HOLIDAY SHOPPING

NEW: Early indicators of Black Friday sales promising

CHICAGO (AP) — Shoppers hit that malls today as observers wait for early data showing just how much consumers spent during their Black Friday shopping sprees.

Data from the research firm ShopperTrak, generally seen as the most definitive on the topic, is expected later today.

In the meantime, Friday's early reports show bigger crowds at stores, with shoppers buying more than last year. J.C. Penney says today that business was "strong" nationwide. And QVC, which markets products on television and online, says Black Friday sales totaled $32 million, up almost 60 percent from last year.

Black Friday is seen as an important barometer of consumers' willingness to spend during the holidays.

WOODS-ACCIDENT

Police will try to talk to Woods about accident

UNDATED (AP) — Police in Florida hope to talk to golfing great Tiger Woods today about the circumstances surrounding his SUV accident early Friday.

The 33-year-old was treated and released from a hospital after his vehicle struck a fire hydrant at his estate near Orlando and then hit a tree on a neighbor's property in the early morning hours.

Police say they attempted to talk to Woods yesterday, but his wife said he was sleeping. One key question is where he was headed at that hour.

The accident came two days after the National Enquirer published a story alleging that Woods had been seeing a New York night club hostess, and that they recently were together in Melbourne, where Woods competed in the Australian Masters.

FAMILY SHOOTINGS

Michigan police warned as manhunt continues

JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — Authorities in Michigan have been alerted in the search for a Florida man accused of fatally shooting four relatives on Thanksgiving.

Police in Birmingham, Mich., have been told that Paul Merhige (MUR'-heej) had sought help from a Detroit-area physician in the past year. A police official in Jupiter, Fla., says he doesn't know why Merhige had been in touch with the doctor.

The 35-year-old is accused of killing his pregnant sister, her twin sister, an elderly aunt and a 6-year-old cousin.

Authorities say 17 people were gathered in the home in Jupiter, Fla., on Thursday when the shootings occurred. The town is about 90 miles north of Miami and is known as a home to celebrities such as Michael Jordan and Burt Reynolds.

Merhige is believed to be driving a blue 2007 Toyota Camry.

WISCONSIN SHOOTING

Police report 4 shot in domestic incident

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin police say multiple people have been shot in a home on the west side of Madison.

Police Sgt. John Rife says two adults and two children were shot in what he called a domestic incident. Rife says they suffered "significant" injuries and were taken to a local hospital. He says no one has died.

Rife says everyone involved in the shooting has been identified and there's no threat to the community.

Police responded after getting several calls at 6:18 a.m. Saturday. Rife wouldn't provide more details.

RUSSIA-TRAIN DERAILED

News reports quote officials who blame homemade bomb for derailment

UGLOVKA, Russia (AP) — Russian officials reportedly say a homemade bomb caused a deadly train accident.

Hundreds of passengers were aboard when the express train from Moscow to St. Petersburg derailed. At least 26 people are dead and scores of others have been injured.

The reported discovery appears to support initial fears that the deadly derailment on the Moscow-St. Petersburg line Friday night was a terrorist attack caused by a bomb planted on the tracks.

The Interfax and RIA Novosti news agencies cite Federal Security Service chief Alexander Borotnikov as saying Saturday that a home-made bomb equivalent to 7 kilograms of TNT had detonated, derailing the express train Friday night.

The death toll is still unclear: The Health Ministry says 26 people were killed but prosecutors say at least 30.

IRAN-NUCLEAR

Iranian lawmaker: Iran could leave nuclear treaty

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — A hardline Iranian lawmaker is quoted by the country's official IRNA news agency as saying Iran's parliament may consider withdrawing from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

The threat comes a day after a resolution passed by the board of the U.N. nuclear agency demanding that Tehran immediately stop building its newly revealed nuclear facility and freeze uranium enrichment.

Mohammad Karamirad said Saturday parliament may also consider blocking inspection of Iran's nuclear facilities by the International Atomic Energy Agency, which it has been allowing routinely so far.

Karamirad does not speak for the government, but his statements often reflect its thinking.

SPACE STATION

NASA: Floating 'junk' no threat to space station

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA says a piece of old space junk that it's been tracking for a few days is no threat to the International Space Station.

But there's another piece of debris in the space station's neighborhood.

Mission Control decided late Friday that the outpost would not need to dodge a 10-year-old rocket chunk. The Delta rocket was launched in 1999 with NASA's comet-chasing spacecraft, Stardust. Experts concluded the junk would come no closer than five-and-a-half miles Saturday. In fact, it was moving away from the station.

On Friday, NASA spotted an old science payload from a previous shuttle mission in the vicinity of the 220-mile-high space station. It's expected to come within nine miles Monday. For now, it's not considered a threat.

BANGLADESH-FERRY CAPSIZE

At least 37 dead after Bangladesh ferry capsizes at dock

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — More than three dozen people are dead and scores missing after a ferry packed with hundreds of travelers capsized in Bangladesh.

The triple-deck ferry was crowded with people heading home from Dhaka to celebrate an Islamic festival.

Some survivors say the boat hit a river shoal as it approached the terminal, breaking the hull and allowing water in. As passengers scrambled to disembark, the vessel then tipped and partially sank.

Hundreds of anxious relatives have gathered on the river bank. Some complained that rescue work was slow, with officials off for the holiday.

Police said they were waiting for a rescue vessel to pull the submerged ferry from the water.

It's unclear how many people were aboard the ferry. A television report says it was carrying more than 1,500 people but many had already disembarked when it sank.

SWEDEN-KILLER MOOSE

Police: Murderous moose a suspect in Swedish death

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Swedish police say they've cleared a man who was arrested for allegedly murdering his wife after deciding the culprit was most likely a moose.

Police spokesman Ulf Karlsson says "the improbable has become probable" in the puzzling death last year of 63-year old Agneta Westlund. She was found dead after an evening stroll in the forest.

According to news reports, the victim's husband Ingemar Westlund, was jailed for 10 days. The case against him was dropped in January.

Karlsson declined to give details of the case Saturday, saying a news conference would be held Tuesday.

The tabloid Expressen says hairs and saliva from a moose — aka a European elk — were found on the victim's clothes. Police would not immediately confirm that.