did it to gain an advantage over fellow shoppers. we're going to have more on that straight ahead. >> also ahead a rare glimpse of jerry sandusky. he was spotted on thanksgiving day as new questions come out about the role pennsylvania's gurchtor played in the child sex abuse investigation. on a lighter note the day after thanksgiving means you're probably wearing your elastic pants, but you have more than your share of leftovers. coming up, we'll tell you how to turn that boring turkey and stuffing into tasty new meals. let's begin in los angeles where a woman pepper sprayed her fellow black friday shoppers at a walmart. kristen dahlgren is there. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. shoppers here got more than they bargained for overnight when the woman pepper sprayed other shoppers and including children. she didn't do it to defend herself from the crowds but to, quote, gain preferred access to parts of the store. the holiday shopping rush turned chaotic thursday night. police and firefighters called to this los angeles walmart where one shopper apparently had enough of the crowd. witnesses say customers were waiting in line for a sale on xboxes. they say a woman pulled out some pepper spray and took aim at the crowd. >> she wanted everybody to back off, so she came out with her pepper spray. >> reporter: officials called the woman's behavior competitive shopping. this video on youtube shows customers recovering just moments after the incident. speaking by phone, shopper carmen johnson said she waited in line behind the woman for two hours. >> it was crazy. i mean, we were trying to get games for xbox 360 when the crowd was just rushing in, and the shopper in front of me turns around and starts spraying everybody. >> reporter: she told knbc that the woman with two kids with her had even bragged about carrying pepper spray. >> she did mention a couple of times i have pepper spray, so i already knew who had done it. >> reporter: at least 20 were treated for minor injuries. >> it could have been a lot worse. with that many people inside, people get trampled in a stampede inside. >> reporter: three years ago black friday turned deadly whether a worker at a new york store was crushed to death in a stampede. back in los angeles one young woman says she's learned her lesson. >> i won't be coming back. i don't want to do this anymore. it wasn't worth it. it's not worth the deals. >> reporter: now, police may have called it competitive up shopping, but they are also calling it a potential crime. the woman fled, but savannah, this morning they're looking for her. >> i bet they are. kristen dahl gren in los angeles. thank you let's hope things are calmer other stores nationwide. courtney regan is checking out the black friday rush at the green shopping center in dayton, ohio this morning. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. happy belated thanksgiving, savannah. millions of americans maybe digesting the thanksgiving dinner, millions more have been shopping, some for as many as ten hours already. leading retailers with a new holiday mantra, if you open your doors, they will come. and we're off. that's right. the holiday season is officially under way with millions already snapping up door buster black friday specials. >> it hasn't been too bad. the weather has been really nice, so it's very bearable. >> this is my first time, probably my last time. but got to do it once. >> reporter: toys-r-us opened at 9:00 p.m. thursday followed by walmart at 10:00, and then target, kohl's and macy's at midnight. from coast to coast shoppers battling the elements. >> energy drinks. >> reporter: lining storefronts in tents, camping out for outrageous bargains on everything from toys to electronics. >> 42-inch plasma tv 199. they have a samsung laptop for 299. >> reporter: while shoppers crowd stores not even greets these early opens with holiday cheer. a petition by one target employee argues opening stores at midnight is anti-family and that petition garnered more than 198,000 signatures, but target says its consumers prefer the early start time. macy's ceo says the midnight opening hasn't been an issue for 78,000 seasonal hires. >> we've checked with our employees but we haven't had the same push-back. >> reporter: maybe that's because they're just happy to have a job. with unemployment at 9% and a sluggish economy, this holiday season is a make-or-break for many retailers. but perhaps a silver lining. the national retail federation estimates 152 million shoppers r in the store this is weekend. that's up 10% from last year. yes, even with an economy on edge, retail analysts agree that consumers will shop and will spend. >> we love the haul days. we love to scream about them, but we love to be out there and rub elbow to elbow fighting for that last sweater that's on sale. >> reporter: what's the number one trend this holiday stone? strategy. it's estimated that 65% of shoppers will have planned