Don’t get excited about a merger between AT&T and T-Mobile just yet. The two cellular phone companies indicated Thursday that the deal hit a major stumbling block—revealing that their application for a union had been withdrawn from the Federal Communications Commission. Still, heads of AT&T and T-Mobile’s parent company, Deutsche Telekom, insisted that the merger would go on, despite FCC chairman Julius Genachowski’s announcement earlier this week that the commission did not approve of the collaboration. The FCC and Justice Department charge that joining the two companies together would eliminate competition in the industry and cut jobs. AT&T charged itself $4 billion, recognizing it may have to pay up to Deutsche Telekom if the deal indeed goes sour.

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is continuing her heroic recovery after surviving the horrific shooting attack in her hometown of Tucson, Arizona, on Jan. 8, and that's something to be thankful for. Giffords helped serve Thanksgiving meals to troops and retirees stationed in Tucson Thursday. She arrived at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base wearing an apron with her nickname "Gabby" on it. She only used her left hand when she served the meals, a sign of the physical damage that she still sustains, and she was accompanied by her retired astronaut husband Mark Kelly. Giffords has been undergoing rehabilitation at a hospital in Houston.

A former prime minister of Egypt has been tapped to return to the post after the civilian cabinet that the military government appointed resigned en masse earlier this week as violent protests continue in Cairo. Kamal Ganzouri, who headed the government from 1996 to 1999 under ousted president Hosni Mubarak, has agreed to lead an interim government, as the military council said parliamentary elections will begin next week as scheduled. But protesters are still unhappy with the pace of change, calling for renewed protests Friday. The military council has refused their calls to give up power immediately, saying it would amount to abandoning the country, urging activists to focus on the elections. Leaders say holding power is a "curse, not a blessing," that they can't escape.

German Chancellor Merkel hasn't changed her position: She opposes the European Central Bank shoring up debt-ridden countries, instead pushing for them to pass greater austerity measures. She affirmed her rejection of action on the Euro at a conference with Italy’s new prime minister, Mario Monti, there for the first time, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Germany’s status as a rock of stability amid the eurozone crisis started to show some cracks yesterday, when a third of the bonds the country put up for sale found no buyers. Germany had tried to raise 6 billion euros in an auction of 10-year bonds, but it was able to sell only 3.9 billion euros worth. The unexpected shortfall may weaken Germany’s bargaining position in the EU, as calls for action mount.

Two days after the supercommittee failed to come to a deal, some lawmakers are trying to look on the bright side. The debate did reveal that some Republicans would be amenable to tax increases, while Democrats would be willing to cut Medicare and Social Security. At the very least, it simplified the debate over taxes to focus on taxes on the wealthy. Ezra Klein argues that the panel’s failure is actually a coup for Democrats, who now have the leverage of a January 1, 2013, trigger of progressive spending cuts as well as a January 1, 2013, trigger of progressive tax increases.

Another gruesome scene in Mexico. Officials found at least 26 bodies dumped in the center of Guadalajara on Thursday, abandoned around the iconic Millennium Arches monument. A message from the drug cartels was attached, reportedly to be from the gang the Zetas directed at Sinaloa—the Zetas are seen as trying to muscle in on Sinaloa’s turf, as the turf war intensifies. It's already the fourth mass dumping of bodies in about two months.

So much for a peaceful sign off, Saleh. After President Ali Abdullah Saleh pledged to end his 33-year rule in Yemen Wednesday, activists took to the streets of the capital, Sana’a, in protest. The terms of the agreement that ticked off the protesters: immunity for Saleh and his cronies, and the questionable role of democratic advocates in the transitional government. Government supporters fired into the crowd of protesters, killing 5 and injuring at least 22. Even more troubling, Saleh’s son and nephews will reportedly keep their role as leaders of Yemen’s special military forece—in the past they’ve attacked unarmed activists.

