder and the rape

of this child. this 5-year-old little girl. >> you heard it here live on hln's nancy grace last night. nancy getting really emotional there as police announced new charges in the disappearance of shaniya davis. mario mcneill is scheduled to be in a north carolina courtroom in just a couple of hours now. a search warrant says he picked up 5-year-old shaniya from in front of her mother's home the morning of november 10th and drove more than 30 miles to a hotel in sanford, north carolina. surveillance video from that tuesday shows him here, carrying the 5-year-old into the building. and monday her body was found six miles from the hotel. now, authorities believe shaniya was sexually assaulted and died of asphyxiation. her mother, antoinette davis is charged with trafficking her daughter with prostitution, but so far she hasn't been charged with murder. a defense attorney on nancy grace explains why he think it may be harder for authorities to

file those charges against her. >> the fact of the matter is maybe she didn't have ill intent. maybe it was not that, listen, you know, she could be accused of bad judgment, her judgment was misplaced, she's certainly ignorant in doing anything like that, but having the reck requisite intent, i think that's misplaced. >> police are investigating whether davis gave her daughter to mcneill to settle a drug debt. no funeral arrangements for shaniya have been announced just yet, but after the hearing, be sure to catch the latest breaking developments from nancy grace at 8:00 and 10:00 p.m. eastern. meanwhile, lawyers for casey anthony say someone else should be investigated for the murder of her toddler, caylee. defense attorney jose baez filed a motion last night to introduce new evidence into the trial. he says this man, roy kronk had a history of abusing and restraining women with duct tape. kronk first reported last

december finding something suspicious. turns out, later it would be caylee's remains. the motion alleges kronk could have a history of inappropriate relationship with young girls. the defense interviewed kropg's ex-wives and his sons. >> he duct taped my hands one time. >> when you learned that roy kronk had found the remains of caylee antony, what went through your mind? >> that he had done it. >> done it, meaning? >> he probably was the one that had murdered caylee anthony who had something to do with it. >> kronk's attorney, david evans, has responded to the allegations by saying, "roy had a giant bucket of mud poured over his head with that motion and he denies all the allegations that are contained within it. he has only been a witness in this case from the beginning and no one from law enforcement has ever indicated that he's been a suspect of any wrongdoing.

other than a hefty case of character assassination, i didn't see anything other than a defense tactic to throw suspicions away from the defendant on to another individual." casey anthony is still in jail on murder charges in the case of her young daughter. tonight, an exclusive on "issues with jane velez-mitchell." jane is speaking with jose baez about the new defense tactic. they're also going to talk about casey, her behavior after caylee's disappearance, her relationship with her parents. so be with jane velez-mitchell at 7:00 p.m. eastern right here on hln. closing arguments are under way in italy in the murder trial of an american college student. prosecutors say amanda knox and two others killed her british roommate november 2007 at the home they shared in italy. now, they say meredith kercher's throat was slit during a drug-fueled sex game. knox is standing trial with her ex-boyfriend. a third man was convicted last year. now, this morning on the "today" show, knox's parents said they're worried the jury will

believe what italian tabloids have written about the case, rather than basing the verdict on the evidence. >> we've worried all along, just because of what's happened, you know, all the false reporting, and you know, to be quite frank, things have not really gone correctly so far, but we have to be hopeful that now it's all public and, you know, everything that's been presented in court has been, you know, pretty much good for us. it shows that she is innocent. >> the jury's expected to get the case december 4th and a verdict could come as early as the next day, we understand. tense and at times outright angry. that was the mood yesterday as treasury secretary timothy geithner testified on capitol hill. republicans on the joint economic committee stepped up their pressure for geithner to resign, which prompted this exchange. take a look. >> there is a, quote, growing liberal consensus that secretary geithner should be removed. quote, we need a new economic

