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Discounts & Door-busters; Hot Gifts & Bargain Tips; A Hero's Homecoming

Aired November 23, 2007 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can get that gratification.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Ali Velshi, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen. Heidi's off today.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Tony Harris. Stay informed all day in the CNN NEWSROOM. Here's what's on the rundown.

They are going gang busters over door busters. Bargain hunters take on the holiday shopping spree. Our guests with the scoop on deals.

NGUYEN: Also, a sightseeing tour ends with a frightening rescue. A cruise ship hits ice off of Antarctica.

HARRIS: He was due a $15 refund. He got an eye-popping $2 million instead. Temptation calling on line one, this Friday, November 23rd. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

NGUYEN: Unexpected detour for cruise ship passengers near Antarctica. Their ship hit ice in the middle of the Antarctic Ocean. It took on water and then began to sink. Look at that picture right there. Passengers and crew of the Explorer were able to evacuate on to life boats. A Norwegian cruise ship came to the rescue with Argentine, U.S. and British help.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRED CAYGILL, BRITISH MARITIME & COAST GUARD AGENCY: We first received a call from the U.S. Coast Guard at 5:24 this morning and we have been assisting RCC, Rescue Coordination Center, Norfolk and the Rescue Coordination Center, USHA (ph), in Argentina from our Coast Guard operations room in Cornwall.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Well, good weather is credited in that successful rescue. Most of the Explorer's passengers are from Britain, the U.S., and Canada.

HARRIS: Deals, discounts, door buster specials. The holiday shopping rush is on and retailers are pulling out all the stops. Get out of my way! Get out of my way! Store around the country offering expanded hours and deep discounts galore. Shoppers -- live pictures now. Some stores opening at midnight. The day after Thanksgiving known as Black Friday and that's when retailers move out of the red and into the black. Our reporters, correspondents, intrepid as always, braving the malls and stores this morning. Ali Velshi at Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City, New York. And what the heck is T.J. Holmes doing at the Wal-Mart in Woodstock, Georgia, this morning?

NGUYEN: He really looks like he's shopping, doesn't he? Just really hamming it up for us.

HARRIS: But first, on the line CNN i-Reporter Jong Kung. He is joining us from Queens, New York.

OK. You have got to tell us -- are you still in the malls or are you at home right now?

JONG KUNG, SHOPPER: No, I left. It was just a pandemonium. I had to leave.

HARRIS: Oh, come on -- whoa, we're looking at some of your video now.

KUNG: Yes, that's my video.

HARRIS: Well, this is insane. Where did you go? You went to Circuit City?

KUNG: No, actually this was after Circuit City. I went to Target and I got there 12 minutes after it opened, like 6:12. And usually this parking lot is half empty, even on a busy day, and it was full all the way. And I realized, you know, it was kind of -- I was already late as it was.

HARRIS: Yes. Yes. So what do you do when you arrive and you see this kind of pandemonium? I can't imagine you were able to get what the heck it is you showed up that early for. Or were you?

KUNG: I went to buy an external hard disk that was on sale, but the aisles were full of people with carts. And it was like a traffic jam. I could barely walk through -- between the carts.

HARRIS: Yes.

KUNG: That's how bad it was. But I couldn't find what I wanted and people were pulling stuff off the top shelf. It was falling on people's head. I realize, I don't want to be there anymore, so I was about to leave then I turned around and I said, ah, let me take some video of this and send it to, you know, i-Report.

HARRIS: That's right. You send it to your friends here at CNN. Jong Kung, I have to ask you, you know, in years past we have seen real chaos. And I'm talking about folks who, you know, ended up throwing elbows at one another and some fistfights breaking out. We had the case in Roanoke, Virginia, last year. We had a woman a couple years ago who was trampled trying to get into the store and she lost her wig. It was just a horrible sight. Did you see any sort of outbreaks of mass hysteria, any fisticuffs?

KUNG: No, actually, as soon as I walked in, there was a New York City Police standing at the entranceway. And if you look at the video, behind the counter there's actually a New York City Policeman there. And I think that's one of the reasons why there wasn't any more people like, you know, getting angrier and whatever. And I figured (ph) the policeman standing behind the counter, behind the lady in red..