So much for peace on Thanksgiving. The Detroit Lions lost to the Green Bay Packers on an NFL Thanksgiving showdown Thursday, but the relatively close game was marred by a play in which the Lions’ Ndamukong Suh stepped on the Packers’ Dietrich-Smith’s arm after pushing his head into the ground. He was ejected immediately after the play. "What I did was remove myself from the situation the best way I felt, with me being held down," Suh said. Meanwhile, the Packers improved to an NFL-best 11-0.

Today's Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has some new additions. Tim Burton’s B. and Paul Frank’s Julius the monkey will join classics like Snoopy and Spider-Man, and around 40 other balloons. Mary J. Blige, Cee Lo Green, Avril Lavigne, and the Muppets will all participate in the show. Macy’s expects 3.5 million people to line the parade route.

Making one of the most popular movie and book franchises in the world doesn’t come without a price, apparently. Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling told the Leveson Inquiry that she was harassed by the paparazzi after the birth of her children. In her testimony at the phone-hacking hearings, Rowling said that she was unable to go outside without being photographed, had a note slipped in her 5-year-old’s backpack, had a manuscript stolen (which mysteriously ended up with The Sun newspaper, a News Corp. paper currently under investigation for phone hacking), and fought a Daily Express story that said she based an evil character on her ex-husband. The government inquiry is investigating ethics practices of the British press. Earlier, actress Sienna Miller said she was “terrified” by the press.

Three bombs went off in a crowded market in the southern city of Basra in Iraq Thursday night, killing 19 people and injuring at least 64 more. There was no immediate claim of responsibility yet—both Sunni and Shiite militants are equally likely to have staged the attacks. The bombings show signs of the challenges that Iraq faces once American troops withdraw by the end of the year.

Maybe he should battle Pepper Spray Cop. Self-proclaimed superhero Phoenix Jones won’t be charged with the pepper-spraying of several people outside a Seattle bar. He said he was trying to stop a fight. City Attorney Pete Holmes said the case was being dropped because of “proof problems.” “However, Mr. Fodor is no hero,” Holmes said in a statement, “just a deeply misguided individual.”

Mona Eltahawy, an American-based Egyptian journalist, says she was sexually assaulted and physically abused during a harrowing 12-hour detention inside Cairo’s Interior Ministry yesterday. Eltahawy shared her ordeal on Twitter, writing that she was blindfolded, groped by five or six men, and both of her arms were broken. She tweeted pictures of her casts and said she had been given no explanation behind her arrest. A representative from the U.S. embassy in Cairo says the allegations are “very concerning” and that they are talking to Egyptian authorities. Eltahawy has written for the Toronto Star, The Washington Post, the Guardian, and other publications.

Maybe Newt was busy preparing for the debate? The Republican frontrunner—who many think dominated Tuesday’s foreign-policy debate—won’t be on the ballot for Missouri’s Republican primary this February. Newt Gingrich failed to file his papers in time for the Tuesday 5 p.m. deadline. The primary awards no delegates since the state holds caucuses in March. Still, Gingrich could use some momentum after Florida’s primary at the end of January and before the Arizona and Michigan primaries. Ten Republicans were able to file on time.

A plane carrying three children and three adults crashed into Arizona’s Superstition Mountain on Wednesday evening, according to the Pinal County sheriff’s office. The plane—authorities said they think it was a twin-engine aircraft—reportedly hit the mountain near Phoenix and created a fire seen from miles away. According to the sheriff who was heading the search, it “does not look promising” that anyone survived the crash.

The scandal over The Roots' decision to play the song “Lyin' Ass Bitch” for Michele Bachmann's intro on Jimmy Fallon’s Late Night has gone all the way to the top of NBC. Michele Bachmann got an official apology from the network’s vice president for late night programming, who said the incident was “not only unfortunate but also unacceptable,” and that the band has been “severely reprimanded.” Fallon tweeted an apology to Bachmann earlier in the day, saying “so sorry about the intro mess.” Bachmann had criticized the song choice and the lack of an apology from NBC. “This is clearly a form of bias on the part of the Hollywood entertainment elite,” she said on Fox.