>> this is al jazeera america live from new york city, i'm tony harris. the holiday get away in full swing, and weather is still in travel. a new snag with the healthcare roll out. and the u.s. is in the middle of a japan-china dispute. >> the big thanksgiving get away is underway. highways across the u.s. are covered, crowded as people slowly make their way to their

holiday destinations. triple-a roughly 16 million americans, if you can imagine it, will hit the road today. another two and a half million will take to the skies. this map behind me shows you all of the flights look at this! all of the flights in the air right now over the united states. some of storms, hitting the east coast is effecting travel all around the country. we go to jennifer glass at new york's laguardia airport. jennifer? >> reporter: so far so good. on the boards we're seeing very few cancellations and delays. there is whether elsewhere, and that's effecting other airports.

philadelphia reporting two hour delays and tha travel officialsy you shouldn't become come may end. >> with the weather there is scattered delays and cancellations. so the best advice i can give to the air-traveling public is to contact your airplane airlines u come to the airport. >> reporter: and on this busiest holiday day of travel, the security procedures, you don't have to take your shoes off, you can keep light clothing on, and this day, this big holiday brings unique security challenges. >> turkeys are okay to bring. we prefer you bring them frozen, and so do the airlines, but you can bring a turkey on board. >> reporter: we haven't seen anybody walk through with turkeys.

people with pets, luggage, families traveling on this day. this is airport is 30% busier than it would be on a regular wednesday. so far so good here. as i said, the rain here has not really affected travelers. things seem to be moving quite well through the airport, but it doesn't mean that there hasn't been some confusion. we talked with travelers earlier who thought they might have trouble when they got here. >> i got a call from my dad this morning saying that my flight was canceled, but he was wrong. it was a stressful way to wake up. but my flight is totally fine. >> but everyone seems to be moving pratt well. it's quite calm as people get out of work and they start moving, and people will be home for the holidays. >> with i'm making my way out to laguardia in a couple of hours.

i need a clean and green on the roads. diane, how are the roads looking? it looks great hyped you. >> reporter: it's great. it's a sunny, beautiful day, bitterly cold day in chicago. traffic is moving at a fast clip, but unfortunately that is not the same situation in other parts of the country, particularly the east coast. we're hearing about a snow emergency in western maryland. traffic travel hazardous in that part of the country. also places like vermont, new new hampshire, rhode island, there are travel dangers there. if you have to travel and you're going to that part of the country or anywhere for that matter triple-a offers this advice. >> everybody should have an emergency kit with them. plenty of blankets and warm clothes for not just the driver but all passengers as well.

jumper cables with you, plenty of food and water and we're saying cell phone chargers are also important. stay with your car. that's how emergency service personnel are going to be able to final you. >> reporter: the triple-a said it expects to come to the aid of 320,000 motorists over the next few days. travel safely. >> now look, the roads look so good behind you and we had all these concerns and fears, maybe we hyped it a little bit. are fewer people traveling this year? >> they are, actually it's down about 1.5% according to the triple-a, and they attribute that to the economy. they say people are still not real comfortable about their jobs. not comfortable with what their economic situation is, so a lot of people staying put. >> die i don't know estherbrook

in chicago. thank you. let's get the latest on weather conditions, dave warren is with us. >> meteorologist: rain storms and a lot of cold weather moving in, but it's dry. you'll start to see it clear out. this thing is moving every which way. it's up to the south of new england, that warm southerly wind with temperatures in the 50s and 60s here. a mix here as we have the cold air moving in. we have the snow that picked up by the radar, and it's coming in from the northwest. the cold air is moving towards the northeast and we'll clear out all this rain and mix here from i-95 to washington, baltimore, new york, new england, and off to the east. it may end briefly on i-95. it should not accumulate much, temperatures well above freezing, but slippery in some

areas. winter advise advisories in new, and different areas as the rain comes down. the temperatures will drop to below freezing and that comes with a gusting wind. that will be the big story overnight tonight. traveling, philadelphia, jfk, laguardia, washington, d.c. all of these are arrival delays. because of the rain, the low clouds, planes have been arriving in these cities. they're flying out okay but it may take a while for the planes to come in. boston has a 15 minute or less delay. the rain causing these de lanes. tomorrow the big story are the gusting winds and drop this temperatures. we'll let you know what to expect tomorrow morning when you wake up no matter where you are all over the country.

