www.theworldaccordingtolance.com . put your running shoes on, grab your credit cards and your patience. it's black friday, folks, and americans are expected to spend $21, yes, that's with a "b," billion dollars today. >> but you might not be the smoothest shopping day for some folks at walmart. a big strike and protests planned today at several stores around the country. and the beatles first audition tape rejected. can you imagine? well, now that recording is

going to the highest bidder, and we'll bring you the details later on this hour on cnn. >> that is crazy. all right, good morning, welcome to "early start" everyone, i'm john berman. >> good morning, everybody, i'm alina cho. happy black friday to you. it is 6:00 a.m. in the east. we are going to start this hour with breaking news in the gaza/israel conflict. new reports of new violence this morning. it happened in gaza near the israeli border. according to hamas security sources about 700 people were participating in the anti-israel protests that approached the border. israeli forces allegedly fired at the protests killing at least one palestinian man and wounding three others. we are going to keep our eye on this for you this morning. we'll bring you the latest as it develops. now, to the other news today, it is black friday in america. somehow, this shopping frenzy became a holiday tradition. and this year, hard-core bargain hunters face a new challenge

with more stores moving their door buster hours up to thanksgiving night, creating, yes, gray thursday. people camped out in the line for hours hoping to score some sweet deals. we have two live reports from some very brave reporters, cnn's george howell is at a best buy in atlanta, stacy cohen is at a mall in arlington, virginia. george, you surviving? what's it been like there for you, pal? >> all right, john. pan around, i want to show you what's happening here right now. fewer people than we saw earlier but they're still coming in and they have reason to come in, john. i want to show you just sort of the lay of the land here at best buy. this is a deal that really caught my eye, $187 for a laptop? i mean, that's one thing. you look around. there's several tvs like this one, $247 that was regularly $. 9. another tv, and i want to show you this over here, this is pretty cool. this laptop bundle. these are the things that they're selling to get people in the doors. you get a laptop, flash drive,

mouse, all of this, you save some $200 on this. so it's really important this day for a lot of these retailers, when you look at this particular best buy in dunwoody, georgia, wrapped around the store this morning, there were some 600 people waiting to get inside this store. great news for this particular store, especially when you consider, john, that there are fewer people shopping this year compared to last, according to the national retail federation. 147 million people out this year compared to 152 million last year. but they're spending more, according to those surveys. big news, good news for best buy. keep in mind, they had disappointing third quarter earnings, so they are making sure to get as many people in the store as possible, and so far, john, seems like they're having success. >> here's the thing, george, when you show me those deals i want one of everything. i have to ask you this -- >> i can try to get you one. >> pick me something up. have there been any problems? the lined looked reasonable. people look like they're behavibehave ing themselves.

>> we know in indianapolis, there were problems. and also in sacramento problems. in one case it was a customer who apparently threatened to stab other customers if he was pushed when trying to get into the door. so nothing happened there, and again, there were a few fights at a kmart. but you know, all in all, things have been relatively smooth when you look at what happened here at this store. again, some 600 people all filing through the door. smooth operation, no real problems here. but again, a lot of people looking for a lot of deals between today and sunday, and best buy definitely trying to take advantage of that. >> all right, george howell live outside atlanta today. thanks very much. talk to you soon. >> stacy cohen has joined a pilgrimage at the pentagon city mall in arlington, virginia. she joins us now. beautiful backdrop. what's it like over there, stacy? >> good morning. alina, you know, i'm not one of those folks that wants all the tech toys. i want to come to the mall, buy some clothes and jewelry and

makeup and that's what you're going to find here. if i didn't know it was 6:00 in the morning and pitch-black outside i would think it's a normal day in the mall. in the hallways right now, somewhat sparse. george said it well when they're expecting not a gangbuster year. but the mall opened at 5:00 a.m. and there were certainly shoppers here. they have deals in every corner. a lot of people are turning to online. they have a lot of apps now where you can shop before shopping and find 9 best deals and not necessarily come to the mall and hunt and gather. you can figure out what you want before you get to the mall. but we have a steady stream of folks. i think that retailers are really hoping for some good sales. cyber monday is coming up, as you know, and they're staying busy at pentagon city. i haven't gotten to do any shopping yet but the morning is still young. >> it certainly is. it's only 6:00 in the morning, stacey, you got plenty of time and all weekend. thanks for the update. we'll talk to you later. >> it is five minutes after the hour. if you are headed to walmart today, you might be greeted by demonstrators with picket signs. walmart workers across the country plan to protest over

