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CNN Live Today

Holiday Shopping Frenzy; Ukraine Election Crisis

Aired November 26, 2004 - 10:59   ET

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

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


CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Lots more coming up in the next hour of CNN LIVE TODAY.
They are saying "poor Americans" literally across the Atlantic. How the diving dollar equals shopper's shock for Americans in Europe.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Also, want to avoid long lines this holiday season? Shopping expert Mandy Norwood joins us in the next hour to tell us how.

"Now in the News," there's been a bloody attack inside Baghdad's Green Zone. Four workers with a British security company were killed, and more than a dozen were wounded. In Falluja, two U.S. Marines were killed yesterday in an apparent ambush while on a house-to-house search for insurgents.

In the capital of Ukraine, presidential election results have triggered a fifth straight day of massive demonstrations. Thousands of protesters say the country's prime minister stole the election from the opposition candidate.

Today, demonstrators have formed human barricades around government buildings in Kiev. The nation's supreme court has put the election results on hold amid allegations of balloting fraud. European leaders are attempting to mediate a resolution.

In China, a bizarre fatal knife attack against school students. It is at least the fourth such incident in the country since August. Authorities are searching for a man who broke into a dormitory earlier today in central China and hacked eight students to death. Recent knife attacks at Chinese daycare centers and schools have killed one child and hurt more than 40 other people.

Look at that. In Colorado, most of this massive rockslide on I- 70 has been cleared, but crews still need to blast loose rock from the cliff before they can reopen the highway later today. Authorities say the road to bridges and several retaining walls all need major repairs.

And good morning, everyone. It is 11:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 8:00 a.m. in the West. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Tony Harris, in for Rick Sanchez.

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Carol Lin, in for Daryn Kagan.

It's called Black Friday because presumably the retailers get into the black because so many people are out there shopping. HARRIS: And spending money.

LIN: Yes.

All right. So they've had their Thanksgiving dinner. These early birds stood in long lines before sunrise today to stuff their shopping carts.

The holiday buying frenzy got under way at malls and discounts across the country. It's expected to bring retailers a merry $220 billion in sales.

Our reporters are strategically deployed today for the best bargains and biggest crowds. Allan Chernoff is at Macy's flagship store in Herald Square in Manhattan. David Mattingly is taking a look at this annual shopping blitz through the eyes of the discounter. He's at a Wal-Mart in suburban Atlanta.

Allan, let's begin with you. How's the shopping going out there?

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's been going for quite some time now. It started at 6:00 in the morning here at Macy's.

Now, we know that retailers like to hold off on their deep discounts until the very end of the holiday season, but at 6:00 in the morning, there were some pretty good door-busters here: 65 percent off men's dress shirts; $99 for diamond earrings, very small diamonds, by the way; $50 for down jackets. All those discounts, of course, help families that are dealing with higher energy prices.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHERNOFF (voice-over): The road to the holiday season checkout counter passes through here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Could you fill it up, please?

CHERNOFF: Gasoline is 30 percent more expensive than last Thanksgiving. For families on tight budgets, that means less money to spend on holiday presents.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is going to be a more difficult Christmas in every way.

CHERNOFF: A survey of consumers found nearly 30 percent predicting they'll cut holiday spending from last year, and shoppers expect to buy more than two-thirds of their gifts on sale.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have to be more wise, I have to get more for my money. You know, as they say, I'm living on a budget.

CHERNOFF: Though some retailers like Sears and J.C. Penney have been offering early markdowns even before Thanksgiving.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We think that the retailers have actually conditioned their consumers to buy on sale, particularly this time of year. That's a problem for retailers.

CHERNOFF: But for upscale retailers and the shoppers, it should be a season of plenty.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm very optimistic about how things are going, and I'm going to buy, buy, buy.

CHERNOFF: Items high on the shopping list: handbags, iPods, TiVos and digital cameras. But for the first time ever, shoppers say gift cards will be their most frequent purchase.