>> the day before thanksgiving is always a busy day to travel especially if you fly. a couple of reports on that. there have been flight cancellations and delays, as you just heard from jennifer glass because of a storm in the northeast. we have a look at how to track what your airport is doing. >> reporter: you can go to www.flightradar.com, and these are all the flights right now in north america. you'll see more than 80,000 flights that are here. the flights in brown have at least a five-minute delay. the flights in bright yellow are on time. this is flight aware.com, and you can this is calle--this is d the misery map. if it's in green it's okay. but if you take a look at this, i'll show you as the storm was heading northeast you could see the misery in some of the airports like the lappet

airport, chicago o'hare in the new york city airports, the misery started increasing. in new york you've got more than 20 flights that had been canceled. you also have some flights that were canceled towards chicago and down south as well. in total flight aware says 252 flights from canceled coming in and within the united states. some people have been tweeting pictures from the airport. this is tweeted from orlando international, reports of three canceled flights, 22 delays, the longest delay is 90 minutes. also you've got this one. some people have gone to the airport today expecting delays. so this person bryant white went to the airport at 4:23 p.m. he said it would an mad house, be there two ours early. his feet are up and empty chairs

behind him. and jason in dc, we're early, super early. safe travels to those who are on the road. he tweeted this at 1:48 a.m. tony. >> good stuff. thank you. we'll tweet later from that airport and see how it goes. it's the annual presidential turkey pardon but this year there was a twist. president obama pardoned two birds, but only one gets to be the national thanksgiving turkey, and the winner is popcorn. seen here. but carmel, we understand, took his loss in noble stride as did the president with this important event. >> the office of the presidency, the most powerful position in the world brings with it many awesome and solemn responsibilities. this is not one of them. generally speaking, thanksgiving is a bad day to be a turkey. especially at a house with two

dogs. >> the white house says vice president joe biden will work to ease tensions between japan and china. frictions between japan and china have been rising over disputed islands in the sea. the islands are claimed by both countries. vice president bide someone scheduled to visit china, japan, and south korea next week. another set back for the affordable care act. the white house said it will wait until late next year to launch an online insurance exchange for some businesses. this hazard they try to teal with the fall out. mike, we're heading to the holidays. for any good time to release this kind of bad news. >> with yes, like the roll out of healthcare.gov .

that website was supposed to be up and running on the 1st. now there is another log on the fire of opposition. this is coming from among the republican. now they've called it another debacle. if you own a small business you are not scheduled to offer health insurance to your employees. but the house and set up as part of that act a website, you can go to this website and shop for your employees. they were so caught up trying to fix the other problems, the larger problems, they haven't been able to get to this. that's going to be delayed. if you're god, your employer can act directly through insurers

and other agents who will be able to help you. the vast nort amount of people e healthcare.gov website. all eyes will be on that website to see if they've come up with better functionality after working around the clock the last two months to make it right. >> you know that ex-preparation progression that it could still be worse. there are blend of things with the side and the roll out. >> administration officials pointed out time and time again the problems don't effect the vast majority of individuals in their country who get their insurance italy their inters. that's one thing. march 31st is the deadline by which you can go to healt healthcare.com and enroll. you must if that's the route you're going to take.

by the time they get this you will straighted out there will be plenty of time to enroll, tony. >> iran's foreign minister with a deal with wide public neither calls for the easing of some sanction it is iran rolls back advances in its nuclear program. meanwhile they're calling for a key cease-fire in syria. it's an unusual call from both sides and iran supports the syrian regime and turkey supports the rebels. >> reporter: they have called for a cease-fire. they had made this part of a

two-day trip. they said this crisis in syria needs to end and all parties need to work together. that, of course, includes syria. and they're calling for elections to be held but not for the mood of it. and the crisis is spilling over in turkey's fall out. for once, the tensions over the last couple of years which have become quite bitter just regarding this issue in syria and other regional issues, for once they agree that what is happening on the ground in syria could tell a very different story. >> thousands of protesters have taken over yet another government building in thailand. they say their prime minister is corrupt and want her to step down. protest began as hundreds of thousand took to the streets.

a group has been camping out in the those of finance. and taking action against u.s. drone strikes in the country, the group reveals they have the names of two c.i.a. agents in the country. they want the agents to be tried. five week were killed when a drone struck a seminary. three of the dead are believed to be afghan parties. when we come back, the event that put chicago on the world map. an exhibit that shows off the quinney city owindy city of yes. we have another bit coin story

for you when we come back.

