you are watching al jazeera america live from new york city. i'm john than betz with tonight's headlines. seven mine fors were sentenced to prison in egypt for protesting. vice president biden is heading to china next week this in the midst of territorial tensions between china and japan. eager shoppers who finished their thanksgiving day early will have more chances for a bargain. major retailers kicked off their

holiday shopping one day early. this woman was found guilty of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. she insists she was firing a warning shot at her husband because he was threatening her. the court of appeals has ruled she should be given a new trial. "real money with ali velshi" is next. and from all of us here at al jazeera america, we want to wish you a happy thanksgiving and happy hanukkah. enjoy the night. ♪ it's a fight for your money this holiday season with retailers in one corner and shoppers in the other.

and one day you might live in space. plus xbox versus sony, who has more game, and should you get in on the action? i'm ali velshi, and this is "real money." ♪ this is "real money." you are the most important part of the show to join our live conversation on twitter for the next half hour. it is no secret that retailers are getting ready to gobble up your shopping dollars this holiday season, but they are not the only ones. charities are also counting on the gift of giving over the holidays, charities get more than a third of their funds in the final part of the year. the good news, is that americans

are among the most generous givers in the world. the median amount americans give in a year is estimated to be $2,564. donate fors donated $29 billion to charity. that number is way down from pre-recession levels. this year the chronicle of philanthropy forecasts a net drop in donations by 1%. if that's true, charities need to get more creative when it comes to luring your donations. so look out for hashtag giving tuesday. next week the day when charity organizations are banding together to encourage giving. we have the executive of a nonprofit organization who's mission is to encourage

charitable giving. jason what is your sense of why americans are pulling back or anticipated to be pulling back on charitable giving this year? >> it is great to be here. thanks. great question. i don't think people are pulling back on the charities, they are pulling back on the amount of money they are giving away. and it's based on uncertainty about the future. people who gave 100 last year may give 50 instead to hedge their bets for 2014. >> we have seen these great housing numbers and the stock market is on a terror, but some people feel like they are not out of the recession. how do you make people feel better about giving? >> i think there's two parts of it. one is helping people think about how much can they give.

and the work we do is helping people explore what is possible, and they are giving. with too many people the giving decision is an impulsive one, you ask me if i'll make a gift to the heart association, on tuesday, maybe i say yes, on thursday, no. >> right. >> the other half is about impact. do you know the groups you support are having a big impact. and just taking a little bit of time before you are asked, helps. >> where would you suggest my viewers do that sort of research? this >> there are groups like charity navigator and give well, that are amazing resources for the huge nonprofits, but if you are interested in local charities like most people are looking at what is possible in their own local community.

one of the best places to start is your local community foundation. and there's over 700 all over the country, and these are groups that are set up to help people locally find the best organizations to give to. >> jason i used to have hair like yours, but i pulled it out, because people don't budget. we always say you know how it is going to effect your budget, which most people don't have budgets. and you have a suggestion, and that is whatever money you plan to give, you have a 50-30-20 rule. explain that to me. >> i came up with this rule as a quick way to think about how to break up your giving. the biggest complaint i here is i don't know if my giving matters or if there is any impact, and people don't have the time to do research about every group they might support,

your friends running in the aids run, or breast cancer walk, so take a step back. 50% of your giving to just one or two organizations. those are the ones you spending time researching. look at their website. look at their financials and see what they spend their money on. your church or your kid's cool, your best friend runs a nonprofit, the gifts you know you are going to give either way, give 30%. and last is 20% just for the impulse running. give in the moment because of a natural disaster, and giving yourself permission in advance to just say yes and be generous rather than being so concerned about where you are going. >> what a great way to plan.

jason thanks very much for sharing that with us. more than 25 years ago, american expressed launched a national campaign telling potential users that each time it received a new card application it would donate a dollar to restore the statute of liberty. new applications skyrocketed by 45% and the company donated $1.7 million to the restoration of lady liberty. that proved that aligning with a cause is a great way to boost sales. it gave birth to cause-relating advertising. as stacey tisdale reports, technology has put some new twists on the trend. >> reporter: when noel was growing up in massachusetts, her family always emphasized the importance of giving back. the last summer being charitable became difficult when she lost

her job. >> when you give or spend when you are unemployed, you know everything is going out, and you have nothing to refill it. >> reporter: but using a website called goodsearch.com, she is able to donate charity simply by using the search union. they are a veteran in the field with 50 million visitors last year alone. the company has raised more than $10 million for charities through more than 1.2 billion charitable transactions. it is one of thousands of companies helping you give without giving. on charity miles, earn $0.10 a file for biking and $0.25 a mile for walking or running for one of nine charities. more than a hundred thousand people have raised more than $350,000 using this site. every time you redeem a coupon, money goes to help feed hungry

