happy thanksgiving, everyone. to reporters on the county fair, to goats both fainting and regular, and especially to jose canseco, his girlfriend, and cocoa and chanel, happy thanksgiving from us all on "the ridiculist." that does it for this edition of "360." thanks for watching. crisis averted! millions of travelers making their way home for the holiday, but will the real stars of thanksgiving, the pg-rated inflatable ones, will they fly high or will they be grounded? >> a house of horrors. new details emerging. three young sisters held captive for two years. abuse from their parents. are the retailers taking it

too far now for black friday? happy thanksgiving to you. good morning, everybody. i'm john berman. welcome to "early start." >> i'm pam brown. it's 5:00 a.m. in the east. happy thanksgiving morning. >> the worse is behind us. it is time for the prethanksgiving celebratory distance. the storm that roared across the country this week was enough to slow down traffic but not stop it. >> some airport delays along the east coast. hubs in philadelphia and new york reporting slow downs but most people made it tho their destinations with little or most half. >> the final remnant of the weather system moving over the atlantic today. some spots did get rough weather including parts of michigan. cold air produced snow around the great lakes. tough driving conditions up there. >> a foot of snow in pennsylvania. crews were keeping busy with snow plows and salt spreaders and forecasters worry with the snow and rain almost gone, the

cold temperatures could keep roads very icy the next few days. >> western new york also hit with lots of snow. buffalo and rochester slick conditions for a tough drive and power outages adding to the chaos there. people in the area say no big deal, they are used to this thing and they have to take it slow. >> some people who did not get where they were going for thanksgiving holiday. 30 flights into or out of the united states were canceled yesterday according to flightaware.com and many trips were supposed to arrive or depart from philadelphia and the new york area. >> with the worst of the severe weather behind us now, one big mystery remains, what about bob, spongebob, that is. 3.5 million expected and many tourists are crossing their fingers and praying to the weather gods right now. the 87th macy's thanksgiving day parade set to begin in four hours with high winds whipping through manhattan. snoopy and buzz lightyear and

the rest of the bunch could be grounded. let's get more from jason carroll. >> reporter: the crowds are certainly out here in the upper west side. excited about seeing t ining th balloons in the parade. they are sonic, the hedgehog here and there is hello kitty. 16 giant balloons in all in the macy's thanksgiving day parade. still a question in terms of whether or not they will end up flying. we spoke to the man who is ultimately going to be the one making that decision. he is the instant commander for the new york city police department. he says he is obviously going to be checking the weather reports. they are going to be checking the wind gauges along the parade route as well and the final decision will not come before the parade is expected to start. a lot of fingers are crossed out here hoping that the balloons will end up flying. >> it's deflating to even think about, isn't it, john? if sustained winds in new york city top 23 miles an hour with

gusts over 30 miles per hour the big balloons will not get off the ground in the morning. >> meteorologist jennifer gray joins us. how does it look for the balloons right now? >> the balloons are under the forecast for that criteria. winds forecasted 18 miles per hour sustained with gusts up to 29. if that holds around 9:00, those balloons will fly. it is going to be breezy, though. it is going to be cold. temperatures at 9:00, 31 degrees. winds right now in new york city are sustained at 8 miles per hour with gusts around 26 and around the rest of the northeast it is just the same. we are seeing winds anywhere from 10 to 20 miles per hour with gusts 30 to around 40. when you combine this with the very cold temperatures, 31 degrees right now in new york. 31 in philly. 30 in d.c. when you factor in those winds, it feels right now in new york city like 23 degrees.

so folks heading along that parade route, it is going to be a cold, cold morning and windchills aren't going to get out of the 20s for the rest of the afternoon even. guys, it is going to be cold. it's going to be windy. so bundle up. >> sounds really pleasant. i was walking today and thinking this whole thing could be touch and go. >> absolutely it could. i was thinking the same thing so we will keep our fingers crossed the balloons can fly. >> stay with us for the latest updates. chilly new details emerging this morning about the horrors that three sisters suffered while allegedly held captain inside a tucson home. the girls 12, 13, and 17 were held captive for nearly two years. they lived in filth and their docks were locked and alarmed. they had not showered in months.

the two younger girls told police they escaped after their step-father kicked in their door and tried to attack them. they ran to a neighbor's home who didn't want to appear on camera but spoke to a cnn affiliate reporter. >> we came to the door and heard these children, young people. didn't know who they were because we thought they were our other neighbors, but when we had had the door halfway open and they were in, i didn't recognize them. i said, where do you live? and they motioned to the house over here. i said, we never see you guys. and she said something to the effect well, they don't want us to be seen or something to that effect. >> if they were kids they never came out and played. we have kids all over this neighborhood and they had to try extra hard to keep themselves secluded because somebody would have noticed something, you know? the girls mother and step-father are charged with child abuse and

kidnapping. the step-father is charged with one count of sexual abuse of a child under 15 and more charges are expected. >> horrible story. no time for turkey for the white house technology team trying to fix the obama care website. crews are scrambling to get healthy.gov up and running by the weekend. they are working on an app that will allow people eligible for financial assistance to enroll. it is not going over well with the insurance companies. administration officials say a change in providers is not related to the problems with healthcare.gov. they say hp was contracted this past summer, well before the rollout of the obama care website. a nine-hour standoff between a barricaded gunman and police in inglewood, california, is now