HARRIS: Well let me ask you this, as we look at this great video that you captured for us, you wonderful i-Reporter you, I mean as you look at this, is there any way to organize that? I mean look at all of these people. What is a store to do? You can't organize this, can you?

KUNG: You know, as I was leaving and actually after I left I was going home and I realized that this is actually was somewhat of a fire hazard and they should have only let in only "x" many people. Let them get what they want. As people are leaving, they should let more people in because, you know, everyone else is going to have to wait anyway whether they wait inside or outside. You know, that was sort of ridiculous.

HARRIS: OK. So what are you going to do now? Are you going to rest up a little bit, patch up your wounds and head back out?

KUNG: No. It seems like all the sales are over at 11:00 or 12:00. And I figure, if I couldn't get anything at 6:12, pretty much by now everything else is going to be gone already. And one thing I wanted to add was that when I was leaving on the outside, people in the shopping cart, they had these huge boxes of LCD monitors and TVs. And what it reminded me of was like those like L.A. riot scenes when people were just leaving with anything and everything.

HARRIS: You need to really stop with that. You really need to stop with that.

Hey, it is great to talk to you. Thanks for the great video. This is tremendous in helping us tell the story of Black Friday. Great pictures.

And again, if you've got some i-Reports, if you're stuck in a mess right now and you'd like to -- maybe at this mall. Is that where Ali is or is that the mall out there where T.J. is? But wherever you are, if you've got an opportunity to shoot us some pictures of your adventures, your misadventures in toyland today, please send them along in an i-Report. We'll get them on the air as quickly as we can.

NGUYEN: You know, that i-Reporter sounded so disappointed.

HARRIS: Yes.

NGUYEN: And can you blame him? He's been up since 6:00 a.m. and didn't get a thing.

Well, Ali Velshi is a guy who I'm sure won't walk away empty handed today. He's in Garden City, New York.

And you were hanging out with Santa. That's one way to get the things off of your list.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Go right to Santa. As soon as he got in, I attached myself to him.

But what this fellow was just telling you is true. There were some people in New York City who waited 15 hours to get into a Best Buy and their comment to reporters when they finally got their stuff was that if it was on sale, we were buying it. One of the stores in this mall -- I'm at Roosevelt Field Mall in New York in Long Island. And one of the stores here is just letting a few people in at a time. Guess what? They're selling video games.

And he's right, if you wanted video games or certain appliances or things that were on sale, deep discount, those door-busters, they're probably gone by now. In fact, I happen to have in my pocket a GPS. That was on at Dick's Sporting Goods. I think it was $450. They put it on for $250. They sold out in the first few minutes.

But if you are a little more patient and you're out for the adventure of the whole thing, check out these people. I'm in Bath and Body Works. I mean, seriously, this store, the cash registers are way at the other end. Do you have any idea how long you're going to be waiting in this line?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have no idea.

VELSHI: Yes, it's a long line. There's a whole lot of people in here and there's, you know, lots of stuff. And the point is, while you're waiting in line, you're picking up all sorts of other stuff. So I'm not going to embarrass anybody here and ask them whether they're buying gifts for other people or for themselves.

But I think this is one of those things -- it's Black Friday. It's a fun day. People are out there getting into the spirit of things. They don't have to listen to me talking about home prices and gas prices and the economy and blah, blah, blah. This is just getting out and having some fun and maybe checking a few people off your list.

Tony and Betty.

HARRIS: There you go.

NGUYEN: It looks like you might be able to pick up some shampoo, some conditioner while you're there, Ali.

VELSHI: Yes, yes, yes.

NGUYEN: Because you're in the market for that, right?

VELSHI: Now that I got the important shopping out of the way, I've got the putter for Tony and the iPod for you, I can, you know . . .

NGUYEN: Exactly. Do a little something for yourself.

VELSHI: Get some fragrant oils for myself.

NGUYEN: All right, Ali.

HARRIS: The oils.

NGUYEN: Hey, be careful out there. It can be a little hairy. Talk to you later.

HARRIS: OK. Let's get out to the Wal-Mart in the Woodstock area here of Georgia. Woodstock, where is that in relation to Atlanta, Betty? Where is that? Well, T.J. Holmes is there.

Hey, T.J. What are you doing there, T.J.?

T.J. HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'm shopping. I got a big Christmas list. A lot of people to shop for. I co-anchor with Betty, so you know my pain. I've got a lot of stuff to buy.