It may be a challenging season for discount retailers, but shopping at other outlets should more than compensate. That's why retailing experts predict holiday sales will rise four to six percent from last year.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHERNOFF: A survey by the Conference Board found that shoppers plan to spend an average of $475 this year on gifts. That would be an increase of 4.5 percent -- Carol.

LIN: All right. Allan, you're a veteran journal on this. You've been out there on the day after Thanksgiving for years on end. How does the traffic compare to last year and previous years to you? Can you -- can you give us an indication from your perspective?

CHERNOFF: Well, at least from where we're standsing, we've been inside of Macy's for some time and now outside on 34th Street, a main thoroughfare in Midtown Manhattan. Certainly is quite crowded. So, so far, looking pretty good, at least the traffic is.

LIN: The traffic. We just need to see some shopping bags at the end of the day. Thanks very much, Allan. You have a great time out there.

HARRIS: Well, business is bustling at discounters like Wal-Mart this morning. That's where our David Mattingly is today. He joins us from Alpharetta, Georgia.

Good morning, David.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Tony.

The morning rush was sort of like a sudden winter blizzard. It blew in and blew out of here really quickly.

The lines started forming at 4:00 this morning. At 6:00 this morning, the shoppers were allowed to file down through the aisle in search of the marked-down items that were placed throughout the store.

Wal-Mart is one of those stores now that is no longer announcing their -- their -- what sort of money they make on Black Friday. The reason for this is they say that shoppers today are now waiting later and later in the season to make their bargain shopping, because that's when a lot of the retailers have their bargains out. They're also saying that there are a lot more people today shopping on the Internet.

So this Black Friday, not the big indicator in the discount world that it used to be. For right now, this could be a reason why you see there's not that much activity at this Wal-Mart. Again, all the activity very quick and fast this morning. People getting their purchases, and then getting off to other sales at other stores.

Managers here expect to see a lot more people coming back later this afternoon, though. When they come back, the things they're shopping for, Wal-Mart has a top 12 list. This is on their top 12 list of toys.

After 45 years, Barbie is still making retailers very happy. This year, part of the Princess and the Pauper collection.

You notice there is no Ken this year. Barbie is being sold along with -- what's his name here? Kingdom Dominick with the Princess and Pauper collection.

Also some other familiar faces. SpiderMan a big item this year, also along with Shrek, playing off the success of their movies this year.

Something dads are going to be fighting over under the tree -- this is expected to be a big item -- a Cadillac Escalade remote control. You can turn it on, the engine revs up, you push the button, and look back here. The boom box actually starts playing.

Now, for the younger kids, another familiar face. This Elmo is not just for tickling anymore. He also sings and dances. He does dance. There he goes.

Now for the adults, there's also a top 12 list of appliances. It has a lot of the usual, the vacuum cleaners and the microwaves. But now we're crossing into that territory of what do you buy for somebody who has everything?

This might qualify. This is an electric jar opener for those hard-to-open jars. And this one, something I've never seen before, a cordless electric cheese grater.

Again, something for everybody for every bargain shopper.

Back to you.

HARRIS: I bet David Mattingly is sort of prepping himself as a sales rep. A little moonlighting I feel coming on here. Thank you, David. We appreciate it.

LIN: Hard journalism at work. Although I never thought I would see David Mattingly out there with a dancing Elmo.

HARRIS: No.

LIN: But, you know, there's something for everyone.

HARRIS: There you go. It's Christmas.

LIN: Anyway, Terry Lundgren is chairman and CEO of Federated Department Stores, the parent company of Macy's, and he talked with CNN this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TERRY LUNDGREN, CHAIRMAN & CEO, FEDERATED DEPARTMENT STORES: What we want to make sure is that the end price is the right price for the consumer. And so if a product is just simply not moving, you know, in our case we're in the fashion -- fashion business, not just a basic business. If it's not moving, we just mark it down. We get out of it and we get into the next thing. And so, in our business, you're going to always find some great products that are available to you at discounted prices.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: All right. There's always some argument about the busiest shopping day of the year. It's usually not today, surprisingly.