over. two officers were injured and began when the unidentified gunman took his 14-year-old daughter hostage. when police arrived, he opened fire rather hitting one of the officers. another cop got hurt in a fall. the suspect is in custody this morning after finally agreeing to come out of the house with his hands up. the two hostages are safe. no word yet about a possible motive. a new jersey police officer is getting credited for saving a life. officer scott christianger culled a man from a pickup truck in cape may on sunday. gerald ferrell was air-lifted to a hospital and in stable but critical condition right now. he is expected to recover. witnesses tell police that ferrell was riding on a flat tire. his pickup truck was making a loud noise before it burst into flames. >> the cop is so brave too. >> so brave. >> look at that. the truck is still burning right

there. >> unbelievable. now that a black friday has morphed into black thursday, angry shoppers are threatening to both boycott stores that are opening early on this thanksgiving day. they claim black friday has swallowed thanksgiving, robbing workers of the chance to spend time with their families and there is a badge now circulating on facebook. people can pledge not to shop today. they are targeting stores like toys "r" us and walmart and k-mart. k-mart is opening their doors at 6:00 eastern time this morning with plans to remain open for 41 straight hours. >> have you ever shopped on thanksgiving? >> i have not and never will. >> i never have. i wouldn't know how to get out of the house. >> i'm not into it. >> how can you leave the house when football is on? too much football and football. these turkeys are untouchable. president obama carrying on the thanksgiving white house tradition and spared two birds from bath gdger, minnesota.

>> 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. now before these turkeys get away with the power vested in me, i want to grant popcorn a full reprieve. >> plenty turkeys have been presented to presidents all the way back to abraham lincoln. jfk believed to be the first president to spare a turkey. george h.w. bush the first to give an official pardon. in afghanistan, a taste of home for u.s. troops. more than 50,000 fighting men and women are spending the thanksgiving holiday there. it's the military's 12th that have gone -- thanksgiving in afghanistan. they pulled it off with more than 70,000 pounds of turkey. the defense department says it's more than worth it to support the men and women sacrificing so

much for all of us. >> very much worth it and happy thanksgiving to all of them and we appreciate everything they do. coming up, an accused of over the top drug use for more than a decade. the latest on the explosive court case just ahead. time for your morning rhyme. we will read the best ones on the air in the next half hour. >> we have thanksgiving wishes for men and women who serve this country with so much honor. >> i'm stationed at marine core air space in south carolina. i'd like to wish my mom, dad, and little brother in alabama a happy thanksgiving. which rewards her for responsibly managing her card balance. before receiving $25 toward her balance each quarter for making more than her minimum payment on time each month.

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with him to "early start." happy thanksgiving to you.

5:15 in the east. allegations of rampant drug use by celebrity chef n irigell. lawson's husband is tag the stand the day after the court heard in an e-mail that referred to lawson as nigella. max is live from london. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. this is an extraordinary case with lots of publicity here. the court case is about fraud. two of lawson's formal personal shi assistants are accused of charging money on a credit card over four years. the story wasn't getting much publicity until an e-mail to lawson accusing her of being aware of this fraud and allowing it to happen to cover up her

drug use, which is an extraordinary allegation and we may hear more about that when mr. sachi appears in the court behind me today. both of these sisters deny all of these charges. but you will remember there was a famous photo that appeared in some newspapers earlier in the year. mr. sachi with his hand to lawson's throat. he has said in court via his lawyer that he only learned about this drug taking as he calls it, alleged drug taking around the time of that photo. so the world is pretty engrossed in this story and normally, these issues wouldn't come up in a fraud case but these sisters are claiming that anything that they spent on these cards was cleared by the family, so it wasn't fraud. >> of course, she is such a beloved figure there in london. thank you so much, max foster.

appreciate it. tan prime minister berlusconi excelled from service after tax fraud conviction and banned from holding public office for two years. the italian senate ousted him. tensions between japan and china increase over air space rules imposed by beijing. the air space is over a small island chain that china and japan claim the eyelisland as t own. staggering new numbers just relieved by the officials in the philippines putting super typhoon haiyan at 10 million. the number missing remains at

about 1,700. damage from the storm is estimated over 1.4 billion dollars. too spicy for the neighborhood. the maker of the popular this hot chile sauce. i knew i would batch how to say that. let's get back to the story here, shall we? they were ordered to do something about the strong smell coming from its plant near los angeles. people who live nearby say the place is emitting fumes that irritate their eyes and throats. a judge denied a request to shut down the plant and told company officials to shut down the stink as the court takes a closer look at lawsuit from neighbors. >> crazy. cnn doesn't just report on the challenges of holiday travel, we get out there and live it. three correspondents racing from new york to washington on one of the busiest travel days during the terrible weather. this was a television event and really history.

