have a better option when calling for help. thank you for watching. see you at 6:00. >> >> rodriguez: tonight, elbowgate. who threw the elbow that sent the president to the doctor? a pickup basketball game ends with mr. obama needing stitches on his face. i'm maggie rodriguez. also tonight, the race is on. this black friday, after two years of belt tightening, things are looking up. crowds at the mall are bigger and shoppers are ready to spend. miracle at sea. they were given up for dead. the amazing survival story of three teenagers lost at sea for 50 days. and actor colin firth on the story of an english king who had trouble speaking the king's english. >> i mean i choked up watching it. captioning sponsored by cbs from cbs news world headquarters in new york, this is the "cbs evening news" with

katie couric. >> rodriguez: good evening, katie is off tonight. black friday is the traditional kickoff of the holiday shopping season, and by every indication, americans are back in a spending mood. we'll have more on that in a moment. but we begin tonight at the white house. president obama takes his basketball very seriously, and today things got rough during a pickup game. a stray elbow sent the president to the doctor, where he received 12 stitches in his mouth. sharyl attkisson is at the white house tonight with a post-game report. sharyl, how is our m.v.p. doing? >> reporter: he's all right, maggie. mishaps happen to everyone, of course. but when it's the president, it's bound to get a lot of attention. dabbing his injured mouth, president obama was escorted into his car at fort mcnair army post in washington, d.c. he'd taken an elbow to the upper lip playing defense in a five on five basketball game with family and friends. late today, the white house revealed the owner of the elbow

in question, ray deserega, who works for the congressional hispanic caucus institute. deserega issued a statement saying: "i learned today the president is both a tough competitor and a good sport. i'm sure he'll be back out on the court again soon." after the incident, mr. obama was driven three miles back home and kept out of public view. a few hours later, the white house christmas tree arrived. mrs. obama and the couple's children came down to review the tree. we saw the president through an upstairs window, still nursing his injury. officials say he was given a local anesthetic and 12 stitches. why so many? the white house medical unit used a small filament, which requires more stitches but leaves a smaller scar. presidential mishaps are practically a tradition. president ford was known for his pratfalls. president clinton tripped down the stairs in the wee hours of the morning at the florida estate of golfer greg norman. president bush had a number of brushes with misfortune. in 2002, he choked on a pretzel and fell, scraping his face.

he later fell off his segway scooter and he had two accidents on bicycles. you can go way back and find press accounts of close shaves with the commander-in-chief. in 1902, president theodore roosevelt was thrown from his carriage when it was hit by a trolley car. all the aforementioned presidents survived quite nicely, with an occasional bruised ego. if president obama was destined to have his own mishap, it's not surprising that it occurred while he was engaged in his favorite sport, and a very physical one. maggie? >> rodriguez: sharyl attkisson at the white house. thank you, sharyl. shopping is not a spectator sport, especially not today. it's black friday, and for many americans there was barely enough time to finish the thanksgiving turkey before it was off to the mall. an estimated 138 million americans will shop this weekend with expected sales of $42 billion, which is up more than 2% from last year. elaine quijano is right in the middle of it all in times square. elaine, good evening. >> reporter: good evening to you maggie.

here in times square it's a sea of shopping bags full of holiday gifts, and retailers are reporting seeing much of the same across the country. in buffalo, new york, shoppers stampeded at target. customers camped out in california, and chicagoans braved the cold. nationwide, stores claim they're seeing a lot more shoppers. >> if it wasn't fun we wouldn't be standing out here in 21 degrees waiting to get in the door. >> reporter: one out of every three bargain hunters hit the stores by 5:00 a.m.. >> we get here early so we got a good spot. i could have sold my spot for about $100 just now when i ran out to my car. >> reporter: many retailers had already rolled out their door- busting deals online. >> there's a whole black friday season now. it isn't really just one day, and with the internet and social media, all of those bargains just get really spread out. >> reporter: on average, consumers are expected to spend about $343 this black friday weekend, about half their total holiday budget.