children in the united states. the organization has provided more than 1.3 million meals. redeem coupons on good shop.com, and major retailers including amazon, and apple, will give a percentage of your proceeds to the charity of your choice. >> people want to give back, but in this economy, they don't have money, they often don't have time, so we give you simple ways to make a difference. >> reporter: but why would some of the biggest corporations in the world parter in with companies like this? because it is boost their bottom lines. >> they see evidence that they'll get more people to buy their product. >> reporter: a survey found that 89% of participants will be likely to switch from one brand to another that is associated with a good cause. but it's important to give your

cause and your cause-related advertiser a close look. >> you need to look at the finance. and who is in charge, and you need to look for evidence of results, meaning the mission. >> reporter: the meaning of heifer international made it noel's choice. >> they are dedicated to ending hunger through the model if you give a man a fish he'll eat for a day, if you teach a man to fish he'll eat for a lifetime. come up, one small key stroke for man, one giant leap for man kind. see how that could one day lead to colonies on the moon. that story and more as "real money" continues. keep it right here.

we are on the cusp of an extrordanairer are in world history, big business in space. ever since nasa shut down its shuttle program, entrepreneurs have been racing to launch a tour program, and also setting up infrastructure in space so we can one day live there. this is a big vision and has to start somewhere, so tonight i'm taking you to mountain view, california to the labs of

20-some entrepreneurs, who are banking their 3-d space printer with change the space of everything. >> we started building with moon dirt. >> reporter: aaron holds in his hands what he hopes will be the infrastructure of large buildings built in space. >> one day there will be moon bases, there will be habitats on mars. >> reporter: he is partners at made in space with a new breed in silicon valley headquarters in mountainview, california. >> we're young, we work long hours. we're not afraid to try new things. >> reporter: the vision revolves around this tiny printer. they have invented one that has

worked in space and in zero gravity. >> things start floating just a tiny bit and all of a sudden your print is thrown off. so we had to come up with unique ways to control the printing process. >> reporter: they deposit layers of warm plastic glue. >> this object right here is actually built up layer by layer. they are partnering with nasa. it will be launched to the international space station in 2014. >> and lift off. >> up until now everything that had to go into space had to be launched. that was the only way to move things from the surface of the earth into space. and rockets are very expensive and can be risking. by putting a 3-d printer in space, we're knocking down that

first step. by having what you want in space on demand, space is now accessible to an entire new class. >> people will have the ability to literally email their hardware into space. >> reporter: richard branson, elon, musk, and peter are all investing heavily in space. is being a space entrepreneur viable? >> so, listen, it's tough. there's no question. it will be some day the place where a lot of entrepreneurs, like the made in space team can do stuff. today it's an expensive entry price. >> reporter: the challenge is that it takes a lot of capital and work to ever see a profit, but it's a tempting gamble, many believe the first trillionair

will come from space. but they are already generating revenue in the seven figures. >> our goal is to have a billion dollars company within 10 years. we really think that's viable and possible. >> reporter: and they have big plans for their printer. from launching from space and completely changing how we collect energy on space. >> we'll collect the sun's energy in orbit, and transmit that energy wirelessly to the ground. >> reporter: i know it sounds pretty out there, but 3-d printing experts say they are on to something. >> the most expensive thing to do is launch mass into space. and they are solving for it. and it makes perfect sense to me.

>> it has often been joked that it is not a good decision to start a space company. but the payoff can be incredibly large if you do it right. >> the first printer they are sending to the international space station will pretty much be a science experiment. they have preloading 20 parts that they will build in space. once it passes the tests they'll send a second printer into space and that's when they will begin printing parts right on demand. two tech giants are going head to head for your holiday dollars. we'll go behind the hype next on "real money."