Here's another bit of shopping trivia for you. MasterCard pegs the busiest hour of the shopping season at 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. Christmas Eve.

HARRIS: Oh, yes. Well, that makes sense, because the stores close at 5:00 or something. Is that what it is?

LIN: Yes, I would hope so. Yes.

HARRIS: See, you've got to get in, get out, and then get back home.

LIN: Yes.

HARRIS: I'll tell you what. We were looking at Orelon Sidney's map last hour, and that's a map that is loaded with activity. Good news, bad news, depending on your point of view.

Orelon, that is an incredible map you've got going.

ORELON SIDNEY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, thank you very much. But I have to tell you, I did shop one Christmas Eve in those late hours, and afterwards I wanted to go stand it traffic. It was awful.

(LAUGHTER)

SIDNEY: Don't do that.

HARRIS: Don't do it. Save yourself.

SIDNEY: That's right.

(WEATHER REPORT)

LIN: All right. Thanks, Orelon. HARRIS: Thank you.

LIN: We have some news just into the CNN Center from Reuters regarding Iraq. The election were set for January, but already there's problems leading up to it.

Apparently, some leading political parties, including two main Kurdish parties, have signed a petion to delay the January 30 elections. This is the first sign of a Sunni political opposition to having those elections.

They're saying ironically the very acts by the U.S. coalition to secure areas like Falluja and Mosul are -- the Sunnis are saying that it's going to make that almost impossible for Sunnis to actually vote in this election despite the fact that the coalition was trying to secure those areas for the election.

The Shiites that make up about 60 percent of the Iraq's population, the more marginalized under Saddam Hussein, are actually eager for those elections to happen. So we're going to keep an eye on that story.

HARRIS: Yes. OK. Let's move on now.

An attack inside the so-called Green Zone in Baghdad has left four people dead, employees of a British company. We'll get you an update.

LIN: Also, the opposing sides go face-to-face in the Ukraine, but will it help calm the storm of controversy over that country's election?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: "Now with the News," an attack inside Baghdad's Green Zone killed four workers with a British security firm. That's according to both British and U.S. officials. The company says more than a dozen other employees were wounded in the mortar attack yesterday.

In Falluja, two U.S. Marines were killed yesterday as they took part in house-to-house operations to clear out pockets of insurgents in the city. The Associated Press reports the gunmen were hiding inside one of the homes and ambushed the Marines. The wire service also says the Marines killed three of the attackers.

Iraqi and U.S. officials say coalition troops in Falluja uncovered a lab stocked with dangerous chemicals and materials. Among the items at the site were instructions for making anthrax explosive and chemical blood agents. Containers with hydrochloric acid and sodium cyanide were also found in the lab. But a U.S. military official says there is no evidence the site was producing chemical weapons.

LIN: Well, on to Ukraine. The key players in that country's election crisis are set to meet today as protesters keep up their vigil in Kiev's Independence Square.

CNN's Jill Dougherty is live today by videophone in Kiev.

Jill, what is the status of what's going to happen next? How is this election crisis going to be resolved?

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: That's what everybody is really wondering, Carol, because this is a dramatic moment right now. This hour, the two men who claim they should be the president of the Ukraine are meeting in a roundtable, along with the outgoing president and European representatives who are trying to broker some type of a deal.

There's no guarantee that there will be a deal, but at least they're saying they'll try to get the two sides talking. And that is better than what they've had so far.

Meanwhile, across the city, five days now, five straight days of demonstrations, horns blowing, students marching up and down in the streets. Major demonstrations with hundreds of thousands supporting the opposition. And, in fact, there have been other...

LIN: All right. Our apologies. We're losing Jill Dougherty's signal by videophone, but a very important meeting between the Moscow- backed candidate who the election commission in that country has said technically won the election. The op position, more pro-west candidate, says he wants a recount.

They're actually in the same meeting with representatives trying to work out a compromise, whether it means a position for the opposition candidate in the...

