Daily news: New York shoppers beat economic blues at 'Black Friday' sales

Shoppers in New York brushed off some gloomy economic forecasts and packed into stores Friday after the Thanksgiving Day holiday, kicking off one of the busiest US shopping periods of the year.
While economists have suggested this year's holiday season will likely see only a small increase in takings over last year due to weak consumer confidence, there was little sign of depressed sales on New York's streets.
"I was up at two-thirty this morning to shop," said Kim Melise, 22, a New Yorker who was struggling to get into Bloomingdale's department store with his arms already weighed down by bags of shopping.