Black Friday

RIVERDALE -- The entrepreneurial spirit was alive and well Thursday night, well before the traditional start of Black Friday.

Those who were some of the first in line at the Riverdale Target store just after they ate their Thanksgiving meal reported that the wait was pleasant and their shopping experience enjoyable.

A few violent incidents broke out across the country on Black Friday as millions of shoppers rushed into stores that opened their doors hours earlier than usual on the most anticipated shopping day of the year.

Plumber Jerry Feiman's truck bears a slogan that could double as a warning to Thanksgiving cooks: A flush beats a full house.

The day after the food-heavy holiday is typically the busiest of the year for residential plumbers, like a Black Friday for drains and pipes.

DALLAS -- Getting your hands on the hottest Black Friday technology gifts this year won't be just a question of stamina.

Sure, you'll still need to be prepared to swallow your pride and camp out in a parking lot Thursday night.

But you'll also need a plan.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- For a growing number of shoppers this holiday season, the difference between offline and online will be no line at all.

With an avalanche of new smart phone apps just in time for Black Friday, these handheld shopping tools are redefining the art of consumption, blurring the distinction between the in-store experience and the virtual world of information now available in the palm of your hand. Advances in location-based technology, bar-code scanning, price-comparison apps and social-networking tools have turned the mobile device into a sweaty-palmed third channel of commerce, empowering consumers while challenging retailers to rethink the way they do business.