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Cover Story

Cover Story - Spanish Version

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A Red, White and Blue Halloween

Goblins, ghouls and witches usually visit on Halloween. But this year, the holiday is taking on a whole new look. Many kids are passing up fangs and fake blood. Instead, they plan to dress up as patriotic figures and everyday heroes like firefighters, police officers and rescue workers.

Tom Lee, 11, of Huntington, New York, was a ghoul last year. This Halloween, he'd rather be Uncle Sam. "I didn't want to be something scary," he explains.

Party City, a national chain of stores, has removed fake body parts from shelves and instead is stocking them with the American flag. Another popular accessory this year: red and blue dye. Rit Dye says sales of the colors are up 40%.

Halloween sales have been growing in recent years. The National Retail Federation projects that this year Americans will spend $6.9 billion on Halloween items. That's up from $6.8 billion in 2000. It predicts that folks will spend $1.5 billion just on costumes.

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