>> every weeknight on al jazeera america change the way you look at news at 9 pm with an encore at midnight, go deeper on the nations top stories with america tonight >> a fresh take on the stories that connect to you... >> investigative journalism that's engaging, powerful, thought provoking... >> there's nothing but hopelessness... >> it's either kill or be killed... >> america tonight, right after live news at 8 and 11 eastern. >> welcome to al jazeera america i'm john seigenthaler, and here's a look at the headlines... >> al jazeera america, there's more to it.

>> this thanksgiving jews across the country will be celebrating hanukkah as well. they'll be celebrating as sun sets, and that will be unusually earlier. the menorah in washington, d.c. will be lit to honor the eight days that a mall amoun small aml that burned in the temple. this year it looks like potato pancakes, turkey on many tables across the country. historians call it the fair that changed chicago. it was the fair of 1893. many say it led to the rebirth of the windy city. >> reporter: they called it the hoyt cithoytthewhite city, the t

transformed chicago. the world's fair of 1893 put chicago on the international map. now an exhibit in the city's field museum is celebrating it's arrival on the world stage. >> i think it's the moment that chicago became a world class city. the potential was there. the wealth was there. the industry was there. but until the 1893 world fair there wasn't a coming together of all of those factors, and focused on the real assertion of chicago as a world city. >> reporter: the city that was built was an architectural marvel. built on an nearly two-year schedule using thousands of workers costing dozens their lives. >> there were other world fairs

but this one was industrial and enormously successful drawing millions of visitors. chicago's world fair was also improbablebly big. full villages from across the globe were shipped to the city's big shoulders. the emblem of the fair was this massive wheel soaring 100 feet higher than the wheel that now anchors the navy pier. >> people came here to look at the future. >> it was short lived. a white city built on a swamp was torn down as soon as the fair ended. the world fair renamed chicago. but 120 years later its hard to find a lasting remnant on the city's landscape. this is one of the few. it is now chicago's museum of science and industry. but then it was a poll has of fine arts. they needed one permanent structure to safeguard the

masterpieces of the day. >> reporter: the meteorites, artifacts and fossils now reliving the landmark fair. al jazeera, chicago. >> so on wall street investors have plenty to be thankful for, yet another record. the dow gaining 24 points. the blue chips have set all-time highs every day since last thursday, 44 record finishes. 44 this year alone. the s&p 500, a record there as well. coming on news of a big drop in unemployment claims. some optimism for retailers ahead of the start of the holiday shopping season which kicks in tomorrow. a new survey shows consumer sentiment jumped. before it said americans have an improved outlook on the economy.

especially upper income families. if you plan to do your holiday shopping with bit coins. you're in luck. it's value continues to soar. it broke the $1,000 barrier. we can't wait to talk to nicole to talk about black friday, the myths and facts around it. financial journalist nicole, always great to see you. >> reporter: i already know what i'm getting you for christmas. >> don't tell me. i want it to be a surprise. >> it has to do with something with bit coin. >> ugh. >> i--you. >> you know, i don't understand. i need to take time and understand it better. let's talk about black friday. there's a lot for us to cover. when it comes to holiday

discounts. you're here to tell us that you don't always get what you pay for. a few ways that the retailers try to fool us. >> retailers work with their suppliers for months to factor in that discount. i don't know if you're using bunny ears, but it is that. that sweater, for example, that was supposed to retail for $70 was supposed to have the profit margin of that for the fantastic deal of black friday. >> give me just enough time to play a little fact or fiction. >> reporter: go. >> the best deals are for folks who are actually the door busters, the one who is are at the beginning of the line bright and early tomorrow? >> reporter: fiction. do not camp out unless that is your thing. pack up your tent. do it from your house, go online, most of the good deals are on social media.

check out facebook and twitter. >> i heard that high-end stores, sacs, bloomingdale's, they don't do black friday. >> fiction, again. a lot of high end stores are also getting in the game. but check out their outlet places. >> black friday deals with with the best deals of the year? >> reporter: not necessarily. that's fiction as well. some items like toys, they are best priced right before christmas. coates are best priced right after christmas, and t.v.'s, in february. this is a lot of marketing hype, happy shopping. >> happy holidays, nick, we'll get you back early and often. >> thank you.

