Public Radio East serves Eastern North Carolina by providing news, fine arts, and informational programming that challenges, stimulates, educates, and entertains an intellectually curious audience.

© 2026 Public Radio East

Public Radio East
800 College Court
New Bern, NC 28562

EIN 56-1802728
Public Radio For Eastern North Carolina 89.3 WTEB New Bern 88.5 WZNB New Bern 91.5 WBJD Atlantic Beach 90.3 WKNS Kinston 89.9 W210CF Greenville
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Black Friday's Retail Rush

Shoppers crowd around items at a Best Buy in Hobart, Ind., Nov. 25, 2005.
Tasos Katopodis
/
Getty Images
Shoppers crowd around items at a Best Buy in Hobart, Ind., Nov. 25, 2005.

After standing in lines for predawn store openings, shoppers wrestle over discount computers and other hot sellers as the holiday buying season begins.

In Orlando, Fla., shoppers wrestled a man to the ground after he tried to cut the line to snap a discount computer. In Beaumont, Texas, an off-duty policy officer sprayed mace into a crowd of overzealous Wal-Mart shoppers. Several people reportedly left the store gasping and choking as they headed for the parking lot.

Michele Norris talks with commentator Pam Varkony about her visits to a mall near Varkony's home in Allentown, Pa., to assess the Black Friday shopping crowd and talk to some of the smaller retailers about how busy they are.

The National Retail Federation projects a 6 percent increase in sales over last year's holiday season.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.