HARRIS: Absolutely.

LIN: He's got a lot of power because he's calling for a general strike around the country.

HARRIS: And obviously we'll continue to follow that story and have more for you on it next hour. But right now, here's what's happening overseas in this morning's "World Wrap."

Iran pledged today to stand by its agreement to freeze uranium enrichment. The ink on the deal with the Europeans was barely dry when Iran sought several exemptions extensively to research purposes. The U.S. accuses Iran of seeking a nuclear weapon and has pressed Europe to bring the matter to the U.N. for sanctions.

Police in Mexico blame a drug turf war for the execution-style killings of nine people near the Yucatan resort of Cancun. The victims include three federal drug agents. Some had been shot in the head, others were found burned inside the trunk of a car. And for the first time in 20 years, India will allow tourists to visit the Taj Mahal at night starting this weekend. Moonlight tours had been banned for security reasons. The Taj Mahal is celebrating its 350th anniversary.

LIN: Wow. All right.

We got the signal back from Jill Dougherty in Ukraine, in Kiev.

Jill, you were saying about the meeting going on right now between the two candidates running for president, and how this is going to be resolved.

DOUGHERTY: Yes, hopes that it can be resolved, Carol. No guarantees about this.

This is the first time they have sat down face-to-face, it's a roundtable. And it has the president of Ukraine and other people, people from Europe, representatives who are trying to pull them together and come up with some type of resolution.

It is very important that they do that, because, as we've been reporting, there are hundreds of thousands of people on the streets of Kiev, and they've been out there now for five days off and on, sometimes around the clock. So nerves could get frayed.

The time is really getting close that they want to try to get some type of peaceful resolution. And just in the past couple hours, Carol, another interesting development.

The opposition is saying that, you know, they've been claiming this election has been stolen. And just this past hour, they were showing audiotapes to reporters, playing them, and they say that there's proof on those audiotapes that indeed some officials were corrupt, were trying to get into computers and try to fix the vote, bring up the vote of their candidate. They're going to try to bring that to the court and show that indeed there were violations.

LIN: Jill, we're looking at a live picture now. It is snowing, a man is singing while you were giving that detailed account of what's happening behind the scenes. What is going on? What's the picture that we're looking at here?

DOUGHERTY: Well, this is down on Independence Square. And that is right downtown in Kiev. It's the main square where all of these -- literally hundreds of thousands of opposition supporters have been coming. And it's like a day-long and night-long celebration.

First, they had speakers. Some are urging them just to stay the course and be there. Others have talked about vote fraud.

There have been puppeteers who have entertained them, there's been rock music, everything around the clock. Even fireworks at some point.

So the spirits of these people are very high. But at this drags on, there's no real guarantee that this can stay peaceful. And that's why I said it's crucial that they try to come up with something so that -- the main thing is that the people of the Ukraine will feel that the votes they cast were actually counted properly and the real man that they wanted to put in office will be in office.

LIN: You bet. All right. Thanks very much. Jill Dougherty reporting by videophone as that important meeting goes on. Ukraine a country a size of France, right on the doorstep of the former Soviet Union.

HARRIS: Yes, OK.

And coming up, in Europe, they're saying "poor Americans," literally. How the diving dollar is adding up to shopping shock for Americans across Europe.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Well, six years after the beating death of a gay college student in Wyoming, his killers go public. The savage beating of Matthew Shepard in 1998 shocked the nation and drew worldwide attention to hate crimes.

Now Aaron McKinney, on a meth -- on a meth binge at the time, calls it a robbery gone bad. McKinney tells ABC's "20/20," "All I wanted to do was beat him up and rob him. It seemed like a good idea at the time."

Sometimes when you have that rage going through you, there's not stopping it. I've attacked my best friends coming off meth binges."

McKinney and his buddy, Russell Henderson, both 27 are serving life sentences.

HARRIS: Oh, my goodness. All right.