[♪ music ] >> jessica t aff with the sports headlines. one of the teams in the nfl are courting controversy. >> reporter: yes, walter thurmond suspended for the nex g the league's substance abuse policy. and tate when he heard the news that wide receiver he called his team selfish. the fans in seattle, you're thinking more of yourself. that was a selfish move on both sides part. thurman with concern, and they're second in the nfl in total defense. trouble in the college ranks. jajameis winston may be on his y

to new york for ruling on an leamed rape case. they need two weeks or longer to decide whether to bring charges against the heisman candidate. the rule willing not come before the holiday. it all assures that winston will be able to play in the championship game on december 7th in charlotte. and that is a look at sports headlines at this hour. >> jessica, appreciate it. we'll see you later. the icy comet could be making a spectacular tomorrow as it passes earth. it will either break up as it reaches earth or explode. we'll have much on the i comet. >> protecting user data, we have that coming up. >> and i'm john terret with the big balloons of maci's thanksgiving parade.

will they fly tomorrow morning? right now that's up in the air. power of the people until we restore

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. here is a look at tonight's top stories. millions of americans are on the roads, rails, and in the skies. it is the big thanksgiving get away. people who drive to their destinations will face crowded roads. those who fly could days delays due to a big storm in the northeast. the obama administration said vice president joe biden will be backing up japan in disputes against china. china has raised tensions by setting up an air defense zone around islands claimed by both countries. and it's the annual thanksgiving turkey pardon. but a break in the tradition. two lucky birds were granted

clemency, and it was legitimately a turkey of a contest. i'm not sure what that means. a weather forecast could be bad news for "spider-man" and hello kitty, a few of the balloons that could be grounded from the new york macy's parade due to high winds. john terrett live, john, what is the weather like where you are? >> reporter: funny, very funny. it's raining very hard, and you know that. this is snoopy, woodstock is up there. and it's absolutely raining cats and dogs. this is a very, very messy storm. it's the one that hit the midwest earlier in the week. it's hea here right now. it's not the rain so much but the wind. if the wind is stronger than 23 mph sustained or stronger than 24 mph gusts. then the big balloons, and this

is just one of 16, they won't fly. the evil news elves put out the decision that macy's was not going to fly the big balloons. they said, no, you must turn in at 5:00 a.m. and be prepared to fly the balloons. they're going to make a decision on whether to fly these big boys just before the parade starts at 9:00 eastern tomorrow morning. the show is on, but the only question is can the big balloons go up? >> sometimes you have to find the journalism in this report. but here's the thing. the parade, as you know, has a really colorful history. what are some of the highlights? >> reporter: yes, regretting putting that question in now but i have a load of notes, and they've been completely washed away. you placed some pictures over the top of me, and from memory.

>> it's snoopy. it's all about snoopy. >> reporter: you're looking at snoopy? and i might tell you about spongebob squarepants. bus spongebob squarepants, he is brand new this year. they punctured him at the end of last year' parade. and the one you'll see quickly is the one new one. the first parade in 1924, macy's says this is the 87th parade. it doesn't work out mathematically but i think there were two canceled during second world war. 50 million watch this every year on television, and tomorrow we're going to have 16 of big balloons, 30 small balloons, and 11 marching bands and 1600 majoreths and cheerleaders. >> we're going to add another hit in ten minutes. don't go too far. thank you, john.

during the holidays travelers prefer renting or a house rather than staying in a hotel. it is a business that has become increasingly popular and profitable, and it is one that lawmakers are trying to regulate. >> reporter: an advocacy group that has collected 240 signatures in support of a popular site among travelers for short-term rentals. and recently they held a meeting to ask questions and create awareness about a practice that is normally kept hush-hush. >> australia. >> reporter: dave can tell a little bit about each person that has stayed about his brooklyn apartment over the last three years. he rents out one of his bedrooms for $75 a night through short term rental sites. >> if you want to stay in a hotel, that's a whole different experience but staying in a home let's you know what it's like to

stay in the city. >> reporter: travelers type in the location, 34,000 cities to choose from. the site has more than 29,000 listings. prices go from yo to up to a thd dollars a night fo for a place n soho. >> i would say it's most of my new yorker. >> some new yorkers have made a business of it, in rare cases making hundreds of thousands a year, and oftentimes they're breaking the law. new york fo forbids rental of my units unless they're there the whole time. >> this is so critical to this. >> david and hundreds of other new yorkers recently met to discuss the challenges ahead. >> it's most important to

