The lines started forming even before most people had finished their turkey and stuffing, and continued to grow through the wee hours of Friday morning. And those willing to brave those Black Friday crowds -- along with the jammed parking lots, cold, wet weather, traffic, pushing, pulling, shoving and all-around mayhem -- came away with some sweet deals on what retailers say will be the most coveted gifts this holiday season: HD televisions, laptop computers and (apparently) Zhu-Zhu robot hamsters.

But even those who chose to stay home, and stay sane, on Friday probably still will find bargains when they head to the stores, as retailers try to keep shoppers coming back all season long. And while more people than last year said they would shop over the weekend, overall holiday spending is likely to fall due to the recession, according to the National Retail Federation. Shoppers expect to spend an average of $682.74 on gifts this year, compared with $705.01 last year, making bargain hunting that much more important.

As if the housing market over the past few years hasn't been scary enough, a study from the Fair Housing Partnership of Greater Pittsburgh found blatant examples of racism in the mortgage application process. The study found that African-American applicants with better qualifications on income, debt, credit scores, savings and family composition were treated worse than their Caucasian counterparts. According to Peter Harvey, Fair Housing executive director, "Our findings are based on work we conducted a year ago, and we see no evidence that it has improved."

Let's be careful out there: Get some safety tips by checking out Bill Toland's take on the biggest scams of perpetrated on holiday shoppers.

"We don't have anything like this in Canada. I love it."

-- Toronto resident Darlene Whitelock, doing some Black Friday shopping while visiting Pittsburgh for her daughter's hockey tournament

Downtown firm Education Management said it plans to open 20 to 25 Art Institute campuses over the next five years. ... Pittsburgh-based H.J. Heinz Co. said it would launch a major push for its products in the second half of the fiscal year to fight back against competition from private labels.

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