Q: Cannot update OSX El Capitan -

When i try to install updates - nothing happens but what appears to be the spinning wheel... so, knowing from past experience with my Mac that iTunes seems to have a handle on a lot of things, I tried to run iTunes and get the "iTunes is being updated   - iTunes can not be opened while it is being updated."   I am not updating iTunes - also I looked in Activity Monitor and couldn't see a reference to a process (though i might not have known what to look for admittedly)

Any help appreciated... as I have new OS X updates to be installed... currently running 10.11.1 El Capitan.