wages, benefits and other issues. they say today is the perfect day to get their message across. walmart says the protesters make up just a fraction of its workforce. new overnight a bomb explosion in afghanistan has killed three people. at least 90 others were injured when the car bomb went off in the cap of wardak province west of kabul. the taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack. officials in israel say they made an arrest in wednesday's bus bombings in tel aviv. they say the suspect is an arab israeli and a member of hamas. the group has said it had nothing to do with the attack. more than 20 people were hurt. police say the suspect used a cell phone to detonate the bomb. it is now six minutes after the hour. want to get a check of the weather with rob marciano. man, thanksgiving was beautiful. that's going to be hard to beat today. >> it is. and things are going to start to go downhill. especial his for the eastern half of the country. good morning, john. if you're working off the turkey hangover you got some issues to deal with across the great lakes. showers embedded in here through

cleveland, cincinnati. a little bit of white on the map. you know there's some colder air beginning to drift down from canada if you live in parts of the upper midwest and western great lakes, you already know what i'm talking about. memphis down to nashville, line of showers and a couple embedded thunderstorms. that's really not the big story. it's what's behind this line which is going to send a bit of a chill down your spine. dry air into portland, not so much seattle. rain heavy at times with mountain snows, travel slow go there up and over i-5 if you are traveling through seattle or portland, delays through the air. wind will kick up in detroit and chicago and minneapolis. nothing like what we saw on wednesday with that dense, dense fog that was keeping chicago in the soup. big changes yesterday's high temperature, chicago, was 63 degrees. we get out of the 30s today, that's going to be a big improvement. i think we'll probably hang there. 39 degrees with the current temperature in chicago, 38 degrees. 19 right now in minneapolis. so there you go. that's that fall shift, right? winds will gust to 40 to 50

miles an hour. that will send the windchill down into the teens and single digits if it's not already there now. with that wind pushing the cold air it's eventually going to get to the eastern sea board. before that happens, 54 degrees, not a bad-looking day in new york. 61 in d.c. 69 in atlanta. but look at the cooldown for the northeast. we go from 50s today into the 30s in some spots on saturday and sunday. >> there you go. >> thanksgiving is over. >> you were able to drag yourself in after that turkey last night? >> i rolled in just like everybody else. >> felt good. >> happy thanksgiving. >> you, too. >> it's hard to make thanksgiving dinner when you're coping with a life-changing disaster. but the city of new york and volunteers gave victims of superstorm sandy something to be thankful for. a lot. many were given free turkey dinners or provided a bus to restaurants that served up free meals. volunteer groups also handed out supplies and warm clothes. some places had so many volunteers show up they were actually turned away. that's great news. quiet day for president

obama after celebrating thanksgiving with his family and staffers at the white house. president tweeted this foet tote of the obama family. everybody looking a little younger there with a message saying, from this family to yours, happy thanksgiving. he then called ten service members in afghanistan and thanked them for their sacrifice. president also met with oregon state university basketball team. the head coach, of course, is michelle obama's brother, craig robinson. >> and this morning first lady michelle obama will weome the white house christmas tree. this is a look at last year's tree. this year's 19 foot frasier fir will arrive from ashe county, north carolina. it will be displayed in the blue room. >> thanksgiving not just for the earthwound. the three-man crew above the international 135is station celebrated with a big feast including smoked turkey. thermostabilized yams, yum. that sounds good, doesn't it? and russian mashed potatoes. that's a nod to the two russian

crewmen on the station. they also had corn and cranberry apple dessert. astronauts have been giving thanks at zero gravity since 2000. >> feeling lucky this holiday season? the powerball jackpot keeps on climbing and climbing. now at an eye-popping $325 million. the next drawing is tomorrow night at 10:59 eastern. we want to know what you would spend $325 million on. i would go to town on the dollar menu at mcdonald's. you tell us what you would do. tweet us @earlystartcnn. tweet us no matter what. do it right now. we'll be right back. with verizon. hurry in this friday for great deals. like the droid razr by motorola in cranberry, free. or a white 7-inch samsung galaxy tab 2, just $99.99. this friday, get the best deals on the best devices on the best network.

