primary politics. republican presidential candidates square off on foreign policy. planes, trains and automobiles. millions of americans set out for one of the busiest travel days of the year. and miracle in new zealand. a helicopter pilot cheats death in a horrific crash. good morning. i'm lynn berry. those stories and more this is "first look" on msnbc. and today we begin with foreign policy face-off. republican presidential hopefulç went head-to-head at last

night's debate where newt gingrich, latest front-runner in the race, took a controversial stand on immigration. nbc's steve handelsman reports. >> republican candidates for president of the united states. >> reporter: they tangled on cnn near the white house. their 11th debate with a new frontrunner, who's a washington veteran. >> i spent years studying this stuff. >> reporter: newt gingrich, outspoken before 9/11. >> all of us will be in danger for the rest of our lives. >> reporter: he's at 24% in the cnn poll. mitt romney's at 20%. herman cain down to 17%. and tonight's topic, national security, is not cain's strength. >> if we pull out of afghanistan too soon, iran will help fill take power vacuum. >> reporter: most agreed. >> we have been in for ten years. we're winding down, afghan

troops are picking up the security. >> reporter: they also agreed iran must not get nuclear weapons. >> if we were serious, we would open up enough oil fields in the next year that the price of oil worldwide would collapse. now, that's what we do if we were a serious country. >> reporter: tough talk and big ideas, and gingrich broke with the rest on immigration saying long-time illegals could stay. >> the party that says it's the party of the family is going to adopt an immigration mole city which destroys family has have been here a quarter century? >> reporter: critics call him grandiose and arrogant. pollsters call him the new leader of the gop pack. i'm steve handelsman, nbc washington. republicans and democrats have been pointing the finger at each other for the super failure of the super committee. but a new poll shows americans aren't happy with either party. according to a new reuters/ipsiç poll 19% blamed both sides for failing to cut more than $1 trillion from the nation's deficit. when it came to most

responsible, republicans came in with most votes, 18%. 13% blame the president and just 7% blamed democrats. it's that time of year. all the trimmings can be prepared. but first millions of americans need to get to their holiday destination. for many it's not just the crowds they'll be battling. jay gray joins us from chicago's o'hare airport. jay, you've got more on that. its getting busier there. we talked to you about an hour ago and it was dead throughout the morning. it will probably progress a lot more. >> reporter: yeah, you're right. we should have enjoyed it last hour because the crowds have already started right now. and this will be the busiest day of the thanksgiving travel season here at o'hare. they will see more than 200,000 people come through this airport. but look, like you said, it won't be only the long lines and crowds causing the issues.

over # 4 million americans will take to the roads. >> the volume will be up. >> reporter: up 4% from last thanksgiving, the first increase in holiday travel this year, but unfortunately, trips aren't the only thing on the rise. gas prices are up an average of 50 cents over last thanksgiving and airlines are flying 20% higher. >> for travelers who weightsed and thought they may get a last minute deal, that wasn't the case. >> reporter: and the cost may not be the only issue. weather delays threatsen to spoil some turkey conditions. >> some of the worst travel conditions will be here in the ç northeast. the red airplanes indicating where we're expecting major delays. mostly rain, but this northern new england, even snow. >> reporter: if you're worried about getting vanded, you may want to consider turning to your social network. >> i've seen many cases on twitter where somebody is at an airport and they're stranded and

suddenly somebody from that airline gets on with them on twitter and solves their problem within a few minutes. >> reporter: minutes will turn into hours for millions who will be waiting in lines. travel pros say the best way to deal with the wait especially with kids is to have a plan. >> the best way to destress everybody is to talk through the day before it happens with your kids. tell them yes, we'll be waiting a long time. >> reporter: and it might help to remind everyone about the turkey, football and fun waiting at the end of those long lines. and the long lines already starting here at o'hare. you can see them, they just opened up the checkpoint here. it will likely be full for the rest of the day. to make sure you get to that food and fun, you'll want to leave as early as you can. if you're flying, doesn't hurt to call. and like your mom used to always say, you can also pack a little bit of patience. that's the latest there here at o'hare. jay gray.

back to you. >> have a great thanksgiving. thanks so much. here's your first look at some of the other news going on around america today. a group of students escaped from a burning bus just before it exploded on a new york city street. witnesses say smoke and flames erupted from the vehicle soon after it was empty. firefighters quickly arrived on the scene to douse the blaze. no injuries were reported. a texas man was nearly killed when his coworker accidentally shot him in the head with a staple gun.ç thankfully bill's never done that to me. the staple struck both halves of shawn hunter's brain, narrowly missing major blood vessels. surgeons were able to remove the staple without causing any bleeding or damage to the brain. hunter says he's anxious to get back to work to show off his survival scars. and finally, los angeles culinary students battled for bragging rights at a stuffing cookoff. using an array of ingredients, participates put their own spin

