lisa sylvester is monitoring that and other stories in "the situation room" right now. lisa?here, joe. in porter ranch, california, people say 15 people at a walmart store suffered minor injuries when a woman doused them with pepper spray. she reportedly wanted to get an xbox console. >>> and a florida man is under arrest after a breakout at a jewelry counter. >>> the man sus spebpected in t disappearance of a woman in aruba could go free as soon as monday. gee door know's travel companion went missing in august. >>> pulling the christmas tree to the mansion, first lady michelle oem and daughters malia and sasha welcomed to 19-foot tree from wisconsin. >>> and a foot player took down a cheerleader. she's a four-year member of the squad and studying to be a teacher. no harm, no foul. she was okay. and by the way, the cowboys won that 20-19. >> yeah. who -- you know, i've got to say, maybe the cheerleaders ought to start wearing helmets now, huh? >> yeah, that looks like it hurts. >> it's all good. it's all good. you're in washington, d.c. we understand. thanks, lisa. >>> bruta

lisa sylvester has more.ologists among others. >> it was high pressure on rick perry to do well in the debate. it's live television. it's a gruelling campaign schedule and the candidates were all probably a little bit sleep deprived and that is the perfect combination that can lead to momentary memory lapse. political gaffes are nothing new. misstatements. >> i've now been in 57 states. i think one left to go. >> botched quotes. >> fool me once, shame on -- shame on you. >> and the brain freeze. >> we have -- >> last night, rick perry had a class sol cringe worthy moment. three agencies would be gone. commerce, education and -- >> the third agency of government i would do away with, education, the -- commerce. and let's see. i can't. the third one, i can't. sorry. oops. >> that's right. in a nationally televised debate, perry forgot a corner stone of his platform, eliminating the department of energy. >> yeah, i stepped in it, man. yeah, it was embarrassing. of course it was. >> blanking on something has happ

lisa sylvester is back. ing that story and some other top stories in the situation room right now. what do you have, lisa? >> a video shows what activists say is a huge celebration over the weekend after the arab league voted to suspend syria over its deadly crack down on antigovernment protesters. >> and now jordan's king is urging syrian president to resign. the king tells the bbc assad should step down and make sure a new government can change the status quo in syria. we will have extensive coverage of this story coming up in the next hour of the situation room. and in california, police in riot gear dismantle the occupy oakland camp before dawn this morning. officials ordered protesters out over the weekend after a deadly shooting at the camp. and in portland, oregon, there was a tense standoff between police and occupy protesters who defied closing their camp, though most complied. occupy wall street is protesting distribution of wealth and other causes. >>> american eagle is facing a $900 thousand penal

let's bring back lisa sylvester.ted states is a lot. >> certainly is and wall street took a major hit today. the central issue is italy. italy is solvent, but the problem is its debt. investors are afraid of the worst case scenario. what if italy can't pay its bills? that would have far reaching effects in europe, and the united states. italy known for its pasta, fine wines and high fashion, also is known for its staggering debt. $2.6 trillion. that's so large it's bigger than greece's, portugals and ireland's debt combined. it makes italy the large elegant if t fant in the room says mark chandler. >> italy is the big kai hun, roughly 137b9 3 trillion euros in debt. and so, in some ways, we talk about u.s., some banks being too big to fail. italy seems to be too big to rescue. >> italy has the third largest economy in europe. in a word because of globalization. your 401(k) and investments in the stock market have been rising and fallinging with news out of europe. if europe tips into a recession, the u.s. could easil

lisa sylvester, cnn, washington. >>> 21 minutes past the hour now.e going to eat and then you're going to start thinking about christmas. doing that christmas shopping, the gifts and deals. what about the scams? you are about to be targeted, folks. you need to stick around with me because i know you think about great vacation offers and thinking maybe a job offer to get some extra cash and maybe buying gift cards. all that stuff you could be scammed if you're not careful. what you need to know, when i come back. stay here. >>> hi, this is michael bowles ii. i would like to wish my sisters and my beautiful niece, gabrielle, a happy thanksgiving back in neptune, new jersey. [ bells dinging ] ♪ hark how the bells, sweet silver bells ♪ ♪ all seem to say throw care away ♪ ♪ from everywhere, filling the air ♪ [ female announcer ] chex party mix. easy 15-minute homemade recipes you just pop in a microwave. like caramel chocolate drizzles. happier holidays. chex party mix. we're often so busy dealing with what's in front of us that we lose sight of the big p