NGUYEN: That was uncalled for. It's the holiday season, T.J.

HARRIS: It was beautiful.

HOLMES: Of course. And, of course, those things in the back there. Those are popular. You just heard Ali talking about it. But, of course, the electronics. Some of those things. Those big door buster buys, as they're called, happened this morning and the same thing are happening here with the DVD players, with the flat screen TVs. Of course, the MP3 players. Those things are huge these days. Everybody's coming in and getting those.

And, of course, the big daddy of all, the MP3s, if you will, the iPod here on the end. Everybody's still after those. And I heard Santa says you need one of those, Betty. So he's got you covered. I got you the diamonds.

But the store is picking up again. We were here at 5:00 a.m. Yes, 5:00 a.m., when the store opened. When the big deals started. 5:00 to 11:00 when they had their main sales, people came in at 5:00 a.m. and swooped that stuff up. Stuff with the deep, deep discounts. That's pretty much gone.

Now we're starting to see those people who let their turkey digest a little more. The 10:00 rush, if you will. Those folks who have finally got out of bed and now they're up and about. They're not getting those huge deals that some of the people earlier saw, but they're still out, they're still shopping, still getting involved in the process. Still some deals to be had. But the main deals, those door busters, as they call them, happened between 5:00 and 11:00.

Now another big issue, the retailers, the big discounters, like Wal-mart. These are the people who could benefit a lot from this season because with so many people worried out the housing crunch and the credit crisis and also gas prices, people won't spend as much and also some people who don't normally maybe shop at Wal-Mart are going to come here. They want bigger discounts. They're going to shop at some of the big retailers. So if any of the retailers this year are hurt because of some of the economic downturns, stuff they're worried about, well, the discount people like Wal-Mart could get a benefit for some of that because they'll get new people in who definitely do not want to spend a lot of money. So it could help and it could hurt other retailers, but people like Wal-Mart should be all right.

Of course, we've seen this all morning, the games, the video games. The Nintendo Wii. You can't find that sucker anywhere. Can't find it here. Some stores, they get them in, they're gone in a matter of a couple of hours when they come in. So these are real popular.

So, again, we're starting to see that second rush. It's been a good day here so far at Wal-Mart. They had people in place to tell us where to go, directing everybody where they need to go.

This is a hot item you're seeing here. A couple of things we got in the basket here. I hate to be showing this to you because I need to get this for a couple folks and they'll see what I'm getting them now, but this picture frame, a digital picture frame. It changes pictures for you. This Garmin. This is $129 this morning. This navigation system. A lot of people are huge on that.

So that's some major stuff. I mean you all see we have this cart cam going, if you will. And just to let you all know, this is not a mounted camera in the basket. There is a grown man in the basket right now with a camera.

NGUYEN: No, there's not! Show me his feet. He is not in the basket.

HARRIS: Hey, T.J. . . .

HOLMES: I wish I could show it to you.

NGUYEN: Are you serious? He is in the basket.

HOLMES: It looks ridiculous, Betty and Tony. People have been staring at us asking where can I get one of those and it looks pathetic.

HARRIS: It's clearly time to go.

NGUYEN: Yes.

HARRIS: They've been out way too long.

NGUYEN: They have been up way too early.

HARRIS: Yes.

T.J., good to see you my friend.

HOLMES: We're going to see you -- all right, good to see you. If you all got any requests, get it to me. I've got to see you one more time next hour, so you better get them in now. HARRIS: OK.

NGUYEN: Please let him out of the cart. That's our first request.

HARRIS: All right, T.J., appreciate it. Thank you.

You know, it's called Black Friday, but retailers hope to see lots of green. A little background on the critical year-end sales period now. Black Friday represents the day merchants move into the black representing profit. It has evolved into the symbolic kickoff to the holiday shopping season leading up to Christmas. The year-end holiday season can account for as much as half of retailer sales and profits for the entire year. And the forecast for this year, luke warm. The National Retail Federation expects total holiday sales to grow 4 percent to $475 billion.

NGUYEN: So a lot of money to be made. Hey, we do want to hear from you. What do you want for Christmas this year? A new Wii? Maybe a diamond necklace? E-mail us at cnnnewsroom@cnn.com and we're going to read some of those responses throughout the morning right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: You want to get started now?