their purchases before they leave home using online tools from social media to apps to price comparison websites. they know what they want and at what price. now it's up to the retailers to meet those expectations. savannah. >> some experienced shoppers for sure. courteney regan in dayton this morning. thank you. brian dunn is the ceo of best bi buy in eden prairie, minnesota. thank you for being with us. >> good morning. >> i hear you've been out at the stars all night. best buy opened at midnight. what are the crowds like that you're seeing? >> the crowds have been terrific. i've been in stores all night, and what we're finding is our customers do like this early opening, and i got to tell you, our employees have answered the bell in a huge one. what i see are customers that are having a good time spending plenty of money and employees that are there having a graets time taking care of them. we're very pleased. >> i have to ask you about it, though, because you opened earlier than ever this year at midnight. other retailers opened on thanksgiving ifrtself, and some people are saying wait a minute. is nothing sacred? isn't there one day in the whole year about family and friends and foods? have we gone too far? what would your response be? >> i'll tell you what my response is. we did not plan to open at midnight. the market moved to midnight, so we needed to make that move. i'll tell you, the consumers are out there in big numbers. they're in line to come into the stores, and it's our job to be where the consumer needs us to be, whether online, on their phones, or opening up at midnight or 12:01 on black friday. we need to be where the customer needs us to be. >> the latest figures show that about 10% more people than last year will be shopping this weekend, but other figures say that people up expect to spend a little bit less than they did during the last holiday season. as somebody who is on the front lines of the economy, what's your view of how the economy is doing, especially considering that two-thirds of it is consumer-driven? >> well, i'll tell you what, it's too early to sort of break out the numbers from what we've seen last night and this morning as we have the gateway to the holiday season, but we are very enthusiasm abo enthusiastic about the crowds we've seen, and consumers are definitely out spending this evening. we view black friday as at gateway to the holidays so we're very enthusiastic about it. >> you're the expert, but as i understand it, the rule of retail is get them in the stores, and they'll buy other stuff they didn't plan to buy. are you seeing that, or are people very directed about coming in, getting the deal and then leaving? >> well, again, these are anecdotes from what i saw as i was visiting stores this evening. we see carts with multiple items in it, and that's always a good sign. we have great values throughout our store, and that's very much by design. we know it's important to show consumers great value this holiday season, and we're very focused on doing just that. >> brian dunn, ceo of best buy, thank you so much. appreciate it. >> thank you, savannah. let's get a check of some other stories this morning. tamryn hall is at the news desk in for natalie. good morning. demonstrators are filling the center of egypt's capital demanding an immediate transfer of power. at least five americans have been caught up in the chaos. good morning, amin. >> reporter: good morning, tamryn. after a week of deadly clashes, today protesters are calling for a million man protest taking place behind me in tahrir. the question really is, how long will that calm last for? after days defdly clashes between security forces and protesters, a shaky truce seems to be sticking, but demonstrators not giving up their nand that the military hand over power to a civilian government immediately. it's the military, they say, who is responsible for this recent violence in which dozens were killed and hundreds injured and many arrested. among those detained in this week's fighting were five americans, including award winning egyptian american filmmak filmmaker. >> my camera got taken. he called mae sigh spy. >> and a prominent american egyptian activist who was arrested told me of her horrifying deal. >> at least four or five beat them quite viciously with their stick, approximate broke my right hand and left arm. they subjected to to the most horrendous sexual assaults. >> reporter: good news for three american students. they were ordered freed by a judge on thanksgiving day. now, despite mounting international pressure including that from the united states government, the military says it will not take its order from the protesters saying the only way to democracy will be through parliamentary elections scheduled on time. a chicago hospital was on lockdown overnight after a woman was shot to death in the parking garage. police mounted a search for the gunman who was thought to be the victim's