It is Black Friday. And that is good news for retailers. And it could mean good news for you, too, if you know the right and wrongs of shopping. Well, we've got some tips to help you up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK))

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Aired November 26, 2004 - 10:59   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Lots more coming up in the next hour of CNN LIVE TODAY.
They are saying "poor Americans" literally across the Atlantic. How the diving dollar equals shopper's shock for Americans in Europe.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Also, want to avoid long lines this holiday season? Shopping expert Mandy Norwood joins us in the next hour to tell us how.

"Now in the News," there's been a bloody attack inside Baghdad's Green Zone. Four workers with a British security company were killed, and more than a dozen were wounded. In Falluja, two U.S. Marines were killed yesterday in an apparent ambush while on a house-to-house search for insurgents.

In the capital of Ukraine, presidential election results have triggered a fifth straight day of massive demonstrations. Thousands of protesters say the country's prime minister stole the election from the opposition candidate.

Today, demonstrators have formed human barricades around government buildings in Kiev. The nation's supreme court has put the election results on hold amid allegations of balloting fraud. European leaders are attempting to mediate a resolution.

In China, a bizarre fatal knife attack against school students. It is at least the fourth such incident in the country since August. Authorities are searching for a man who broke into a dormitory earlier today in central China and hacked eight students to death. Recent knife attacks at Chinese daycare centers and schools have killed one child and hurt more than 40 other people.

Look at that. In Colorado, most of this massive rockslide on I- 70 has been cleared, but crews still need to blast loose rock from the cliff before they can reopen the highway later today. Authorities say the road to bridges and several retaining walls all need major repairs.

And good morning, everyone. It is 11:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 8:00 a.m. in the West. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Tony Harris, in for Rick Sanchez.

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Carol Lin, in for Daryn Kagan.

It's called Black Friday because presumably the retailers get into the black because so many people are out there shopping. HARRIS: And spending money.

LIN: Yes.

All right. So they've had their Thanksgiving dinner. These early birds stood in long lines before sunrise today to stuff their shopping carts.

The holiday buying frenzy got under way at malls and discounts across the country. It's expected to bring retailers a merry $220 billion in sales.

Our reporters are strategically deployed today for the best bargains and biggest crowds. Allan Chernoff is at Macy's flagship store in Herald Square in Manhattan. David Mattingly is taking a look at this annual shopping blitz through the eyes of the discounter. He's at a Wal-Mart in suburban Atlanta.

Allan, let's begin with you. How's the shopping going out there?

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's been going for quite some time now. It started at 6:00 in the morning here at Macy's.

Now, we know that retailers like to hold off on their deep discounts until the very end of the holiday season, but at 6:00 in the morning, there were some pretty good door-busters here: 65 percent off men's dress shirts; $99 for diamond earrings, very small diamonds, by the way; $50 for down jackets. All those discounts, of course, help families that are dealing with higher energy prices.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHERNOFF (voice-over): The road to the holiday season checkout counter passes through here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Could you fill it up, please?

CHERNOFF: Gasoline is 30 percent more expensive than last Thanksgiving. For families on tight budgets, that means less money to spend on holiday presents.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is going to be a more difficult Christmas in every way.

CHERNOFF: A survey of consumers found nearly 30 percent predicting they'll cut holiday spending from last year, and shoppers expect to buy more than two-thirds of their gifts on sale.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have to be more wise, I have to get more for my money. You know, as they say, I'm living on a budget.

CHERNOFF: Though some retailers like Sears and J.C. Penney have been offering early markdowns even before Thanksgiving.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We think that the retailers have actually conditioned their consumers to buy on sale, particularly this time of year. That's a problem for retailers.

CHERNOFF: But for upscale retailers and the shoppers, it should be a season of plenty.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm very optimistic about how things are going, and I'm going to buy, buy, buy.

CHERNOFF: Items high on the shopping list: handbags, iPods, TiVos and digital cameras. But for the first time ever, shoppers say gift cards will be their most frequent purchase.

