Crowds go wild for Air Jordans

It was an everyday tale of greed, consumerism and sporadic police brutality in the shopping malls of America this Christmas, as fashion-conscious basketball fans attempted to get their hands on the latest pair of must-have trainers.

Huge crowds and many near-riots were reported wherever Nike's new $180 "Air Jordan" shoes went on sale. Police in Seattle said about 20 people were pepper-sprayed after fights broke out amongst a queue of 1,000 youths gathered on Christmas Eve. One man was arrested for punching an officer. "He did not get his shoes; he went to jail," said a spokesman.

In Jersey City, a man was stabbed in a fight over alleged queue-barging. Shots were fired in Richmond, California, at around 7am, apparently after a gun being carried by a shopper went off by accident.