lisa sylvester, cnn, washington. >>> will curiosity solve the mysteries of mars? nasa launched the new rover with that name today. we'll tell you how the space agency is already working on its next exploration mission. lot of money on car insurance. feels nice going into the holidays. ohhhh.... will you marry me? oooh, helzberg diamonds. yeah, well he must have saved some money with geico. reminds me of the gecko mating call. really? how does that go? shoo be doo be doo. geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. i'm not crazy about these light fixtures. kitchen's too small. what's next? 607 franklin st. ♪ sea bass... ♪ ooohhh! ♪ i like it. yeah, i love the kitchen. [ male announcer ] the epa-estimated 42 mpg highway chevy cruze eco. perfect for finding your way home. >>> nasa's biggest and most advanced probe yet is on its way to mars. >> two, one, main engine start, zero and liftoff of the atlas 5 with curiosity seeking clues to the planetary puzzle about life on mars. >> a launch this morning. it is start of a very long journey. the rover sh

lisa sylvester is monitoring that.e situation room" right now. >> the iraqi prime minister will sit down with president obama at the white house on december 12th, according to a statement released today. the visit comes just weeks ahead of the planned u.s. troop withdrawal at the end of the month. the president announced the final withdrawal deadline last month after a plan to keep thousands of troops there longer fell through. and the israeli military says its sailors have intercepted two aid ships headed to the palestinian territory of gaza. no resistance reported but activists are calling the move illegal and vowed to continue the effort. officials say those on board attempted to violate the security blockade in place and ignored calls to turn back. >>> and the daily deals website groupo in made a strong debut on wall street with stocks soaring 40% above its initial offering price. raking in $700 million for the company. it's the second largest tech ipo ever, behind google, which raised $1.7 billion back in 2004. al

lisa sylvester is monitoring that. what's going on? offices of the french satirical magazine just as it was publishing an issue appearing to make fun of islamic law. the cover features a cartoon figure of the profit mohamed with the quote, 100 lashes if you're not dying of laughter. a director says the fire was caused by a molotov cocktail, but that has not been confirmed. a soldier had been accused of spying. he was arrested on friday following a joint fbi military investigati investigation. the fbi hasn't revealed specifics about the case, only saying he was under observation and any link was stopped. he'll face charges in a military court this week and in washington, it's surprising social event. joe biden and his wife are hosting house majority leader eric cantor and his wife, diana, for dinner at the vice president's official residence tonight. biden and cantor, they butted heads during the talks in june, but staffers are saying despite their differences, the two have developed a strong friendship over the past year and tonight, t

lisa sylvester is monitoring some of the other top stories in "the situation room."this video claims to show army defectors attacking the military. the free syria army has stepped up attacks on government forces. activists say security forces killed at least 13 people across syria today. >>> president obama has arrived in indonesia after wrapping up a two-day tour of australia. before he left, the president signalled u.s. intent to compete with china for influence in the region saying quote, the united states is specific power and we are here to stay. >>> well, eating your vegetables weren't be so bad for students. the bill would allow a serving of pizza to be considered a v l vegetable. how about that for a thought? pizza as a vegetable, wolf. >> pizza's delicious. we love pizza. thanks for that. >>> jack cafferty's next with the "cafferty file." oh my gosh, oh my gosh.. look at these big pieces of potato. ♪ what's that? big piece of potato. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. [ male announcer ] if you're gonna build a fuel-efficient car, the fi

