147 Million People were expected to shop between friday and sunday. Record numbers of shoppers are making purchases on their mobile devices or ipads, and for those who did venture out today, the foot traffic wasnt just at big box retailers but also at mom and pop neighborhood stores, part of a concerted effort to promote Small Business on this holiday saturday. Nbcs Michelle Franzen has been out in the crowds today, she joins us in front of macys, the Flagship Store in new york. Good evening, michelle. Reporter good evening, kate. Consumer confidence has been improving over the last few months, and retailers are hoping that new excitement along with the emotions of the Holiday Season will translate into a boost in sales. The hunt for deals today paid off for donna bunk, who was just Getting Started with her Holiday Shopping in new york city. Not expecting to get a pair of boots but when you walk past these and theyre only 30, how could you go wrong . Reporter just the attitude retailers are banking on that the crucial Holiday Shopping season off and running. I had to buy a suitcase to take home, because ive been shopping for about four days. Dont tell anybody. Reporter the frenzy started on thanksgiving day when black friday early bird promotions turned into a feast for shoppers. Those doorbuster deals on everything from flat screen tvs to must have toys, getting snapped up as consumers got swept up in the frenzy. Sales are expected to grow a little over 4 this year with shoppers spending 586 billion. Walmart released a statement calling it the best black friday ever. We had over 22 million customers in our store between 8 00 and midnight last night. Reporter macys also saw record crowds. The line of incoming traffic never stopped, never ceased. Reporter as retail giants raked in the sales, small shop owners looked to get a piece of the pie today as customers came out for Small Business saturday. Mom and pop shops and in our case, mom and daughter shops, we need love, too. Reporter in hoboken, hard hit by superstorm sandy, Small Businesses were open and hopeful. This is the time when the town really needs support from the locals. Reporter in arlington, virginia, president obama took his daughter shopping today supporting a local book store and asking americans to do the same. Meanwhile savvy shoppers are using every tool at their disposal to find discounts. Reports show online sales were up more than 20 on black friday. Its easier and its better, away from a lot of crowd of people. Reporter so far, shoppers appear to be in the mood, to buy, if the price is right. And heading into cyber monday, retail analysts say that sales are expected to jump 12 over last year, with americans spending 96 billion on that day alone. Kate . Michelle franzen tonight thank you. Overseas, tensions are rising in cairo and across egypt, days after that countrys new president once hailed as a hero and reformer made a huge power grab that has some labeling him egypts new pharaoh. Tonight supporters and opponents of Mohamed Morsi are calling for mass demonstrations. Nbcs jim maceda is high above Cairos Tahrir square. Jim, good evening. Reporter hi, kate. Well, of course, Tahrir Square behind me was ground zero for egypts 2011 uprising, but lately its had a similar feel and the smell of tear gas is back in the air. Clashes between morsi opponents and riot police raged through the night and into a second day. Protesters turning Tahrir Square into a tent encampment and pledging to target the besieged president until he designs or rescinds the decrees which give him sweeping powers and put him above the law. The move has triggered riots across the country, injuring more than 300 egyptians. If morsi does that, well be exactly like iran, said this protester. He is making himself not just a dicer, hes making himself a god. He said he had to take action to take radical action to save egypt from Hosni Mubaraks regime. But egyptians like alid mahmoud, a field medic who lost his friend in the uprising feels cheated by morsi and the islamist. They got his vote, but he says they got nothing but a new regime. Do you think there will be another revolution like the one before . Actually, the next revolution started yesterday. So i think that is the second revolution. Reporter across town, this man couldnt disagree more, abdul is a financial manager and member of morsis Muslim Brotherhood. He thinks the president is a hero and a democrat, not a dictator. His controversial decrees the right decision to keep the revolution alive. Personally ive benefited from the uprising he says, the economy is starting to move and life is getting better. But if he ventured into Tahrir Square today, hed see this, entry into Muslim Brotherhood forbidden. This is a Muslim Brotherhood free zone . Its not their revolution. Reporter battle lines being drawn across a divided nation with signs of more trouble ahead. Today