It may be a challenging season for discount retailers, but shopping at other outlets should more than compensate. That's why retailing experts predict holiday sales will rise four to six percent from last year.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHERNOFF: A survey by the Conference Board found that shoppers plan to spend an average of $475 this year on gifts. That would be an increase of 4.5 percent -- Carol.

LIN: All right. Allan, you're a veteran journal on this. You've been out there on the day after Thanksgiving for years on end. How does the traffic compare to last year and previous years to you? Can you -- can you give us an indication from your perspective?

CHERNOFF: Well, at least from where we're standsing, we've been inside of Macy's for some time and now outside on 34th Street, a main thoroughfare in Midtown Manhattan. Certainly is quite crowded. So, so far, looking pretty good, at least the traffic is.

LIN: The traffic. We just need to see some shopping bags at the end of the day. Thanks very much, Allan. You have a great time out there.

HARRIS: Well, business is bustling at discounters like Wal-Mart this morning. That's where our David Mattingly is today. He joins us from Alpharetta, Georgia.

Good morning, David.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Tony.

The morning rush was sort of like a sudden winter blizzard. It blew in and blew out of here really quickly.

The lines started forming at 4:00 this morning. At 6:00 this morning, the shoppers were allowed to file down through the aisle in search of the marked-down items that were placed throughout the store.

Wal-Mart is one of those stores now that is no longer announcing their -- their -- what sort of money they make on Black Friday. The reason for this is they say that shoppers today are now waiting later and later in the season to make their bargain shopping, because that's when a lot of the retailers have their bargains out. They're also saying that there are a lot more people today shopping on the Internet.

So this Black Friday, not the big indicator in the discount world that it used to be. For right now, this could be a reason why you see there's not that much activity at this Wal-Mart. Again, all the activity very quick and fast this morning. People getting their purchases, and then getting off to other sales at other stores.

Managers here expect to see a lot more people coming back later this afternoon, though. When they come back, the things they're shopping for, Wal-Mart has a top 12 list. This is on their top 12 list of toys.

After 45 years, Barbie is still making retailers very happy. This year, part of the Princess and the Pauper collection.

You notice there is no Ken this year. Barbie is being sold along with -- what's his name here? Kingdom Dominick with the Princess and Pauper collection.

Also some other familiar faces. SpiderMan a big item this year, also along with Shrek, playing off the success of their movies this year.

Something dads are going to be fighting over under the tree -- this is expected to be a big item -- a Cadillac Escalade remote control. You can turn it on, the engine revs up, you push the button, and look back here. The boom box actually starts playing.

Now, for the younger kids, another familiar face. This Elmo is not just for tickling anymore. He also sings and dances. He does dance. There he goes.

Now for the adults, there's also a top 12 list of appliances. It has a lot of the usual, the vacuum cleaners and the microwaves. But now we're crossing into that territory of what do you buy for somebody who has everything?

This might qualify. This is an electric jar opener for those hard-to-open jars. And this one, something I've never seen before, a cordless electric cheese grater.

Again, something for everybody for every bargain shopper.

Back to you.

HARRIS: I bet David Mattingly is sort of prepping himself as a sales rep. A little moonlighting I feel coming on here. Thank you, David. We appreciate it.

LIN: Hard journalism at work. Although I never thought I would see David Mattingly out there with a dancing Elmo.

HARRIS: No.

LIN: But, you know, there's something for everyone.

HARRIS: There you go. It's Christmas.

LIN: Anyway, Terry Lundgren is chairman and CEO of Federated Department Stores, the parent company of Macy's, and he talked with CNN this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TERRY LUNDGREN, CHAIRMAN & CEO, FEDERATED DEPARTMENT STORES: What we want to make sure is that the end price is the right price for the consumer. And so if a product is just simply not moving, you know, in our case we're in the fashion -- fashion business, not just a basic business. If it's not moving, we just mark it down. We get out of it and we get into the next thing. And so, in our business, you're going to always find some great products that are available to you at discounted prices.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: All right. There's always some argument about the busiest shopping day of the year. It's usually not today, surprisingly.

