>> it's its too tempting not to say it, trains, planes and automobiles. >> say it again, the thanksgiving travel full effect now. but the trip to the family's house might be a rough ride for people along the east coast. good afternoon, i'm suzanne malveaux. >> welcome back. >> good to be back. i was on one of those planes. i did okay. >> you live on planes. >> i'm michael holmes. thanks for your company on this it, the busiest travel day of the year, if you didn't know that already and also if you didn't know it already, that major storm threatening to make it one of the messest all along the eastern section of the country. >> heavy rain, sleet, strong winds, snow, all the above. so you've got to have a patience if you're going to get through all of this. as you see, as you set out for the thanksgiving holiday, what we're watching here, our cameras are looking at live pictures from some of the country's major airports and interstates, as you can imagine, the roads are pretty slick. dealing with ice as well as

freezing rain. >> i hate that ice. that's the worst stuff. aaa says about 40 million of you are going to be driving to your thanksgiving destinations. if you haven't left already, plus for more than 3 million others going by plane, we are starting to see more and more of those things that we feared, flight delays and cancellations. >> cnn crews are in position across the country all those folks out there, covering the storm like nobody else. you got to stay throughout the day to watch. we've got constant updates where they're headed and going next. you'll hear from george howell in upstate new york, alina machado at the world's busiest airport. >> george, let's kick ito with you. clearly going to be a white thanksgiving for folks in the buffalo area. what are conditions like? are they getting worse? are they holding steady? >> michael, suzanne, good afternoon. so yeah, the situation now we do expect lake-effect snow showers

later today. that's a possibility. overnight, we got about 3 to 4 inches. if you talk to any buffalo resident, they're used to that sort of thing. many of them are happy to see the snow back on the ground. they like that sort of thing, but the concern is for people who are traveling millions of people on the roads this wednesday trying to get in position, trying to get in place for thanksgiving. and the big concern is on the roads as things get slick and icy. for instance, here in buffalo right now, i want to go to this other camera we have set up where you can see travelers on this road. the road is clear. the plows have done their job. but we are below freezing. and where things may have gotten above freezing and gone back below, you can find icy spots. so drivers have to watch out for that as they travel from place to place. also, there were some power outtages. many of those power outtages have been remored. we're wait doing see if we get more of the lake effect showers.

>> reggie jo, thanks. try to stay warm there. alina machado is at atlanta's hart field jackson airport. the busiest one in the world. i was just there earlier this morning coming in from baltimore. just got under the radar. there was a lot of rain, but it hadn't really frozen at that point. is it getting worse? >> well, things here, suzanne are looking pretty good. earlier today we did have sleet falling. crews did spend some time de-icing planes in the morning. but things right now seem to be better. it is busy. this is concourse d. there's plenty of people trying to make their flights. these departure boards are looking pretty good. there's a lot of on time departures. we are starting to see some delays creeping up. there's some delays on flights going to new jersey and also up here, if you pan up, you can see philadelphia flights are also delayed. overall, things look great here at the airport, and no

widespread cancellation or delays to report on, suzanne. mikele? >> the weather's a little bit better here in atlanta because it's the destinations that are the issue. alina, you must be happy, yesterday you were in the rain. george, there is more nasty weather on the way. we'll see where it's headed and we'll turn to jennifer grey at cnn's weather center in new york. >> this is basically a rainmaker right now. still seeing a little bit of snow in some interior sections. but most of the east coast all up and down the east coast is just a lot of rain. it is still coming down. and we'll continue to see the rain throughout the day and then in the overnight hours for tonight. some of the snow totals we've seen, up to 10 inches in some locations. could see an additional 3 to inches in places like upstate new york and then 2 to 4 inches of rain across a large portion of the northeast. so the rain will still continue for another day or so. but by thanksgiving, this should all be pushing out, which is

good news. we are going to see better conditions as we get into the thanksgiving during the day. we'll see the sunshine come back out. and so that is going to mean better weather for the macy's parade and all of you travelers who maybe have to travel on thanksgiving day. it looks like most of the rain will be pushing out of the way. after this passes, the rain may be out of the way but we'll still be worried about those winds. we are seeing winds possibly peaking at about 32-mile-per-hour gusts for tomorrow with sustained winds about 20 miles per hour. as we know, that is right on the cusp of whether these wloballoo will fly or not. it looks like a game day decision for the parade. >> keep snoop throw thing there. >> i liked that. jennifer grey, thank you very much. along with george howell in hamburg, new york, an lynnal machado at the busiest airport

