"The idea is simple, hit the corporations that corrupt and control American politics where it hurts, their profits," the group's Facebook page reads, describing Black Friday as the "one day where the mega-corporations blatantly dictate our actions." But retailers, who are monitoring the mini-movement, warn that a blanket boycott could end up hurting local communities. "Retailers, regardless of their size, are an important part of the community, and they employ friends and neighbors of that community across the country," said Joseph LaRocca, a senior adviser to the National Retail Federation specializing in loss prevention.

He said retailers have security plans in place and will "work through" any protests and disruptions that occur this weekend. While warning that boycotts could hurt workers, LaRocca said that retailers are preparing for a "very busy day" and weekend, and that it doesn't yet appear the Occupy Black Friday push will turn into a massive boycott. As of Tuesday afternoon, the group's Facebook page had about 1,250 supporters. Brian Dodge, spokesman with the Retail Industry Leaders Association, said his group is monitoring the protest to see whether it grows in popularity going into the weekend.

"At this point, we're not sure what kind of impact it will have," he said. "Retailers, they prepare for lots of contingencies every day and certainly on Black Friday."

"If everyone were to just start buying local, or American more jobs would be created here helping the US economy rather than creating mass jobs in other countries that these huge retailers use for cheap manufacturing," Boicourt wrote in an email to FoxNews.com.

Angela Merkel's response could hardly have been clearer. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso on Wednesday presented a study outlining the possible forms euro bonds could take - whereupon the German chancellor found unusually unambiguous words in response. The proposal, she said, was "extraordinarily distressing." She also called it "inappropriate."

The reaction was unusually firm for Merkel. She has become notorious in Germany for shying away from positions that can't be wriggled out of later. But when it comes to pooling the debt of all euro-zone member states in the form of euro bonds, she has long been firm in her rejection. In December 2010, for example, she said "the euro zone needs more harmony and competitiveness rather than common euro-zone bonds." In September, she called euro bonds "absolutely wrong." Wednesday's outburst, in other words, should not come as a surprise.

Merkel, though, remains convinced that euro-zone leaders must keep the pressure on in order to ensure that debt-laden countries institute the austerity programs necessary to begin bringing debt levels down. That, she never tires of intoning, is the only thing that will convince markets in the long term that the euro zone can survive. As such, she prefers that European Union treaties be changed to allow for greater integration of euro-zone countries - a position she repeated on Wednesday in response to Barroso's euro bond proposal and again on Thursday following the meeting with Sarkozy.

Specifically, she wants clear consequences to be anchored in the Lisbon Treaty should a euro-zone member state fall afoul of EU debt rules. "We have to take steps toward the creation of a fiscal union," Merkel said on Thursday in Strasbourg. Those that violate the EU's Stability and Growth Pact must "be taken to task." She and Sarkozy said that they would be presenting a proposal for possible amendments to the Lisbon Treaty in the coming days.

Dorsey says business has been brisk since the spring uprisings in the middle east, as customers share concerns about political uprisings, the world economy and the future of the United States. "I've had people in here that are very wealthy and they've spent thousands of dollars just on backpacks that they fill with survival gear, one for each person of their family," Dorsey said, "And something where they can just grab a bag and get out of Dodge."

Dorsey says some customers talk of stocking up on freeze-dried meals for the home, while others confide they are stashing supplies at a remote location away from the city where they would go in an emergency. "There are people that have property and they've set up different things they're building to protect themselves like towers they can stand up and watch," Dorsey said, "There's a lot of people I'm dealing with who buy all kinds of stuff because they have like twenty or thirty people going in on this together and they're all going to go to this one spot if something like this happens."

Uncle Sam's Safari Outfitters in Webster does not sell guns, but Dorsey also reports many customers who do not own a gun are asking where they could go to buy one. "I think people are scared. They don't know where this country is going. They think we're on a downward spiral with just dramatic, crazy spending. People just don't know what's going to happen," Dorsey said.

Brandon said he doesn't remember anything until he woke up on the theater floor, but Kelly said he was, "convulsing, snorting, trying to breathe. He scared me big time," she added. Paramedics transported the man to the emergency room and the theater had to cancel the rest of the movie for that showing.

Several reports on internet movie sites show reports of other people suffering similar symptoms during the same scene, which contains flashes of red, black and white. Dr Michael G Chez, the medical director of pediatric neurology and epilepsy for Sutter Sacramento, said the reports indicate the scene may be triggering an episode of photosensitive epilepsy.

While rare, the condition can be triggered by flashing red lights in people who are genetically predisposed. "It's like a light switch going off, because it hits your brain all at once," Dr Chez said. Similar reports resulted after a 1990s episode of the television show Pokemon, which triggered seizures in children. Manufacturers have revamped modern television and video games so screens don't project the dangerous light frequency, Dr Chez said. "The trouble with theaters, it's dark, the lights flashing in there is more like a strobe light," he added.

