police officers pepper spraying occupy protesters goes viral. tonight, the fallout rocking a college campus. crisis in cairo. egyptian face another bloody crackdown from their own military. our richard engel is there. black friday backlash. why some say stores are ruining an annual tradition. and, pandemonium. there is a giant operation under way in the wild, and we're hot on the trail. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good evening. it looks tonight like the so-called congressional super committee charged with cutting through the partisan divide on capitol hill and coming up with a way to slash the federal budget deficit are about to throw in the towel. just when it seemed congress' approval ratings couldn't fall any lower, the bipartisan panel

stands on the brink of failure tonight on its mission to cut over a trillion dollars in spending. they were given the job after an impasse over raising the debt ceiling nearly sent the u.s. into default over the summer and led to an unprecedented lowering of the u.s. credit rating. and this latest apparent failure has its own stark consequences. nbc's kelly o'donnell is on capitol hill with late details for us. hello, kelly. >> reporter: hello, lester. it seems super committee turned out to be an ironic nickname for this group that had been given added power to try to do something about the nation's long-term debt. but tonight it seems failure is almost certain. no deal and almost no time left. and it seems the same old partisan struggles got in the way. under deadline, but plenty of time to turn up all over tv this morning. >> today i'll be at the table, all night long we have a few hours left. >> reporter: truth is, the super committee isn't really talking anymore. >> nobody wants to give up hope.

reality is to some extent starting to overtake hope. >> reporter: in order to make the final deadline wednesday, a deal would have to be in writing and its costs calculated by monday. >> tomorrow morning is it, folks. we have today. and if we can't get it done today, it is going to become a fight before the congress. it is going to continue. >> reporter: with the nation's deficit clock ticking above $15 trillion now, the super committee's mission was to cut $1.2 trillion over ten years. six democrats and six republicans from both house and senate. since september, a pack of cameras tracked them into meetings after meeting. >> we're going to work as long as it takes to get an agreement. >> reporter: they have incentive. no deal triggers sweeping automatic cuts in 2013 that hit defense hard. >> silver lining is that we're going to get the spending cuts anyway. >> reporter: they hit a brick wall over taxes. democrats wanted more revenue in order to alter programs like medicaid.

>> we're willing to put on the line on entitlements, on spending cuts, but only if the republicans are willing to cross the line on the bush tax cuts and be willing to say revenues have to be a part of this solution. >> reporter: republicans say they offered to eliminate some tax deductions but wanted lower rates and bigger spending cuts. >> i think it tells you a lot. that is that in washington, there is a group of folks that will not cut a dollar unless we also raise taxes. >> reporter: and many republicans say separate steps will be needed to try to deal with heading off those massive cuts to defense by 2013. and it will also be some other to dos for congress that will have to deal with the very popular programs that are about to end and that is an extension of unemployment benefits and the payroll tax to decide if they should keep those going. lester? >> kelly, thank you. to presidential politics now, a softer side, we don't often see on the campaign trail, gathered close around a table, six of the republican candidates shared personal stories of tragedy and

losses that they have endured. several of them getting emotional, even tearing up at times. nbc's mike viqueira reports. >> reporter: raw emotion on display at an iowa faith and family forum this weekend. herman cain breaking down as he described learning in 2006 he was gravely ill with cancer. >> walking out of that surgeon's office, after he had just told us stage four -- >> take your time. >> i said i wasn't going to do this. >> reporter: the gathering of social conservatives, a key voting balock in iowa, saw gop candidates get off script and speak from the heart, tearing up as they revealed personal hardships. rick santorum spoke of his infant daughter, born with a rare and often fatal genetic condition and his struggle to cope.

>> rib holding that finger. >> reporter: the gop field is still unsettled. since july, one candidate after another surged, peaked in polls and then collapsed, taking turns as the conservative option to the one republican who stayed near the top, mitt romney. >> thank you. >> reporter: romney skipped the iowa forum staying in hanew hampshire where he was endorsed by senator ajoyotte. jon huntsman was a surprise guest on "saturday night live". >> you're kind and good looking. >> reporter: the latest gop alternative to romney, newt gingrich, but after a series of controversies, including reports his firm may be between $1.6 million and $1.8 million working with mortgage giant freddie mac, some say gingrich's surge won't last. >> the last thing they look for is someone who has been around washington for so long, not only was he speaker of the house, he also was able to build all the organizations that have taken in

so many millions of dollars from the corporate clients that the american electorate is tired of. >> reporter: one other speaker in iowa last night, rahm emanuel. he was chief of staff here at the white house, now mayor of chicago. he had plenty of ridicule to go around for the republican candidates. but he singled one out in particular, mitt romney, calling him a flip-flopper on major issues. lester? >> mike viqueira at the white house, thank you. the occupy movement, whose message over uneven wealth that this country, has at times been loosely focused is increasingly bee defined by graphic images of clashes with police. the latest comes in a viral video that has taken off across the internet this week geend ans putting officials at a california campus on the defensive. anne thompson reports. >> reporter: this is the test evidence police patience with the occupy movement is wearing thin. videos posted on youtube show uc davis campus police firing