ex-boyfriend. investigators at the scene of the small plane crash in arizona wednesday that killed six people on their way to a thanksgiving get-together. they say the pilot who just picked up his three children gave no sign ofdy tress. maggie dailley passed away thanksgiving after a long battle with breast cancer. she was 68. there was more than turkey on the menu at one los angeles help center. everyone also received a dollar bill in memory of father maurice chase who passed away last week. for two decades father dollar used donations from celebrities to hand out singles every sunday and on haul days. a nice way to remember him. it's 7:13. great way to remember father chase, right? >> yes, thank you. mr. roker is enjoig tying t morning off. maria laroche here. >> big high pressure, and it's across the west that we are seeing weather. winter storm warnings and advisories from the cascades to idaho. here we can see as much of a foot of snow. tough travel definitely along with that gusty winds in excess of 40 miles per hour. the storm system is producing winds potentially over 60 miles per hour this evening and tomorrow morning. >> off to a clear start here. good morning. meteorologist, tom kierein, and the sun is up. it's a cold start to this friday morning, down near or bough row freezing in this part of the region. later today, with a bright blue sky, we'll climb to near 60. and inkraetsing clouds on sunday, and showers on that's a look at the nation's weather. back to you. now to the penn state sex scandal. disgraced former penn state football coach jerry sandusky has surfaced in public as new questions emerge about the role pennsylvania's governor played in the investigation. jay gray is on the campus with the latest. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, carl. there are more allegations against jerry sandusky, and now more questions about why the man who may have known as much as anyone about the grand jury investigation chose to remain silent. thanksgiving provides two rare looks at jerry sandusky. in the morning with his dog, and then later with his wife dottie. for the first time in more than a week the couple has been seen together and on the heels of allegations he sexually abused a member of the family. sandusky's attorney confirms a report in a local newspaper that one of two new accusers is a relative and goes on to say, quote, the allegations are ridiculous and unfounded. as the questions about sandusky intensify, they are also growing louder when it comes to pennsylvania governor tom corbett's role in this controversy. >> i gave thought to it on a constant basis. we are very careful. >> reporter: some say too careful. corbett was the attorney general during the grand jury investigation three years ago and also a member of the penn state board of trustees, but several board members say he never discussed the investigation during meetings. >> we had to be very careful not to tip where this investigation was going. >> reporter: but some legal observers say a closer look at the federal grand jury manual indicates he could have suggested that trustees take a closer look at sandusky. >> i think tom corbett in 2002 didn't do the complete investigation, so i think now he is trying to cooperate, to instigate and do whatever he can to get truth out. >> reporter: ed rendell served as the governor of the pennsylvania. >> he knows what was going sxo the challenges his offices changing. >> reporter: but argues the blame doesn't stop at the statehouse. >> there's no question everyone in this process to even my good friend joe paterno to everyone in this process didn't act swiftly enough, didn't act courageously enough. >> reporter: a courage this campus and community will need as they continue to try and work through the scandal. and the next public step will come tomorrow when the nittany lions football team takes on the badgers in wisconsin. if they win that game, they will play for the big 10 championship, and the trophy that used to bear joe paterno's name. carl. >> thank you for that. it is 7:17. here's savannah. how far should a reporter go to get a story? even more celebrities have now testified at a hearing into britain's tabloid phone hacking scandal. michelle is in london now with the latest. good morning. >> reporter: hey, savannah. it is bad press behave they've been hearing about. these stories are often coming from celebrities. no, it's not always easy to feel sorry for superstars and billionair billionaires, but it makes you feel frustration and hopelessness they felt in trying to stop this stuff. how low will tabloids go? well, stop the presses, because now in britain it's the paper's own scandalous deeds that have celebrities lining up to tell all. >> it's really terrifying running down a dark street on my own with ten big men facing, and the fact that they had cameras in their hands meant it was legal. >> she said photographers would spit at her for a reaction, and then at