making news on this friday, november 26th. >> black friday blitz. the holiday shopping season kicks into high-gear. will americans spend enough this year to boost the slumping economy? brink of war. north korea warns that the south actions are pushing it close to war. as a top u.s. military commander surveys the damage there. miracle at sea. the amazing story of three teens who survived 50 days adrift in the south pacific. good morning, everybody. thanks for joining us. i'm rob nelson. >> and i'm mike marusarz, sitting in for vinita nair. it's black friday, when 138

million americans are expected to hit the stores. experts say they may be willing to spend more this year. sales actually expected to be up 2.3%. or $447 billion worth. >> that's a lot of shopping. some major chains trying to get a jump on things by opening on thanksgiving day for the first time ever. emily schmidt is joining us now from washington, with the latest trends. hello, emily. how are you doing? >> reporter: rob and mike, good morning to you. you heard that time is money. that's the mantra for millions of sleep-deprived black friday shoppers right now. they're goal, at least, is to shop early, save big. people that want to join black friday shopping must get in line and realize how many others are already there. >> what time did get you here? >> about noon. >> i got here about 2:00. >> reporter: stores opening at . some opened at midnight. others opened thanksgiving morning, to dozens people

waiting. >> get an early start. get it over with. >> reporter: sears opened thursday for the first time in its history, hoping to lure the first of the 138 million people estimated to do some shopping somewhere this weekend. >> we watched the papers. we watched the sales. and we take advantage of it. >> reporter: businesses are opening earlier. advertising bigger deals in-store and online. >> $150. they said i need to do it. >> reporter: the retail federation says people will spend 2% more this year. starting now, with lists in hand, and lines in sight. >> oh. >> come here. then, old navy. and then, walmart. maybe breakfast in between. >> reporter: busy schedules for a lot of people today. black friday is usually the busiest shopping day of the year. but it doesn't necessarily serve as the crystal ball for the rest of the holiday shopping season. that's because despite of all these people getting an early

start right now, there's just as many putting it off and doing that last-minute shopping in about a month. rob and mike? >> emily schmidt, thanks. you'll be out there. i'll be procrastinating. this has bitter cold across many parts of the nation, maybe keep bargain-hunters at home. seeking outonline specials, as well. >> details on how the black friday forecast is shaping up. hi, amy. >> thank you, rob and mike. black friday shoppers will be encountering rain, snow, ice and cold. that's the case in the northeast. our latest storm system sweeps on through. that means soaking rain in the morning hours, from d.c., up the i-95 corridor. and the northern edge of this, we're talking a wintry mix, from western pennsylvania up into cities like burlington, vermont, and northern parts of maine. if we follow the cold front southward, we're calling for thunderstorm activity from the atlantic seaboard, all the way down to the i-10 corridor. atlanta and charlotte, you're under the gun for stormy

weather. the big story here, what's coming in behind the front. very chilly air. that's the case across the lone star state. cities like dallas, houston a enbrownsville, are in the 50s. that's noticeably cooler across the region. our latest storm moves in. that means heavy rain along the coast. and also, heavy, mountain snow for the cascades. as for the southwest, a very chilly start to your black friday. now, back to you, rob and mike. north korea lashed out this morning, warning that this weekend's joint military drills by the u.s. and south korea are pushing the peninsula to the brink of war. just hours later, south korea reported hearing artillery fire near the yellow sea island devastated earlier this week by a deadly attack from north korea. general walter scharf, the u.s. military commander in south korea, toured the island this morning to survey the damage. he says the north's attack is, quote, a clear violation of the armistice agreement. alex marquardt has more from seoul. >> reporter: the bodies of the two civilians killed in the

island attack arriving on the mainland for burial. arriving amid an escalation of force and rhetoric. south korea's president ordered more troops and equipment to the maritime border with north korea, including the island that was hit. warning that another attack could be imminent and calling for more aggressive rules of engagement. for its part, north korea vowed waves of retaliation if provoked. the first attack on civilians here since t been met with uncommon fury, both against the north and against their own government for a slow and tepid response. we should punish the north's deliberate provocation, this man told us. the defense minister resigned. korean television broadcast animation showing how bunker-busting bombings and fighter jets could destroy the north's military installations. the heightened tensions some as u.s. navy ships steam toward the

koreas for joint military exercises with the south. and as the 28,000 american troops based in south korea celebrated thanksgiving. at camp red cloud outside seoul, soldiers got a taste of home and spoke of their shared bond. >> it's real special to be a part of. especially being away from family and being away from home. we have soldiers, just a tight-knit relationship is real special. >> reporter: alex marquardt, abc news, seoul. the u.s. marks a very telling milestone today in the war in afghanistan. it's been 9 years and 50 days of involvement. that's the exact amount of time that the former soviet union spent in its futile campaign to create a socialist state there. the commitment will run past the 2014 date when nato forces are supposed to transition into a noncombat role. also, the u.s. government is bracing for another round of disclosures by wikileaks that could embarrass our allies. those nations are being briefed about the documents the

