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This week in New York Magazine, two writers from different political parties each critiqued their own side. On Thursday, we heard from conservative David Frum, who argues Republicans lost touch with reality. In the same issue, liberal writer Jonathan Chait also uses the word "fantasy" in describing liberals. He tells Steve Inskeep liberals have become unreasonable.

Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History dismisses claims that the apocalypse is coming. Some people predict catastrophe in 2012, based on Mayan forecasts. Anthropologists now say there are two, not just one, ancient references to December 2012. But they warn modern forecasters of doom have "twisted the Mayan cosmovision."

In Arizona, the architect of a controversial immigration law has been voted out of office. In Alabama, the nation's strictest immigration law has ignited a withering backlash expected to force major changes. "We overreached," admits one Republican supporter of the law.

Some shoppers said they planned for weeks — and even skipped out on Thanksgiving dinner — to get good deals. But in parts of the country, Black Friday really lived up to its name, with reports of robbery and incidents involving pepper spray.

Last month, for the first time ever, a CBS-New York Times poll showed Congress' approval rating had plunged to a single digit — 9 percent. And following this week's failure by the supercommittee to agree on a deficit reduction plan, many lawmakers fear that number can only get worse.

Last year, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited SeaWorld following the death of a killer whale trainer. If a Florida court rules in favor of OSHA, employees of SeaWorld and other parks like it will no longer be able to come into direct contact with whales unless there is a barrier between them. Guy Raz speaks to Tim Zimmermann, a correspondent for Outside Magazine, about the ongoing legal dispute.

Guy Raz reads listener reaction to yesterday's Thanksgiving Day story by writer Bailey White.

Egypt's military rulers named a former prime minister under Hosni Mubarak to head the new government. The move is likely to further incite the tens of thousands of protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square, demanding the resignation of the ruling military council. And for the first time, pro-military protesters gathered in another of Cairo's squares.

New findings in the science of charity reveals some counter-intuitive results. For instance, people will give more money to a single suffering person than to a population of suffering people, and also give more when some type of physical discomfort — for example, running a marathon — is involved.

When the euro was rolled out nearly a decade ago, it was touted as a unifying force across European cultures. Uwe Boek, a 48-year-old Berliner, has seen and embraced these changes: "It's us being Europeans in the European Union. Because the euro is money but the European Union is about identity."