in the world. people were calm. it was really early in the morning. >> down here cold. as we say in my country, cold as a mother-in-law's kiss. no disrespect to mother-in-laws. speaking of the busiest airport in the world, something like 95 million passengers a year go across the cnn.com/interactive to see the latest weather and what it's like behind the scenes as the hartsfield-jackson right here in atlanta. fascinating look. >> for the latest weather updates, take a look at the bottom of the screen where you'll find weather conditions for temperatures and cities across the country. going to be following this as people are figuring out how much time does it take to get home, to families and loved ones. >> for once i'm glad to be working on thanksgiving. >> you're going to stay put. i'm taking off again tomorrow. >> you're out again. coming up, the thanksgiving travel frenzy in full swing.

>> reporters are racing from are new york to d.c. to see who gets home first. one is traveling by car, another by plane, another by train. we'll check in with each one this hour. >> the pope has been playing down the law calling for the church to get out of its comfort zone, but will the world's 1.5 billion catholics follow his lead? >> plus, john bon jovi has two high profile backup singers. check it out.pretty high profile. taylor swift, prince william coming up. [ male announcer ] this store knows how to handle a saturday crowd. ♪ [ male announcer ] the parking lot helps by letting us know who's coming. the carts keep everyone on the right track. the power tools introduce themselves. all the bits and bulbs keep themselves stocked.

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. >> a tragic accident today at one of the upcoming world cup venues in brazil. three people were killed when a falling crane struck a stadium under construction. you see the pictures there that we've been getting from sao paulo. authorities say the crane caused part of the roof to collapse. what we're talking about here is a 355 million dollar arena. it's scheduled to host the opener of the 2014 world cup soccer games next summer. still a lot of concern whether the venues will be ready. >> pope francis making his first appearance since laying out his vision for the church. it's 85 pages long. speaks volumes about his priorities, as well. >> the fateful greet the him today for the papal blessing, the audience that takes place every week. ben wedeman says the people seem

pleased with the pope's ideas. he's calling for changes in the church starting at the vatican and addressing things like commercialism, capitalism, how much power the vatican should have. >> and, of course, how the church should avoid the comfort zone. francis writes, i prefer a church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets. rather than a church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security. here's how some catholics are reacting to it. >> the fact that he's a little moral flexible and not so closed off to new ideas does make me more interested in getting closer to the church. >> when i used to listen to the pope, i just changed the channel. but now i really want to listen to what he has to say. >> let's talk about all of this with senior vatican analyst lis john allen. good to talk to you, breaking it down for us, making doctrine make sense. doctrine is not what he's

talking about. this is a han who put out a pep talk, a mission statement, whatever you call it, that he's really connecting with the disaffected, isn't he? >> absolute right. the technical term for this document is an apostolic exortation, a genre the vatican uses to gather the results of a meeting of bishops. i've been covering the vatican for the better part of 20 years. i've seen a lot of exortations come and go. i will tell you, this is the only one i could name that has captured the imagination of the world. in a piecedy yesterday for my paper, the national catholic reporter, i called this francis' "i have a dream" speech because he opens with a dream. he says his dream is of a church that is more missionary focused on reaching out rather than collapsing on itself and more mercy fullest focused on rules that make us harsh judges and more on expressing compassion and tolerance especially for the

poor and as you say, my read of the catholic grass-roots is this is resonating all around the world. >> you know as a catholic myself, this really has gotten a lot of attention. it's captured my attention, as well. you've got a pope talking about things we've never heard before. he's saying look, he's taking on the free market. says trickle down economics doesn't work, that the poor are still poor, the wealthy getting wealthier. how does this translate? will he push for people to change their behavior? we've seen the pope behaving differently than the previous ones. >> i mean, first of all, to be fair we have heard this kind of thing from popes before. there's a long tradition of catholic social teaching that reaches back to leo the xiii. francis is taking this fairly traditional catholic teaching to make sure the free market serves the interests of people rather than the other way around. he's phrasing it in a way both