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breaking news this morning. violence erupted in gaza near the israeli border. israeli troops reportedly firing on protesters, as they approach theed border, killing one palestinian, and wounding at least 19 others. the incident shattering the relative calm that's been in place since that cease-fire between israel and hamas took hold on wednesday. earlier people in gaza city had been celebrating the truce. you see them there. both sides claiming victory. the focus is now turning to talks on keeping that fragile cease-fire in place. our sara sidner is live for us in jerusalem. sara, good morning to you. first, what can you tell us about this latest incident? >> well, these incidents happen every now and then. it just so happens, though, it has now happened less than 48 hours since this very fragile cease-fire went into place. so far no escalation between either israel or gaza. but let me give you an update on

some numbers here. according to the hamas health ministry, they have told us that it is now 25 people who have been injured. they say one person was killed in a shooting incident with israeli soldiers shooting at palestinians on the gaza side of the border. now when we spoke with the israeli military, their story was that there were several groups of men who came up to the fence area, they tried to get over the fence or under the fence, into israel, and that is when soldiers fired in the air. when they did not stop they started firing at their legs. that's what we're hearing from the israeli military. so far the military has not confirmed whether there are any injured or dead. they are investigating at this point in time. but again, it comes at a very difficult time. because we are less than 48 hours since the cease-fire went into effect. a lot of people very happy that the cease-fire was at least there. families on both sides of the border very concerned about going through this war-like conditions over and over and over, day in and day out, and happy to hear some calm. but this is another one of those

situations that has happened that really makes people nervous. because you never know what's going to happen from here. if there's going to be an escalation on either side and if that's going to break the truce completely. >> still very tenuous. i saw a tweet, sara, that you sent out last night about an arrest in that bus bombing in tel aviv. the first since 2006, some 24 people injured, got a lot of attention. what can you tell us about that? >> well, we talked to the police, the israeli police spokesman, and he told us that, yes, there indeed had been an arrest of several hours after the bus bombing in tel aviv, we were there on a scene, saw the bus blown up, saw the windows blown out, and a couple dozen people injured. one who had some very severe injuries and may lose an arm. what we were told is that they had made an arrest. the person was from central israel. the person was a palestinian. and that they believe that the bus is actually detonated by remote using a cell phone, perhaps all the way from

ramallah, which is in the west bank, and that the person got their orders from hamas operatives in ramallah. this is one of those situations where they have looked into it, they are still investigating, they are still talking through it. they're also saying that this suspect has confessed, so there's a lot more information coming down and a lot more information i'm sure will be looked into as to who exactly gave the orders as well. now they have arrested someone in that bus bombing. it's the first time that a bus blast has happened in tel aviv since 2006. and really rattled the city there. >> certainly did. sara sidder in live from jerusalem. thank you, as always. meanwhile some egyptians are calling their new president a dictator. here's why, mohamed morsi issued an order that says the courts may not overturn any of his decisions until the country drafts a new constitution. could give him some unchecked powers for months. morsi also ordered reviles of officials accused in last year's crack down on protesters. new information about the david petraeus investigation.

the fbi investigating whether he told his military staff to share documents and other sensitive information with his biographer and mistress paula broadwell. that's according to reports in "the washington post." fbi agents say they found low-level classified information on broadwell's computer. interstate 10 in texas is back open friday after 120 people were hurt in an enormous wreck. take a look at that. about 100 vehicles were involved in a big chain reaction pileup that happened near beaumont. in one of the accidents a man and woman were killed when an 18 wheeler hit them from behind. authorities say dense fog might have been to blame. sad news from the boxing world. doctors say that former champ hector macho camacho is clinically brain dead after being shot in the face and neck tuesday night. he was initially expected to survive but his injuries severely affected blood flow to his brain. family members announced last night they will wait two more days before deciding whether to

take the boxer off of life support. a problem with the heating and ventilation system is believed to have caused a carbon monoxide leak. it happened at a pennsylvania jail, a staggering 49 female inmates had to be taken to area hospitals after they became sick at the york county fwaslety. two prison officials were treated as well as a handful of inmates were admitted for extended treatment. everyone has since been released. it's been called the worst decision in music history. but now the beatles audition tape which was famously rejected back in 1962 is up for auction. the ten track demo has an asking price of $48,000 and includes a photo negative of the band, as well as a handwritten track list. the tape has never been released but is said to be in pristine condition, and contains covers of american songs. the band then made up of paul mccartney, john lennon, george harrison and pete best were told

