[ cheers and applause ] ♪ this is "nightline." >> tonight, released. almost seven weeks after being abducted by terrorist militants, 24 israeli and foreign hostages freed in exchange for 39 preliminary women and teenage prisoners. but no americans were included. what will happen to the remaining hostages? plus, unboxing shein.

>> i spent $500. >> juju: on this busiest shopping day of the year, the company everybody is talking about. >> we've never really seen one grow this quickly. >> juju: generating headlines and controversy. >> calling out a big company is scary. >> juju: but nothing seems to be stopping the shopping. and mariah carey. >> i really, truly love the holidays. it's not fake. >> juju: i sat down with the so-called queen of christmas who says her own tough childhood drives her to bring christmas cheer to her fans. ♪ all i want for christmas is you ♪ >> juju: all she wants for her upcoming holiday tour. >> here's me trying to reach out to you, giving you the merriest of christmases. >> juju: and what she's got in store for everyone. ♪ vicks vapostick provides soothing, non-medicated vicks vapors. [exhales] easy to apply for the whole family. vicks vapostick and try vaposhower for steamy vicks vapors.

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♪ ♪ >> juju: thanks for joining us. today saw the long-awaited first exchange between the israeli government and hamas. the terrorist group releasing two dozen hostages held captive for weeks with israel freeing 39 palestinian prisoners in return. this the first stage of a trade under a four-day cease-fire, offering a brief respite to both sides. nearly seven weeks after being taken hostage by hamas terrorists, 24 israeli and foreign citizens released to

israel. this video recorded by hamas showing the moment that handover took place. a convoy of red cross ambulances carrying the group into egypt -- 13 israeli sit tense, 10 thai citizens, 1 filipino citizen. prime minister benjamin netanyahu says israel is committed to the return of all 236 abductees. the released hostages include mothers with children as young as 2 and women from 79 to 85 years old. now undergoing the delicate process of reuniting with their families. president joe biden today addressing the release from nantucket. >> i've consistently pressed for a pause in the fighting for two reasons. to accelerate and expand humanitarian assistance going into gaza, and two, to facilitate the release of hostages. >> juju: in exchange, israel releasing 39 palestinian women and teenage prisoners. the temporary cease-fire also providing the opportunity to

send more than 200 aid trucks into gaza. in gaza, hundreds of people seen flooding the streets, temporarily safe from shelling. this woman saying, "my entire house was destroyed. this is all i could come out with. we thank god for everything." while the cease-fire remains intact, more exchanges are expected for at least three more days. >> i want to cry. this is why i came today. because i wanted to hug the families that are not getting their dear ones. >> juju: here at home, today is also black friday, the biggest retail day of the year. according to adobe, today shoppers spent at least $9.5 billion online, setting a record for online sales on black friday. and in the world of fast fashion, shein is the flashy front-runner but the cyber store has been accused of copy rite

infringement, sometimes by small designers who say they don't have the resources to fight the internet's biggest cyber site. here's another look at the giant. >> reporter: shein with young women showing off hundreds of millions in merchandise going viral since 2020. >> we have a massive back-to-school haul. this order was $200. look at these. >> i spent $500. at shein. >> also, guys, i got so many things i forgot what i even ordered. >> reporter: people follow those tiktoks to shein, the most visited clothing website in the world. customers spend twice as much time there as on nike.com, the next most popular. >> there's so many fashion companies but we've never really seen one grow this quickly and take this much market share as quickly as shein did.

>> reporter: the idea behind fast fashion is to get the newest styles on the market as quickly and cheaply as possible. so consumers can snap them up while they're the most popular. big fast fashion retailers like zara and h ask m normally get runway styles to customers in a few weeks at a fraction of the luxury price. >> to some degree, h&m and zahra operate the way the fashion industry has for 150 years. they try to predict the trends for the season, they order clothes at least several weeks in advance, up to several months in advance. and they fill all these retail stores with clothing that they think consumers are going to want to buy. >> reporter: but shein's business model is a little different. >> what they do is use data and algorithms to track trends, and when a trend emerges they place an order, and then they wait to see which product is going to take off.

and only then do they go back to their factories and say, this is selling, we need to make more of it. you can guess a dress for under $2 on shein, you can get a top for less than $1, have it shipped to your house for under probably $10. i think it was this perfect combination of a captive audience during the pandemic, everybody on their phones, combined with speed to market and low price that kind just propelled them to dominance in the fashion industry. >> reporter: this massive churn through products may not cost consumers a lot of money, but it does have a price. some consumers have started pushing back on the company, even the giudice family facing criticism for their partnership. in a statement they said, "we 100% believe in ethical practices in all capacities and in doing due diligence have not seen any substantive evidence showing unethical practices."