The leaders of the three largest economies in the eurozone met in Strasbourg earlier, in an attempt to resolve the ongoing turmoil. The markets have continued to struggle, destabilising other world economies and both Merkel and Sarkozy have faced criticism about their failure to reach a solution. Speaking after meeting with the German Chancellor and Italian Premier Mario Monti, Sarkozy said "propositions for the modification of treaties" would be presented in the coming days.

He wouldn't elaborate on what these changes may be but said they would be ready in time for the next EU leaders summit on December 9. Treaty changes are a notoriously laborious endeavor, requiring the agreement of all 27 EU nations, including non-euro countries such as Britain and Poland. Merkel said the treaty changes would "make clear that we must take steps toward a fiscal union to express the conviction that we know policies must be more closely coordinated if you have a common, stable currency. It is political confidence in Europe that has been lost - we can only win it back politically," Merkel said.

This was the first meeting of the three leaders since Monti took over last week following mounting market concerns over Italy's huge debt, which stand at 1.9 trillion euros ($2.6 trillion), or a huge 120 percent of economic output. Europe's current anti-crisis measures are not big enough to deal with Italy's debt mountain. Sarkozy said the three leaders had agreed to meet again "very soon" in Rome at Monti's invitation to continue their three-way dialogue.

The meeting in Strasbourg, France, comes amid signs that even Germany and France - the eurozone's two biggest economies - are not immune from the crisis that's already seen three relatively small countries bailed out. All three leaders said they would do what it takes to stabilize the situation and save the euro. "We want the euro, we want a strong, stable euro... we will do everything to defend it," Merkel said.

"The country's large fiscal imbalances, high indebtedness across all sectors, and adverse macroeconomic outlook mean the sovereign's credit profile is no longer consistent with an investment-grade rating," Fitch said in a news release. The ratings firm said recession will make the government's deficit-cutting plan more challenging and will hurt bank asset quality, but that the government's commitment to the plan was "strong." The Portugal PSI 20 index is up 0.2% to 5,241.26, underperforming other European stock markets.

His words were immediately seized upon by those wondering where the German pope stood on a recent Vatican document that proposed the creation of a world political authority to regulate financial markets and rein in the "inequalities and distortions of capitalist development." In short, it seemed the pope was speaking the same language as the document's authors.

In his own document unveiled during the November 18-20 trip to Benin, the pope asked all members of the church to "work and speak out in favor of an economy that cares for the poor and is resolutely opposed to an unjust order which, under the pretext of reducing poverty, has often helped to aggravate it." He specifically denounced business groups that exploit African resources and leave local populations impoverished.

All of this seemed to echo the tone of the 41-page text on global financial reform released in late October by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

According to the report, Israel will not respond if Syrian missiles are launched. The Arab Jets will prevent the Syrian security forces from attacking civilians, and will enable the Free Syrian rebel Army of defectors to assemble and plan their offensives.

This would seem to confirm the news yesterday of a US Nuclear Aircraft Carrier being stationed near Syria:

"In the weekly naval update from STRATFOR - CVN 77 George H W Bush has left its traditional theater of operations just off the Straits of Hormuz, a critical choke point, where it traditionally accompanies the Stennis, and has parked... right next to Syria."

The ADA's stance on fluoridated water hasn't changed. But what has changed in the last 9 years is the growth of research which says ingesting fluoride may be harming, rather than helping. "It accumulates in your bones and other places as well," said Dr Griffin Cole, an Austin dentist and opponent of fluoridated water. Cole won't use fluoride in his dental office.

"No fluoride. I don't have any fluoridated toothpaste in the office. I don't do any fluoride treatments, never have. I don't recommend it. I openly tell my patients that," said Cole. Cole says despite the lack of fluoride, there's been no increase in cavities in his patients. And San Antonio's Metro-Health department studies appear to back that up. After 9 years and $3 million of adding fluoride, research shows tooth decay hasn't dropped among the poorest of Bexar County's children. It has only increased - up 13% in 2010, the latest date that data was available.

In 2006, the National Academy of Science reported that even at low levels, ingesting fluoride increases bone fractures and contributes to diabetes, brittle bones and thyroid dysfunction. Dr Laura Pressley says she learned that the hard way. "About ten years ago I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism," said Pressley. With the diagnosis, she began taking a regimen of drugs to control it. Thyroid disease isn't something that runs in her family, so Pressley investigated.

"I do have fluorosis in my teeth, and the white discoloration and I knew I grew up with fluoride in my tap water as a child," she said. As a chemist, Pressley says her research pointed to fluoride. So, she took it out. All of it - through water filters and a change in diet. And she says when fluoride disappeared, so did her symptoms.

"I was on migraine medication, I was on allergy medication, and I was on thyroid medication. I take no medications at all. And that is shocking, because I was on so much three years ago," said Pressley. "This compound that the city is adding is many more times toxic than lead. It's nearly as toxic as arsenic," said a fluoride opponent, who signed up to speak at a City of Austin committee hearing.

When the 2010 Russian heat wave hit the world's fifth largest grain producer it sent international prices soaring. A similar event in the US would be catastrophic. For many years, farmers in the Midwest of America have been exposed to warmer springs and more humid summers. While shifting weather patterns have to some extent helped to boost crop yields, they have also heralded trouble ahead.