guitar groups were on their way out. they later signed with emi and went on to be one of the greatest bands of all time. >> they made a few good songs. >> $48,000? >> a triple serving of nfl football on thanksgiving day. it started with detroit with -- in detroit with the texans. 34-31 overtime victory against the lions. the game was marred by controversy, though. it was a really weird play. a gaffe by lions coach jim schwartz who mistakenly threw the challenge flag after this touchdown run by houston's justin forced. replays showed that the running back was down, but schwartz negated an automatic review by throwing a challenge flag, and that probably cost his team the game. it was just a mental glitch by a coach. you really don't so that very much. also a technicality that a lot of people upset that that's how the lions lost. in dallas the cowboys lost to the washington redskins. rg3, robert griffin iii was the

star throwing for over 300 yards, four touchdowns. he looked really really good. but no one looked better than the patriots and worse than the jets. they were the biggest turkey on thanksgiving. the patriots beat the jets, really pete up on the jets, 49-19 in a game, it wasn't even that close. the patriots scored three touchdowns in 52 glorious seconds in the second quarter. it blew the game wide open. this was coach bill belichick's 200th win as the head coach. it was dom naturing. and it kept me up way later. >> you stayed up -- >> when they're winning. when they're scoring that many points how are you going to fall asleep? i'd put my head down and look up and they scored another touchdown. it was great. all right. >> missed it. >> so we've talked our faces off about the patriots and black friday and my voice apparently will hold out at least a little bit more. but, do you guys know what folks are calling saturday? here's a hint, it's all about small business. details after this quick break.

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all right, we are minding your business this morning. u.s. stock futures are up, but it is expected to be a light trading day after the holiday.

it is a shortened trading day, as well. markets close at 1:00 p.m. eastern. >> the black friday frenzy is in full swing. want to go back to those live pictures that we were just showing you of a mall in washington, d.c. you see, 6:25 in the morning, lots of shoppers out and about. trying to get those deals. in fact 147 million shoppers are expected to hit the stores today and into the weekend. plus we already know that online shopping is up nearly 20% so far. and that number of customers, using mobile devices to check out deals online has reached a new record, 28.5%. that's according to ibm benchmark survey. which tracks this every single year and it's not even cyber monday yet. >> and many small retailers are hoping to get a piece of the action tomorrow with small business saturday. that's the big push from the small business administration encouraging customers to do their holiday shopping at local small shops tomorrow. last year 100 million americans shopped at independently owned

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21 billion, that's how much americans are expected to spend this black friday. so gird your loins, grab your credit cards and put on your walking shoes. mostly gird your loins. >> plus breaking news. new violence at the gaza/israel border. this time during an anti-israel protest involving some 700 people. and hundreds of millions of dollars up for grabs right now in the powerball lottery. someone is about to have one heck of a holiday season. >> did you just say gird your loins, though? >> i said it twice, actually. let the record show i said it twice. >> good morning, everybody. welcome back to "early start." i'm alina cho. >> and i'm john berman.

zoraida sambolin has the day off, god bless her. it is 30 minutes after the hour. >> and we do begin with that breaking news in the gaza/israel conflict. new reports of violence this morning. it happened in gaza near the israel border. according to hamas security forces, about 700 people were participating in an anti-israel protest that approached the border. hamas claims israeli forces fired at the protests killing at least one palestinian man, and wounding 19 others. >> we'll be watching that, of course, as the day goes on. meanwhile our other big story with thanksgiving now in the books we turn to that post turkey day tradition, black friday. big retailers from coast to coast opened their doors even earlier this year on thanksgiving night and holiday shoppers are off and running. we are all over this story. we're live in the front lines this morning. george howell at a best buy store in atlanta, stacey cohan is at a mall in arlington,

virginia. george, let's start with you. when i last spoke to you you found some incredible deals for all sorts of things. they're all still in place i take it? >> you mentioned that tv. i'll try to save that for you. there are a lot of deals. but let's talk about the high items. when people come in for black friday you start to get a sense of what people want. this is definitely in demand. the ipad. people looking at this. and you know, obviously good time to get it here on black friday. the tablets are in big demand, as well. and this is what the stores are doing. they're trying to get as many people in as possible, especially best buy. now at this best buy, excuse me, when you look at what happened this morning, some 600 people wrapped around the store waiting to get inside as it opened at midnight. a lot of people excited about the deals they could get here. important for best buy, keep in mind, this is a company that had disappointing third quarter earnings, so they're determined to make sure they get as many people in as possible.

