Keith: Hey everyone, it is Monday. November 30. I am Keith Kocinski, and Channel One
News starts right now.
Happy Cyber Monday, everyone, a day when millions will log on to do their holiday shopping. And as Azia Celestino shows us, more and more Americans are skipping the stores altogether.
Azia: That is right, Keith. Experts are predicting Cyber Monday's online sales to hit a record-breaking $3 billion. As more people are shopping online for the holidays, fewer are braving those crazy crowds at the stores.
And this past Black Friday, in-store sales were actually down since last year. Over the weekend shoppers were clicking their carts, starting earlier than ever.
Retailers like Walmart offered deep discounts online starting Thanksgiving morning in an effort to compete with Amazon, which had been offering deals all week.
Beemer: Walmart changed the rules. You have got retail battleship Walmart versus online battleship Amazon.
Azia: Beemer predicts Black Friday 2015 lost 25 percent of its foot traffic. In fact, some shopping plazas had a noticeable lack of chaos this year.
Brinia Fields: Last year it was crazy, but this year it wasn't really bad.
Chris Christopher: It's still one of the most important days. Retailers can't dismiss it; they still have to, you know, have a Black Friday strategy. However, it ’s just not as intense as it used to be.
Boy: Well, I got a couple sneakers, and I’m trying to get a new laptop for school.
Azia: This year more shoppers were also smarter with their money, many bringing a list to stores.
Beemer: Last year it was 30 percent. This year it was 65 percent of consumers that shopped on Thursday had a list. For one reason, it's a way to control their shopping habits.
Azia: Retailers are dropping prices in the store because they know once people are there, they are likely to come back before Christmas.
Beemer: If I walk into a store and buy something over on Thursday or Friday, there's a
70 percent chance I'll come back and buy two or three more things in the season.
Azia: Overall holiday sales are forecast to reach an all-time high of $630 billion; $93 billion of that will be spent online, up 13 percent from last year. But why do we care how
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much Americans spend? That is because consumer spending makes up a majority of our nation's economy, and during the holidays, we tend to spend more than any other time of the year. So businesses and experts will be paying close attention, Keith.
Keith: Thanks, Azia. And we want to know, where will you be doing your shopping this year, online or in-store? Let us know by visiting Channelone.com.
All right, coming up: world leaders trying to save the planet in Paris.
Keith: Let’s get you caught up on some of the other day’s headlines. Today nearly 150 world leaders are in Paris, France for the United Nations Climate Change Summit. It is potentially a historic event, being held in a city still recovering from a terrorist attack.
President Obama landed in Paris last night. Before taking on the climate, he paid his respects at the site of the terror attacks. The aim of the conference is to get countries to agree on a landmark deal to limit greenhouse gas emissions from things like cars and factories, which cause our climate to change.
The conference is being held amid heavy security after the deadly terrorist attacks that struck Paris two weeks ago. French police have banned public demonstrations because the country is still in a state of emergency, but hundreds of activists still protested and ended up clashing with police. Thousands of others lined up their shoes as a show of support for a global deal to slow climate changes.
And one of those pairs of shoes was donated by Pope Francis, who spoke about combating climate change while on his first papal visit to Africa, where he once again broke down barriers.
Pope Francis arrived in the Central African Republic yesterday, the last country on his tour of Africa. The Central African Republic is one of the poorest countries in the world and has been torn apart by war. The government sent extra security forces to keep the pope safe in what is one of the most dangerous countries a pope has visited in recent times.
The pope's Africa trip began Wednesday in Kenya. While there, he visited a slum, a poor rundown area, spreading a message of acceptance, and urged the wealthy to do more for the poor.
He then went to neighboring Uganda, where he spoke out against government corruption and the illegal hunting of animals. Pope Francis also urged world leaders to address the issue of climate change.
Federal authorities are investigating the motive behind a mass shooting over the weekend at a Planned Parenthood medical clinic and whether the attack should be labeled terrorism.
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A police officer and two other people were killed after a gunman opened fire at a
Planned Parenthood clinic Friday in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Peter Carey: All I can say is my heart is broken. This is a really, really tough situation for a lot of people in our community.
Keith: Police say the alleged gunman was arrested after a nearly six-hour-long standoff.
At least nine other people were injured, including four police officers.
The FBI is now investigating if the alleged attacker specifically targeted Planned
Parenthood because he opposed abortion or other practices of the clinic. If so, that could lead to a charge of domestic terrorism.
Planned Parenthood has been the source of controversy. Over the summer an antiabortion group released undercover videos that allegedly showed Planned
Parenthood officials discussing selling fetal tissue for profit. Planned Parenthood has disputed the claims and said the video was edited.
All right, after the break: she is one of the top female rock climbers in the world, and, get this, she is only 14.
Keith: There is one New York City teen who is literally climbing her way to the top. Just this year, she broke two world records and became the youngest person to conquer what is likely the toughest rock climb to be done by a female. And get this, she is not even old enough to drive. Arielle Hixson caught up with her.
Arielle: This girl has no fear.
Ashima: The best feeling ever.
Arielle: Scaling mountains 10 times her size and hanging from dangerous cliffs, the sky is the limit for Ashima Shiraishi.
Ashima: I love the adrenaline rush of climbing, especially the feeling that you get once you get to the top of the rock. It’s amazing.
Arielle: What is all of this?
Ashima: I guess this is, like, my wall.
Arielle: She is a celebrity in the rock-climbing world, recognized as one of the best female climbers of all time. And she is only 14.
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Ashima: My dream is to become a professional rock climber and to not be only like the best climber for females, but to push climbing in general. So I might be able to push past the men, set new like world records.
Arielle: It all started when she was six years old and curiosity made her climb one of the many large boulders in New York City's Central Park.
What about it when you started did you like? What in your six-year-old brain were you thinking,
“You know what, this is fun; I want to keep doing this”?
Ashima: I guess it was the movement that I really liked. It's like a mixture of sport and then also like dancing on rock, which is nice.
Arielle: Her father recognized her potential and challenged her to sign up for competitions in her age bracket. Now she smokes anyone, even the adults.
Ronald Rodriquez: Every time she comes into the facility, everyone stops what they’re doing, and they watch her climb. Even our staff, we stop, and we're like uhhh, that was beastly. That's what we say all the time.
Ashima: It's like an honor to be recognized as one of the best female climbers in the world and, you know, one of the best climbers in general.
Arielle: Do you ever get nervous when you are up there?
Ashima: When you are trying something that’s at your limit, you get scared, but I guess the challenge of rock climbing is to push yourself and to just tell yourself that you can do it.
Arielle: Today Ashima is trying to push my limits with rock climbing, showing me the ropes at one of her training grounds in Queens, New York.
What do you do before you climb?
Ashima: Um, it's important to stretch.
Arielle: After a few stretches from the pro, a harness...
Ashima: It should be like tight enough that it doesn't fall off.
Arielle:
…and some powder for the nerves. I am ready to climb.
Ashima: Just keep on looking up.
Arielle: Keep on looking up, okay.
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Of course, Ashima gets to my spot on the wall in rapid time.
Ashima: You can do it.
Arielle: But eventually, with her guidance, I reach the top.
Oh, my God, I did it!
Ashima: You did it!
I feel like climbing teaches you a lot about life in general because in climbing you fail most of the time, so you keep on falling and falling, and then the challenge is to keep on standing up and, you know, trying it again.
Arielle: Just another day for a climbing prodigy, constantly pushing herself to reach new heights. Arielle Hixson, Channel One News.
Keith: Thanks, Arielle. All right, guys, remember, push yourself to new heights today, and we will see you right back here tomorrow.
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