whistleblower site plans to release in the next few days. they're said to include thousands of diplomatic cables, alleging krums by diplomats from russia and other asian countries. the first family spent a quiet thanksgiving at the white house. the president took same time to thank u.s. servicemen and women stationed far from home on the holiday. the president called two members, each from the navy, army, air force, marines and coast guard. today, the first lady kicks off the holiday season, by receiving the white house christmas tree. when we come back, why you may have trouble getting a plumber on the phone today, if you need one. plus, left for dead. three teenagers survived nearly two months adrift at sea. their amazing story. and why the force is not with darth vader.

wall street will be opened for a half-day today, following, of course, thanksgiving. let's check the markets overseas now. tokyo's nikkei average dropped 40 points today. hong kong's hang seng is down in late trading. and in london, the ftse opened lower. the dow jones industrial average, meanwhile, starts the day at 11,187, after gaining 150 points on wednesday. the nasdaq index gained 48 points to close at 2543. delmonty goods is under new

ownership. the group is days $4 million for the fruit, vegetable and pet foodmaker. they are also acquiring debt. but del montee's sales have been strong. it's black friday for plumbers, too, who can expect to spend the day fixing damage done after thanksgiving dinner. the big problem? leftover food that was stuffed too quickly into those garbage disposals. >> i was wondering the damage you were referring to. in today's "usa today" tech report, ipad users are testing out updated software for the tablet computer. apple released updated software this week. "usa today's" ed baig was also impressed with one other feature called air play. >> you can stream stuff from your ipad, movies and pictures and stuff, to a big-screen tv,

and hd-tv, wirelessly. i hit a couple of hiccups, the interval between slides. the timing seemed a little off, watching on the tv, compared to the ipad. but overall, this feature has a lot of potential. >> and you can read ed's full review on usatoday.com. it seems not even the hardest of hard-corears" fans was willing to invest in a darth vader costume. christie's in london was opening to get between $250,000 and $600,000 for the outfit. but the highest bid from an american private collector was just shy of $237,000. not enough for christie's to let it go. >> poor darth. couldn't get love there. >> not yet. >> it is a recession. >> maybe that's why. all right, when we come back, 3 teenagers survived 50 days adrift at sea. plus, highlights from the thanksgiving day football action. and the new york jets, looking

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now, for a look at the morning road conditions. things will be especially treacherous on i-75 near the great lakes and interstate 90, 95 and 77 in the east. in the west, it will be wet and icy along i-80 in the sierras. and i-5, in the northwest. >> and if you're flying today, you can expect some airport delays in the following cities, seattle, detroit, chicago, memphis and new orleans. as well as boston, new york, philadelphia, washington, d.c., charlotte, and atlanta. a lot of cities. the parents are calling it a miracle. three teen boys have been rescued after nearly two monthse drifting in the south pacific. their families had even feld funerals for them, until they were found accidentally by a fishing boat. with more, here's abc's david muir.

>> reporter: they spent 50 days not knowing if they would ever go home. the boys went missing in early october, trying to row their 12-foot aluminum boat, between two islands near their home off new zealand. their families thought they were dead. they held funerals. the entire village of 500 came to mourn. that village is celebrating. the father of one of the boys declaring the rescue a miracle. it was a group of fishermen that found them by chance. one of the rescuers, in his own words. >> one of my crew members was standing watch at the time. and he noticed that he could see something floating on the horizon off our bows. and as we drewoser, we realized it was a small craft. and then, when we drew even more close, we realized there were people inside this craft. they were in need of some assistance. i did ask them if they needed any help. and their reply was a very ecstatic, yes. >> reporter: how did they survive? and what did they eat?

>> they had a small supply of coconuts. but these only lasted two days. they did go for a period where they only were drinking fresh water, which they were capturing through the night. they did tell me also that they were able to catch a seabird, which is very lucky for them. >> reporter: the fishermen say the boys are nursing terrible sun burns. but otherwise, are now in great spirits. they actually called home, asking for forgiveness for their long voyage. their parents just want them home. >> and our thanks to abc's david muir for that story. an alabama man known as the honeymoon killer has arrived back in the u.s. from australia. gabe watson has already served 18 months in an australian jail for manslaughter in the drowning death of his wife during their honeymoon. but alabama prosecutors say that was too lenient. they want to charge him with murder. watson admitted he swam away from his bride of 11 days, when he realized she was struggling under water. a new study is reaffirming just how dangerous secondhand