. >>> lisa sylvester is monitoring some other top stories.ome l dramatic video out of london today. >> cnn cameras were rolling as dozens of occupy lend and protesters stormed the offices of a mining company today all part of a mass strike over pension cuts. nearly 2 million public workers are walking off the job. all across the u.k., workers say they're unfairly bearing the brunt of austerity. and britain is closing its embassy in tehran after nearly 200 hard line students ransacked the building. william hague has ordered iran to close its embassy in londened immediately. protesters storm the compound on tuesday in retaliation for western sanctions. >>> and more than a thousand police and riot gear swept through an occupy protest camp in l.a. overnight arresting 200 people. the protesters had been camping out at the lawn for two months nouchlt police say the operation was mostly peaceful. in philadelphia, more than 50 people were arrested as officers shut down silents across the city. >>> and look what a group of fishermen nearly hooked off

lisa sylvester is following the story. mostly business as unusual decision. maybe usual, not so usual. >> that's right. if you have holding on to an american airlines ticket, don't wor worry, that ticket is still good. it will be business as usual at least in the short-term. customers won't notice much of a dif wrenn, but in the longer term, there may be some changes ahead. here's the bottom line for customers. american airlines says their planes will still fly. their ticketing will still be honored and if you have frequent flayer miles or elite status, that will remain in tact. but american airlines' new ceo says labor prices and voltity left the airline no choice. >> this year, we're going to pay almost $2 billion more dollars for r feel. that was a kick in the teeth we didn't need, but it's a reality and our company is facing reality and we're going to go forward. >> competitors have gone down this path before. delta, united and northwest have all filed for bankruptcy in recent years. american airlines says its labor co

lisa sylvester is taking a closer look. the ways you have gained insight into newt gingrich is to follow the money. >> he is a lot of things, a farmer house speaker, presidential candidate and a businessman. he made a report erd 2.5 million last year on various businesses and at the heart of all of this is his brand. one of the things we have learned about newt gingrich is that he has had a number of different businesses. among businesses he has had is a for-profit -- essentially a think tank in which corporations would spend as much as $200,000 on's he is n eis not shon essen advice. he was actually paid by fret l freddie mac up to $1.8 million. this was essentially money that originally saying he was giving historical advice. then he said as a consultant, he told them essentially what they were doing was wrong. these are some of the ways in which he learned that $2.5 million referred to. also, there are the boongs. the dvds, documentaries and the various ways he has earned a very hefty income over the years. but what he i

lisa sylvester. >>> "in depth" now.ours with activists in the new york park. check out this day in the life. ♪ >> i'm going to be here until i die. i don't know how long some other people will be here. >> my tent! >> falling apart. >> see the apple floating over there? ♪ >> you need towels? >> yes. >> thank you. >> i'm charging the battery by pedaling this stationary bike. we are taking the recycled batteries around the park wherever we need power. >> i hear capitalism. >> they criticize the cuban revolution. said the revolution can eat its own children. i can eat burger king. >> help people. look. why are we here? why are we here? what are we going to do? maybe it is to help people out! >> it is all volunteer here. >> we are just waiting to eat right outer loop it is dinner time. >> hi. >> hi. >> hi, everybody. >> hi, everybody. >> welcome to general assembly. >> nyc general assembly has been going on since 7:00 and going -- 10:40 now. it will probably continue until midnight. >> good morning. it is about 8:30. i just

lisa sylvester has a check of that and the rest of the day's top stories. lisa. >> the united states will name a iran and its central bank a laundering concern. officials say a number of iranian companies allegedly supporting the country's nuclear program will be sanctioned. >>> major league baseball is mourning the loss of one of its own today. 24-year-old greg hullman who played center field for the mariners was stabbed to death in the methnetherlands. his mother is held in the incident. >>> more than $1.2 billion in customer funds may be missing from the bankrupt brokerage firm. that's according to the trustees seeing the case. mf global, which used to be run by corzine. i will have a special report on this story in the next hour, wolf. >> it's an important story. i'm glad you're all over it, lees with a ya. thank you. >>> she surprised everyone by showing up unexpectedly in libya today. my interview with susan wright. she's next i'll also get her reaction it a rather controversial reaction by herman cain and the taliban role in the libyan government. >>