in terms of his personal lifestyle and also his language that is sort of forcing the world to take note. where does it all go? look, any one figure up to and including a pope has a relatively limited ability to shape the dynamics of a globalized economy. but at a bare minimum, think he is making it clear that the catholic church wants to stand four square on the side of the poor. i think that message backed up as it is by his own personal credibility is something that a lot of people have been longing to hear. >> john, he's certainly the first pope to talk about trickle down economics as something very specific. but what about the role of women? because he still does not believe women should be priests. >> no, but beyond that, what he said is that he wants what he calls a more incisive female presence in meaningful roles inside the church. so to give you a concrete example, i mean it is entirely possible that francis, for

example, might choose to appoint a woman positive in charge of vatican finances or to be the spokesperson for the vatican, that is the most visible figure in the church in some ways after the pope himself. these are not roles that require a sack mental ordination. they don't have to be held by priests. if he does that, in highly visible ways, that certainly sets the tone for leadership by women at the church at other levels. in dioceses and parishes all around the world. i think that's what he has in mind. >> john, always good to have you on. words that resonate with the flock but not touching on doctrine. john allen, thanks for being with us. >> wouldn't that be cool? >> it would be very cool. a lot of changes happening. >> absolutely. all right, now, going to move onto the new u.s. ambassador tore japan, caroline kennedy criticizing china's move to set up a defense perimeter in the east china sea. >> we hope to see a more

collaborative and less confrontational future in the pacific. unilateral actions like those taken by china withnaire announcement of an air defense identification zone undermines security and constitute an attempt to change the status quo in the east china sea. this only serves to increase tensions in the region. >> over the weekend, beijing warned it would take what it called defensive emergency measures against aircraft that failed to identify themselves entering this self-imposed zone. >> it covers a chain of islands long claimed by both china and japan. so the u.s. responded saying this is not going to be acceptable to them by flying two unarmed military planes into that air space that, disputed air space on monday. >> japan flying commercial aircraft through there, as well. nobody's taking much notice of it at the moment. nobody wants a misunderstanding. it's a delicate situation for sure. >> gap releasing a new ad

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so gap is actually being praised for how it responded to a racist attack on one holiday ad. this is what the ad looked like before it was vandalized featuring a sikh american actor wearing a turban along with a female model.

it was seen and sunday was posted in new york city subway's system. the caption reads "make love," followed by the gap logo. there's the after shot when you see what the vandal did to it, make love to make bombs and right under that, someone else it appears also wrote please stop driving taxis. now the senior editor at the muslim guy.com posted it to his twitter account. what happened was gap moved really quickly, thanked him for flagging it. >> and then to show solidarity for diversity inclusion, the company, gap, changed its twitter background to the picture of the original ad. i want to bring in arsalon, the founder of the muslim guy.com. you post the vandalized version on your account after ediagnose on facebook. then it goes viral. explain why this was important to you to post it in the first

place. >> well, suzanne, you know, first of all, my first job in high school was at the gap. i've always been interested in their advertising campaigns. and so one of my facebook friends, a photographer named robert gerhart in new york city took this photograph in the bronx of the subway station by his house, and i saw the racist graffiti say make bombs alluding to the taliban and don't drive taxis. i thought this sucks. i wanted to share it with my 40,000 facebook and twitter followers. gapened spoked immediately directly to me. i've been in contact with gap corporate. the response from them has been remarkable. especially changing their twitter background photo to the sikh model. and you know it, really shows they are dedicated to inclusion and diversity. this is a perfect example of how special media and the internet can be used for good things, as well. >> i suppose like most racist acts, this was ignorant, as well. sort of trying to relate the

taliban with somebody who is a sikh clearly not the same. i mean, this was one incident, too. don't want to make it too out of control here. but what does that indicate to you especially in a city where a third of the population is from somewhere else. >> yeah, you know, michael, i think it's important to keep in mind this also speaks to our traditional american notions of what is considered beautiful. you know, i want to live in an america where a brown bearded man wearing a turban is considered as beautiful as you know, a blond haired white woman in lingerie might be. so i think this sort of goes to what we as americans consider to be beautiful and you know, in a multicultural diverse corrupt like the united states, i applaud the gap for including more multicultural, more brown models in their advertising. i hope many more companies will take that route, as well. >> and arcelon, how have people