you know, to help them get through the rest of this year, john. >> all right, george, i'm sorry for infecting you with my vocal issues. i didn't realize they could go down to atlanta. i was asking before, you know, this store you're in right now looks calm. have there been any problems you've been hearing about? >> no problems here. and when you keep in mind the number of people that came in, pretty smooth operation. but we do know in indianapolis, there were fights that broke out at a kmart. people getting in to that store. and then also in sacramento, we know that one customer threatened to stab other customers if he was pushed. so, it's always surprising, you know, what you see on black friday. nothing happened in that situation. no one was stabbed. everything worked out smoothly, as smoothly as possible. but you know, a lot of people trying to get to those deals and you see the frenzy every year. >> all right, george towel outside atlanta. i hate hearing stories like

that. stacey cohan at the arlington mall. what's it look like where you are? >> alina, i haven't gotten a chance to shop. i have jennifer, she's only been at the mall an hour or so. and you've done very well. so why come out this early? that's the question? >> for me it was actually a little late because the mall opened at merchandise night. so coming in 4:30, 5:00, i'm in and out and table to get everything quickly. >> you said because some of the stores opened at midnight you think that helped ease the crowds at 5:00 a.m.? how have the lines been? >> awesome. i have not had to wait in one line. >> are you done? are you really done with your christmas shopping? >> almost. >> really? so it's worth -- you have little kids. you don't get sleep anyways. >> that's right. only had to get up an hour earlier than i usually do. >> there you go. we've got a bunch of shopping bags here. she's saying there's good deals on clothes, lines haven't been too long at pentagon city. this is a four-level mall. they have almost 200 stores and so there are a lot of deals to be had. if you come on out now i think

that's great. i think nationwide what you're seeing is maybe the openings on thursday took some of the pressure off black friday. any day is a good day to shop. why not just come out? >> all right. this woman's almost done with her christmas shopping. that is a sad, sad thing for me to hear. >> all right. >> stacey cohan, thank you so much. >> of course thanksgiving fell just about three weeks after superstorm sandy and many people are still coping with its aftermath the city of new york and volunteers gave them something to be thankful for. like free turkey dinners supplies and warm clothes. some places had so many volunteers show up, that the volunteers had to be turned away. >> the troops getting a thanksgiving feast away from home. but they had to eat it quick. soldiers at fort jackson in south carolina were provided a holiday meal with all the fixens, including 2,200 pounds of turkey. but the soldiers are on the clock, so they only get ten minutes to eat. >> give them an extra minute or two on thanksgiving. >> exactly. >> 325 million dollars. let me say that again.

$325 million. that is the current powerball jackpot. it's enough to make my voice crack. what would you do with that money? think about it. with verizon. hurry in this friday for great deals. like the droid razr by motorola in cranberry, free. or a white 7-inch samsung galaxy tab 2, just $99.99. this friday, get the best deals on the best devices on the best network. exclusively at verizon.

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breaking news this morning. violence erupted in gaza near the israeli border. israeli troops reportedly firing on protesters as they approached the border, killing one palestinian man, and wounding 19 others. that's according to a hamas spokesman. the incident shattering the calm that's been in place since the cease-fire between israel and hamas, which took hold on

wednesday. cnn's sara sidner following this developing story live for us from jerusalem. sarah, good morning to you. first, what can you tell us about this latest incident? >> now we know the numbers have gone up. the number of injured, according to the health department in gaza, there are now 25 people who have been injured over the past 24 hours. one person killed. now, the hamas government says that these were farmers that were working near the border, and that they were shot at, but according to the israeli military, who has a different story about this, saying there were several groups of men who were coming up to the border fence trying to go over into israel. that the soldiers fired a shot in the air first, as a warning, and then fired at their legs. the israeli military not confirming whether there is a death or juries, but still investigating the incident but did say that these men were protesting and trying to come over to the israel side of the border. hamas saying they were simply farmers. so the story very different there and we'll have to get to the bottom of it as the day goes along. this is coming at a very

difficult point. as you know, we are in a cease-fire. but a fragile one. it's not lasted yet for 48 hours. it's just gone over some 30 hours. so it's one of those situations that you have to wait and see as to whether this is going to break this agreement between hamas and israel, whether we'll see some escalation, for example, any rockets coming over here. if that happens, that could break this fragile cease-fire. nobody really wants to see that at this point, alina. >> that's right. as the white house has been saying, it's a tenuous cease-fire agreement. having said that, sara, as you know, this is the second full day that the cease-fire has taken hold. relative calm other than this one incident. but having said that the border crossings of the 24 hour mark into gaza were supposed to open. at that point further talks were supposed to happen. but it hasn't happened. so give us a status report. what's the very latest on that front? >> well, i think what you heard from the israeli government is that when there's this 24-hour period of calm, and the cease-fire goes into place, that