Scientists are warning farmers to brace themselves for more frequent and intense rainstorms - particularly in the spring when their soil and newly planted crops are at their most vulnerable. "One of the most robust changes over the last 40 years has been the increase in the frequency of extreme precipitation events," Iowa State University climatologist Gene Takle told Deutsche Welle. "For instance, we see lot of 5-inch (12.7 cm) rains now." That's bad news in a region where the soils can only absorb 1.25 inches from sudden downpours. Instead of soaking into the ground, the excess water runs across the landscape causing erosion and leeching away important nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous.

Rainy weather can bring more headaches to farmers than just washing away soil. Moisture in the air in Iowa and the surrounding region has increased 13 percent over the past 30 years. Greater nighttime humidity means dew stays on crops longer. "It comes earlier in the evening and lasts longer in the morning," Takle said. "And that creates more favorable conditions for pests, pathogens, molds, fungus, toxins and so on."

US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Laboratory Director and Supervisory Plant Physiologist Jerry Hatfield told Deutsche Welle that plants exposed to both meteorological impacts and pest plagues are getting a "double whammy." Gray leaf spot, white mold, sudden death syndrome, mycotoxin infestations, stem rust, soybean mosaic virus and crazy top and common smut are just a few of the exotic crop diseases that have moved into the Midwest as a result of warmer, wetter weather, he says.

That is about one in five of that age-group and an extra 137,000 compared with the same point last year. The government says the number has been "too high for too long". A spokesman said it was determined to bring it down. Last week, figures were published for UK unemployment, showing it had risen to a record level of 2.62 million in the three months to September. Today's figures - for England - show around one in seven 16 to 18-year-olds - a total of 267,000 - are Neet. That is 2,000 more that at this time last year.

On Wednesday, Mr Saleh signed the deal in Saudi Arabia under which he is to step down after more than 30 years in power. President Saleh agreed to hand power to his deputy after months of protests. Many others were wounded in the clashes, reports say.

An AFP correspondent said the protesters were shot at by armed civilians whom they describe as Mr Saleh's "thugs", as they marched towards the city centre. At least four bodies taken from the scene of the shooting were visible at a nearby hospital, correspondents say. Thousands of people in Sanaa cheered the news of Mr Saleh's impending departure, but others rejected the agreement.

Ministers fear there could be major disruption for travellers, so volunteers are being asked to step in. PCS Union chief Mark Serwotka said ministers were in a "blind panic" and should be resolving the dispute. The UK Border Agency has insisted the civil servants will be properly trained. It is expected they would mainly check the passports of travellers arriving from the European Economic Area and man so-called "e-gates" where passengers use their biometric passports.

The BBC has also learned that the government has told union bosses that they are not prepared to offer any further concessions over pension reforms as a result of the planned strikes. The government recently made what it describes as an improved offer to the unions, promising that public sector workers ten years away from retirement would not see any change to their pensions. It also promised improved accrual rates. Ministers fear that any further concessions would send the wrong signal to financial markets by suggesting that the government was not serious about cutting the deficit and making substantial savings in the public sector pension bill.

Ministers argue that public sector pensions have become unaffordable because of rising life expectancy, but they insist that even after the planned changes, state employees will still be better off than the majority of workers in the private sector. Unions say their members are being asked to work longer, contribute more and receive less.

They are expected to be joined by hundreds of thousands of other workers, including teachers and hospital staff. Parliament votes next week on a deficit reduction plan imposed as a result of an EU and IMF bailout. The strike is expected to be one of the biggest in Portugal's history, where mass industrial action is rare. The strike is being supported by the two main labour unions, which represent more than a million workers.

Many Portuguese are shocked by the scale of austerity the budget implies, says the BBC's Alison Roberts in Lisbon. The government proposes spending cuts across a broad range of public services, including health care and the armed forces, and tax hikes. Also planned is the elimination of Christmas and holiday bonuses equal to about a month's pay for most public sector workers and allowing private firms to extend the work day by 30 minutes without overtime pay.

"Such symbols tap directly into fascist, neo-facist and xenophobic traditions, and intolerance," Robert Biedron, a top campaigner and newly-elected lawmaker from the left-wing opposition, told reporters. Biedron, who is Poland's first openly-gay member of parliament, urged the justice ministry to step in. In a little-noticed decision at the end of October, a court allowed the small National Rebirth of Poland (NOP) party to register two symbols.

One was the Celtic cross, used by far-right movements internationally, while the other was a stylized illustration of gay sex with a bar through it. Grzegorz Schetyna, a senior player in Poland's ruling centrist Civic Platform, accused the judge who made the ruling of failing in his duties. "Such symbols are unacceptable," he told the station Radio Zet. The NOP turns out regularly to oppose gay rights rallies in Poland.

The homosexual community in Poland - where more than 90 percent of the 38-million-strong population is Roman Catholic - has in the past complained of living in a "climate of fear". Opinion surveys show that 80 percent of Poles oppose gay marriage and 93 percent believe gay and lesbian couples should not have the right to adopt children. Two out of three Poles oppose gay rights demonstrations.