on a traditional thanksgiving dish. facing tough competition, the chef with the stuffing cupcakes took home the top prize. that sounds good even at 5:00 in the morning. now for a look at your national weather iks let's turn to bill karins. he has agreed to actually cook my stuffing, you're going to deliver to my house. >> i will, if you want. >> such a relief. >> the instant five minute stove top. if you put enough gravy on it, it staiss great. >> i'm sure the stove top people won't like that. >> i wasn't mentioning the brand, just on the stove top. now you got me in trouble. we mentioned it's a busy travel day of course, but i'm actually kind of optimistic because the worst of it is going by pretty quickly this morning. i know if you're watching us now and you're heading out the door, it won't help you. but later today, things will clear out in a hurry. we have two huge storms, one moving through ohio in to

pennsylvania, but another monster storm up here in the pacific northwest, a lot of heavy rain up there and a lot of gusty winds. let's focus on the storm in the east. this storm system is kicking through and we're already will watching the heavy rain ending in d.c., already ending in much of georgia and even areas in the mountainousç regions of the appalachians. but definitely northern new england, it is a full-fledged snowstorm for you from maine, new hampshire, vermont, that's where it's extremely difficult to travel early today. and that will continue actually through about the daylight hours today ending by this evening. now, the heavy rain as i mentioned, notice d.c., it's already clearing out. that's great. you still have a chance of shower as the front comes through, but the heavy rain is done. still heavy rain across the chesapeake and moving back intoer as like new york city and philly. philly, only about another hour of the heavier rains answ s and you'll be finished. already improving around columbia. i-95 the worst drive, but the

heavy rain starting to clear out there have. charleston, give it another hour or two. florida will see more showery weather during the day. storms have dropped down along i-10. that snow forecast for northern new england, 6 to 12 inches, so it will be shovel time and the plows will be out there during the day today. so the bottom line is if you're traveling on i-95 on the eastern seaboard on, the worst is from now say probably until about mid morning. and then it starts to clear out. so we'll give you that thanksgiving day forecast and the black friday shopping forecast a little later. also coming up, the economy takes another hit. banks take more tests. and forget six degrees of separation. how facebook is bringing us all even closer together. your first look at this morning's business headlines is straight ahead. the national league mvp is crowned, the broncos make a move at quarterback and memphis gets a scare from their in-state rival. you're watching "first look" on

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welcome back to "first look." here's some of the top stories making news this morning. despite assurances from egypt's military government that elections will be sped up, protesters continue to clash violently with police in tahrir square. the so-called second revolution has left nearly 30 people dead and more than 2,000 injured. meanwhile three american college students have been arrested for allegedly throwing fire bombs during the protests. back here in the u.s., an affluent new york suburb has been rocked by a cheating scandal that's left 20 current and former high school students under arrest. the students have been charged with hiring college kids to take the s.a.t. or a.c.t. on their behalf. a troubling new survey showç nearly half of americans are struggling just to make ends meet.

according to analysis of government data, 45% live above poverty line but can't afford to cover basic needs. a nasa astronaut released stunning new pictures from the international space station that show incredible scenes of nature at work. like hurricane katia and the southern lights. and look at this. one new zealand pilot is very lucky to be alive after his helicopter crashed while helping install a christmas tree. the chopper's blades apparently got caught up in scaffolding. amazingly, he escaped without any major injuries. here's your first look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,493 after dipping 53 points yesterday. the s&p lost 4 points. the nasdaq was down a point. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei fell 33 points while in hong kong the hang seng dropped 387. in a relatively light day of

preholiday trading, worries about global economic growth weighed on stocks tuesday. a scaled down estimate on third quarter economic growth here at home cast a cloud of gloom on the street while a spike in spanish debt prices escalated fears that spain could be the next in line for a eurozone bailout. drop in chinese manufacturing levels. back on the street, netflix shares sank 5% after raising $400 million to help offset this year's massive customer exodus. campbell's soup fell 5% after reporting higher prices failed to offset dwindling sales. upside, medtronic rose higher ç and merck pleaded guilty and agreed to pay nearly $1 billion in civil fraud charges in relation to vioxx.

federal reserve announced another round of stress tests for 19 financial firms including six of america's biggest banks as the national retail federation said it was suing the fed accusing it of buckling to those banks over a cap on debit card swipe fees. another roadblock for at&t's $39 billion merger with t-mobile. the chairman of the s.e.c. has requested a judge's review after his staff concluded the deal is not in the public's best interest. finally, so much for six degrees of separation. thanks to facebook's growing population, a near five people -- actually 4.74 to be exact -- now separate you from any other person on the planet. more proof that mark zuckerberg rules the world. coming up, all your hockey highlights and a double overtime thriller in college basketball. plus, it was a close race for

national league mvp, so who came out on top? your first look at sports is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. act my age? -why? -why? -why? [ female announcer ] we all age differently. roc® multi-correxion 4 zone moisturizer with roc®retinol and antioxidants. lines, wrinkles, and sun damage will fade. roc multi-correxion. correct what ages you. did you hear sam... ...got promoted to director? so 12 seconds ago. we should get him a present.