they would talk about opening up the borders more, something that hamas had been demanding. the hamas also demanding the end to the blockade. these were things that were going to be discussed. as long as the cease-fire held, egypt being the keeper of the cease-fire, and a senior israeli diplomat told me that they were very glad to see that egypt was filling that role again, mubarak's regime filled the role when he was in power, and they were worried that president morsi was not going to be able to do that because he's more aligned with hamas because he's aligned with the muslim brotherhood. so they're quite happy to see that at least egypt is sort of there, supposed to be the keeper of the peace for the time being. but it is worrying that we're seeing an incident so quickly after the cease-fire was put in place. and a lot of concerns that if this sort of thing starts happening again, there's always incidents along that israel/gaza border that the cease-fire will mean nothing in the next few days. >> sara sidner live for us in jerusalem. as always, thank you. >> i want to bring in stuart holliday the former u.s. ambassador for special political affairs to the united nations.

he's currently the president and ceo of the meridian international center, which is a public diplomacy organization. ambassador let me start with the news of the shooting along the border between gas zba and israel. how troubling is an incident like this? and how perilous is it, really, for this fragile, fragile cease-fire? >> well, good morning. the local level, it's obviously very troubling, and there are, you know, lives at stake, and there's this delicate balance on the cease-fire. but in the bigger picture, this is -- there's a lot invested in this cease-fire, at the political level and it appears to be at this point more of the typical border incident category kind of problem rather than a directed violation from either side of the cease-fire. i think that's what we're going to have to watch for is what happens next. >> a lot of credit ins are looking at this agreement as a short-term fix, a band-aid that will last as long as, say, hamas manages to rearm and then perhaps start shooting rockets

again. is it naive to talk about a long-term deal? and should the u.s. -- what should the u.s. be doing right now? >> well, the united states, of course, president obama dispatched secretary clinton and she was there when the peace -- when the cease-fire deal was reached. and signals, i think, a renewed engagement, even though we have the so-called pivot to asia, the middle east obviously still is a vital security interest for the united states. so i think you're going to see a little bit more activity in israel. you have election coming up in january. the palestinian both factions, hamas, and fatah are talking about some sort of coalition. so i think you're going to see some movement. obviously at any point the extremists, particularly those that are actually to the more radical than hamas could seek to destabilize the situation. >> you brought up fatah. and they've been called powerless, impotent, a lot during the conflict over the last ten days or so, and

criticized in some cases by members of hamas in some islamists in the region. on cnn yesterday, there was a quote from a member of hamas talking about thepalestinian authority and fatah. let's listen. >> i think people feel now that the only way which can proceed to work is resistance. becau because -- >> does the palestinian authority have any power, any more, to negotiate, are they just an empty suit? >> no, they do have -- they do have power, but again they don't have, you know, the popular support in gaza that's necessary to enforce or bring any large-scale deal along. so it's really a bifurcated government. but if we're going to be negotiated with palestinis, you can bet that abbas is going to be the key interlocutor.

what hamas is doing now, of course, is a draw for them or a cease-fire is being portrayed to their people as a -- as a victory. now i think if you look at the, you know, the damage inflicted on gaza it would be hard to call that a victory. but they're trying to make hay and get local support. >> and they lost their key defense chief as well. there was another major player over the last few days. that's been egypt and mohamed morsi. he's largely credited by the u.s. for helping the cease-fire deal happen. but he did something extraordinary overnight, which he gave himself some new administrative powers, essentially makes all of this rulings over the last five months and going forward immune from any kind of legal challenges. some people are saying this is just the next step in becoming more of a dictator here. was he taking advantage of the situation? >> well, we'll have to watch this closely. it appears, you know, the timing is curious. he's gotten the support and this pump, particularly for this role