responded to you? have you gotten people who are ignorant like those who put on the vandalism, the graffiti or has it been mostly positive? >> you know, suzanne, the response has been overwhelming. i could not even imagine this would become international news. gap and myself received tens of thousands of messages on twitter and facebook thanking us for pointing this out, showing solidarity with the sikh model who is actually an actor and a fashion designer. he's been in movies with luke and owen wilson. it has been a wonderful, wonderful outpouring of support for the gap and for the social medialia campaign. i truly hope that will whenever people see any sort of racist homophobic anti-semitic statements made anywhere on social media, they'll share it with friends to let will he people know what's going on out there so we can make america a

better place for all people. >> noble aims. hopefully successful. thank you, asalan isikof. >> the governments of iran and turkey are calling for a cease-fire in syria before the international peace talks begin in geneva happening next year. at issue is how to end the country's civil war which began back if march of 2011 into more than 100,000 dead people so far in the conflict. a majority innocent civilians. syria's foreign ministry says it is going to send a delegation to the talks. it is still unclear which opposition groups if any will take part. the opposition outside the country says it will go along, but the free syrian army, the guys doing the fighting on the ground, well, this he don't support the syrian representatives outside of the country. so they say they're not going to go. the spokesman for the fsa says the international community has not lived up to previous promises such as aid delivery,

prisoner releases from al assad's jail. they're not going to go. even if some sort of by miracle resolution happens at those geneva 2 talks, the guys on the ground doing the fighting say they're not buying into this. >> not going to happen. now to rome, the italian senate has now expelled former prime minister silvio berlusconi from parliament effective immediately. now, that is because of his tax fraud conviction. berlusconi was sentenced in august to four years in prison, but his punishment was commuted to a year of community service. he was banned from holding public office, as well for two years. >> many, many years that man hat not been in parliament. amanda knox's retrial winding down in florence, italy. she the american woman accused of killing her british roommate back in 2007. meredith kernlgner when they were exchange students. >> prosecutors demanded a 30-year prison sentence for knox

in their closing arguments. the defense attorneys will sum up their case in december with a ruling that is expected in january. now, knox has been living in the united states since her original conviction was overturned. that was back in 2011. >> a says there is a chance the italian condition government could request her extradition if she is convicted this time around. >> we're keeping you posted on the weather, your thankful travel as a nasty winter storm trying to mess things up for a lot of travelers there. two live reports on what you can expect if you are flying or driving. life with crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis

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know, a major storm making things messy for literally millions of people throughout the eastern section of the country on this, the busiest travel day of the year. >> the storm is causing roads to ice over, bumping thousands of planes off scheduled flight times happening just as many people across the country are trying to get out for thanksgiving. take a look at this. live pictures from some of the country's major airports and interstates. aaa saying about 40 million americans are driving pretty long distances to get to their thanksgiving dinners and more than 3 million others are actually flying. >> nothing will keep me from

that table, not from the thanksgiving table. >> we're very happy. >> why? >> as much as we love o'hare, we'd like 0 to not spend thanksgiving here. >> that big green slop coming our direction, time to get out of the way. >> i guess you do it for the food but the family too. >> the family, yes. loved ones and family. for many people. we've got cnn crews in position across the country covering this storm like no one else. stay with us throughout the day. we've got updates. you'll find out what's going on right here. >> shannon travis is in pennsylvania. jennifer grey in the cnn weather center. shannon, do you see a lot of snow in pittsburgh? it's chill u out there, i can tell already. >> a little chilly for anybody who thinks it's quaint to have a snowy thanksgiving, kind of consider this mother nature's gift. but obviously, no one should be fooled because this can be dangerous stuff. it's coming down, coming on and

off in pittsburgh. they're expecting it potentially 5 to 9 inches over the next few hours, between last night and what dropped. i want to show you where we are. we're near the airport at an intersection of road, suzanne, we've been monitoring all day, traffic has been moving. but it seems as if the cars are moving a little bit slowly. we have noticed a number of crews out with salt trucks and plaus to make th s plows to make sure the road stays cleared. this road right here clear as ever because of the crews with the pennsylvania department of transportation that have been out in force. we've been driving around seeing them with the plows and salt trucks. they've been doing a pretty good job. we'll have to wait and see how the snow comes down and if it will snarl traffic any more than it has. suzanne? >> thank you. appreciate that. try to stay warm. >> he looks miserable. no getting back if the truck either. stay out there for the rest of the day.