team. conservatives agree that as point person, you failed. liberals are growing in that consensus as well. poll after poll shows the public has lost confidence in this president's ability to handle the economy for the sake of our jobs, will you step down from your post? >> congressman, i -- it is a great privilege for me to serve this president and i am very pleased at the chance to address the range of concerns you said -- i agree with almost nothing in what you said and i think almost nothing of what you said represents a fair and accurate perception of where this economy is today. now, i think it's important to start, welcome the advice that you're providing after you left -- you gave this president an economy falling off the cliff, values of americans' savings cut almost in half, millions of americans out of

work. again, the worst financial crisis we've seen in a generation. >> some democrats are wavering in their support here. senator charles schumer suggested geithner has been inconsistent in how he's dealt with china's currency and oregon congressman peter defazio told msnbc on wednesday he thinks geithner should step down over his handling of aig. well, by now, certainly, you've seen the angry chants, the protests, the uproar on the ucla campus over a tuition hike. >> shame on you! shame on you! >> here's something you haven't seen. a unique perspective from one of our i-reporters, right there in the thick of things.

we have some new pictures of

an indian television station under attack. look at this. suspected right-wing activists ransacked the place. this is in mumbai. it's a sister channel of cnn ibn. witnesses say the attackers used iron rods and baseball bats to beat employees and smash furniture. they claim the station has been too critical of their leader and seven people were arrested. also, teen sensation miley cyrus was not on her tour bus when it overturned in virginia this morning. virginia state police say one person was killed, though, in the accident and another suffered minor injuries. ten people were on the bus when it went off the road and overturned about 45 minutes south of richmond. according to local reports, the person who died was the bus driver. the bus was heading to greensboro, north carolina, where the singer is scheduled to perform in concert on sunday. the woman at the center of a racially charged incident at a missouri walmart says she is not to blame for what happened. heather ellis took the stand at her own trial today.

she denies any misbehavior during the incident. prosecutors say ellis cut in line at the store, then became belligerent and refused to leave. this is newly released video of that incident, allegedly showing ellis repeatedly moving another customer's items off of a conveyor belt, i should say, and the manager says ellis brought race into the scuffle. >> she looked at me and o she told me but i wasn't anything but a stupid white uneducated walmart employee and she called betsy an old gray-headed lady, the cashier. and that's when i said, wait -- i said, just a minute. i said, you don't know me and i don't know you. >> the video goes on to show police arresting ellis. now, officers say she kicked and hit them, but ellis says she was assaulted. it's not shown on the tape, however. the jury could get the case as early as today and ellis is facing 15 years in prison if found guilty.

well, one of our i-reporters really captured the mood of the protests on the ucla campus this week. take a look. >> we say fight back. >> they say cut back. >> julie ellerton says students are frustrated, angry, and worried about this 32% tuition hike approved yesterday. by next fall, students at all ten uc campuses will have to pay $2,500 more a year for their tuition, which brings the cost to about $10,000 a year. ellerton talked to some people who just can't afford that, including one man who managed to turn his life around by getting an education. >> after a life of crime, going through the criminal system, i decided it was time for a change, got into the uc system. this is my second year, i graduate this year. i'm here because i know that this is going to separate from those that have and have not. as fees continue to grow and escalate, who's going to be able to afford an education, like myself?

>> it's ridiculous, that they would even, you know, let us be in this situation. so we're here fighting, we're here with the people, trying to tell them that if they want us to grow as a society, as a nation, we need education. >> now, the uc board of regents said it had to raise tuition fees because of severe cuts in the state budget. as you know, the state budget in california is just a mess. we want to thank julie ellerton, though, for the i-report and best of luck to all of you there. so if you too happen to have pictures or videos of breaking news or cool stories from your part of the world, go to ireport.com, you can click on the upload now link and there will be instructions there on how you can submit your stories and thank you for doing so. so how much do you know about the news that we talk about here every day? test your news knowledge with the cnn challenge. you can get to choose your host for the game and of course we hope you'll pick my colleague, richelle carey. >> welcome to the cnn challenge. i'm hln's richelle carey and i'll be your host.