egyptian judges called for a nationwide strike and protest while both pro and antimorsi factions are preparing for a millionman march, all this is happening on tuesday, and were going to watch it. Kate . Jim maceda at his post above Tahrir Square. This evening as you might imagine, the Obama Administration is closely monitoring the situation in egypt. Volatility there could have an effect on the entire region. Nbcs Mike Viqueira is at the white house tonight. Mike, what are you hearing from there . Reporter good evening to you, kate. Just three days ago officials here reacted with positive emotions between morsi. And the role he brokered between the ceasefire in israel and hamas. Some saw and some still see a way to leverage morsis influence with hamas into jumpstarting a middle east Peace Process that was all but dead. Morsis move to extend authoritarian rule by undercutting the courts complicated matters for the u. S. Which still sends roughly 1 billion in aid each year to egypt. In the wake of the power grab u. S. Officials issued a cautious statement of concern and a call for calm and there is a lot at stake for morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood as well, theres billions of dollars in imf funds, most important to the u. S. Is continued stability in egypt, that peace treaty some three decades old between israel and egypt, absolutely vital for u. S. And western interests. Kate . Mike viqueira at the white house tonight, thank you. Another hot spot the white house is keeping an eye on, the situation in israel and gaza, where a threedayold ceasefire is Still Holding tonight. Amid the rubble, there are signs life is starting to get back to normal, though there are also lingering worries about how long it will last. We get our report tonight from nbcs aymin moyheldin in gaza. Reporter for the First Time Since gaza took over the strip six years ago, israels navy eased the blockade that prohibited boats from fishing beyond three miles from shore. Now they can go twice as far says gazas fishermen syndicate. And near the border with israel today, farmers were allowed access to land that for years had been off limits. Another sign that life was slowly returning to normal, tens of thousands of students went back to school today. Amid the ruins of israels air strikes that claims were to stop rocketfire, some students stopped to take it all in. Its not easy being a child in gaza, these students told me. Some had relatives killed in the air strikes, others said they lost classmates. I want to grow up to become a rocket engineer this boy told us. He doesnt mean the kind that goes into space but rockets fired by palestinian factions. The fighters are National Heroes here, idolized for what people call resistance. Israel calls them terrorists. With scenes of destruction serving as the backdrop for students returning to schools like this one, its no surprise teachers say that a generation of palestinian children have been traumatized by what theyve seen. In the classroom its visible. This kind of war leads to longterm consequences of students becoming more aggressive, more violent in their speech. Reporter for some like this 8yearold, her vivid drawings say it all, page after page of firing rockets and guns and israeli helicopters firing missiles. This is her reality, she tells me. For students in gaza, the toughest lessons may not be what they learned in the classroom but trying to make sense what is happening in the world all around them. Ayman mohyeldin, gaza. Back here at home tributes are pouring in for an icon of American Television for decades. Larry hagman achieved worldwide fame playing the villainous oil baron j. R. Ewing on the prime time soap dallas. He died yesterday in dallas surrounded by family and friends and nbcs Kristen Dahlgren takes a look back at his life and career. Reporter for a time he was the most famous actor in the world, the subject of the biggest cliffhanger ever. [ gunshot ] the question, who shot j. R. Catapulted larry hagman into tv history. For more than a decade hagman was the character audiences couldnt get enough of, the wicked, scheming j. R. Ewing. The 81yearold was reprising his role as j. R. In the tnt reboot of dallas. Youre not a kinder, gentler version of yourself . Hardly. Reporter along with family his costars were at his side when hagman died in a dallas hospital friday, finally succumbing to the throat cancer he had been battling. In a statement, nbc costar linda gray said larry hagman was my best friend for 35 years. He was a pied piper of life and brought joy to everyone he knew. The world was a brighter place because of him. On the site of the real life South Fork Ranch outside dallas, fans mourned the loss of the tv legend. Its really sad to hear because his character made the show. Reporter hagman was also remembered for his role as major nelson in i dream of genie. Friday night barbara eden