Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Late shoppers may break record
Vol. 119, No. 307 50¢ Daily / $1 Sunday
INSIDE NEWS
GROUND ZERO WORKERS CELEBRATE NEW YORK (AP) — The politicians who wrangled a last-minute compromise bill giving 9/11 survivors and responders with five more years of health care and billions of dollars in compensation gathered at the World Trade Center site Thursday to declare a patriotic victory.
December 24, 2010
FRIDAY
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NEW YORK (AP) — It’s Black Friday, The Sequel. Stores are rolling out deals and expect to be swimming in shoppers on Christmas Eve as stragglers take advantage of a day off work. For retailers, the lastminute rush caps the best year since 2007, and possibly ever. With Christmas falling on a Saturday this year, today is a holiday for most U.S. workers. That lets shoppers hit the stores first thing in the morning. “I’m calling it Fantastic Friday, because I really do think it’s going to be one of the busiest days of the year,” said Marshal Cohen, chief fashion industry analyst with
researcher NPD Group. A strong Christmas Eve would round out a surprisingly successful holiday season for retailers. The National Retail Federation predicts that holiday spending will reach $451.5 billion this year, up 3.3 percent over last year. That would be the biggest year-over-year increase since 2006, and the largest total since spending hit a record $452.8 billion in 2007. A strong finish could even give 2010 the crown. While both are heavy shopping days, Christmas Eve draws a different breed of buyer than Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving and the unofficial start to the holiday
shopping season. “Those who get up and brave the cold on Black Friday are usually looking for hot items, not only to buy gifts but to score something for themselves,” said Kathy Grannis, a spokeswoman for the National Retail Federation. “They’re planners, and they map out what they want to buy.” Shoppers who come out on Christmas Eve, on the other hand, were either waiting for the biggest discounts or they didn’t have the money to spend earlier, she said. Or they just tend to dilly-dally. While many Black Friday shoppers relish the hunt, last-minute
Richardson has hope for Koreas
Christmas for those in need
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INSIDE SPORTS
STEELERS ROUT CAROLINA PITTSBURGH (AP) — So close to securing a division title, the Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t need any tension, drama or surprises after a short week of preparation. The Carolina Panthers certainly couldn’t provide any.
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TODAY’S OBITUARIES
• Dale Thommarson • Geneva Jane Dennis - PAGE A6
HIGH ...58˚ LOW ....24˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
INDEX
CLASSIFIEDS..........B5 COMICS.................B3 FINANCIAL .............B4 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A8 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8 PUBLIC RECORDS ..A6
Mark Wilson Photo
Johnny Gonzales of the Community Volunteer Program, left, is assisted by Carlos Vega and Vincent Guajaca as final preparations are made for the Children’s Christmas Party to be held at the Yucca Center today at 7 p.m.
Chastened, unpopular Congress rallies during the lame-duck session
WASHINGTON (AP) — In the middle of a House debate, Democratic Rep. John Yarmuth of Kentucky handed the woman in charge of the rules a paper bag. Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., peered inside, saw the bottle of Maker’s Mark bourbon and laughed. Indeed, a shot of something strong might help make sense of a prolific Congress that seemed to break the rules of political physics. Democrats were punished by voters for a long list of accomplishments, then rallied with a post-election session that was anything but lame. Among the lessons of 2010: Being the opposite of a “do-noth-
ing Congress” can produce just as much loathing and election losses for the party in control of government. And bipartisanship in President Barack Obama’s Washington is possible, if fleeting. “Congress and the administration simply failed to listen to the American people,” incoming House Speaker John Boehner, ROhio, said in a statement as lawmakers left town. “Beginning on Jan. 5, the American people are going to watch their Congress do something differently.” “I’m not naive,” Obama told
buyers are harried and focused on getting things done. And true to stereotype, they are mostly men, said Dan Jasper, spokesman for Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn. Accordingly, stores push men’s and women’s sweaters in their circulars, while shoes and children’s apparel take a back seat. Jewelry also tends to be a top last-minute gift item, though that category has been strong throughout the season. E-commerce has driven much of the holiday’s spending growth. For See SHOPPERS, Page A3
SANTA FE (AP) — Fresh off a peacekeeping trip to the Korean peninsula, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson warned violence between North and South Korea could flare anew if the South continues its military drills and the North abandons its intentions to refrain from retaliation. A former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Richardson spent the past few days serving as an unofficial envoy with designs on bringing some stability to a region that has been reeling since last month’s deadly North Korean artillery attack on a South Korean front-line island. Richardson told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday that the large mobilization of South Korean troops, tanks, helicopters and fighter jets was another test for the North, which has shown restraint in recent days. See RICHARDSON, Page A3
Making the rounds at the mall
Mark Wilson Photo
With only two shopping days left in the 2010 Christmas season, shoppers fill the Roswell Mall Thursday afternoon, making their last-minute purchases of gifts.
Kremlin hails Senate’s approval of nuclear treaty
MOSCOW (AP) — President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday welcomed the U.S. Senate’s decision to ratify a landmark U.S.Russian nuclear arms control treaty, but Russian legislators said they need to study a resolution until January accompanying the document before following suit. Medvedev’s spokeswoman Natalya Timakova said that when he signed the New START treaty with President Barack Obama, they agreed that the ratification process should be conducted simultaneously. She said that Medvedev voiced hope that both houses of Russian parliament would ratify the pact, but added that they would need some time to analyze the Senate’s conditions for its ratification before making their decision. The New STAR T treaty, signed by Obama and Medvedev in April, would limit each country’s strategic nuclear warheads to 1,550, down from the current ceiling of 2,200. It also
See CONGRESS, Page A3
AP Photo
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is seen during a news conference in Moscow, Russia, Thursday. would re-establish a system for monitoring and verification which ended last year with the expiration of a previous ar ms control deal. Legislators in the Kremlin-controlled parliament had said before the Senate landmark ruling on Wednesday that they would approve the treaty quickly after it is ratified in the U.S. Lower house speaker
Boris Gryzlov, however, told reporters Thursday that the Senate’s ratification resolution contained some conditions and the legislators need to carefully study the text before making a decision. He added that the State Duma may ratify the pact today if the text of the treaty itself remained unchanged. “If these conditions don’t change the text of the
treaty, we may pass a ratification bill even tomorrow,” Gryzlov said. He said that the house would need more time if it finds any changes in the body of the treaty. Russian lawmakers might need to work on the treaty until next January, said Konstantin Kosachyov, the chairman of the international affairs committee in the State Duma. The resolution on the treaty’s ratification “contains many interpretations that need a thorough study and a response of Russian lawmakers,” he said. Conservative Republicans said the pact would limit U.S. options on missile defense, lacked sufficient procedures to verify Russia’s adherence and deserved more time for consideration. Obama called the treaty a national security imperative and pressed strongly for its approval before Congress, with a Republican majority, assumes power in January. In recent days, he had telephoned a handful
of wavering Republicans, eventually locking in their votes. The Obama administration has argued that the United States must show credibility in its improved relations with its former Cold War foe, and the treaty was critical to any rapprochement. The White House is also counting on Russia to help pressure Iran over its nuclear ambitions. Republicans had tried to kill the treaty by forcing changes in its language that would have sent it back for negotiations with Moscow. Democrats sought to appease some Republican senators by letting them raise these issues in legislation accompanying the treaty that would not directly affect the pact. On Wednesday, two such amendments, one on missile defense and one on funding for the U.S. nuclear arsenal, passed with support from both See TREATY, Page A3