lisa sylvester has been investigating this part of the story for us. what else is coming up?white house did a document, some 20,000 documents released yesterday and we have some of these records here. but it was not enough to satisfy republicans on the energy and commerce committee investigating solyndra. they voted to subpoena the white house and vice president's office. mr. upton votes aye. >> the vote, 14- slit down party lines. the deal authorizes the committee to subpoena all white house records related to solyndra. republicans accuse the obama administration of stone walling. >> we've made our case about the documents. the white house has refused to produce them. we have no choice to but issue a subpoena and i'll say it again. i wish it had not come to this. >> solyndra received a $550 million loan from the department of energy. were out a half a billion dollars. the house energy and commerce committee is investigating whether political connections played a worole in the company receiving the loan. democrats accused republicaning of going on a fishing expedition. rankin

lisa sylvester has an update on that. top stories in the situation situati "situation room" right now. what is going on lisa? >> the do, s&p and nasdaq lost 2 1/2 points. chinese trifecta fell to a three-year low. those fears combined with ongoing concern about euro's own debt to push down the dow more than 230 points. homeland security officials say there is no evidence a water pump in the springfield illinois area was cyberattacked. the pump failed. federal authorities were called when the utility thought it spotted suspicious activity. the homeland security department says it found no suspicious activity from russia or anywhere else. and a truly sticky situation for thanksgiving travelers in pennsylvania. last night a tanker truck carrying driveway seal ant sprang a leak on the pennsylvania turnpike that spilled the black goo all over the highway. you can guest what happened next. hundreds of cars were damaged. some couldn't even move. they tried to plow the stuff off the road, eventually they gave up and poured sand o

. >>> lisa sylvester is monitoring what's going on.ment between syria and the arab league? >> they have reached an agreement on the proposal to end the violent crack down in that country. details aren't known but an announcement is set for tomorrow in cairo. they have called on syria's government to end all violence against citizens including removing tanks and military vehicles from the streets and releasing political prisoners. there is a suspicious incident being investigated at chicago's o'hare airport including a checked bag. the chicago fire department said a baggage handler received burns after a bag of batteries either caught fire or exploded. the official says a metal strip may have triggered the incident. the fbi is interviewing the bag's owner. it is being treated at this point as an accident. and the iowa corn field made famous in the 1989 film "field of dreams" has now been sold. an illinois couple bought the 193-acre farm. according to the chicago tribune they plan to develop it into a youth baseball and softball complex

lisa sylvester is here with that part of the story giving us a little bit more perspective. >> that's. newt gingrich has spoken out blaming fannie mae and freddie mac for contributing to the housing crisis. he has received more than $1.5 million from freddie mac. it turns out he was not the only congressional lawmaker who went through the revolving door and ended up with big checks from freddie mac. this restaurant? washington, d.c., was one of freddie mac's chief lobbyist mitchell dealt's favorite spots to wine and dine politicians. records show freddie mac held 85 fundraisers for federal candidates between 2000 and 2003, raising more than $1.5 million for them. many of the lawmakers being honored sat on the house financial services committee, a congressional panel charged with overseeing freddie mac and fannie mae. the federal election commission found this to be a blatant violation of federal law and fined freddie mac $3.8 million, the largest fec fine ever. but this was only part of freddie mac's strategy to curry favor among federal lawmakers. freddie mac at the time was trying t

. >> just a quick comment on the lisa sylvester report congress trying to decide whether pizza is a vegetable. two tablespoons of saucy. i also like jamie oliver's take on the news on "jimmy kimmel live." take a look. >> well, we've got big vegetables here. >> uh-huh. >> we've got medium vegetables here. we've got wedges. we've even got little bits over here, little bites. and the best thing about these vegetables is that they're always in season. >> of course, there is a serious side to this. food companies lobbied to keep pizza and french fries in the cafeterias. and a lot of people have a big problem with corporate interests being put ahead of kids' interest. because as dr. sanjay gupta pointed out on "american morning" what kids are eating in school can have long-lasting effects. >> about 2/3 of kids get a third of their calories from school lunches, and about a third get some. this is dictating how kids eat now and how they might eat later in the life. >> trust me you do not want to grow up thinking pizza is a vegetable. otherwise, fast forward 30 years you try spinach for the first time