reminisced about her costar. I am deeply saddened. He was a big part of my life, a glorious man, wonderfully talented. Quite frankly, i thought he would go on forever. Reporter hagman was the son of broadway icon mary martin. He appeared in scores of tv scores and films but it was his role on dallas that made hagman a legend. Nobody could beat larry hagman when it came to playing a villain we loved to hate. Reporter larry hagman, larger than life and impossible to forget. Kristen dahlgren, nbc news, los angeles. Another passing to tell you about tonight, hector macho camacho passed away this morning at a hospital in puerto rico, after his family made the decision to remove him from life support. Doctors had declared the boxing great brain dead earlier this week after he was ambushed and shot. Hector macho camacho was 50 years old. Still ahead as nbc nightly news continues, an Armored Vehicle for a small town pumpkin festival and snocone machines in case of emergency . Billions in taxpayer dollars spent all in the name of keeping you safe. Later it started as a project to spend more family time and making a difference for so many people in need. This is what it looked like today in downtown springfield, massachusetts, after authorities there say a natural gas explosion leveled a building, damaging more than 40 others last night. 18 people were hurt, many of them first responders. Building inspectors are assessing homes and businesses in the area now to make sure theyre structurally safe after the blast. Now to a story about a Government Program created in the aftermath of 9 11, ten years ago tomorrow congress created the department of Homeland Security, and every year that department gives out grant money to local Law Enforcement agencies, but a soon to be released report questions whether all that money is really making america any safer. Keene, new hampshire, is a small, quaint new england town so it seemed strange when the Police Department needed an Armored Vehicle like this called a bearcat to fight terrorism. I couldnt imagine what they meant. Reporter what did they list as potential terrorist targets . The pumpkin festival that we hold every october thats held right here. Reporter in the town square. In the town square. Reporter does it get out of control, the pumpkin festival . No. Reporter although it wasnt the only thing they cited the festival was a big part of their argument for the 286,000 bearcat. But it turns out keene didnt have to foot the bill. U. S. Taxpayers did. All across the country Law Enforcement departments are getting the latest in military style equipment from armored cars to flying drones. Republican senator tom coburn of oklahoma had his office follow the money and released the findings exclusively to nbc news. How much money are we talking about . Over a period of years, billions. Reporter billions of dollars . Umhum. Reporter nearly 35 billion over the last ten years all from Homeland Security Grant Programs meant to help communities fight terrorism. Coburns report says taxpayers paid for things like a 45. 6 million surveillance camera system in chicago that doesnt work, a 6. 2 Million Program to read license plates in california, and 6,000 for snocone machines in michigan. They said that could make ice in case of emergency. Do you blame communities for abusing the system . We have created a culture in our country that says you dont have to stand on your own, the federal government will come in, and the federal governments all of us. I dont blame communities. I blame members of congress. Reporter craig fugate is the head of fema which distributes the grants. He says the vast majority of grants are helping to make america safer but acknowledges there have been some hard to explain decisions. What was happening though we were trying to build preparedness saying each jurisdiction determine what you need to do to get better prepared but we werent based that upon what are the threats nationally. Reporter back in keene, new hampshire, councilman terry clark tried to block the bearcat. I thought it was unconscionable and couldnt be part of it. Reporter but clark lost the battle. The bearcat arrived in keene just this week, too late for this years pumpkin festival. Fema says the Obama Administration is pushing to change the rules for the way those grants are distributed, meantime sator coburns report on the grants is expected to be released next month. Were back in a moment with the sudden outbreak of lotto fever. Gangnam style i promise you we have a good reason for playing this song again and putting it on an endless loop in your head for the rest of the night. After near nonstop play on the radio, south korean rapper psy is the new king of youtube, dethroning the reigning leader, the bieb. His video is now the most watched Youtube Video ever, topping Justin Biebers video for baby. More than 806 million views since it was posted in july