a charity event for sick children. >> there was a very sick child i was playing with in the corner of the room who was pretending to shoot me and i was pretending to die, which we were playing a game. somebody took a photograph in the mirror cut the boy out of the photograph and said i was drunk. by that point, the damage is done. >> reporter: then police showed her the evidence that "news of the world" had tapped her voice mail. >> all my telephone numbers that i changed in three months, my access numbers, p.i.n. numbers, my password, my e-mail that was used to hack it. >> others like billionaire harry potter author who was not a victim of hacking battled tabloids for years. >> such a sense of invasion. it's difficult to explain to people who haven't experienced it what that feels like, the twist in the stomach as you wonder, what do they want? what do they think they've got? draw your sword and help us reach our goal. >> reporter: it almost reads like a weird fantasy novel. she said they took photos from her kids and a note from her reporter in her first-grade's book bag and ran stories saying her child vealed the ends to 7, and that was based on her ex-husband. >> he kept them alive. >> bring him to me. >> that misinformation caused real emotional hurt. >> reporter: which still affects these big stars saying something should change. and they left to flashbulbs. there are privacy laws and restrictions on the press here, but it's a fine line between imposing more standards and preventing the press from exposing things in the public interest. it's interesting to see what the government does, because it's true that the penalties here don't always seem to be a deterrent. savannah. >> a lot of practices are hard to defend. michelle k so inski in london. here's carl. now to los angeles where dozens of adorable beagles got a first taste of freedom this thanksgiving. we have that story. >> reporter: at lax the special delivery just in tim for the holiday. >> hi, baby. >> reporter: this precious cargo comes from half a world away, 40 beagles rescued from a research lab in spain now safely in los angeles headed for a foster home and a new life. >> these dogs have sort of served people their whole lives. they've been used and abused for animal testing, and now they get to be free. we got to give them a life. >> reporter: volunteers say these beagles and the dogged rescued before them have never really had a chance to live. >> and we are headed somewhere where we can run free for a minute. >> reporter: the rescued beagles were more project than pet. the dogged spent their lives caged in a science lab. some have never seen the sun, much less a park. >> opening the door for what's about to their first stretch ever on the grass or outside ever in their entire lives here. very exciting. should i start? >> let's do it. >> reporter: that first fearful step is never an easy one. >> come on, big boy. yeah. >> reporter: ten minutes past before a shaky paw touches solid ground, a dog learning to be dog. >> in the beginning they didn't know what anything was. they didn't know what a toy was. they didn't know how to do for a walk or jump up on the couch or go up and down stairs. >> reporter: these little guys spend the next couple of weeks here until they're medically cleared and adoptd out. the lucky ones have found owners who want to bring them home. >> i felt like he was kind of claiming me. >> reporter: with a story like theirs and a face like this, volunteers believe all these beagles will find a happy home. a reason this holiday for adopting families to be thankful and these beautiful beagles to be grateful. for "today," nbc news, los angeles. >> i don't think there's a dry eye in this place. still ahead, much more on the black friday shopping rush, including a complete guide to help you find the best deals before you hit the stores. first, this is "today" on nbc. coming up, could the prime suspect in the disappearance of an american woman in aruba walk free today? >> after your local news and weather. tleemotional hetlretl?tl aren't you getting a little industrial? okay, there's enough energy right here in america. yeah, over 100 years worth. okay, so you mean you just ignore the environment. actually, it's cleaner. and, it provides jobs. and it helps our economy. okay, i'm listening. [announcer] at conoco phillips we're helping power america's economy with cleaner affordable natural gas... more jobs, less emissions, a good answer for everyone. so, by reducing the impact of production... and protecting our land and water... i might get a job once we graduate. ...thanksgiving day from home... ...or in store friday from 4am. find over 500 black friday deals... ...like sleepwear for the whole family... and the helicopter he'll love for $18.99. we make christmas affordable. you make it yours. jcpenney. goodmorning. i am joe krebs. it's 44 degrees on this friday, the 25th of november. let's get the forecast. >> we have go