they'll also spend another $107 on non-gift items for themselves. >> i bought myself clothes. >> reporter: analysts say those indulgences are up, a sign shoppers are feeling a bit better about the economy. are you planning on spending more or less this year? >> a lot more this year than last year. >> reporter: retailers are expecting a run on traditional holiday gift items like sweaters. sales of women's apparel is expected to go up 5% compared to last year. and luxury items like jewelry are making a comeback. >> the high end will definitely fuel some of the spending, and then moderate income will also have a better season this year than last year. >> reporter: many consumers look to be ready to ditch their recession woes and get back in the holiday shopping spirit. >> people are absolutely tired of the past 24 months of recession. they've been in a position where they've saved. debt reduction is down, discretionary spending is up. >> reporter: now, another big seller this year? gift cards. analysts predict americans will spend some $24 billion on gift

cards this holiday season and, maggie, that's up slightly from last year. maggie? >> rodriguez: elaine quijano in a crowded times square tonight. thanks, elaine. e-books are on a lot of shipping list this is year, and sales today are through the roof. one year ago, about seven million americans owned e- readers or tablet computers. since then, the number has tripled. john blackstone reports on literature's latest chapter. >> reporter: in the busy aisles of electronics stores, shoppers are encountering a dramatically expanded selection of gadgets offering to replace books. >> i sell them all here, i have everything you need. >> reporter: from amazon's $139 kindle to apple's $500 ipad, tech stores are turning literary. have you become a bookstore as well? >> we have not... well, i guess you could say that, right? a digital bookstore. >> reporter: walk into a real bookstore-- barnes & noble-- and the first thing you're likely to see isn't a book, it's a nook! barnes & noble's own version of an e-reader. >> we have over two million books available. >> reporter: the big bookstore chain calls it the future of

reading, and the reason is clear. in september, sales of hard- cover books in america dropped by 40% to $180.3 million worth. but sales of e-books rose by 158% from a year earlier to $39.9 million. price is one factor driving e- book sales. best-sellers that can cost $25 in hard cover can be purchased for less than $10 as an e-book. thousands of works, including classics, are available free. this man is buying an e-reader for his 12-year-old son. >> i like to read books the old- fashioned way. but the new generation wants new things. >> reporter: turns out, so does the older generation. >> this is the biggest change in book reading since gutenberg and movable type. >> reporter: bill hall and his wife sharon taylor do most of their reading on a kindle, but hall isn't just a reader, he's also a writer. you're not concerned about books moving away from being physical

things? >> i think authors who are concerned about that are silly old poops. >> reporter: they're giving e- readers as gifts. while e-books are growing in popularity, there're still a small part of the market, so it's not yet the end of the story for real books. but it's certainly the opening of a new chapter in the history of reading. john blackstone, cbs news, emeryville, california. >> rodriguez: turning overseas now to the korean crisis. the north fired more artillery today within sight of the island that it attacked this week and charged that upcoming u.s. naval exercises with south korea would bring the peninsula to the brink of war. u.s. military chief mike mullen warns that north korean leader kim jong il is "a guy we cannot trust." on another matter, admiral mullen warned the promised release by the wikileaks web site of classified u.s. diplomatic cables would "endanger the lives of people who support the u.s." he said the release could also damage relations with some foreign leaders. in afghanistan tonight, a grim

milestone. the u.s. has now been fighting there for as long as the soviets did. nine years and 50 days. meanwhile, the blame game continued today following that embarrassing disclosure that nato held secret talks with a phony taliban leader. elizabeth palmer has the story. >> reporter: in the murky world of the taliban command structure, it was never going to be easy to figure out who to talk to. but it's still a huge embarrassment that one man apparently given safe passage by nato to travel to and from negotiations was an imposter. reports today point the finger at britain's secret service. the "times" newspaper says m.i.- 6 agents were convinced the so- called "mullah mansour" was the taliban's second in command and paid him up to half a million dollars to encourage further talks. back in october at a meeting in london, general david petraeus first hinted that preliminary discussions with the taliban were under way.

but this week, he said the u.s. had had doubts from the start. >> there was skepticism about one of these all along, and it may well be that that skepticism was well founded. >> reporter: in kabul, a senior official accused the british of being naive and said the afghans too, were guilty of wishful thinking that genuine talks were under way. as for beleaguered u.s. and nato troops, they're now hunting for the elusive mullah mansour, who has now vanished, presumably along with the money. >> this is going on throughout every single village in afghanistan, that the taliban have been able to confuse and dupe the americans. >> reporter: no matter who's to blame, one afghan insider told cbs news this is more than a mistake, it's a failure that exposes the fact that even after nine years, u.s. and nato intelligence still don't know who the top taliban power brokers really are. elizabeth palmer, cbs news, london.