>> we've got to get you a heavy cnn jacket. those will do the job. >> jennifer grey, meteorologist at cnn's weather center in new york monitoring the forecast and flights around the country. aaa, jen, says more than 3 million people flying to thanksgiving destinations. always freaks me out looking at that map when you've got the planes up. there's too many. >> i know. it's very freaky. each little blue dots indicates a plane. this is current time. about 6,000 planes in the air right now. i can guarantee you all the passengers on these planes, they're thankful because they're going somewhere. they may be a little late because of delays but at least they are in the air. we are still seeing some delays. laguardia, just under an hour, about the same for jfk. philly, just under two hours. and so while those delays still in place, hopefully things will start to get off the ground a little quicker as this system continues to push off the coast.

still a rainmaker though for coastal areas. we're seeing d.c., new york, boston still with that steady rain. most of the snow has tapered off. but still, that rain throughout the afternoon. we could see anywhere from 1 to 2 additional inches around the washington, d.c. area through the afternoon. 2 to 4 as you get up towards boston through the afternoon and evening hours. but the good news about this storm system is, it's getting out of here. this low will continue to ride up the east coast and then push on out. this is new york city. 8:00 tonight. the rain should have pushed out of the area. so by tomorrow morning, thanksgiving, we should see the sun come back out. the only problem, guys, will be the winds. so that's what we're going to be worried about all eyes on the macy's thanksgiving day parade. temperatures in the morning, 27 with a high of only 34. and get this northwest winds at 14 to 24 miles per hour when you factor all that in, the

windchill for tomorrow afternoon will feel like the low 20s. >> so jennifer, i got a quick question for you. i'm traveling tomorrow headed to the d.c. area. am i going to be okay? >> you should be fine if all the planes have caught up. that's the only problem. the delays a lot of times cause that snowball effect. so you know, if planes can catch up, at least sky conditions will be much improved by tomorrow. >> you're getting your own personal travel and winter advisory report here. >> i'm taking advantage of jennifer. i'm like hey. >> good to see you. >> good to see you. shannon, thank you very much. appreciate it. >> get back in the truck. >> speaking of the busiest airport in the world, check out cnn.com/interactive for a look at the latest weather. plus, what it's like behind the scenes in the airport there. go to the web site, check it out. >> it's fascinating actually. 95 million passengers a year. for the latest weather updates, stick with us here at cnn.

just look at the bottom of your screen and see the weather condition nz and temperatures for cities across the country. so you'll be up to date. >> coming up also, a top hollywood producer who was behind the movies mr. and mrs. smith" and "12 years a slave" admits to living a secret life. the bombshell confession up next.

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now to a bombshell confession from one of hollywood's hot shot producers. arnon milchan has produced a ton of movies, pretty woman, l.a. confidential, the fight club. one thing we didn't know about milchan, it turns out he used to be a spy. that's right. entertainer correspondent nischelle turner joins us on

this revelation. really? >> yeah. >> what? >> really. yes, suzanne really. this is the first time that arnon milchan has spoken publicly about this. it kind of blows your mind. but this story, his story sounds like one of the plot lines from the movies that he produces. >> justin timberlake, vince vaughn, brad pitt and angelina jolie, just a few of the stars hollywood producer arnon milchan has rubbed shoulders with, but it's his story that should be made into a movie. the israeli born businessman behind hits like "12 years a slave." >> i have a business proposition for you. >> pretty welcome." >> lit me before i lose my nerve. >> and fight club" says he spent years as an israeli secret agent and arms dealer. in a stunning interview that aired monday on an israeli investigative program, milchan detailed how he was recruited in the 1960s to israel's bureau of scientific relations where he helped gather technology to