Here's another bit of shopping trivia for you. MasterCard pegs the busiest hour of the shopping season at 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. Christmas Eve.

HARRIS: Oh, yes. Well, that makes sense, because the stores close at 5:00 or something. Is that what it is?

LIN: Yes, I would hope so. Yes.

HARRIS: See, you've got to get in, get out, and then get back home.

LIN: Yes.

HARRIS: I'll tell you what. We were looking at Orelon Sidney's map last hour, and that's a map that is loaded with activity. Good news, bad news, depending on your point of view.

Orelon, that is an incredible map you've got going.

ORELON SIDNEY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, thank you very much. But I have to tell you, I did shop one Christmas Eve in those late hours, and afterwards I wanted to go stand it traffic. It was awful.

(LAUGHTER)

SIDNEY: Don't do that.

HARRIS: Don't do it. Save yourself.

SIDNEY: That's right.

(WEATHER REPORT)

LIN: All right. Thanks, Orelon. HARRIS: Thank you.

LIN: We have some news just into the CNN Center from Reuters regarding Iraq. The election were set for January, but already there's problems leading up to it.

Apparently, some leading political parties, including two main Kurdish parties, have signed a petion to delay the January 30 elections. This is the first sign of a Sunni political opposition to having those elections.

They're saying ironically the very acts by the U.S. coalition to secure areas like Falluja and Mosul are -- the Sunnis are saying that it's going to make that almost impossible for Sunnis to actually vote in this election despite the fact that the coalition was trying to secure those areas for the election.

The Shiites that make up about 60 percent of the Iraq's population, the more marginalized under Saddam Hussein, are actually eager for those elections to happen. So we're going to keep an eye on that story.

HARRIS: Yes. OK. Let's move on now.

An attack inside the so-called Green Zone in Baghdad has left four people dead, employees of a British company. We'll get you an update.

LIN: Also, the opposing sides go face-to-face in the Ukraine, but will it help calm the storm of controversy over that country's election?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: "Now with the News," an attack inside Baghdad's Green Zone killed four workers with a British security firm. That's according to both British and U.S. officials. The company says more than a dozen other employees were wounded in the mortar attack yesterday.

In Falluja, two U.S. Marines were killed yesterday as they took part in house-to-house operations to clear out pockets of insurgents in the city. The Associated Press reports the gunmen were hiding inside one of the homes and ambushed the Marines. The wire service also says the Marines killed three of the attackers.

Iraqi and U.S. officials say coalition troops in Falluja uncovered a lab stocked with dangerous chemicals and materials. Among the items at the site were instructions for making anthrax explosive and chemical blood agents. Containers with hydrochloric acid and sodium cyanide were also found in the lab. But a U.S. military official says there is no evidence the site was producing chemical weapons.

LIN: Well, on to Ukraine. The key players in that country's election crisis are set to meet today as protesters keep up their vigil in Kiev's Independence Square.

CNN's Jill Dougherty is live today by videophone in Kiev.

Jill, what is the status of what's going to happen next? How is this election crisis going to be resolved?

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: That's what everybody is really wondering, Carol, because this is a dramatic moment right now. This hour, the two men who claim they should be the president of the Ukraine are meeting in a roundtable, along with the outgoing president and European representatives who are trying to broker some type of a deal.

There's no guarantee that there will be a deal, but at least they're saying they'll try to get the two sides talking. And that is better than what they've had so far.

Meanwhile, across the city, five days now, five straight days of demonstrations, horns blowing, students marching up and down in the streets. Major demonstrations with hundreds of thousands supporting the opposition. And, in fact, there have been other...

LIN: All right. Our apologies. We're losing Jill Dougherty's signal by videophone, but a very important meeting between the Moscow- backed candidate who the election commission in that country has said technically won the election. The op position, more pro-west candidate, says he wants a recount.

They're actually in the same meeting with representatives trying to work out a compromise, whether it means a position for the opposition candidate in the...

HARRIS: Absolutely.