pepper spray at apparently peaceful protesters friday. >> shame on you! >> reporter: the police chief said this was a volatile situation, and the police were cut off from their support. the video shows this officer using the spray to clear a path. these scenes ignited an angry reaction on the web. >> shame on you. shame on you. >> reporter: some are calling for chancellor linda katehi's resignation. she's resisting, and today placed two officers seen using pepper spray on administrative leave. as the task force investigates whether the action was justified on a video that the chancellor describes as chilling. >> i do extend the unfortunate and really bad situation that was created for our students. >> reporter: across the nation, the police crackdown is causing striking images. a young man bloodied at new york's park. an 84-year-old woman pepper sprayed in seattle. and now with students at uc davis.

while protesters may be losing physical space, one analyst says they are gaining impact. >> they really opened up a space to have the conversations which we weren't having three months ago about income inequality, about what adjusting to a moral system is like. >> reporter: there is also great criticism, some expressed at last night's republican presidential candidate forum in iowa. >> go get a job right after you take a bath. >> reporter: observers say the challenge for the movement now is to see if it can go from occupying parks to occupying the nation's political debate in an election year. or will it be undone in a debate over tactics by both police and protesters? anne thompson, nbc news, new york. overseas now, to egypt, where tonight violent clashes are waging once again in tahrir square. egyptians are protesting military control and egyptian forces have responded with a deadly crackdown. our chief foreign correspondent richard engel joins us now from cairo. richard, good evening.

>> reporter: good evening, lester. parliamentary elections here are just one week away. but today's events could be the start of a new wave of violence. in the square where egypt's revolution began, today thousands of demonstrators came ready for a new political revolt. this time against the egyptian military. expecting clashes, protesters wore medical face masks. and gas masks. and they were right to be prepared. egyptian police fired tear gas and rubber bullets. dozens collapsed, overcome by the caustic fumes. clouds of tear gas now hang over parts of downtown cairo, but it isn't dispersing the crowd. these protesters insist they will continue to demonstrate in the streets until the egyptian military steps down. but what exactly are they protesting against? president mubarak stepped down nearly a year ago. but since then, the military has remained in power, maintained

martial law, and fined thousands in military court. now the military wants to be completely free of civilian oversight. the military isn't transitioning to democracy as it promised. everything is still the same as it was as the old regime. they're still shooting at us like they did under mubarak, said another. when the tear gas didn't break up the demonstrators, at sunset hundreds of riot police and soldiers advanced to clear out tahrir square, with clubs, shields, armored personnel carriers and shotguns. a new battle was under way to keep protesters from returning, troops burned their tents. in minutes, there were casualties. cameras captured egyptian security forces dragging what appeared to be a dead protester and throwing the body in a pile of garbage. the military takeover of tahrir square was violent, but short lived. thousands of egyptians returned to the square.

health officials tonight cite ten people were killed today and violence is now spreading outside of cairo to alexandria and suez. >> richard engel in cairo for us. richard, thanks. in libya, moammar gadhafi's son and one time heir apparent saif al-islam has been captured in the desert. they say they will try him in libya and not hand him over to the international criminal court where he's charged with crimes against humanity. now to a child sex abuse investigation at penn state. a day after the nittany lions won their first football game in 46 years without joe paterno, tonight new questions for those in charge and new concerns being raised by students. nbc's jay gray reports from state college. >> reporter: there are more serious questions tonight about the child sex abuse scandal at penn state. many focused on the university's board of trustees. most of the members of that group including new interim athletic director david joyner

say they knew little. >> the first i learned of this, any of this, is march of this year that the harrisburg patriot news did a story on -- that there was a leak i guess in the grand jury investigation. >> reporter: the allegations were apparently rarely, if ever discussed in board meetings, even though several high ranking university officials including fired president graham spanier and coach joe paterno had testified before the grand jury. >> it would be a great surprise to me if the board didn't know anything about this. >> reporter: former penn state professor ron smith wrote the book "pay for play" examining the dark side of college athletics. >> penn state, as you probably know, is a very insular institution. it is this little island in -- of happy valley. >> reporter: the culture at penn state raised questions for the ncaa as their investigation intensifies, focusing on penn state's institutional control over its athletic programs, and many on campus are now worried about the national fallout. >> unfortunately with the scandal and the riot and all the

other things that are going on, it sort of gives penn state a bad stigma in a sense. >> reporter: it is a big enough concern for students. the university posted this letter on its website. >> the integrity of our academic programs has not changed. >> reporter: integrity that is now at the center of three ongoing investigations on a campus and in a community that seems so much change lately. jay gray, nbc news, state college, pennsylvania. when "nightly news" continues, they were there 30 years ago when natalie wood drowned. tonight, what they're saying now. and later, when it comes to cute, these guys are a knockout. and we're down for the count. copd makes it hard to breathe, so i wasn't playing much of a role in my own life, but with advair, i'm breathing better so now i can take the lead on a science adventure. advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function. unlike most copd medications, advair contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator, working together to help improve your lung function all day.

