ripples of relief spread from europe across the world market. a deal has been reached to tackle the e.u. financial crisis. european leaders have agreed to expand the e.u. bailout fund while private sectors will take a 50% loss on greek bonds. the european agreement translated into a huge day for u.s. stocks. let's go to alison kosik at the new york stock exchange. the closing bell just rang. how did stocks finish? we don't know the final number, but we know it's very positive. >> it is. the numbers are settling. we're seeing the dow up 340 points. the nasdaq s&p up more than 300%. the bulls busted out of the opening bell and never looked back. this is what investors have been waiting for. these debt problems plaguing greece. and besides plugging greece's debt hole, this plans to safeguard against future shocks. it's a step forwards in instilling stability in the marketplace. >> being there is such a powerful positive reaction, do investors see this as a done deal? is this crisis over there over? >> i think what you're seeing isn't just a lot of hope this is the real thing, but there is some skepticism. a lot of details still have to be worked out. the plan that european leaders came up with overnight is really a broad outline. now, they have to deal with the fine print and implement it fast. there are still remaining questions like will it be enough? the bailout fund was boosted to $1 trillion, but it is swimming in its own pool of debt. it's really questionable whether the crisis as a whole is over. >> a positive bit of news i should say. wall street had this new report showing the u.s. economic growth in the third quarter. picked up nicely, not great, but pretty good. how did this factor? >> i think it added to the optimism today. we found out that third quarter gdp grew at a 2.5% annual pace. you look at the first half of the year. the economy grew at a less than 1% pace. if you look deeper into the report, a lot of good things in there. consumer spending picked up. businesses spent more. that shows there's more confidence growing in the third quarter, but the reality is, wolf, that the growth rate is still below normal. the good, positive takeaway is that it is strong enough to put to rest another more top of another recession in the u.s. at least for now. >> dow jones above 12,000. that's pretty good. thanks very much. let's get more now on the strengthening economy. erin burnett is standing by. erin is the host of "outfront." put this gdp growth into some context. really good, average good? what do you think? >> i guess there's a absolute and relevant. absolute level, our economy can do a lot better than last quarter, but relatively given we went through the crisis over the debt ceil, the concern about paralysis in washington, you would think with all that and a lot of people did think, we would do a lot worse. so 2.5% is twice as fast as we grew in the second quarter. in this, a couple of things worth highlighting. personal con sums, 2.4% growth. that is much stronger than had been expected. we were only looking for 1.9. that shows strength just in the average american. also an improvement in construction and software. on an absolute basis, we can do a lot better. on a relative bases, we're doing a lot better than earlier this year and there are some real bright spots in the number. >> one is economic growth. the double dip recession, the economists say two successive quarters of negative economic growth. we haven't seen that, so is it fair to say that fears of a double dip recession at least as of now given all these quarters of positive growth with over? >> a lot of the economists and investor rs i've spoken to over the past two months, they've been consistent. they didn't see it coming. there were a lot of articles about it. for a lot of americans, it feels as if the economy isn't growing. that sort of gap between what regular people are experiencing and some of these horrible numbers we get. but yes, it is off the table, but in terms of getting that robust growth which starts to put a real dent in the $8 million jobs we lost, we don't see signs of that happening. >> millions and millions of americans who are unemployed or underemployed, not just a recession, it's a depression for millions of americans. all day, we've heard about the deal in europe. obviously a deal that generated positive news on wall street. is it really a done deal? is what they're doing to europe going to stem this problem? >> everything comes down to this. everyone says greece is interesting, but why does it matter? because europe is the most important trading partner for the united states of america. it is the most important trading partner for china, which puts europe in the cat bird's seat. this deal is good. i want to say there have been 14 summits of european leaders in 21 month. all right? so, they have shown a real inability to get anything done. this time, they got something done and there's a lot there. there are a lot of details to work through and that's really important. but it's worth saying when you look at the debt that greece had, if everything's worth a dollar, now, it's worth 50 cents. those investors just took a 50 cent cut. that is good for the banks. the banks are in the united states and around europe, so that's a positive thing, but a lot of people think they needed to take a bigger quote unquote haircut and lose more money. that would put greece in a tougher situation and that would mean we're not quite done. this may come back and bite us in the behind again. use different word. >> something like that. i want to make a quick turn because i know you have a new special on tonight. you have one of the biggest news makers on your show later tonight. let me show the our viewers the video we're all talking about. >> county tray back. ♪ you don't have herman cain, but you have his aide. the guy who was smoking in that ad. tell us what you thought when you saw that commercial? >> smoking in a lolt of ways. i have to say, i think i was a little bemused, then really, it takes courage. you're going to come out and do it your own way. what's really the takeaway? we've been reading the stories that sort of go on one track. this camp is serious, it's falling apart. on the other track, this shows that being genuine and authentic is what people want and keeps climbing in the polls. we're going to find out what's going on and mark block was really thinking when he did that. >> good guess. 