NGUYEN: Yes. We have a few already coming in.

HARRIS: Do you want to start, Betty?

NGUYEN: I'll give the first one. This one from Meena in Canton, Michigan. Says, the first thing that she wants, to get into medical school.

HARRIS: How about that. Yes, yes, yes.

And Terri writes, "all I want for Christmas is my health and the love of my family. My 13 year old son, on the other hand, wants and Xbox 360 and a Icoaster."

NGUYEN: What is that?

HARRIS: What is that?

NGUYEN: I don't know. I'm not cool enough to know what that is.

HARRIS: "I hope that Santa can work miracles.

OK, Terri.

NGUYEN: Yes. And Sara from Iowa says, "I am enjoying your coverage of the mad holiday sales from the warm and comfort of my kitchen." Now that's where you should be today. "I just got my first Christmas wish - a 5 burner dual fuel range. Now I want a complete set of Le Creuset cookware to go with it."

Nice. HARRIS: OK. And Chris from Knoxville, Tennessee, writes, "I'm with you, Betty, I want a Bentley Continental GT coupe."

NGUYEN: Yes, that's what I'm talking about right there.

HARRIS: You know what I'm talking about, Betty, right there? OK. "Hope you get yours. Of course, you'll have to put a lot of gasoline into it! Wonder if they'll make a hybrid?"

Chris, thank you.

NGUYEN: Hey, if I can not only get but as a hybrid, that would be some holiday.

HARRIS: If you can get the Bentley, something tells me you'll be OK with the gas.

NGUYEN: Do you think so?

HARRIS: All right. So here's a question again, what do you want for Christmas? E-mail us at cnnnewsroom@cnn.com.

NGUYEN: Bonnie Schneider's been watching the weather all morning long.

And a lot of folks, Bonnie, have been waiting out in the wee hours of the morning and they really had to brave some conditions.

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: So deal or no deal. Tips on shopping smart. Plus, a rundown of the hot gifts this holiday season. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Welcome back, everyone, to the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris.

Back from Iraq. A Thanksgiving to remember. Boy, we shared some of these pictures with you yesterday. This story about a purple heart recipient back home with his family. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: All right. The pressure's on. Finding the hottest gifts and staying within your budget. Advice on both this morning as the holiday shopping season shifts into high gear. Consumer reporter Ilyce Glink is with us from Chicago with a lesson in shopping 101.

So, Ilyce, let's get right to it. Hottest gifts this holiday season. What are they?

ILYCE GLINK, CONSUMER REPORTER: Whether you're talking to my kids or anybody else's kids, it's electronics, electronics, electronics.

NGUYEN: Gaming.

GLINK: And that means kids who are 30s and 40s and their 50s as well. Flat screen TVs, Zoons (ph), iPods. My son, Michael, wants Madden '08 Football. The list just goes on. And it's really interesting because electronics, you're seeing the stores absolutely go wild on Black Friday offering incredible deals of the day on all of these hot items.

NGUYEN: Yes, we're looking at some video of the Wii right now.

What's new about these gaming systems, whether it be the Wii, the xBox or the PlayStation? Because they're still hot. Is there anything new about them?

GLINK: Well, the Wii has all kinds of new stuff. And, frankly, there's not enough Wii to go around. You think it's about me, but really it's about Wii because all the kids are looking for it. The adults are looking for it. And they simply have not been able to ramp up production of the Wii. So that's going to be in scarce supply. Not going to find a lot of deals there.

But for those of you who have Wiis, there are all kinds of new games and attachments that are coming out this holiday season. So that should sort of pump up the enjoyment a little bit. I think with other kinds of technology and gaming, you're just seeing a ramp up. Everybody's got flat screen monitors these days. Everybody's got high broadband, high speed Internet. You're seeing a lot more interactivity. For friends, they're able to do things on the Internet and see it in really crisp HD color.

NGUYEN: You know we took a look at some of our live shots earlier and, you know, people just flooded in around 4:00, 5:00, even 6:00 a.m. this morning. But if you weren't there early on, you missed those big deals. But is it really over? I mean can you still get some deals online?