>> we're actually in my family home. i asked my grandparents if i could use this space as a studio. i want it to feel, when you walk in here, like it is my room or my closet. >> and this is where all the magic happens? >> yes. >> reporter: bailey prado is an independent clothing designer from southern california. >> this was the original design that i found out was copied. one of my followers actually dm'd me a picture of this dress. because it's very distinctive. and very unique. >> reporter: in august 2021, a popular fashion watchdog account called dia prada posted screen grabs of the shein website side by side with prada's designs. how many hours does it take to create these pieces? >> over 20, 30 hours. >> reporter: she says shein's copied more than 40 of her designs and sold them for way cheaper, selling this set for $175, a similar design going for $25 on shein. >> calling out a big company is

scary. and especially when the comments started coming in. >> if that crochet collection was still up on shein's website, you think that would have meant a big hit to your sales? >> definitely. i think that once your work is out there, it loses value on your original designs. why would someone want to pay more for something they can get for cheaper? >> reporter: she tried to contact shein but never heard back. we asked shein about bailey's claims, and they said shein takes all claims of infringement seriously. it is not our intent to infringe anyone's valid intellectual property, and it is not our business model to do so. shein suppliers and marketplace sellers are required to comply with company policy and certify their products do not infringe third-party ip." did you ever take legal action against shein? >> i definitely had some lawyers reach out and email me. and i definitely was interested. but again, it takes a lot of time and money. i did not have the money to pay

for these lawyers. >> juju: our thanks to selena. watch more on "impact by nightline: unboxing shein" on hulu. when we come back, all mariah carey wants on her upcoming christmas tour. ♪ what more can i do baby all i want for christmas is you ♪ to help protect from hiv. i prep without pills. with apretude, a prescription medicine used to reduce the risk of hiv without daily prep pills.

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♪ ♪ welcome back. you know, it's hard to think of mariah carey and not think of christmas music. she says that's just how she likes it. here's another look at my one on one with the so-called queen of

christmas. >> it's time! >> juju: is it ever too early to play christmas music? >> that's the whole thing where "it's time" came from. everybody would be playing christmas music and i would be like, not yet. >> juju: you're the arbiter of christmas. >> i know, it seems that way. ♪ christmas ♪ >> juju: she may be the arbiter of christmas, she's also queen of the charts. the five-time grammy award winner has the most number one singles by a solo artist ever, with timeless hits like "fantasy." ♪ sweet sweet fantasy baby ♪ >> juju: "we belong together." ♪ we belong together baby ♪ >> juju: and "emotions." showcasing her famous five-octave range. ♪ ♪ there is just one thing i need ♪ >> juju: it's "all i want for christmas is you ♪

♪ cementing the pop diva's reign over the holiday season. released nearly 30 years ago, it's currently number one on billboard's greatest of all-time holiday songs and earned her an estimated $72 million. i also read that you wrote that song or cowrote that song in a matter of 15 minutes, essentially, give or take? >> yeah, it was pretty fast. ♪ and i don't care about no presents ♪ >> i was working on it by myself, so i was, you know -- ♪ da da da ♪ writing on this little casio keyboard, writing down words and thinking about, what do i think of at christmas? what do i love what do i want, what do i dream of? that's what started it. ♪ all i want for christmas is you ♪ >> juju: it's timeless. >> that was my goal was to do something timeless that didn't feel like the '90s when i wrote it. >> juju: why do you think this has enduring appeal? >> i think it's because i really, truly love the holidays. it's not fake. ♪ all i want for christmas is you ♪

>> juju: there's no faking mariah carey's love for christmas, including her personal holiday traditions with her now 12-year-old twins, rock and roe. >> we got on our two-horse open sleigh. >> juju: you do that for real? for real. >> juju: also for real, launching a 14-city christmas season tour called "merry christmas one and all." >> it's pretty amazing. so many different ages, races, types of people. and they were just there to have a great time. >> juju: her peaceful nature born perhaps of a harrowing childhood. she detailed those painful moments in her 2020 memoir, "the meaning of mariah carey." you wrote very poignantly about the fact that your childhood was messy, that it was not -- it was far from perfect. >> yeah. >> juju: in many ways what you want to give to your kids and to your fans is this perfect, magical christmas? >> yeah.