7:00 p.m. eastern only here on cnn. we'll be watching. thank you. for decades, it's been a corner stone of american foreign policy. a steadfast refusal, at least in public, to negotiate with terrorists, but the obama administration raising fresh doubts today with that policy with hillary clinton saying the u.s. is in fact willing to talk with terrorists in some circumstances including the head of the taliban. our foreign affairs correspondent has more. >> reporter: more by the taliban in afghanistan, for hillary clinton to explain to the house foreign affairs committee why the obama administration is willing to negotiate with terrorists. including the head of the taliban in afghanistan, mullah omar, responsible for many attacks on coalition forces and afghan civilians. >> are we prepared to negotiatigauchnegotiate with mullah omar and if so, under what circumstances and what would our conditions be? >> they would have to include the -- and would have to include some recognition, which based on everything we know is still led by mullah omar, that they wish to participate in such a process. that's what i meant when you said you don't make peace with your friends. >> they have met with the haqqani network at the request of the isi. >> there was such a meeting. it was not a negotiation. there was no follow up meeting. this was done in part because i think the pakistanis hope to be able to move the haqqani network towards some kind of peace negotiation and the answer was an attack on our embassy. >> reporter: clinton insists there are some red lines when it comes to talk iing with terrorists. >> trying to distinguish between so-called good terrorists and bad is ultimately self-defeating and dangerous. no one who targets any civilians of any nationality should tolerated or projected. >> which is it madame secretary, crack down or negotiation or both? >> it's both, as i said, we want to fight, talk and build all at the same time. part of the reason for that is to test whether these organizations have any willingness to negotiate in good faith. >> clinton says she's realistic. 2500 taliban have given up the fight, but not all are willing to give up their ideology. so far, she says this is a testing process. jill daugherty, cnn, the state department. >> one tactic still used, drone attacks. killed nine people today in pakistan's tribal region. one strike in south waziristan killed five senior members of an anti-american group with direct ties to the haqqani network. another fired in north waziristan, killed four suspected militants. jack cafferty's coming up next. then, bernie madoff's wife reveals their desperate act as their ponzi scheme collapsed. and why rick perry says he may skip the future republican debates. we'll talk about that and much more with james carville and ed rollins. they're standing by live in our strategy session. 4g-- the next evolution in wireless technology. with advanced power, the verizon 4g lte network makes your business run faster: smartphones, laptops, tablets, mobile hotspots. but not all 4g is created equal. among the major carriers, only verizon's 4g network is 100% lte, the gold standard of wireless technology. and while other carriers may have limited lte coverage, verizon is the largest lte network in america and ever-growing. with verizon 4g lte, you can invent new ways to upgrade your business using real-time group meetings from remote locations, video conferencing, mobile credit-card payments, lightning-fast downloads, and access to thousands of business apps. plus, verizon has the largest selection of 4g lte devices and the most 4g lte coverage for your business. all on america's fastest, most reliable 4g network. no wonder more businesses choose verizon wireless than any other wireless carrier. verizon. consumers er wanchai ferry orange chicken... over p.f. chang's home menu orange chicken women men and uh pandas... elbows mmm [ male announcer ] wanchai ferry, try it yourself. [ male announcer ] we're not employers or employees. not white collar or blue collar or no collars. we are business in america. and every day we awake to the same challenges. but at prudential we're helping companies everywhere find new solutions to manage risk, capital and employee benefits, so american business can get on with business. ♪ jack? >> wolf, it's been nearly three months since that so-called supercommittee was created. we've had months of closed door secret meetings. only a few public appearances as the panel's deadline approaches. the public's been shut out of the negotiations. the lobbyists have continuous access to the members. how's that transparency thing working out for you? sort of reminds me of the health care legislation. so far, there are no signs the committee has a i greeed to any meaningful cuts. democrats did propose a plan r for cutting $3 trillion. republicans quickly rejected it because the democrats also wants to increase taxes by $1.2 trillion and republicans said no chance on that. they call the plan outrageously absurd and some accuse the democrats of leaking the plan because they think it will fail and i do, too. if no agreement is reached, across the board trigger spending cuts will duointo effect in 2013. not next year when there's an election. 2013. john boehner says the trigger cuts are unacceptable and that it's important for the supercommittee to meet its goals. this from the speaker of the house who hasn't bothered to do a budget this year. while a politicians fiddle the debt just keeps getting bigger. how much confidence do you have in the supercommittee to do anything meaningful about the national debt in the next four weeks? go to cnn.com/caffertyfile. post a comment as soon as you stop laughing or go to our facebook page. >> one tiny correction, they did pass a budget in the house, the paul ryan budget. never went anywhere in the senate. senate hasn't done a budget in a long time, but they did pass the budget in the house. >> that was my error. point being the last two years, there's been no budget passed. that's part of their job. they're just throwing it in the garbage can. >> that's the senate. >> my error. >> by the way, very good "cafferty file." i write a similar column on our cnn.com/situationroom website. on my blog there. they might be. there's been a change of pace in plans for regime change as it's called in north korea. lisa sylvester is monitoring that and some of the other top stories. >> north korea's kim jong-il appears to be feeling better and u.s. military sources say that's slowing a change in leadership for the nation. he's been traveling around north korea and china and this is a big change from 2009 when he was thought to be battling cancer. next in line is is his son. he's still in his 20s and he's