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a new look into the death of natalie wood, one of hollywood's biggest mysteries for decades. tonight we're hearing from a woman who says she heard something that night, 30 years ago, and there is new information about where the investigation is headed. we get more now from nbc's ayman mahadin. >> reporter: the investigation into what happened to natalie wood 30 years ago this week now turns to the boat where she was last seen alive. ron nelson bought the "splendor" five years after her death and now docks it in honolulu. >> this is where the argument would have started. >> reporter: wood, her husband robert wagner, actor christopher walken and the captain were all aboard the "splendor" thanksgiving weekend in 1981. nbc news confirmed investigators will be in honolulu early next month in search of new clues into the death of the three-time oscar nominated actress. john nazarene is a private investigator. >> i would want to look at boat, sitting where it's at, the

conditions that night, and getting a feel for what people could see. >> reporter: initially wood's death was ruled as an accidental drowning but now the boat's captain says he lied to police in the initial investigation and points the finger at robert wagner. police say wagner is not a suspect. for years there has been speculation that natalie wood was the victim of a love triangle that ended tragically following a night of alcohol and arguments. marilyn wayne says she was on a nearby boat that evening. >> i heard a woman calling for help, help me, somebody, please help me, i'm drowning. >> reporter: but doug bombbart who found natalie's body still believes she slipped and drowned. >> my position is that it was a horrible accident. it was something that is very unfortunate. >> reporter: still, investigators say they now have new information. >> the comments from the captain now, you know, there was a lot of liquor on board that night and there was emotions. i can't think of a worse chemistry for an accident.

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shopping. but this year there is a new twist and not everybody's happy about it. here is nbc's craig melvin. >> reporter: can you believe they're already lining up for those black friday bargains? >> $800 tv for $200, so, i mean, we think people will be here really early. >> reporter: a welcome sign for struggling retailers who count on next weekend for up to 20% of their sales. this year, they're pulling out all the stops. >> starts next friday morning at midnight. >> reporter: big door busters with walmart brought back layaway for fwifthe first time years. for the first time ever, some retailers are starting black friday on thursday. if they can beat the competition and open up a little bit earlier, it is the early bird that gets the worm philosophy. >> reporter: 17% of shoppers say they'll start their christmas shopping thanksgiving weekend. that's up 5% over last year. consumer confidence is at an all time low, and many experts don't think consumer will be spending much more this holiday season

than last. so if the pie isn't getting any bigger, retailers have to figure out how to get a bigger slice. not everyone is happier about the earlier hours. carlton smith has been at work at walmart 8:00 thanksgiving night. >> holiday, especially paid holidays should be spent with family and friends. >> reporter: it is even led to a black friday backlash of sorts with nearly 200,000 signing this petition asking target to save thanksgiving for their workers. target and walmart both told us they very much appreciate their employees, especially during the holidays. and with more than 25 million americans looking for jobs, some like lilia caine do not mine going to theirs on turkey day. >> we're excited to come in and work. this economy is tough. >> reporter: that tough economy, and traditions for retailers, shoppers and the workers. craig melvin, nbc news, new york.

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that make kids happy. and even fewer that make moms happy too. with wholesome noodles and bite sized chicken, nothing brings you together like chicken noodle soup from campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do. finally tonight, they're cute, they're cuddly, they're adorable and they're endangered. but in order to increase the panda population, first you have to figure out how many actually live in the wild. how do you do that? with a panda census, of course. and nbc's adrian mog is on the trail. >> reporter: they're unique, a national treasure native only to a small part of china, an area

the size of connecticut. they're also one of the most endangered animals in the world, so much so that china holds a panda census every ten years. this time, it kicks off in sichuan, one of three provinces the giant panda makes its own. here, 70 trackers will spend the next two years surveying the bears' natural habitat. we followed one of them on his assignment up a steep and slippery mountain slope. he took part in the last census. he said new technology like the gps device has helped cut down his time in the field by a third. look, bamboo. giant pandas love this, so we must be getting close. but we didn't see any wild pandas. they're too rare. only 1600 according to the last census. nevertheless, there is still information to be gathered. what people normally care about is the number of pandas, says this scientist. but we also care about the conditions of their habitat. with this data, we can draw more

effective conservation policies. the biggest threat to the panda is still humans. sichuan, one of the most populous provinces, is urbanizing rapidly. but the panda, especially in captivity, is also threatened by its own mating habits. so scientists focus their efforts on breeding centers. earlier this year, a landmark birth of a dozen cubs. it was a milestone with the number of pandas in captivity around the world reached 300, says this scientist at a breeding center. researchers hope the new census will reveal another milestone, that breeding programs and conservation efforts have been on the right track, producing more national treasures. adrian mog, nbc news, sichuan, china. that's "nbc nightly news" for this sunday. up next, "football night in america" followed by "sunday night football," the eagles take on the giants tonight. brian williams will be here tomorrow. i'm lester holt reporting from new york.

and for all of us here at nbc news, good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

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