protect our users and our hosts. this is a fight whether we're going to turn over people who use it over to the government of new york or if we're not. >> with they're targeting the 15,000 people who they say are running illegal hotels and dodging hotel taxes. they say it offered to collect the nearly 15% tax but by law it's not allowed to. >> the meeting was a rare chance to hear renters talk openly about what many see as a private matter. >> do your neighbors say anything to you? >> um, no, bus because i don'ty anything to my neighbors about what they do in their house. what i do in my home is my business. >> no one complains? >> no. >> but that's not always the case. some neighbors don't like the steady flow of strangers. one neighbor hired a private detective and he caught a tenant

renting their one bedroom for more than $200 a night. the proof was enough to evict her. >> it's really illegal. as landlord i'm liable if anything happens to one of these illegal tenants. third, i'm responsible for the safety of my tenants in my building, and i can't do that. >> reporter: each side has a stake in the fight, and how it plays out in new york will likely set precedence for the rest of the country. >> reporter: they're talking about squashing the attorney general subpoena. they stress they only want information about people who are not present in the argument while they rent it out. that does not pertain to dave, who we saw in our story. he and his wife stay in their unit while their guests are there. >> i know you there's that point, and it's supposed to simplify the argument here but i'm still confused which is why

we brought in al jazeera legal contributor, jamie, i haven't seen you in years. it's good to see you. people have been doing this for years? people have been renting, out, swapping, i'm going to go on vacation here, you use my place, what's the problem here. >> reporter: it is big now. >> the size of it. >> reporter: the size of it. they took it to a whole new level. it is now huge. first of all, the internet made everything bigger and easier. now we're talking about thousands of people doing this. and now it's above the radar. we're not under the radar. and what the attorney general is saying is that we're not targeting the little guy-- >> you don't believe that? >> i don't believe the a.g.? >> you don't believe the a.g. doesn't want everybody, that they just want the big fish. >> what he says is he wants the person who has turned this into a commercial enterprise. >> it is lucrative for some people. >> it is lucrative for some people, and those some peoples say look, whatever i do in my

home or property, even though it's become a commercial problem, it's my business. >> what is the problem with that? it is my home. >> home is home, and business is business. and we have commercial zoning, we have residential zoning. we have hotel zoning. we have b & b zoning and we have those things for a reason. there are policy reasons for the laws we pass. the one passed in 2010, the one at issue here. if you're living in a residential community it starts to change the majority of people in that community begin to rent it out for long periods of time. >> i rent, i'm a landlord. i rent out a space. >> yes. >> that's not in the contract that you can do this. >> that's right. >> so i mean on a certain level why is this even controversial? why is it complicated. >> you're making a very good point. a lot of these people may be

violating the rules of their condos, the rules of their development. sometimes they're not. sometimes they're living in homes that have no rules or regulations. free standing houses. one home in los angeles that is part of this litigation in new york, in silver lake where we're watching very closely of what happens in new york because they have free standing homes that are being rented out. >> what is your thought? >> well, the first question is can the attorney general get his hands, there are privacy issues. they want to quash that subpoena. then it goes forward, if he can get that, then it goes forward to trial. look, it's not the end of ab & b, it just means that they might have to operate under rules and regulations like regular renters do. >> that's terrific. and of course there is a lot of other news to report tonight. richelle carey is covering that for us.

>> reporter: the prime minister of latvia has resigned over last week's deadly roof collapse. he said he accepts full responsibility for the tragedy. the collapse in riga was the worst disaster since latvia had declared its independence from the soviet union. a raid and arrest of a radical religious group. homemade bombs from discovered in that raid. the men were described as being part of a radical organization of islam. they were trying to recruit new people to the group. two people are dead after a crane collapsed in brazil. it happened at the stadium where world cup matches are set to take place. it's unclear whether workers railroad civilians were crushed

from that collapse. zero emissions all-electric car is stealing the spotlight. honda has come up with a technology that can replace battery-powered cars. honda unveiled it's concept car at this week's auto show. the five-passenger hydrogen cell powered vehicle is expected to launch in 2015. and finally a kim jung-un look-alike is turning heads in hong kong. he bears a shocking resemblance to the north koreaen leader. howard. you have to call him howard because he's not giving out his last name. but he's giving out hand shakes and he did a rare meet and greet on the street today. anybody you look like? >> no, i wonder if this guy likes hennessy, or omstad. i might have that wrong. terrific news on the car. >> reporter: yes, it's fantastic, i know.