GLINK: I've got to tell you, I don't think it's over yet. I think that the stores are trying to generate as much interest and grab as many of your dollars as they can before who knows what happens next week. But, no, actually Cyber Monday, which is this coming Monday, is the biggest shopping day online of the year. And we're seeing a lot of lead up this weekend into it. I think there are going to be more deals offered, different specials all over this week and as retailers really try to stretch out the whole Black Friday phenomenon. So it's not over yet.

NGUYEN: Thank goodness because I still have a lot to do. And, you know, here's the hard part. When you're trying to buy for someone who just has everything, you usually resort to, let me give you a gift card. A lot of people don't like them. They think they're not personal enough. I personally love them. But -- Tony, keep that in mind -- but there are some things that we really need to watch out for, right, because sometimes they can lose their worth.

GLINK: Yes. Gift cards are really interesting. I was at Starbucks on my way to the studio this morning and I thought to myself, oh they have the cute little socks to fit the Starbucks gift card in this year. I give a lot of gift cards. I think they're terrific. I love getting gift cards -- hint, hint.

But you do have to be very careful. There are some kinds of gift cards out there, even those that carry a Visa or a MasterCard or even an American Express logo. Shopping mall cards. They lose their value over time. You might lose a percent each month if you don't use it. Over a year the whole thing might be worthless. You also might have a fee every time you use the card.

So before you give a gift card, make sure you read the terms and conditions, that's all the really little tiny print at the bottom, and understand what, if any, kinds of problems the person that you're giving the card to might have. Last year I was in charge the teacher gift. We gave gift cards. And I looked at the fine print. And what I did was print out the fine print and I gave it along with the gift card and I just said, we want you to get the full value, please be aware there are some limitations on this card.

NGUYEN: Yes, that's smart. OK. But here's what I find really interesting about your tips this time of year because for folks who are staying on budget, you suggest a flat screen television? I mean, are they that cheap?

GLINK: Well, there is a flat screen television today that I could not believe the deal. It was about 70 percent off once you factored things in. What's happening is you've got the new generation of 1080i TVs coming in right now, and so the older models, old like the one that we bought six months ago, 40, 50, 60 percent off. And by the end of the year, you're going to see really incredible deals on those.

But think of the other kinds of technology deals. Menards was advertising a $14 DVD player this year. That technology cost $250 just two or three years ago. So we are seeing dramatic price reductions. We are seeing technology that is available at a very attractive cost, albeit I'm not sure I would think of Menards for my DVD player, but maybe now people will. I don't know.

NGUYEN: That's true. You know, we just got to stop talking and start shopping, Ilyce. I don't know what we're doing here. I got to go.

GLINK: I know. I've got my pocketbook. I'm all filled up with cash.

NGUYEN: All right. Ilyce Galink, consumer reporter, with all the good information today on holiday shopping. Thank you.

GLINK: Been a pleasure.

HARRIS: Oh, boy, that was terrific.

All right. A weak dollar. Big deals for foreign shoppers in the United States. A retail invasion straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: OK. Back to the New York Stock Exchange right now and take a look at the big board. The Dow inside the first hour of the trading day, up 87 points. OK. We were down significantly on Wednesday. A couple of days. Finish off the day Wednesday. Get the big holiday off yesterday and we're back and we're in business and we're up 87 points, trying to end the week on up note.

NGUYEN: On a high note.

HARRIS: Absolutely. And the Nasdaq inside the first hour plus 15. We are following the markets all morning long for you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

NGUYEN: All right. Picture this. A Baghdad pet market packed with kids, their families having fun. Those festive moments though shattered in a deadly blast. At least 13 people dead, 58 wounded, including several children. Police say the bomb was hidden in a box of birds. This market has been bombed several times since the start of the war. And hours after that attack, a suicide car bomber struck a police checkpoint in Mosul. Another 13 people reported dead there.

Also, some deadly explosions that just rocked India this morning. The blasts almost simultaneous detonating outside courthouses in three northern cities. At least eight people are confirmed dead, dozens injured. Authorities believe the explosions are terror-related.

ANNOUNCER: News as it develops as only CNN can bring it to you. See for yourself in the CNN NEWSROOM.

NGUYEN: Well, good morning, everybody, on this, the busiest shopping day of the year.

HARRIS: No, not true, Betty.

NGUYEN: No?

HARRIS: Flat out not true.

NGUYEN: When is it?