LIN: He's got a lot of power because he's calling for a general strike around the country.

HARRIS: And obviously we'll continue to follow that story and have more for you on it next hour. But right now, here's what's happening overseas in this morning's "World Wrap."

Iran pledged today to stand by its agreement to freeze uranium enrichment. The ink on the deal with the Europeans was barely dry when Iran sought several exemptions extensively to research purposes. The U.S. accuses Iran of seeking a nuclear weapon and has pressed Europe to bring the matter to the U.N. for sanctions.

Police in Mexico blame a drug turf war for the execution-style killings of nine people near the Yucatan resort of Cancun. The victims include three federal drug agents. Some had been shot in the head, others were found burned inside the trunk of a car. And for the first time in 20 years, India will allow tourists to visit the Taj Mahal at night starting this weekend. Moonlight tours had been banned for security reasons. The Taj Mahal is celebrating its 350th anniversary.

LIN: Wow. All right.

We got the signal back from Jill Dougherty in Ukraine, in Kiev.

Jill, you were saying about the meeting going on right now between the two candidates running for president, and how this is going to be resolved.

DOUGHERTY: Yes, hopes that it can be resolved, Carol. No guarantees about this.

This is the first time they have sat down face-to-face, it's a roundtable. And it has the president of Ukraine and other people, people from Europe, representatives who are trying to pull them together and come up with some type of resolution.

It is very important that they do that, because, as we've been reporting, there are hundreds of thousands of people on the streets of Kiev, and they've been out there now for five days off and on, sometimes around the clock. So nerves could get frayed.

The time is really getting close that they want to try to get some type of peaceful resolution. And just in the past couple hours, Carol, another interesting development.

The opposition is saying that, you know, they've been claiming this election has been stolen. And just this past hour, they were showing audiotapes to reporters, playing them, and they say that there's proof on those audiotapes that indeed some officials were corrupt, were trying to get into computers and try to fix the vote, bring up the vote of their candidate. They're going to try to bring that to the court and show that indeed there were violations.

LIN: Jill, we're looking at a live picture now. It is snowing, a man is singing while you were giving that detailed account of what's happening behind the scenes. What is going on? What's the picture that we're looking at here?

DOUGHERTY: Well, this is down on Independence Square. And that is right downtown in Kiev. It's the main square where all of these -- literally hundreds of thousands of opposition supporters have been coming. And it's like a day-long and night-long celebration.

First, they had speakers. Some are urging them just to stay the course and be there. Others have talked about vote fraud.

There have been puppeteers who have entertained them, there's been rock music, everything around the clock. Even fireworks at some point.

So the spirits of these people are very high. But at this drags on, there's no real guarantee that this can stay peaceful. And that's why I said it's crucial that they try to come up with something so that -- the main thing is that the people of the Ukraine will feel that the votes they cast were actually counted properly and the real man that they wanted to put in office will be in office.

LIN: You bet. All right. Thanks very much. Jill Dougherty reporting by videophone as that important meeting goes on. Ukraine a country a size of France, right on the doorstep of the former Soviet Union.

HARRIS: Yes, OK.

And coming up, in Europe, they're saying "poor Americans," literally. How the diving dollar is adding up to shopping shock for Americans across Europe.

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LIN: Well, six years after the beating death of a gay college student in Wyoming, his killers go public. The savage beating of Matthew Shepard in 1998 shocked the nation and drew worldwide attention to hate crimes.

Now Aaron McKinney, on a meth -- on a meth binge at the time, calls it a robbery gone bad. McKinney tells ABC's "20/20," "All I wanted to do was beat him up and rob him. It seemed like a good idea at the time."

Sometimes when you have that rage going through you, there's not stopping it. I've attacked my best friends coming off meth binges."

McKinney and his buddy, Russell Henderson, both 27 are serving life sentences.

HARRIS: Oh, my goodness. All right.

It is Black Friday. And that is good news for retailers. And it could mean good news for you, too, if you know the right and wrongs of shopping. Well, we've got some tips to help you up next.

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