>> rodriguez: now the story of a rescue that no one thought would happen. three teenage boys disappeared at sea almost two months ago. their families gave up hope. they even held memorial services for them. but then the boys were found, alive, in the most unlikely place. seth doane has more. >> reporter: weakened after spending 50 days lost at sea these teenagers were helped ashore, carrying with them a stunning survival story. the three boys-- two of them 15 years old, the other just 14-- set out from their home island of tokelau, a territory of new zealand, in a 12-foot aluminum boat headed to a nearby island. that was october 5. 50 days later, they had drifted 800 miles, until they were spotted by a fishing trawler northeast of fiji. we reached a member of that ship's crew. the boys were waving toward your vessel? >> it was not a frantic wave. it was very slow, you could tell they were using every last ounce of strength.

>> reporter: the boys told rescuers they survived on rainwater, coconuts and even a sea bird they ate raw. they had drifted far outside normal shipping lanes. >> you can go for hours flying in a plane and not see any land. >> reporter: coast guard commander ken piero has sailed in that area of the south pacific. he says reports that the boys had begun to drink sea water were especially worrying. >> it will shut down your kidneys, it raises salinity in your body and makes you even more thirsty. >> reporter: after an unsuccessful search, the boys were presumed dead and their families had even held memorial services. after you rescued them, what did the boys say to you? >> just thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. and every other praise under the sun. >> reporter: the three teenagers will spend the next few days in the hospital in fiji, lucky to be alive. seth doane, cbs news, new york. >> rodriguez: coming up next here on the "cbs evening news," trading places. what happens when medical students take the place of patients?

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program of role reversal. >> reporter: sue chung kim is just starting the ride of her life. >> i've never been on a stretcher before. >> you've never been on a stretcher? >> no. >> reporter: this fourth-year medical student is spending the next week and a half living among 514 residents at a nursing home in upper manhattan. not as a doctor, but as a patient. >> today just being even in this bed i'm not even comfortable, although i'm just laying down. >> reporter: comfort isn't the goal of this program, called "learning by living." med students considering a specialty in geriatrics live life at the other end of the stethoscope. marilyn gallucci started the program five years ago. >> it's about being in the shoes, in the wheelchair, living the life over an extended period of time. that's the key. >> reporter: the students are assigned a diagnosis. sue chung is supposed to be a recent stroke victim.

>> it seems to have affected your right side, primarily? >> it's taking a lot of adjustment to get used to not walking around. >> yeah, everything's different. >> everything's different. >> reporter: throughout the ten days and nights, she was poked and prodded, fed pureed food and retaught the basics, like how to dress. >> you have to make sure that the gown clears the elbow. >> reporter: she even learned to knit-- one handed. each night she recorded her impressions, in writing for school, and on video for us. >> traveling where i used to normally walk around became ten times more difficult. it could be a very lonely place for the elderly here. >> reporter: that is exactly the kind of empathy this exercise can foster, says geriatrician veronica lofaso. >> without connection, you're not a good doctor. >> reporter: geriatrics is a field that could use a few good doctors. five years ago, there was one geriatric doctor for 5,000 people 65 or over in this country. 20 years from now, that ratio is expected to be one in 8,000. that's in part because

geriatrics is among the lowest- paid specialties. >> you can start out as an orthopedist making $250,000. why would you want to cut that significantly to go into geriatrics? a lot of people find that just undoable. >> it was nice meeting everybody. >> reporter: on the day of her departure, it was clear this critical part of sue chung's medical training has given her much more to think about than making money. >> i never realized how vulnerable being on the other side was. i hope when i go back as a medical student-- and hopefully a doctor, too-- that i remember how it feels to be the patient. i'll come back to visit, okay? >> reporter: a lesson she could have only learned in a one-of-a- kind classroom. ♪ i love you... >> reporter: jim axelrod, cbs news, new york. >> rodriguez: we'll be back with more news in a moment. and later, katie couric talks to colin firth about his role as a troubled king of england. e as a troubled king of england. and the life you want to live.

