NPR 2010-11-27

Early signs point to bigger-than-usual crowds for a Black Friday, when retailers 2 hope post-Thanksgiving Day sales catapult them into the black through the holiday shopping season. The chance to snap up huge bargains typically draws Canadian shoppers as well across the border. But as Dan Karpenchuk tells us, this year Canadian retailers are fighting back.

Border crossings are jamming up as Canadian consumers head south, hoping to cash in on bargains, especially with the Canadian dollar almost at parity 3 with the US greenback. But the Retailer 1 Council of Canada says there are many reasons for Canadians to do their shopping north of the border. It says retailers are in the central part of local economies and employ about ten percent of the workforce 4 and tax dollars help pay for health and education, and Canadian retailers are slashing 5 prices in a bid to keep their shoppers from heading south. Stores such as Toys "R" Us and Sears have already posted sales ads and some say they are cutting even beyond that. There are no official figures of what Canadians spend in the US on the Black Friday weekend. But it's enough for Canadian businesses to fight hard to keep their shoppers from traveling south. For NPR News, I'm Dan Karpenchuk in Toronto.

There's no sign the US will back out of its joint 6 naval 7 exercises with South Korea this weekend despite the threat of another attack by North Korea. Today, the Pentagon said the drills are used to strengthen deterrence 8 against Pyongyang. These comments come days after the North fired on a South Korean island, killing 9 four people. General Walter Sharp, commander of US Forces Korea, says during a tour of Yeonpyeong Island that the North's action's a clear violation 10.

"What I've seen here physically 11 that North Korea attacked this island, which is a clear violation of the armistice 12 agreement."But Pyongyang says it has the right to defend itself against threats from Seoul and its Western allies.

US authorities are interrogating 13 suspects in connection with a tunnel used to smuggle 14 drugs between Mexico and San Diego. James Blears reports the passage was uncovered yesterday.

The tunnel is the second to be found within the area in less than a month. It's more than half a mile long, starting at a Tijuana house, reaching a warehouse 15 in San Diego. A combined US federal task force includes DEA, Customs and Border Patrol agents. They found a consignment 16 of marijuana in a trailer on the US side. They arrested several suspected drug cartel members. Earlier this month, 20 tons of marijuana were seized by US authorities. It had been stored in trailers on the US side of the border. For NPR News, I'm James Blears in Mexico City.

President Obama had to get 12 stitches in his lip after getting injured during a basketball game today with a group of family and friends for this Thanksgiving holiday. But otherwise, the White House says, President Obama is doing fine.

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There may be more than calories to watch out for on the cheese platter this holiday season. As NPR's April Fulton tells us, several kinds of cheese have been recalled this month for potentially making people sick.

Whole Foods Market announced the most recent cheese recall on Thanksgiving Day. It affects several varieties of cheddar sold at Whole Foods stores in Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. Bravo Farms of California announced earlier in the week that it was recalling all of its cheeses including cheddar sold under Whole Foods' label after E. coli was found in some of its Dutch-style Gouda earlier this month. E. coli can cause diarrhea and cramps 17 and can be serious. Twenty-five people have reported getting sick from the cheese, nine of them hospitalized. The Gouda was sold at Costco stores in the western US. Unrelated cheese recalls this month have included gorgonzola sold at Costco and queso fresco 18 from a company called Del Bueno. April Fulton, NPR News, Washington.

Damage assessment 19 is under way from western Tennessee to southwest Louisiana where forecasters believe tornadoes 20 touched down last night. The Associated Press reports more than two dozen homes have been damaged; however, no one was injured.

Standard & Poor's ratings agency's downgrading Ireland's banks with possibility that a bailout for Ireland could require top bondholders to help cover financial losses. S&P announced today that Anglo Irish Bank had fallen six notches 22 to a junk-bond B grade; Bank of Ireland is down to a BBB+; and Allied 23 Irish Banks also falls one notch 21 to a BBB.