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financially, anyway. get slate with blueprint and save money. call 855-get-slate today. ♪ it's nice to be here ♪ it's nice to see you in my bed ♪ ♪ ♪ there are diamonds in her eyes ♪ [ male announcer ] this is your moment. ♪ and they sparkle in the night ♪ ♪ when the moment comes alive [ male announcer ] this is zales, the diamond store. welcome back to "first look". in sports, milwaukee's ryan braun has won the national league's most valuable player award after helping lead the brewers to their first division title in nearly 30 years. here's fred roggin. good morning. we're going to start with baseball.

brewers' ryan braun won the national league mvp, 20 first place votes. finished behind kemp in rbi. but his team made the playoffs, which is usually the difference. lightning looked like the best team in the league and the next night like this, gave up three goals in the first period. tyler had six. joe colburn with the first of his career. another lopsided affair in nashville like the leafs, oilers jumped over the predators in the first period with three goals. jordin eberle had two of them. oilers with a 6-2 win. enough of the blowouts, kings and blues played a close one in st. louis. a one-timer through the third, and kings responded two minutes later. mitchell got a goal, shot from the point tipped and found the back of the net. kings won it 3-2.

football, appears the broncos are sticking with tim tebow for a while. they waved kyle orton. tebow is 4-1 as a starter. college hoops. eighth ranked memphis, vols down two in the final seconds, the layup and headed to o.t. under a minute to play. crawford on the break. tied it and forced double overtime.ç that's when the tigers took the lead for good. barton with two of 21. memphis with a 97-99 win in double overtime. that's your first look at sports. i'm fred roggin. now let's get another look at the weather with bill karins. >> yeah, rain, rain, go away, right? it is going away quickly. that's the good news. the storm system is progressive. and as it's heading out, you'll notice the drying trend in many areas. d.c., baltimore, just a chance

of showers later this morning. but the heavy rain is gone. that's now really from philadelphia through new jersey up into new england. so i-95 from philadelphia north still give it another two hours and then the steady rains will be over with. up in new england, it will take a little bit longer. we have a shield of snow moving in to many of the mountainous areas. boston to hartford to albany, all rain for you thankfully. so the roads just wet. 6 to 12 inches though for the big cities up there in new england. as far as the forecast today, rain exits the east coast, anyone traveling in the pacific northwest, heavy rain continues. one storm after another. that will continue the next couple days. thanksgiving day, parade looks just fine in new york city. a little breezy, but pot so bad that the balloons won't go. should be just fine. and as we go towards the shopping day on friday, just showers in the middle of the country.

coming up, she calls herself jenny from the block, but j. lo is still far from her roots. plus the holiday mistake that could cost kim car dakardashian pretty penny. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. a bluetooth connection. a stolen vehicle locator. roadside assistance. and something that could help save your life - automatic help in a crash. it's the technology of five devices in one hard-working mirror. because life happens while you drive. this holiday, give someone you love an onstar fmv mirror for only 199. visit onstar.com for retailers. the pioneers. the aviators. building superhighways in an unknown sky. their safety systems built of brain and heart,

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welcome back. last night on late night with jimmy fallon, jimmy put a new ì% spin on an old slogan. >> campbell's soup announced that its profits fell 4%.

the ceo was like its he um, um bad. major tech news. fay book is building its own smart phone.major tech news. fay book is building its own smart phone. yeah. not to be outdone, my space oig is refurbishing an old beeper. speaking of facebook, a recent survey showed that the average facebook user has never met 7% of their friends. the article came up in my news feed from my friend the dalai lama. so cool. i just saw this, microsoft is apparently designing rooms for a hotel in france. you can tell they're from microsoft, every time you open the window, they freeze and need to be reinstalled. >> tonight jimmy welcomes actor jason schwartzman, sandra lee, and musical guest rodney atkins. that's week nights at 12:35, 11:35 central time on your local nbc station. time for entertainment news. jennifer lopez is taking

more flack from that fiat ad campaign. the smoking gun reports j. lo filmed the commercial without stepping foot in her hometown the bronx. reportedly a body double was used to film the new york street scenes while close-ups of lopez were done in l.a. first we heard pippa middleton's dress was hitting shelves. replicas that kristin stewart wears are being sold for $799. ç kim kardashian may have ordered a christmas card a little too early. she had high end designer cards made in september featuring a wedding portrait of her and her ex-husband. minor detail. this is what happens when you're only married for 72 days. >> we're already sending christmas cards out?

>> she just got ready a little bit early. i'm lynn berry. this is "first look" on msnbc." geist" starts right now. the republican presidential field assembles in washington to debate foreign policy with romney and huntsman mixing it up on leaving afghanistan and newt gingrich showing that bleed bleeding heart of his on immigration. will last night change the way you feel about any of these kand d candidates? meanwhile president obama was in new hampshire calling out the failures of congress and challenging republicans to say yes to something. the question is, what reason does he have to believe that they ever will. and it's a television news cliché as old as the hills. talking about how bad the travel will be in the day before thanksgiving. but today, it might actually be. the question is, what kind of airport delays are we looking at right now? we'll havethe forecast at