THANKSGIVING

Harry Potter rakes in good box office returns over the Thanksgiving weekend. Tangled, a 3D fairy story does well too

Over 106 million Americans plan to shop on Cyber Monday, the ceremonial kickoff to the online holiday shopping season, up significantly from the estimated 96.5 million who shopped last year, a survey showed.

The U.S. online retail sector delivered double digit growth on Black Friday 2010 compared with the year-ago levels, according to a report from IBM. The findings showed that online sales rose 15.9 percent, with consumers pushing the average order value up 12.1 percent to $190.80.

In a rather amusing fashion, Republican Sarah Palin fired back at her critics for highlighting her latest 'North Korea ally' gaffe. In her thanksgiving message to the nation on facebook, she listed out verbal slips of U.S. President Barack Obama.

How the celebrities spent their Thanksgiving holiday, here is a round-up.

Michael Douglas on Thanksgiving holiday

The holiday season means some of the busiest days for companies such as Fedex and UPS.

Beginning well before midnight on Thursday, in malls throughout the nation, the lifeblood of the American economy – the consumers – will start queuing up outside the locked entrances of various retail stores, forming longer and longer lines, clutching ads and lists and coupons, sipping coffee and hot chocolate, rubbing their hands and stomping their feet for warmth, exciting each other with anticipatory chatter, and waiting, waiting for the clock to strike the appointed hour, the clerk to open ...

That homegrown American genius and Founding Father Benjamin Franklin was of the opinion that the national bird should be the turkey. The other Founding Fathers overruled him, obviously. Nonetheless, the turkey has in a way become the nation’s bird – the one most Americans want perfectly cooked and centerpiecing their tables for the two biggest feasts of the year.

People collecting benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP) program in the US rose by 15 million since the start of the recession in December 2007.

The raging row over pat-downs and new body scanning rules at airports in the U.S. continued unabated on the Thanksgiving eve with holiday travelers threatening a pre-Thanksgiving no-fly-day boycott even as President Obama instructed the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) to make airport security measures less intrusive.

First Lady Michelle Obama, in an e-mail message, said she would be handing out turkeys, stuffing, pumpkin pies and all the Thanksgiving fixings with friends and family at Martha's Table, a local non-profit organization on the Thanksgiving Day.

Commonly known as Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving in the U.S. is considered one of the biggest retail days of the year. Most shops in the country start as early as 5 AM and stay open till late, offering massive discounts. Gadgets still top the list among the most sought after category of goods.

Thanksgiving traditionally means a celebration of plentiful harvest, but people this year may end up spending a little more on the thanksgiving dinner than before according to the 25th annual survey done by the American Farm Bureau Federation.

More Americans will be traveling to celebrate Thanksgiving this year, all thanks to improving economic scenario in the country.

U.S. President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have asked the department of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to look for less intrusive body screening rules.

The need to buy gifts may overwhelm the influence of purchase pain on spending decisions.

More Americans are planning to grill their Thanksgiving turkeys outdoors this year than last year, according to an online survey.

The Orlando Sanford International Airport has decided to opt out of the Trasnportation Authority's (TSA) new screening measures and go for one of the five private screening companies, instead.

Here’s a list of retailers luring Black Friday shoppers with tempting deals

More than 400 Fashion Bug stores will be open Nov. 25, 2010 on Thanksgiving Day between 8 am and 3 pm. Fashion Bug will open all of its stores at 6 am on Black Friday, November 26, 2010 for the first time ever with doorbuster deals and storewide sales on every item.