Everyday Article

New York City(NY) -- Wal-Mart's Black Friday was marred when a 34-year-old employee died and three other people were treated for injuries at the opening of the store in Valley Stream, N.Y.

The officials said the cause of the male employee's death has not been determined.In addition, police officials said a pregnant woman was taken to a local hospital. Meanwhile, Police closed the store during the investigation of the death.That decision probably angered a lot of shoppers but it was the proper thing to do.

The victim, who has not been identified, died after being taken from the store.

Around the nation, shoppers descended upon Wal-Mart en masse in hopes of scoring Black Friday discounts. From New Jersey to Dallas, there were reports of hundreds of shoppers lining up before stores opened, looking for $2 DVDs and flat-panel TVs priced just under $400.

For the most part, the morning was without incident.

At the Fairfax, Va., location, for example, the scene was social. Hundreds queued up before doors opened at 5 a.m., with some having arrived the night before in order to be among the first to shop.

"We skipped Thanksgiving dinner," said 30-year-old Arash Habiezadeh.

Wal-Mart, which operates more than 4,100 U.S. stores and 3,100 international locations, is expected to be a big winner this holiday season as its discounts resonate with budget-conscious shoppers. The company has been aggressively courting customers by lowering its prices and introducing holiday-gift sections in stores.

"Even with the economy, you've got to go with the deals," said Robert Balboni of Centreville, Va., while loading his shopping cart with a 42-inch flat panel TV, a portable DVD player and a Philips 2GB MP3 player.

Wal-Mart has already shown signs of benefiting from the economic slowdown. Same-store sales, or sales at retail stores open at least a year, gained 2.4% in October, beating the company's own forecast.

Overall, the U.S. retail sector is expected to endure one of its worst holiday seasons in years. Sales are projected to climb just 2.2%, according to the National Retail Federation, making it the weakest sales gain in six years.