HARRIS: It is like the day before, two days before Christmas.

NGUYEN: Really?

HARRIS: Yes.

NGUYEN: So there's just a lot of hype over today and it's not the biggest.

HARRIS: But nice of you to tee that up for me.

NGUYEN: I was trying. I was trying to help you there.

HARRIS: I appreciate that.

NGUYEN: Hey, you're in the CNN NEWSROOM, where we set you straight. I'm Betty Nguyen.

HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris. Good morning, everyone.

A decorated soldiers comes home to a heros welcome this holiday. Don Guevara of CNN affiliate WSVN reports from Miami Lakes, Florida.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DON GUEVARA, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): The signing welcome home a son and a hero. Twenty-three-year-old Robert Bregio returns from Iraq to spend Thanksgiving with his family.

ROBERT BREGIO, U.S. ARMY: Thankful for everything. I mean, all the stuff you take advantage of when you're home, you get a smack to reality when you go out there.

GUEVARA: Robert was away 15 months. His mother says last year in his absence there was no Thanksgiving. He's back and so is the family tradition.

VIVIAN BREGIO, MOTHER: I feel great. I'm really excited. I went ahead and fixed the whole house and we have a lot of family members coming over and everybody's really happy and I'm in just cloud nine.

GUEVARA: Last December the day before Robert turned 23, the feeling was not the same. The military vehicle he was driving hit a roadside bomb directly below him.

ROBERT BREGIO, SOLDIER: Seeing my hood fly open, my door swinging open, and the feeling of the heat and the rocks hitting me in the face from the blast. I kind of cruised over and that's the last thing I remember.

GUEVARA: The explosion came Robert a concussion.

ROBERT BREGIO SR., FATHER: It was very difficult, but I have the faith in God that nothing was going to happen to him.

GUEVARA: The military awarded Robert with his Purple Heart, now a source of pride for a period of pain. Much of that pain behind this family and replaced with happier memories, like Robert's homecoming to Miami Wednesday night, the beginning of a new start for this family.

ROBERT BREGIO: You know how much they care about you, so you just got to go home and see them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Suspects in court today. Will police reveal new evidence in Natalee Holloway's disappearance? We'll have the latest on that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Well, they owed him $15. Instead, he got -- (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 2.24, two hundred - I can't even say it, it's so much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: $2 million and change. Let's simplify that. Did he or didn't he? The story in minutes right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

NGUYEN: Forget saying it, as long as the funds are there, buddy.

Hey busting through the doors in search of deals. The holiday shopping rush is on. Live pictures now of shoppers in New York and Los Angeles. Some stores opened at midnight trying to lure shoppers with deep discounts the day after Thanksgiving known as Black Friday. That's when retailers move out of the red and into the black. The holiday shopping season can account for as much as half of sales and profits for the entire year. So for shoppers, it's all about the thrill of the bargain.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is just a tradition for me and my mom. We do this every year.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you found this year is any different than years past, the deals about the same or the crowds about the same?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think it's as crowded this year.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why do you think that is?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know. Everybody decided to sleep in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It gets crazier each year. Last year was insane. Next year is going to be even crazier.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you having fun?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, with a bunch of friends.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you do it next year?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As of right now, yes. If I get punched in the face trying to grab a coat, then probably not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Yeah, I'd say so. Well retail analysts predicting only lukewarm increases in sales this year. They do expect though sales to grow 4 percent.

HARRIS: Wow, the British are coming. Call it a retail invasion. Shoppers from across the pond and elsewhere coming to the United States in search of bargains and a weak dollar means big deals. Pamela Parisi of theeleganttightwad.com is with us from New York. Pamela, great to see you.

PAMELA PARISI, THEELEGANTTIGHTWAD.COM: Hi, Tony.

HARRIS: Great to see you. So what are the Brits doing? Let's start with the Brits because their currency is still the pound. So are they buying Euros and then heading over here?

PARISI: They are heading over here in droves, Tony. The pound is double the dollar right now.

HARRIS: Whoa!

PARISI: So they will take 100 pounds and they will take $200 for it.

HARRIS: So they start with that kind of a discount, and then they land on these shores, and they get the door buster bargain. Essentially they're getting everything for free.

PARISI: They're getting their entire trips paid for and more with what they saved on using their pound here.