it is my job to teach you how this game works. it's your job to get the highest score you can. >> and hey, our very own robin meade from "morning express" is also a host. check out cnnchallenge.com and show us how smart you are. for nearly two years, the atlanta skyline has had some pretty visible scars. now, it's one step to getting closer back to normal. what it's going to take to replace thousands of windows on the downtown circular hotel.

i'm jane velez-mitchell and here's my issue. i think deep down we all knew that drugs somehow played a role in little shaniya davis' death. now there are accusations that her mom may have allegedly should shaniya into prostitution to settle up a drug debt. nothing shatters maternal instincts like drug abuse. the sad thing is, this woman also has a 7-year-old child and she is pregnant again. we need to use this tragedy as a starting point to break the cycle of addiction. the fact is, drug abuse is handed down generation to generation. we need to start talking real solutions, like family planning, birth control, and condoms.

we need to stop very troubled women from continuing this cycle of babies born to drug-addicted parents. we owe it to little shaniya. you know, this topic may make us squirm, but it's better than talking about another dead child. i'm jane velez-mitchell and that's my issue. >> tonight on "issues," an exclusive prime-time interview with casey anthony's attorney. anthony is accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter, caylee, remember, but a new motion by the defense names the man who found her remains as a possible suspect. is this a smart legal move or does it show desperation from the defense team? jane velez-mitchell talks face to face with casey anthony's attorney, jose baez, tonight at 7:00 eastern, right here on hln. well, al qaeda's message is apparently reaching a brand-new audience on the internet. there's been a spike in english language websites that aren't directly tied to al qaeda, but promote its goal of jihad against the u.s. now, that's from a saudi official who combats military

islamic websites. terror experts say the sites could help recruit new al qaeda sympathizers in western countries by eliminating that language barrier there. well, a church in arizona has been told to stop feeding the homeless. i know you're thinking, what? well, the aclu is now offering to help cross roads united methodist because this church in phoenix had been feeding the homeless when the neighbors started to claim. they said the homeless were staying in the neighborhood after their free meal and causing trouble. earli the church hasn't decided whether it will accept help from the aclu, but an appeal is scheduled for next month. soy hope that you're going to get in on the discussion with us here. do you think that this is pushing the rule of law too far? or really, what if this was your neighborhood? does helping the less fortunate supersede the zoning laws? that's the question.

e-mail us at cnn.com/hln or call us right now at 1-877-tell-hln. you can text us at hlntv or go to our facebook pages. cnn.com/hln or go to facebook. another set of testing guidelines for women and this one is getting support from the american cancer society. we're talking about guidelines for cervical cancer here. the american college of obstetricians and gynecologists say women only need pap smear every two years rather than every year and the group says women don't need their first one until they're 21 years old. women over the age of 30 can go three years after they've had three consecutive clear tests. the american cancer society says about 11,000 new cases of cervical cancer will be diagnosed this year and more than 4,000 women will die of it. half of the women diagnosed have never had a pap apparently. senators are cutting their thanksgiving vacation short to vote on health care reform. they'll meet tomorrow to decide

whether to open debate on the democrats plan. it would extend coverage to at least 30 million people at an estimated cost of $848 billion over ten years. republicans are vowed to block the debate saying health care reform will actually cost $1.5 trillion. when a tornado hit downtown atlanta in march of 2008, boy, did it do damage to a lot of buildings down here including our own. especially hard hit was the circular weston hotel. more than 1,000 windows were knocked out and they haven't been replaced in 20 months since the storm. that's changing now. you see the little holes. that's what it's from. all 6,000 plus windows are being replaced in a $22 million project that could take 15 months to finish. crews hope to replace 16 windows a day but it's not going to be easy. each pane has to be brought up and exchanged. the process takes an hour for each window.

she came to america to build a better life for herself but instead she lived a real life nightmare. she says as a sex slave.