the stream is uniquely the stream is uniquely interactive television. interactive television. in fact, we depend on you, your in fact, we depend on you, your ideas, your concerns. ideas, your concerns. >> all these folks are making a >> all these folks are making a whole lot of money. whole lot of money. >> you are one of the voices of >> you are one of the voices of this show. this show. >> i think you've offended >> i think you've offended everyone with that kathy. everyone with that kathy. >> hold on, there's some room to >> hold on, there's some room to offend people, i'm here. offend people, i'm here. >> we have a right to know >> we have a right to know what's in our food and monsanto what's in our food and monsanto do not have the right to hide it do not have the right to hide it from us. from us. >> so join the conversation and >> so join the conversation and make it your own. make it your own. >> watch the stream. >> watch the stream. >> and join the conversation >> and join the conversation online @ajamstream. online @ajamstream. >> for the first time in years, i have to talk about a subject i have been fairly happy to ignore. video game consoles. i don't play games or buy them. but a lot of people do, and millions are spent developing aaron alexis marketing games. and this year is shaping up as

battle between sony and microsoft. so listen up, sony was first out of the box, no pun intended with play station four. the buzz on the ps 4 is it is great for hard core gamers. the price is $400. a hundred less than the xbox. both devices sold more than a million units in the days after the launch. microsoft is marketing xbox as much more than a game system. it can tell your television to channels. the buzz over these new con sells, is it enough to accelerate sales in a console industry that has faced

increased composition from mobile games. today on twitter and facebook i have been asking what does it need for you to buy it l . . . tell me what you think by tweeting me or leave us ament come on facebook. the launch of the new consoles make the 2013 holiday season the most exciting one in near eight years ak a coupling to liam callahan, a games industry analysts for a research firm. it's data shows a 17% jump in the sales of games ending in september. liam, good to see you. >> good to see you.

>> clearly this is the stuff everybody is talking about. what is the big deal with these new consoles. >> first as a baseline, these are bigger badder, meaner machines. you have a lot more processing power, a lot more hard drive space. you have a lot more capable to provide enhanced capability and better graphics. xbox 1 for example, voice come manages, motion tracking. the video feed from your tv. stuff for the ps4, it has functionality where you can actually play the game from your ps-vitae through a wifi connection. and they are trying to be multimedia hubs. areas where you can stream net

flex hula all of that stuff from your console. >> is the idea that people are playing games on their mobile phones eating in these experiences? >> i don't think so. for somebody who is really into gaming. you have different options now. you have your console at home in a different type of setting and a different type of game, and then you have people who are playing on the go, and consuming when you are on the train or things like that. so they are separate in terms of the type of consumer, but they are also complementary, because there are things like smart glass from xbox, where there is stuff that works with the consoles hand in hand with android and ios. so they are not asment competitive as much as you think. >> liam i am not a gamer, but i am a gadget guy.

i want an excuse to have one of these things, but i'm not a gamer. what can it do for me if i don't feel like online gaming? are there things that they offer that take advantage of these glasses and sensors and voice controls that a non-gamer can use? >> yeah, there's stuff for everybody in the family. fitness might be a great example too, where -- where it gets to read -- connect is a great example. it can read your movement and your heart rate. and i think they have a lot to offer, even for everybody like yourself who says they are not really that into gaming, there is something there for you. and that's not to mention the non-gaming things i mentioned earlier. >> one of the neat things about them is so much research and development goes into them that some of the neatest things out

there are there, these people will have experiences with their entertainment system that those of us who don't buy it won't have. so aside from the $99 price difference between the sony versus microsoft, what would you recommending the non-gamer concentrate on? >> i think there's really something for -- for everybody across both of them. it's something you would have to research as your own consumer. you have that connect functionality which is something that people have liked. some of the voice command capability that makes navigating your tv really fun that you mentioned earlier. and on the sony side you have a lot of social functionality, you know, so you get to see what other people are doing in the context of gaming, and i think that really aids the industry broodly, because you have people then discovering content on that device a little bit easier.

so that sort of helps people understand what is cool. somebody like yourself that is not really a game. if you see a video of a friend playing a game, you might check that game out. so there is a ton of things to offer across both of those consoles. >> liam thank you for joining us. as you all get ready to drive home after the holiday weekend my final thoughts are about gasoline. the gasoline fuelled car was invented around 1885, but it wasn't until 1913 that the first place you would recognize to be a gas station was open. until then filling gas was a pain. you bought it from a retailer who sold it to you in a container. the gulf refining company opened the first drive up gas station in pittsburgh. 100 years ago there were half a

million cars in the us. today there are 250 million car, on nearly 4 million miles of paved roads. gas is cheaper today than it was back then. 100 years ago, gas cost $0.27 a gallon. adjusted for inflation, that's $6.39 a gallon today. i'm ali velshi. that's our show. thanks for joining us. ♪

>> hi, i'm lisa fletcher and you're in the stream. the fight over washington's football team heats up. our digital producer wajahat ali is bringing in the online opinions. >> do not mess with them when it comes to this topic, check out my facebook page. we have the rec