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>> rodriguez: they've come back to earth. after five months at the space station, two americans and a russian landed in remote kazakhstan today. astronauts douglas wheelock, and shannon walker, and the cosmonaut, are doing well tonight. in belgium, it's time to bundle up for the ice sculpture festival. artists chiseled for a month to create these beauties, sparkling celebrities like marilyn monroe and famous places like the arc de triomphe and st. basil's cathedral in moscow-- all bathed in magical light inside a tent

that's kept at a constant 20 degrees. tonight nature lovers and art collectors are readying their bids for one of the priciest books ever to hit the auction block. a 170-year-old original edition of john james audubon's "birds of america." the four hand-painted volumes go on sale december 7 in london. estimated price? $6 to $9 million. $6 to $9 million. i'm off to the post office... ok. uh, a little help... oh! you know shipping is a lot easier with priority mail flat rate boxes. if it fits, it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. plus, you can print and pay for postage online. and i can pick them up for free with package pickup. perfect! cause i'm gonna need a lot of those. wow! i knew i should have brought my sleigh. priority mail flat rate shipping starts at $4.90 only from the postal service.

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this has been medifacts for biotene. >> rodriguez: america's fascination with the british royal family began long before prince william and kate middleton. now a new film explores the struggles of william's great grandfather, king george vi, who was tortured by shyness and a stutter. katie couric spoke with actor colin firth, who plays the king. >> westminster abbey is the setting for the show of the century as peers arrive for the coronation of king george vi. >> couric: did you know much about george vi before you took this role on? >> no. i think most of us in my generation are not particularly focused on the affairs of the royal family unless a big moment comes along. >> couric: for george vi, who was born prince albert, or

"bertie" to his family, that big moment came in 1936. his brother, king edward viii, stepped down from the throne to marry a twice-divorced woman, wallis simpson. >> i have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility without the help of the woman i love. >> reporter: as great britain prepared for war, albert prepared to reign while fighting a more personal battle. >> i'm sure that we are all.... >> couric: trying to overcome a debilitating stammer. >> happy to feel... >> you see him running into this problem, it's absolutely heart breaking. i choked up watching it. >> couric: really. >> it's very moving. because it's not just a struggle it's the character with which he deals with the struggle. >> couric: the king's wife sought the help of a speech therapist, lionel logue, played by geoffrey rush. >> my game, my turf, my rules. >> you look at geoffrey rush's character and you think "that's the guy we all wish we had in our lives to turn to." he won't give up. >> please don't do that. >> i'm sorry.

>> i believe sucking smoke into your lungs will kill you. >> my physicians say it relaxes the throat. >> they're idiots. >> they've all been knighted. >> makes it official, then. >> if he reaches a barrier, he will find a stealthy way around it to open this man up. >> do you know any jokes? >> timing isn't my strong suit. >> couric: but through his work with lionel... >> jack and jill went up the hill. >> couric: the king slowly finds his inner strength at a time when his nation needed him the most. >> what's he saying? >> i don't know. but he seems to be saying it rather well. >> couric: bertie is fascinated, maybe even a bit envious, of hitler's uncanny ability to communicate. >> you know, i think it's significant that he doesn't understand what hitler is saying.

but he's aware of the menace, but he's tuning into the brilliance of delivery, thinking, you know, "here am i, i can't even get two words out in front of a microphone." >> when... when... >> and here's this man who's using it to the most devastating effect. >> get up, you can't sit there! >> couric: what helped him through was an unlikely friendship that taught king george how to be heard. >> listen to me! >> listen to you? by what right? >> because i have a right to be heard! i have a voice! >> yes, you do. >> people knew that this man was facing his demons, just by speaking to them. and i think there was a sense that it cost him something and they found it valiant. i think all of those things connected with people. >> rodriguez: and that's the "cbs evening news." for katie couric, i'm maggie rodriguez, thank you for watching. i'll see you monday on the "early show." good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

enough already. how big retailers are setting up shp within sight of mom & pop's doors. coun with as if small businesses didn't have it hard enough already, how others are setting up inside mom and pop stores. >> madness like this today. did they go home with great deals? probably not. >> we'll let you in on a littl secret. not everyone spent the day at the mall. a whole lot of people packed big box stores today spending a lot of money. what about the family owned businesses trying to get their ledgers out of the red or simply keep their doors open? simon perez in san francisco with a look at a new holiday threat to america's small