smoke is. each year, 600,000 people around the world die from exposure to it. and more than half of those deaths are from heart disease. and many are women and children. in fact, women are at least 50% more likely to be exposed to passive smoking than men. the world health organization also found that two out of five children regularly breathe secondhand smoke. >> nearly two dozen people are dead after five days of riot ig in rio de janeiro in a slum there. police are patrolling the stanty town in tanks, looking for drug gang leaders they blame for the violence. more police moved in to clear the slum. rio host the 2014 world cup and the 2016 olympics. britain is taking precautions before hosting its olympics. security officials have put thee threat at the second-highest level and suspect it will remain there until the 2012 games. there will be a number of nationwide drills to prepare for

possible attacks. after the games were awarded there, suicide bombers targeted the city's transit system. it was a busy day on the gridiron, with the nfl hosting its traditional turkey day games. the new england patriots knocked off the detroit lions, 45-24. and my new orleans saints survived a big scare from the dallas cowboys, pulling it out in the end in that matchup. now, highlights from the late game, here's don bell at espn news. >> good morning. i'm don bell with your espn news update. we start with great football on thanksgiving day. to the meadowlands we go. the jets taking on the bengals. jets down 7-3. brad smith of gang green gets the reverse. 53 yards later, it's a touchdown. the jets go up 10-7. later in the quarter, jets punting on fourth and five. a long, high punt. and andre caldwell of the

bengals, trying to block on the play. but he gets hit by the ball. the jets, heads-up play. they dive on it and recover. just take a look right there. caldwell, barely hit. but it's enough to give the jets the ball back. and later on, mark sanchez of gang green, finally getting it done right here. from the pocket. slinging to santonio holmes for the touchdown. the jets go up 17-7. in the fourth quarter, after a bengals' field goal, brad smith. gets the ball at the 11 yard line. past the 30 he goes. slithering through the coverage. beyond midfield. brad smith, feet, don't fail me now. 89-yard touchdown return. smith, big play for him. the jets win, 26-10. that is your espn news

update. i'm don bell. back to you, in new york. the patriots, saints and jets are among the favorites to play in super bowl xlv. but one group has already bunched its ticket to the big game. the black eyed peas. the grammy award-winning group will be the featured performer during the halftime show at the game. that matchup will be played on february 6th at cowboy stadium, just outside of dallas. coming up next, the stories we'll be following today, including those rising tensions between north and south korea. and the white house shifts its focus from thanksgiving to christmas.

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and now, a look ahead to the stories we'll be watching on this friday. 138 million americans are expected to hit the stores on this black friday. experts say there will be more shoppers than last year. but they'll spend less money. north korea is warning that this weekend's joint u.s./south korea military drills are pushing the peninsula to the brink of war. earlier this morning, south korea reported hearing artillery fire near the yellow sea island devastated earlier this week by a deadly attack from north korea. the white house turns its attention to christmas now. first lady michelle obama will receive the douglas fir that will serve as the official white house christmas tree. and president obama and first lady sit down for an interview with barbara walters.

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just one dose, once a month. next at 4:30. lost at sea for 50 days, an incredible story of survival by three teenagers in the south pacific. turkey is put away and now time to think about shopping. cash registers are ringing this morning. mike nicco has the chilly forecast. >> temperatures are below freezing. and update on finally this morning, the average american consumes more than 4,500 calories on thanksgiving day.

that's a lot of situps. >> no kidding. and so, what should you do today if you ate just a little too much yesterday? wabc's sandra bookman tells us. >> reporter: avoiding getting as overstuffed on the turkey on thanksgiving day, is an annual failed exercise for many americans. the traditional table offerings, just too tempting to pass up. how much do you eat on thanksgiving? >> until i'm full. and then, usually some >> repor >> reporter: the director of clinical nutrition at month formedical center, suggests moderation, instead of deprivation or gutny. >> take what you love. take small amounts of the other food. take one plateful and call it a day. >> reporter: but if you do find yourself in a day-after food coma, she says there are some simple remedies. topping the to-do list, rehydrate. water will help counter all of the alcohol, sugar and salt. exercise, to counter all those calories. and sleep, to allow your body to

recover. then, it's time to cleanse your palate. nutritionists say that means more fruits and vegetables, whole grains. even low-fat or fat-free yogurt. a slod with leftover turkey, is a good idea. or maybe some fish, high in omega 3 and fatty acids. >> you want to take away that fat and sugar overload. and cleanse your palate by in sugar but higher in fiber. >> reporter: don't make the mistake of skipping a meal to make up for your overindulgence. that will just lower your blood sugar and send you straight back to craving that pie on the counter. of course, for some, that is what thanksgiving is all about. >> it's a holiday. you have to enjoy yourself. they say treat yourself, don't cheat yourself. >> a lot of work to do. >> words to live by. >> no doubt. that was wabc's sandra bookman reporting. that's what's making news in america this morning. >> and of course you can get