that's true. and i know nothing's perfect, but i mean, just to give from your soul and give to someone else, where we're all just coming together and enjoying being together. >> juju: in her memoir, the singer describing those early years which she says were full of neglect and abuse, writing, "something in me was arrested by all that trauma." how would you describe the triumph over adversity story that is mariah carey? >> i think, really, i did my best to get much of the story out there and really deep dive into who i am as a person. and why certain things are the way they are with me. and that was my main thing was to really sort of emancipate my inner child. >> juju: her music now celebrating that inner child. her own children taking part in all the magic. i love how your twins come out on tour with you.

>> yeah. >> juju: last year you sang a duet with your daughter. >> with my daughter, uh-huh. ♪ and this forever to live with you there ♪ >> juju: does your daughter have the whistle octave? >> i think she kind of has it. she just has to play with it. >> juju: how did you discover it? >> i would be waking up for school and be really tired, so i'd be hoarse. "no, i don't want to get up!" >> juju: do you think either of them will follow in your footsteps? >> i don't know. i hope so in this ways. i don't want to say they're my friends because they're like, oh, mom is corny. >> juju: you've got to be the cool mom. >> i'm not a regular mom, i'm cool mom. >> juju: while she's definitely the cool mom, ringing in the holidays on her nationwide tour, she has more surprises for fans. >> there is new music on the horizon. i've been working the past

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♪ >> juju: finally tonight, corey allen says he always knew he wanted to be in law enforcement, but while pursuing his dream, he found that being a gay police officer required him to lead a double life. he describes what breaking free was like to abc's rhiannon alley. >> corey, welcome to "nightline." >> thank you so much for having me. to be here in this moment is a little bit surreal, but also in this iconic studio is not something i ever imagined. >> i was reading your book. how did you feel and react when you found out you were assigned to the obama family as a secret service agent? >> i got the phone call from a high-ranking supervisor in the washington field office. i was over the moon, elated, that what i was hoping would come true, did. knowing such genuineness, the

people that they are -- thrilled that that played out the way it did. >> in "breaking free," you talk about the early days of your childhood. and also being a gay law enforcement officer. what inspired that career choice for you? >> we had domestic violence in the home from the age of about 9 to 19. and so i was the one who was frequently calling police to calm things down. so i had these interactions with law enforcement from a very early age. and that stuck with me. so after i went in the military, i went into policing after that. ended up being hired by the very same agency who i called on for help. >> 20 years ago, this was a very conservative area in richmond, virginia. you were living your life as a gay man, but you couldn't reveal that to anyone. what was that experience like? >> it was a literal double life. i just had to compartmentalize it really well. both as a police officer -- because nobody, even when i left there the end of 2009, i was married and nobody knew i was

married to my then husband. also, i was doing so well in the line of work and i came to really love the profession and just became a pro at separating those two. >> even when you became a secret service agent, you actually didn't even feel at that point that you could reveal your life to your co-workers. what finally gave you the courage? >> 2013 supreme court case that ruled in our favor. i was able to call hr and demand benefits for my then husband. i was the first gay agent to do that for secret service. the 2015 supreme court ruling, of course, then just affirmed that now our marriage was legally recognized in all 50 states. and it wasn't until i was surrounded by the obamas, such great people, my work family -- they really loved me for who i was and i was able to step into my self, my own shoes, present my true self. >> one of the things that inspired you to write this book was while you were on michelle obama's book tour, "becoming."

how do you hope your book inspires people? >> to be the true authentic, vulnerable selves. in the day in age and aclu is tracking 501 anti-lgbtq legislation pieces across the united states, our community is under attack. lgbtq youth need to know they're loved, perfect the way they are, they're accepted. despite the environment they're in, you can overcome that, change your circumstances, and just hope that it inspires somebody to know that they are loved and they are perfect the way they are. they can excel in clearfields like law enforcement. >> thank you so much for being here. your book is such a fascinating look at your life. and i thank you for sharing with everyone. >> thank you for giving me the opportunity, and hopefully this has some impact somewhere. thank you. >> our thanks to rhiannon. that's "nightline." watch full episodes on hulu. thanks for joining us. good night, america.