further israel's still unacknowledged nuclear program saying "i did it for my country and i'm proud of it." milchan moved to hollywood in the 1970s, but he suggested his efforts on behalf of the israeli government didn't end completely. milchan indicated other big hollywood players were also involved. saying "when i came to hollywood, i detached myself completely from my physical activities to dedicate myself to what i really wanted, film making, but sometimes it gets mix the up." the 68-year-old milchan owns new regency films and has produced more than 120 movies working closely with directors such as martin scorsese and an-oliver stone. he forged i a relationship with robert deneierry also featured in the israeli television program. >> i did ask him once and he told me that he was an israeli and that he of course, would do

these things for his country. >> you want to come to hollywood and act like a big shot without doing anything? >> yeah. >> in a story that seems reminiscent to last year's oscar winning true to life film argue go" that depicted the hollywood collaboration to rescue u.s. diplomats stuck in iran, it's a safe bet hollywood execs will be fighting to bring this story to the big screen, too. now we did reach out to arnon milchan for comment about this revelation but told by his representatives that he was traveling in europe and he was not available to comment at this time. guys, you know, we're gearing up for awards season in hollywood right now. he is a producer on "12 years a slave," widely considered one of the best movies of the year. we just had had the independent spirit award nominations yesterday. those are kind of the best of the independent films that are made every year. he was nominated as producer for "12 years a slave" for an independent spirit. so we'll have to see. covery well be nominated for an

oscar this year for that. >> you wonder how he had the time to do both if that was really the deal, right? >> 120 movies under his belt. he definitely had some huge titles. so yeah, it is a wonder how he managed all those years to keep it a secret. robert de niro in that interview did say he asked him years ago about this, and he did say admit to robert that he was doing it. so maybe some people knew. a couple people knew, but he -- i have been covering, i'll say this. i've been covering hollywood, what goes on there for a very long time. not much surprises me. this is a surprise story. >> this is a surprise. it is worth' movie, too. maybe he'll do his own movie on his life. initial, thanks, appreciate it. >> sure. >> i bet you can guarantee that. still to come here, the thanksgiving travel frenzy in full swing and we are having a little bit of fun with it. we got reporters racing from new york to d.c. to see who gets

home first. there's the new jersey turnpike. we've got one of our guys in the car. there he is. another one is going by plane and the third by train. we'll check in with them coming up. ththe more i want to go back.e, the comfort, the colors, the flavors. a modern city, with history in every corner. ♪ how to expect an 18th century castle in the middle of a huge city. i don't know how to explain it, we just have to go back. mexico city, live it to believe it. i started part-time, now i'm a manager.n. my employer matches my charitable giving. really. i get bonuses even working part-time. where i work, over 400 people are promoted every day. healthcare starting under $40 a month.

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all right. got live pictures for you now from right across the country. the thanksgiving travel frenzy full effect now. we've got three reporters. it couldn't be less scientific but we're sending them out on a quest here. >> here's how it works. they're traveling from new york to d.c., nic robertson traveling by air, lisa day jordan is on the train. brian todd traveling by car. and we've got tom foreman in d.c. tracking them. i want to start off with the guy behind the wheel. he left new york 45 minutes ago. so brian tell us where you are

now. >> suzanne, we're just south of elizabeth, new jersey, approaching mccutchen on the jersey turnpike. my colleagues tom and julian cummings and i are in the car. we're having fun. what we are surprised with is the lack of a backup here. we thought it would be snarled coming out of new york city, snarled in northern new jersey. smooth sailing. i'm not going to get overconfident that i'm going to beat my colleagues to washington but i like my chances right about now. maybe around baltimore, i'll tell you something different. one staggering stat here is that it may stack the odds against me, aaa says 43.58 million people in the united states are going to drive 508 miles or more this holiday, this thanksgiving eve. and 43.4 million will travel 508 miles or more. 90% of them are driving. that means volume on the roads is going to be very, very heavy. that may stack the odds against

us here. so far, so far on the new jersey turnpike, very smooth sailing. it's been surprising to us. >> i might ask which one of you in car is clark griz wald. we'll check in with you later, brian. tom foreman is tracking the competitors. fill us in. >> here are three intrepid travelers. brian was lost for a long time. we didn't know where he was going to be. these are the routes they're trying to cover. 227 driving miles. so you see we've marked brian's route here and lisa's route. the train very close here. brian may be doing well now, but i'm telling you, he better watch the rocky road around philadelphia because it can back up there. lisa has to watch for the one track terror, which means you go from all the tracks open to only one. she could be really, really slowed down and lisa, by the way, has already had a bit of an issue at penn station she tweeted out look at this, no, my train says late. that's her train right there.