already taking on official duties. we will have a full report on this in our next hour. the united nations security counsel voted to end military operations in libya. that remove it is mandate for intervention, effectively canceling nato's mission there as of next monday. also, concern about proliferation in libya and reprisals and execution style killings. one of the largest cities in asia is being evacuated. thousands of people are fleeing bangkok as the worst flooding in 50 years. the holiday was declared so the residents could escape to hire ground. the flooding has already killed almost 400 people nationwide. and the federal case against john edwards is set to begin in january. a judge rejected motions to have his indictment dismissed. he faces six felony and misdemeanor counts related to donations and payments from 2008. if con ticketed, he could face up to 30 years in prison and a fine of more than a million dollars. >> we'll watch this unfold. thanks very much. rick perry is trailing right now in the polls and now, his is that a good idea? and herman cain says his campaign's unusual web video featuring smoking staffer is quote, hilarious. james and ed are standing by live for their take. all that coming up and a lot more here on "the situation room." sun life financialrating should be famous.d bad, we're working on it. so you're seriously proposing we change our name to sun life valley. do we still get to go skiing? sooner or later, you'll know our name. sun life financial. what's vanishing deductible all about ? guys, it's demonstration time. let's blow carl's mind. okay, let's say i'm your insurance deductible. every year you don't have an accident, $100 vanishes. the next year, another $100. where am i going, carl ? the next year... that was weird. but awesome ! ♪ nationwide is on your side i'm wolf blitzer. here are some of the stories we're working on for our next hour. a liberal group launches a fresh attack on marco rubio over the story he's been telling of his parents' immigration. a cue republican lawmaker wants to kick iranian officials out of the united states, accusing them of espionage. are they stamping visas here in washington or spying? we have details also on a new proposal from republicans on the so-called supercommittee where they cut trillions of dollars. stand by. you're in "the situation room." republican presidential candidate rick perry is trailing in the polls after a series of uneven debate performances and now he says he may skip some debates. joe, what's going on right now with governor perry? >> rick perry admits making the mistakes and so it's up to the voters to measure his candor, if you will, but also sees the debates as part of the problem and while it's true his debate appearances have coincided with a drop in the polls, the question is whether or not he has anything to blame but himself. the latest excuse for rick perry's uneven performances in the presidential debates comes from the candidate himself. the problem he says is the set up. >> these debates are set up for nothing more than to tear down a candidate. >> oh, wait, maybe it's because perry's views are so complex they don't lend themselves to sound bites. >> it's pretty hard to lay out your ideas and concepts with a one-minute response. >> so now, per ary says he may skip some debates. no surprise really. before this campaign, he hasn't done that much debating. >> there may be slicker candidates and smoother debaters, but i know what i believe in. >> is it really fair to blame the format? alan shoeder wrote a book about presidential debates. >> i think the fact that perry has had some rough moments in these debates is probably the real reason he doesn't want to do more more of them. >> perhaps the most cringe worthy moment was the prerehearsed attack line that got so garbled. >> was it the mitt romney on the side of against the second amendment was it before he was before the social programs from the standpoint of he was for standing up for row vs. wade before he was against row vs. wade? >> he said it was about fumbled delivery. >> it seems all you have to do is memorize that 30 or 40 seconds and deliver it, but for some reason, perry has had a lot of difficulty doing that. >> and there's a lot of risk to the candidate if he starts no showing at debates. >> his status in this group is not solidified. if he were the front-runner, he might be able to duck the debates or not do as many, but he really sort of needs the debate as a way of getting his message across and trying to build those numbers higher. >> nobody ever said getting up in front of millions of people is easy, especially when it involves defending and explaining points of view, but these days, that's how you run for president. not clear right now what debates perry might skip. there have been something like eight republican debates so far. five since perry got into the race. wolf? >> thank you. let's discuss with our political contributor, james carville and ed rollens, the republican strategist, the former michele bachmann campaign adviser. thanks very much for coming in. if he skips an upcoming debate, ed, will that be smart from his perspective? >> i don't think it's smart. i think the bottom line is he was the last man in. he came in at 30 plus percent in the polls leading everybody. he has to prove to the debates that he can put two sentences together and i'm sure he can if he practices, but it's a very much a part of this thing. >> james, he clearly doesn't want to do any debates. my sense is the only way he could win skipping some debates if a herman cain or a mitt romney decided we're going the start skipping, too. that would give him some cover. >> right. i have a editorial quibble with you and joe. his performances have not been uneven. they've just been horrible across the board, but any way. the question he's going to get asked is if you skip these and you don't like to debate, if you're our nominee, will you debate president obama? every candidate since 1976 has debated and these republicans, they want to beat the president. they think they got better ideas and you've got a guy that's run ing away from promoting or articulating his ideas. this is not going to sit well and all. it is an ongoing disaster going on. this guy is blowing himself up every day. it's really remarkable to watch. >> the other candidates, i take it, ed, you know this better than i do. you worked for michele bachmann's campaign. they have no desire to skip any of these debates because milliomillio millions and millions of people watch these debates. >> first of all, there's been a lot