lisa sylvester is joining us with the details. >> after leaving public office, gingrich set himself upas done very well. we know that freddie mac used his services. and so did a number of health care companies through his for-profit think tank. >> speaker newt gingrich. >> reporter: newt picking up steam in iowa. one of his main talking points, talking down president obama's health care reform. >> we have to repeal obamacare to get the economy growing again. >> reporter: gingrich has a hefty background in health care. he's ranked as the sixth most powerful person in the industry. in 2003, gingrich founded the center for health transformation, a for-profit washington think tank. its members includes bluecross blueshield. a "washington post" analysis tallies the amount gingrich has raked in at more than $37 million since 2003. in exchange, the health care companies gained access to the former house speaker. >> this is a common refrain in this city where groups are trying to gain access to find friends and allies so when push comes to shove, they have people on their side. >> house speake

lisa sylvester reported on it earlier in the week, but ths probably going to be an issue? this republican contest. so many republicans hate fannie mae and freddie mac. >> and rightfully so. what did think just get through with saying they need about $8 billion of taxpayers' money? i think gingrich worked as a consultant for them, so was compensated handsomely as most of the people who work for that agency seem to be. >> 1.6 million handsomely. there's no doubt about that. i think we're talking about more than 100 -- $100 billion. that fannie and freddie have needed from all of us -- >> over time. >> over the years, that's right. and they're still losing tons and tons of money. just the other day, they announced they're giving bonuses to some of their executives who make a $9 million a year salary. >> the argument for the bonuses, if we don't pay these bonuses, we can't attract qualified people to run an agency so far until the red that you're going to have to pipe them daylight. i mean, what kind of qualified executives do you have to have to run something into the ground

but lisa sylvester is here to talk about the very serious issue that perry struggled with wednesday nightone thing people in the political world were talking about. rick perry's major gaffe. but he was actually testing out a new policy message, cutting three federal departments. >> governor rick perry. >> reporter: rick perry was trying to make a point before quote, he steppeded in it. >> the third agency of government i would do away with, education, the commerce -- and let's see -- i can't -- the third one i can't, sorry. oops. >> perry's message, entirely lost in the massive fumble. but what was his point? he wants to eliminate the departments of education and commerce and energy. the texas governor would cut nondefense discretionary spending by $100 billion in the first year. but reducing the size of government is not new. fellow republican contender ron paul has made it part of his calling card, going back even further, ronald reagan proposed cutting the department of education. >> this is a standard part of playing to a certain conservative base that dramatically wants to reduce the

lisa sylvester is monitoring that, some of the other top stories. >> this just into cnn.new cases of alleged child abuse against jerry sandusky have been opened by children and youth services in pennsylvania. this according to services close to the investigation. the cases were reported less than 60 days ago and it marks the first time cases involving sandusky and currently underaged children are being investigated. sandusky is currently facing a number of other child sex abuse charges. >>> the taliban is declaring a cease fire in one area of pakistan. they tell cnn anonymously they are in south waziristan, they say it follows back talks for the pakistani government and taliban. the pakistani taliban's official spokesman denies talks are talking place from the pakistani government, they are also denying reports of talks. >>> south korea's governoring party managed to pass a continue ver verse yal free trade agreement with the united states despite scuffles and a tear gas attack in parliament. the u.s. ratified the deal last month. critics there argue it takes away the cou

lisa sylvester, cnn, washington. >>> still to come this morning, how the failure of the so-called debtean less money for new your paycheck? >> a lot of people traveling to grandmother's house. today's forecast with jacqui jeras. >> hey, a rough go across parts of the midsouth after record rain flooded highways. look at this video from interstate 30 out of little rock, arkansas. rivers went out of their banks and shut down the river for a short time. back open. but the storm system continues to move off to the east and could bring severe thunderstorms this afternoon to new orleans up towards birmingham even into cincinnati. we also have a storm in the pacific northwest bringing windy conditions, up to two feet of snow in the cascades and flood issues expect there at least through wednesday. that's the latest on the forecast. "american morning" is back right after a break. [ man ] i got this citi thank you card and started earning loads of points. you got a weather balloon with points? yes, i did. [ man ] points i could use for just about anything. ♪ keep on going in this direction. take