but only about 15 minutes late. so she may be able to recover from that. the big story right now has been what's happening with our friend nic because if we go up to a tighter view of new york city, i want you to look what nic did here. nic left our target, which is cnf right here. he went in a cab up this way. he went sort of a circuitious requests route up here this side of the park. then through central park. and then across to the other way over this way. and then up through here. and he's made pretty good progress. the latest report we've heard from nic is right now, he's right near laguardia here trying to beat the queen's gambit and nic may have just picked up an advantage. he had about nine or ten minutes to make his flight. he just sent a message that said the plane is about ten minutes late. if he makes this flight, he suddenly gets a real advantage over team todd and team lisa down here as they try to race down the country. so i don't know who's going to make it now.

>> you'll have to forgive him. he's english. >> yeah, he is. >> yeah. >> but if you're -- >> a round about way to get to laguardia. >> i agree. if you're in laguardia, you're security, clear the way. this guy will be in a hurry. >> yeah. all you have to say is he's english. thanks tom foreman there, appreciate that in d.c. >> i think the train, i think the train's going to do it. >> you do? >> i wouldn't like to be driving. >> we want you to tune into the afternoon and check and see how they're doing and how the travel is going during this holiday season, as well. >> coming up, john bon jovi had two high profile backup singers. talking about taylor swift and the one and only prince william. their an charity royal rockout coming up next. (vo) you are a business pro.

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love this part. prince william showing off his karaoke skills. this is in london last night. check this out. ♪ hold on to what we've got ♪ doesn't make a difference if we make it or not ♪ >> i don't know. not too bad. it is a little bad. >> it sounds like noise to me. >> it's a little bad actually. who is there with him? taylor swift, rocker john bon jovi sharing the stage with the prince. the event at kensington palace for a charity event to benefit the homeless. >> our royal correspondent max foster was also there. >> well, it really was a glittering affair at kensington palace. john bon jovi receiving an inspiration award for his work with the homeless in america. taylor swift flying in. >> i came right off is taken

after the amas and got on a plane and came here. >> what was it like meeting prince william? >> he's funny. >> the fairy tale, is it what you expected here at the palace? >> i love the row man thetized version of life when i write songs. >> he's the prince and i'll be the princess. >> i like to make it more daydreamy. i don't typically right about everyday occurrence oz things that aren't you know life in slow motion and movie scenes and things like that because i just kind of would rather selove that way. but you know, as far as actually getting to be at a palace, i have to say, it's, it, lives up to your expectations. >> reporter: then inside, something nobody expected. taylor swift, john bon jovi and prince william all on stage singing living on a prayer. ♪ living on a prayer ♪

>> on homelessness, it's a cause particularly close to the duke's heart. >> our foundationing in america deals specifically with the homeless issue. we didn't need a scientist to create the cure and it took money and will power. i realized we could affect the homeless issue if in fact, we had the right people. so for eight years now, we've built 350 houses. we've had a restaurant for 3 1/2 years that feeds those in need. >> reporter: this is a cause very close to prince william's point. a cause his mother also supported. she famously took him along to homelessness shelters as a boy and he remembers that. he also spent a night sleeping on the streets of london himself. so he was more than happy to give up his garden for this gala event. max foster, cnn, kensington palace, london. >> you think he can sing? >> heck no.

dplit glittering event though. >> cnn newsroom starts right now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >> right now, a travel nightmare for millions of americans trying to get home for thanksgiving. we've got planes, trains and automobiles facing off against snow, ice and heavy rains. also right now, a thanksgiving tradition about to play out. president obama pardons the thanksgiving turkey live this hour. the question is, are will caramel or popcorn get the official pardon? >> hello, i'm jim sciutto in washington. wolf blitzer is off today. we're going to start with the weather. its impossible to avoid it, itemingly everywhere you look,