in mediating the cease-fire from the united states, and from others. he's really seen as emerging stronger from this. but this is an issue that goes back to whether the judiciary in egypt was appointed by mubarak and a check on the executive branch. and what he said is this is a temporary, until they have a constitution, a temporary step. so we'll have to see if anything looks like it's being put into place permanent could be a big problem for democracy in egypt. >> as you said. thank you so much stuart holliday. great to see you this morning. some video you must see. a thanksgiving surprise for one las vegas military family. watch. you know we see this from time to time but i never get sick of seeing it. she was in the middle of dance class when her dad sergeant major ronald morris walked into the room. he wasn't supposed to be home

yet from his 14-month tour of duty in afghanistan. so his kids, as you can see there, certainly were not expecting him for thanksgiving. but guess what? it happened. the family says they are thankful to be together. and safe. what a great story. >> i'm with you. we see that from time to time but i cannot see enough of it. it is just great. >> 47 minutes after the hour right now. if you need some extra cash, how about, say $325 million? that is where the powerball jackpot stands. the next drawing is tomorrow night. we want to know what you would do with $325 million. >> i could think of a few things. >> i've got to get 325 million things. do it now @earlystartcnn. it's easy to do. kids are using the internet these days. recommend it. >> everybody's on it, this internet thing. get ready to hear this noise about a bazillion times today. >> oh. make it stop. >> berman hates it. >> make it stop. >> it's black friday, folks.

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52 minutes after the hour. welcome back to "early start." it's black friday. the day after thanksgiving. cue the music from john berman. traditional kickoff to the holiday shopping season today. new tradition seems to be shopping on thanksgiving, however. with big box stores from coast to coast offering up those door buster deals. even before the turkey dinner goes down. cnn's george howell live at a best buy store in atlanta with some pretty good deals, george. right? good morning. including a laptop for under 200 bucks?

>> you know, alina, definitely a lot of big deals here at this best buy. and they're definitely focusing on making sure that shoppers know that. best buy, it's really important for them, in this particular store brand to make sure they get as many customers as possible the best bang for their buck today. but you know, we know that fewer people are shopping this year. 147 million people compared to 152 million from last year. that's according to the national retail federation. still when you talk to customers you get a sense that they are prepared to spend more this year, and you know, i want to bring in mary smith. and mary, we were talking about this earlier. you feel more confident about spending money this go-around. tell me about that. >> i do. i just feel the economy's getting stronger. and you know, it's just easier than it was last year. >> so, you know, i saw you looking around. what are the items that stand out to you? what are you looking to buy? >> well, today, i'm getting an itouch. >> very cool. and you know the other thing, i did the same story last year,

and you talk with these people. you talk to families. this seems to be tradition. after thanksgiving you come out, you shop for black friday and you were telling me the same for you? >> that's correct. it's been a tradition since as long as i can remember that my mother and i would come shopping the day after thanksgiving, just a kickoff to the holidays. >> a lot of people seem to be doing that. fewer people in the store right now than we saw earlier. but the store opened at midnight. we saw some 600 people file into this particular store. a lot of people shopping for deals today. you'll see it, you know, today through sunday. these stores are doing everything they can to get as many people in the doors as possible. >> that's right. it's the thrill of the chase, right, george howell? i can relate to that. live for us in atlanta. george, thank you. >> all right, everyone. here are some tips from dealnews about what not to buy today, that could save you some money. number one, toys. you'll find better prices on toys in the two weeks before christmas. so wait. number two, brand-name hdtvs.

you can find deals on third tier manufacturers, but the brand-name ones are best bought in january or february. number three, jewelry. sorry, honey. and watches. deal news says to avoid -- >> talking about me? >> totally. deal news says avoid buying any piece of jewelry or watch over the entire holiday season. number four, winter apparel. you can find cheap clothes but for winter clothes like coats and gloves, they're much cheaper in january, and number five, christmas decorations. hold off until we get closer to christmas if you can. they'll be cheaper then. and of course they're cheapest right after the holidays. >> the day after christmas, 50% off. >> deal news says you can get 70% of in-store sales online, so if you're in a store right now, i don't know, maybe you're wasting your time. like what is good to buy now? like a tank top or like -- >> maybe. a bikini? i don't know. i mean, listen you do have to wonder, you know, online shopping is up, and everybody does it these days but it is that thrill of the chase. i don't quite get it.

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at meineke i have options... like oil changes starting at $19.95. my money. my choice. my meineke. good morning, everybody i'm alina cho. >> and i'm john berman. soledad is off today. our "starting point," back in black. while you were sleeping shoppers came out in force. retailers couldn't be happier. >> except at walmart where a black friday strike threatens to