HARRIS: So what are you doing? I mean, are you reaching out? What's happening with your business these days?

PARISI: Well, the Brits are finding us, and they're coming on our shopping tours. We take them to showrooms in New York City's garment district that are not open to the public. They buy at wholesale and below, and they are going crazy.

HARRIS: All right. So what are the items that are most in demand? Let's see here. I had a quick list here. How about electronics, those flat screens. I guess they're not taking those back. Those Wiis, gift cards. No, they're doing more than that. What are they buying?

PARISI: Well, with me they're buying clothes. They're buying lots and lots of designer clothes.

HARRIS: Wow, wow. Anything else?

PARISI: And accessories. They love, love, love the handbags. They love the Guccis and the Pradas and the Louis Vuitton, and they are getting them at such a discount they're taking them back suitcases full.

HARRIS: And how should we feel about this invasion, this new British invasion, during the holiday season?

PARISI: Well, it's good for retailers, but in the long run I don't know how great it is for the dollar.

HARRIS: OK. Expand on that, if you would, please, Pamela. PARISI: Well, we like our dollar to be strong, too.

HARRIS: We do, we do. And right now it's a little weak. So is business great for you? Are you having a good time. Are you anticipating just a robust holiday shopping season?

PARISI: Well we have about a 50 percent increase in Brits and Europeans joining our tours. So we're very happy with that. We can't complain.

HARRIS: Hey Pamela, great holiday to you. Thanks for your time this morning.

PARISI: You, too, Tony, thank you.

NGUYEN: So after listening to that, our e-mail question is what do you want for Christmas? Maybe we should say be paid in pounds.

HARRIS: How about that? That is discount upon discount. That's a deep discount.

NGUYEN: Someone who has been watching the weather outside and what is going on, people are really getting hammered with some snow in parts of the country. Bonnie, they just didn't expect it.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Well maybe we can get some folks to send us some i- Reports. If you're hitting the roads, maybe flying in the skies, once again we want you to make CNN.com your first destination.

Check out our special report, Holiday Travel, and get an online travel kit with tips on how to get to where you're going and, well, also to get you back home.

Plus, send us an i-Report showing us your travel experience. Can we get some i-Reports from Texas maybe, of the snow and folks having fun with it, hopefully? That and more at CNN.com/holidaytravel.

NGUYEN: Right now though we want to tell you about a helping hand from the U.S. military. A naval ship arrives in Bangladesh with food and medical supplies for desperate cyclone survivors. Let's take you live now to CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr. So tell us how all of this is coming together, Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well Betty, It's been a little slow going because when the cyclone hit several days ago, U.S. military ships were thousands of miles away. But now the first one indeed, the USS Kearsarge has arrived on station. Another on the way, and many U.S. military people joining in the effort that has been ongoing there, of course, for some time now.

Jumping in, lending a hand, trying to help. We have some of the first pictures. Let me show you two pictures that were taken by a U.S. marine helicopter flying over the devastated region, and there you see the story of what is the cyclone area, Betty. People coming down to the beach, waving to this helicopter, hoping that it is going to drop off assistance, drop off aid to them in this utterly devastated region.

Now, just a few hours ago Admiral Timothy Keating, the head of the U.S. Pacific Command, stopped in Bangladesh to meet with some top officials in that country to talk about what more assistance, what more aid the U.S. military could bring, and then he stopped to talk to reporters for just a couple minutes. Let's listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADMIRAL TIMOTHY KEATING, U.S. NAVY: I keep emphasizing that. We're not going to just come storming ashore. So Operation Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, Katrina, and other military operations in my view, and I've been at this for awhile, have made it easier for us to provide response when requested.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: What Admiral Keating said there is really important. He said we're not going to come storming ashore. Admiral Keating and the U.S. military know that in countries like this, it's very sensitive. A lot of these countries certainly do not want a huge U.S. military presence in the middle of such a disaster and such a humanitarian catastrophe, but they are very receptive to getting the aid and getting the assistance. So what we are most likely to see now over the next several days are U.S. military helicopters ferrying around supplies, Betty, trying to help in southern Bangladesh when and where they can. Betty?

NGUYEN: And just looking at the devastation, they need that aid desperately. Barbara Starr, thank you for that report.

