People in wheelchairs chain themselves together in protest over welfare proposals, blocking traffic in one of London’s busiest shopping areas.

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Disability protest over welfare

If one Louisiana parish commissioner has his way, comfort-lovers won’t be hanging out in their PJs at the mall. Caddo Parish Commissioner Michael Williams has proposed a ban on wearing pajamas — especially the pants — in public after he was appalled by the attire of his constitutents during a recent shopping trip, according to KTAL/NBC. Read full article > >

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Pajamas in public: Should they be banned?

The man suspected of slashing young women’s buttocks as they shopped at Fairfax County shopping malls last year has been arrested in Peru, police said Saturday. Authorities said they did not have any details of the arrest but confirmed that Johnny D. Guillen Pimentel, 40, was in custody in Peru and that police were “just starting the process of working with federal and international authorities to return him back to Fairfax County,” said Officer Shelley Broderick, a Fairfax County police spokeswoman, in a statement. Read full article > >

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Suspected mall slasher arrested in Peru

When I wrote a story last week about Congress quietly closing health reform’s Consumer Assistance Program, Wonkblog readers and health-care economists alike quickly seized on one crucial detail: the program’s price tag. Thirty-five states received a total of $30 million to help consumers find affordable coverage, answer health insurance queries and appeal denied claims. I led the story with Texas, which received a $2.8 million grant and, with it, hired nine employees who have handled about 6,000 phone calls. Read full article > >

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The cost of shopping for health insurance

Shopping while drinking has long benefited high-end specialty retailers; now the popularity of Internet sales has opened alcohol-induced buying to the masses.

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Online Retailers Home In on a New Demographic: The Drunken Consumer

A flash mob involving an estimated 200 young people turned violent at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn., on Monday—turning one of the busiest shopping days of the year at the nation’s largest mall into chaos. At least 10 juveniles have been arrested in the incident on suspicion of disorderly conduct, but there were no weapons involved and no theft has been reported. A mall spokeswoman said the riot started around 4:20 p.m. with a single incident in the food court and then quickly spread and officials put the mall on lockdown, although they later called that a premature move. More than 30 Bloomington police, as well as Metro Transit and Richfield officers, responded to the call, and order was restored by 5:30 p.m. Mall officials said they will review security measures to determine how the situation descended so quickly into chaos.

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10 Arrested in Mall Riot

LONDON — A teenager was fatally stabbed Monday after an argument broke out in a sports store on London’s most famous retail street as thousands of shoppers flocked to Britain’s capital seeking post-Christmas bargains. The killing of the 18-year-old man on Oxford Street — and a second wounding in the same road — did little to deter shoppers crowding into neighboring stores in the landmark shopping district. Bargain hunters were also largely untroubled by a subway strike which badly disrupted the city’s public transport services. Read full article > >

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Killing on landmark retail street and subway strike fail to halt record Boxing Day sales

Shopping centres across Scotland report a last-minute rush as the public complete their Christmas purchases.

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Shops report late Christmas rush

Consumer spending ticked higher in November , according to government data released Friday, marking the fifth consecutive month of gains but disappointing some economists who had hoped that momentum in holiday shopping would lead to a merrier month. The holiday season is critical for the retail industry as well as the broader economy, with roughly two-thirds of the nation’s gross domestic product driven by consumer spending. Robust spending in the fall coupled with retailers’ reports of long lines and ringing cash registers on Black Friday , the traditional kickoff to the holiday shopping season, had fueled expectations for a brighter November. Analysts had expected a 0.3 percent increase in spending last month; consumers delivered a 0.1 percent blip. Read full article > >

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Consumer spending ticks up in Nov., but holiday shopping falls short of hopes

You’re swamped with lists. To-do lists, shopping lists, top-10 lists, best-of lists. It’s too much. There’s only one list that matters. That is the List. Capital “L.” The List is an annual Style section tradition dating to 1978 , when former Post fashion editor Nina Hyde began sorting life into INs and OUTs: Read full article > >

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The List is life

Friday is set to be the busiest shopping day on record as consumers rush to buy last minute presents and food, credit card firm Visa predicts.

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New shopping ‘record’ predicted

Your free time this upcoming weekend may be consumed by the holidays, but it is still a weekend after all. Hurry up and finish your shopping, light your menorah or tree, wrap your presents and head out to the best events this weekend, a list of which we have compiled for you . Check out a few highlights here. Read full article > >

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Plan your holiday weekend: Wu-Tang Clan, James Brown Death-mas

UK shoppers will spend just over £1.5m a minute in total on what is expected to be the busiest High Street shopping day of the year, research suggests.

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High Street set for ‘busiest day’

We all grumble about winter: The traffic and crowds that holiday shopping brings, the bitingly cold winds on the way to the Metro after work, the prospect of another Snowmageddon. (Fingers crossed that doesn’t happen again.) But that’s only half the story, because there’s so much to enjoy about this season: Getting bundled up to go ice skating outdoors on the Mall, grabbing a date and sipping hot toddies around a roaring fire at an outdoor bar, indulging in warm mugs of hot cocoa, or catching up with friends while filling up on comfort food. Read full article > >

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Embrace the season: Winter’s best

With less than two weeks left until the holidays, this is a prime week for making your list and checking it twice. But you don’t have an army of elves doing your bidding for you, so it’s easy for some Christmas purchases to slip through the cracks — and time is running out. Some developers have created apps that will help you keep your list organized, whether it’s for the naughty or the nice. Read full article > >

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Christmas shopping apps organize gift-giving