Christmas Eve turning into blacker Friday
WASHINGTON, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- U.S. retailers had high hopes Friday Christmas Eve would prove even better than Black Friday with some retailers extending hours for last-minute shoppers.
NPD Group dubbed the day "Fantastic Friday" and the National Retail Federation predicted sales for the holiday shopping period would reach $451.5 billion, up 3.3 percent from last year, eclipsing earlier estimates and making the season the best since 2007.
Toys 'R Us and Old Navy were among the retailers planning to be open 24 hours to accommodate procrastinating Santas. Macy's scheduled marathon hours this week, with some stores staying open 83 hours straight and Walgreen's will keep some stores open through Christmas Day.
The Galveston (Texas) Daily News notes drug stores are always a treasure trove at the last minute. CVS store employees told the newspaper their busiest days are Christmas Eve at night and Christmas Day in the afternoon.
"I put it off until the last," North Carolina shopper Harry Foy told Internetbits.com.
WBBM-TV, Chicago, reported crowds swarming State Street in Chicago's Loop Friday morning as snowflakes were falling.
Donnie Elliott of Georgetown, N.C., planned to do the shopping after the kids are in bed for the night while the Parkdale Mall in Beaumont, Texas, assured customers overnight vandalism would not interfere with Friday's shopping, the Beaumont Enterprise reported. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer compiled a helpful list of options for the last minute including food (who doesn't like eating?) and gift cards.
San Dunson, an assistant professor at Tennessee State University, says he always saves his shopping for Christmas Eve.
"I've done it this way for so many years that it would actually feel kind of strange for me to shop any other way," Dunson told The (Nashville) Tennessean.
Obamas work out in advance of Christmas
KAILUA, Hawaii, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama prepared for Christmas Eve with a morning workout at the Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe Bay.
The president and first lady spent about 90 minutes at the base Friday before returning to their compound in Kailua. En route some residents waved and recorded the motorcade with handheld cameras. On the way back, a sign spotted along the way read, "E Komo Mai Obama Ohana" (Welcome Obama family).
The president then returned to the Marine Corps base with his two daughters and family and friends to spend time at Pyramid Rock Beach, a site they visited for a picnic during a vacation last year. Meanwhile, the first lady took part in the North American Aerospace Defense Command's "NORAD Tracks Santa" program, devoting 40 minutes to answering children's phone calls trying to pinpoint Santa's movements throughout Christmas Eve.
The president has no public events scheduled for his 11-day vacation, which ends Jan. 2. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs confirmed via Twitter the president is reading a biography of Ronald Reagan during his stay.
A neighbor on the street where the first family is staying told reporters her dog had made friends with the first family's dog Bo during a romp Thursday.
The White House released the menu for Christmas dinner: steak, roasted potatoes and green beans with pie for dessert. There was no word on what kind of pie.
Democrats want new rules in the Senate
WASHINGTON, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- Most Democratic U.S. senators want to make filibusters more difficult when the Senate reconvenes in January and to end the practice of "secret holds."
A letter to the party leadership on Dec. 18 was signed by 56 Democrats and independents, almost the entire caucus, The New York Times reported. The group suggested Republicans are abusing the current rules.
The minority does not have to hold a filibuster to block a bill from a vote, instead calling for a vote to close debate, which requires 60 votes. Republicans have done that 90 times in two years.
Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., told the Times he plans to call for a vote on rule changes when the new session starts. He and other Democrats argue that requires only a simple majority.
Democrats want a requirement that senators would have to be on the floor for a debate. They would also like to bar their colleagues from placing holds on bills or nominations, a practice that dates back to an era when getting to Washington took days or weeks.
Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., warned Democrats to be cautious.
"You don't want to create a freight train running through the Senate like it does in the House because in two years it might be the Tea Party Express," he said. "We need a change in behavior more than a change in rules."
EPA may regulate Texas greenhouse gases
DALLAS, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has notified Texas officials it intends to take over regulation of greenhouse gases in the state.
A spokesman for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality called the letter "an arrogant act by an overreaching EPA," the Austin American-Statesman reported. The commission says the regulations that are supposed to take effect Jan. 2 have no scientific basis and will raise prices and cost Texas jobs.
"State officials in Texas have made clear that they have no intention of implementing this portion of the federal air permitting program," Al Armendariz, the EPA regional administrator for the EPA, wrote Thursday.
The commission would still grant businesses pollution permits. But they would also be required to report emissions to the EPA.