and still growing at this minute. A lot of folks across the country have a serious case of lotto fever tonight. One of the largest powerball jackpots ever, 325 million. The drawing takes place in a few hours. And nbcs thang truong is out in Convenience Store in atlanta where folks are dreaming big. Reporter hi, kate. I love the fact the fantasy of becoming a millionaire starts at a place that sells doughnuts and slushies. Powerball sales at this quick trip in atlanta have been study and will likely pick up more as we get closer to tonights drawing. The 325 million jackpot is the fourth largest in powerball history. Millions of people across 44 states have been lining up and buying what they hope is what their ticket is going to be for quick riches. By the way, the onetime cash payout would be 312 million, before taxes of course. Leading up to tonights bonanza, there have been 14 consecutive drawings with no jackpot winner. Your chances of picking five numbers and the powerball, 1 in 175 million, but hey, it is possible. A couple from iowa did hit the jackpot at 202 million back in september. So you do have a chance here. And by the way, kate, i do have my ticket and you have a couple hours, a few hours left to get yours. Youll share that with all of us, im sure, thank you. And we wanted to update you on a story we first told you last night, a reason to celebrate for folks in one of the areas hardest hit by the monster storm sandy, breezy point in queens. Last night, kristen diffindale and james keane said their i dos. They were busy planning their i wedding when the storm hit. Their house was flooded. The church where they were supposed to get married was turned into a command center. They nearly postponed the whole thing but in the end as you can see they decided to go ahead to give their friends and family a much needed reason to smile, and our big congratulations to them. When we come back, theyre making time for family and making a difference for a lot of other families. Finally tonight, it started as a project to spend more family time together but it quickly snowballed and this month one family in North Carolina hit a major milestone and theyre making a difference for a lot of folks in need. Heres nbcs gabe gutierrez. Reporter for suzanne and jeff yeough it started as an idea to bring their family together. It does matter that they spend time with us. Reporter with three teenagers thats not always easy. Were a typical family. Reporter typical until you see how they spend their weekends. This family of five organized the Charlotte Branch of the National Group kids against hunger. Like this, and open the bag. Reporter where volunteers of all ages pack meals for the hungry. Just like feels really good because i know that theyre going to get a meal tonight. Reporter 16yearold alec does his part, so does older brother jeffrey. Its surprising especially since i never thought it would have been like this. Reporter their 14yearold sister abbey tallies the results. A lot of kids lives have been saved from the food that weve packed. Reporter six meals per bag, mixture including rice and soy, paid for by donations from schools, churches and local businesses. We started off thinking wed do one a month and we have a whole slate of different packing events coming up, sort of gets addictive to want to do it. Reporter about 10 of the meals stay in charlotte. The rest are shipped elsewhere, to places like haiti and central america. The yeough family partnered with an International Relief agency, to spend many of the meals to children in nicaragua. We have everything we need and want and they dont really have even anything to eat. Reporter on this day, a milestone. You just packed our millionth meal reporter thats 1 million meals in just a year and a half. In the scheme of things is it really a lot . No, but its the dent that the five of us can make. And if everybody tries to make a dent, there can be a difference. Reporter not bad for one family who hopes their idea is contagious. Gabe gutierrez, nbc news, charlotte, North Carolina. And that is nightly news for this saturday. Im kate snow in tonight for lester. For all of us here at nbc news, have a great night. Nbc bay area news starts now. Good evening. Im kris sanchez in for diane dwyer tonight. A 15yearold is under arrest in connection with a series of crimes, including the homicide of a carjacking victim, the shooting of a police officer, and a handful of armed robberies. The crime spree happened friday before last. The manhunt for that young suspect ended yesterday. Nbc bay areas Kimberly Tere is live in Juvenile Hall with the details. Kimberly . Reporter kris, police say it was great detective work that led them to that 15yearold in concord where he was arrested yesterday evening. The teen, whose name is not being released because of his age faces charges that
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