Dispatches from the Checkout Lines

The holiday season got off on an odd note when Santa Claus, or somebody dressed like him, burgled a McDonald's in Lakeland, Fla. Maybe this is how he trains.

Thankfully, there have been no Black Friday-related tramplings this year. However, there were reports of gunfire at a North Carolina mall, and in a Porter Ranch, Calif., Walmart, a woman pepper-sprayed about 20 people in order to get a competitive advantage on a deal for video game system. 

Two malls--Promenade Temecula in southern California and Short Pump Town Center in Richmond, Va.--are engaged in pilot projects to track holiday shoppers by their cell phones in order to gather data about consumer habits, CNN reported. Don't worry, the programs are voluntary--for now.

Trying to decide whether to buy that new gadget now or wait to see if the price will drop? There's an app for that. Decide.com's free app claims to have 74 percent accuracy and save an average of $54 per purchase.

A San Antonio radio station reports that gold buyers are seeing people sell their dental work to pay for Black Friday shopping.