HARRIS: Missing for more than two years. Now prosecutors now say they have new evidence in the Natalee Holloway case. Three suspects have been rearrested. Two of them, Deepak and Satish Kalpoe, are due to appear before a judge in Aruba within hours. The third suspect, Joran van der Sloot is being transferred to Aruba from the Netherlands right now. Meanwhile, Holloway's father is resuming a search. He tells the "Associated Press" he plans to take a boat out with divers to the deep waters off Aruba.

NGUYEN: This is a great story. OK here goes, a cashier shows extra kindness and her elderly customer well did not forget.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the letter from the trust from the bank and the check. Don't even want to let it go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Did you get a good look at that? 15 Gs. That is a lot of groceries. We have that story coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Business news now. Bargain hunters aren't just in stores today. Many investors are also doing some buying of their own. We are seeing a bit of a rally on Wall Street today. But as Susan Lisovicz tells us, there is still plenty -- where is Susan? There she is on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

(BUSINESS REPORT)

NGUYEN: Listen to this. The check says $2 million, OK? So why no $2 million?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a mistake. I said I've already booked my trip to Hawaii, now what am I going to do?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Oh no. Will a staged mistake become a man's bonanza? We'll show you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: He was due a $15 refund, but the check he got was beyond his wildest dreams. Jennifer Borget of our affiliate KTVX reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a little bit more than a couple thousand dollars there, 2.24 -- 200 -- yeah, I can't even say it it's so much.

JENNIFER BORGET, KTVX CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): His name and address are owe on the check. It's real, but it's wrong. This was supposed to be written for $15, a refund for an overcharge. But $2 million, that's quite a mistake.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They looked at it three times. I said to my friends that are living here, and I looked at him and I said are you guys ready to pack your bags? We're leaving today.

BORGET: He said he couldn't think of any real reason the state would mail him a check like this. So after showing his friends and bragging about being a millionaire for a few weeks, he showed up at the state finance division to turn it in. But not without a few jokes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She says sir, this is a mistake. I said I've already booked my trip to Hawaii. Now what am I going to do?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's fine. He didn't cash it, and we appreciate that portion of it.

BORGET: The Department of Commerce director says one of her employees accidentally typed the seven digit receipt number in as the check amount. No one noticed it before it went in the mail.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was an error, and something that we would have caught.

BORGET: Eventually, but it could have been too late. Accept for an honest man.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was kind of a novelty more than anything, because, you know -- but you do have those second thoughts.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We do appreciate his honesty, and hope that other citizens should they be faced with a similar situation do the same thing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: You know Tony, they say good guys always finish last. Listen to this -- that guy, still waiting for his $15 check.

HARRIS: That's outrageous.

You know, what Betty, I have to say something. It's not that I'm rooting for what I'm about to suggest here, but I am amazed -- aren't you a little amazed at how well people are behaving this black Friday? Particularly --

NGUYEN: I'm surprised, in fact.

HARRIS: Particularly when you consider some of the activity of years past. Let's find the videotape. Do you remember this? Roanoke, Virginia, just last year, men behaving badly, rushing to the stores, have some, fighting.

NGUYEN: And then of course there's Orlando, Florida. Check out this video. Wal-mart, can you imagine those lines. A security guard tackles a guy who is jumping lines.

HARRIS: Look at this.

NGUYEN: Right there. Trying to get ahead. Tackles him down to the ground.

HARRIS: Can you believe that? They had to actually take him down.

NGUYEN: All right, but this is the money shot, Tony.

HARRIS: Don't taser me, bro.

NGUYEN: Watch closely. The lady falls.

HARRIS: And then what?

NGUYEN: Hold on.

HARRIS: Yeah? Yeah? NGUYEN: Where is the wig lady?

HARRIS: Here it comes. Here it comes. Here it comes.

NGUYEN: There she is. Picking up the wig. The poor lady got trampled and lost her wig. Let me just tell you that. Because of this video, wig wearers everywhere are extra cautious on the door busting deals.

HARRIS: There she is crying. She's emotional. Look at this. And the big is a little askew here again.

NGUYEN: A little sideways.

HARRIS: But none of this so far this morning. OK, so folks are behaving well and we're happy. Hello, everyone. You're with CNN. You're informed, and I'm Tony Harris.

NGUYEN: And I'm Betty Nguyen. We have so much more coming up. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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