>> because if you can work out the battery issue and you don't need a battery moving forward, that's the sticking point. >> reporter: apparently we're close. >> we're close, right? appreciate it. >> reporter: thanks. >> the former italian politician silvio berlusconi is out. he is vowing, and this won't be surprising to you, to continue to leading the country. barnaby phillips is in rome, and he tells us what is next for berlusconi. >> reporter: he is on the sidelines of politics. he lost that directly to political power which he has enjoyed for two decades here in industry italy. i havitaly. he remains a very wealthy man, and that gives him influence. remember he controls a media empire. he has television stations, newspapers to project his point

of views. his own section will remain loyal to him. within with the last half hour or so he has been telling supporters that this is a bad day, a leak day for italian democracy as far as he is concerned but he'll carry on fighting. he has been the dominant figure from 1993-on wards. i think the bravado that you heard today. despite the enthusiastic reception which he got from his supporters here in the center of rome, there is a section that we are nearing an end of an era. i know it's dangerous to say that in relation to berlusconi. the loyal power is ebbing away from him. >> new chance in technology. a virtual where a scalpel is

never used. we have more on athletes are head concussions. jessica taff with more on that. job creation... climate change... tax policy... the economy... iran... healthcare... ad guests on all sides of the debate. >> this is a right we should all have... >> it's just the way it is... >> there's something seriously wrong... >> there's been acrimony... >> the conservative ideal... >> it's an urgent need... and a host willing to ask the tough questions >> how do you explain it to yourself? and you'll get... the inside story ray suarez hosts inside story next only on al jazeera america

>> performing an autopsy with the scalpel could become a thing of the past because doctors can now look insid inside the humany with the click of a mouse. we have more now. >> reporter: it's the stuff of science fiction. exploring the human body after death without a scalpel touching the skin. this facility is home to the digital autopsy center where pathologists can conduct post mortems with the click of a computer mouse. the virtual exam keeps the body

intact and sees things that are difficult to find in a traditional autopsy. >> we have had the scan and we know where the bullets are to begin with, we know where the tracks of blood is before you touch the body. it's a huge help. >> reporter: this is a typical ct vanner. when the body is brought in, the body it put here, and within seconds 25,000 images are taken. >> reporter: those images are transformed into a 3d pictures. >> we have various tools used to deject with. we're looking for any abnormalities, any injury, any foreign objects while doing so. >> if i wanted to focus in on something, let's say the kidneys, how do i do that? >> we have a function for special areas of interest.

the kidneys, for example, looking at the surface, any signs of injury. we can also have a closer look. now we can see the inside of the kidneys. >> reporter: the results of the autopsy can be ready the same day, in most cases. ideal for criminal investigations. and for those who have lost a loved one, it's an alternative for thos traditional autopsies. the technology cannot identify certain diseases, but right now it allows the computer to go where the knife can't. al jazeera, england. >> jessica taff is here with a

day in sports. you're starting with a story of inspiration. >> reporter: yes, jim was a player in the major leagues for ten years won a gold medal for team u.s. but he considers giving back to be his greatest achievement in life. when jim abbott pitched a no hit center 1993, he did more than commit himself in baseball history. the became an inspiration for those who felt because they had a disability couldn't go after their dreams. >> i think it provides a wonderful message to people, and it doesn't matter how you do it. it matters this you can do it. >> reporter: 20 years later joe rogers, a senior hockey player at notre dame looks back at that no-hitter and a message. like abbott, rogers was born

without the use of his right hand. when rogers met his idol there was an instant connection. >> when i was 16 years old i was invited to an awards banquet. he was receiving his lifetime achievement award. my idol, i went up there and shook his hand. wit seemed like i was the only person in the room even though there were several around. >> it's the stories of meeting young people like joe and other people around the country, you know, who said, wow, if you can play baseball, i can be an ice hockey goalie. >> reporter: that's exactly what joe rogers did. he played hockey. not once did his parents tell him he couldn't play because of his disability. in fact, they pushed him to play the sport that was in his family's blood.

>> my dad played, my uncles played. my grandpa used to have the river in the backyard plowed off so his kids to play. i was just under two years old before i put on my first pair of skates, i couldn't walk and i was out on the ice learning to skate. >> reporter: while his idol had to overcome the challenges of fielding, rogers had to get creative holding a hockey stick and glove. he found a way to customize his own after becoming a goalie.