nic robertson tried to go by air and lisa by rail and brian by car. who would get in "the situation room" room the fastest? nic robertson who did it by plane arrived first. it took him three hours and some people thought it was rigged but it wasn't. lisa came in second by train it took her four and a half hours. she was pleased she was able to drink on the plane. brian todd, the driver, came in last, dead last. even running did not help. it took him five hours and 15 minutes. >> love that he is still spreading to the finish line. >> he was smiling almost the whole drive down. the last hour he was getting a little grumpy which is understandable but he made it. >> i spent a good part of the morning yesterday in the car so i can sympathize with brian. coming up here on "early start" they burned his uniform when he decided to leave town and now cleveland basketball fans are changing their tune

when it comes to the king. is lebron james considering change is his roots? the story is up next. i just want to send a shout-out to my two sons caleb and spencer. happy thanksgiving, buddies. i miss you! environment. unless you have the right perspective. bny mellon wealth management has the vision and experience to look beyond the obvious. we'll uncover opportunities, find hidden risk, and make success a reality. bny mellon wealth management. life with crohn's disease ois a daily game of "what if's". what if my abdominal pain and cramps come back? what if the plane gets delayed? what if i can't hide my symptoms? what if? but what if the most important question

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♪ welcome back to "early start," everyone. this is something i never

thought i would see honestly. cleveland cavalier fans cheering on lebron james, begging him to come back home. andy scholes joins us now with the bleacher report. this is a thanksgiving miracle, andy. >> happy thanksgiving, guys. >> you too. what a difference a few years make after the infamous decision, they were burning lebron jerseys in the streets but now many of them have come full circle. last night some of them were handing out come back lebron t-shirts before the game. a group of fans have started a come back lebron campaign going as far to put up billboards around cleveland. the boos lebron usually hear back in his hometown have started to turn back into cheers. the heat beat the cavs and he is serving up thanksgiving dinner. the whole heat team stayed in town to celebrate thanksgiving in lebron's akron state later today. if you're jason kidd you

hold a soda in your hand and tell one of your players to bump into you. it appears kidd says hit me to tayshaun taylor and spills his drink everywhere causing a stop in the action and giving him one time to draw up one last-second play but it didn't work. the nets ended up loedsing this game 99-94 to the lakers. it's thanksgiving. what does that mean? turkey, football, and napping. here is what is on tap today in the nfl. lions are going to host the packers at 12:30 eastern followed by the cowboys taking on the raiders at 4:30. the raiders host the steelers in the night game and kicks off at 8:30. it's rivalry weekend in college football. michigan host third ranked ohio state tomorrow afternoon. if the wolverines shut out the buckeye a michigan car dealership is giving away free cars! now before anyone gets excited about this, ohio state has scored at least 31 points in every game this season. they haven't been shutout by michigan in 20 years. guys, the chances of this

happening are about the same as you winning the lottery. >> i think they are lower than the chances of winning the lottery. >> probably. >> i hadn't seen the jason kidd thing. any repercussions there? it's like cheating. >> i bet he gets fined for it. he kept straight in the postgame show saying i spilled my drink but i think it's obvious. >> happy thanksgiving, andy. >> you too. coming up, the top headlines and everything you need to know for your thanksgiving holiday right after the break. stay with us. i'm a captain stationed with the air force life liner in afghanistan. i'd like to wish my family and friends a happy thanksgiving. i love you! i miss you!

chaos averted. millions of travelers making their way home for the holiday, but will the real stars of thanksgiving, you know, the pg-rated inflatable ones, fly high or get grounded? website work around. they are scrambling to get the obama care website up and running by the weekend and a backup plan the insurance companies may not like. have you seen this in a man in a burning pickup truck. he has a lot to be thankful this holiday season. he is alive this evening thanks to a hero cop. >> amazing pictures there. welcome to "early start" i'm

john berman. >> i'm pamela brown. appreciate you joining us. 5:30 in the east. the worse appears to be over. we seemed to have dodged a bullet from the prethanksgiving storm that slowed travel but not stop it on one of the busiest get-away days of the year. >> maybe not as bad as some reported. hubs in philadelphia and new york reported slow downs but most people made it to their destinations with little or no delays. >> the final remnants of the weather system are moving through the northeast and over the atlantic today. some spots did get some rough weather, including parts of michigan. cold air moved in producing snow around the great lakes. take a look. some rough driving conditions up there. >> up to a foot of snow fell in parts of pennsylvania. crews there keeping busy with the snow plows and salt spreaders. forecasters also worrying even with the snow an rain gone the cold temperatures could keep roads icy the next few days. >> drivers should be very careful there. in western new york hit with

lots of snow. take a look at the roadways in buffalo and rochester. tough drive there with power outages complicating matter. talk to people from the area, they are used to it and no big deal, just take it slow. some people did not get where they were supposed to be going for the holiday. 300 flights into o'or out of the u.s. were canceled yesterday according to flightaware.com. not as bad as many feared but ma many. >> with the severe weather behind us now, one big question remains unanswered. will snoopy and woodstock fly in 3.5 guests, many tourists, are is krog thecrossing their finge praying to the weather gods right now. the macy's thanksgiving day parade is set to begin in 3 1/2 hours. with high winds whipping through manhattan, spongebob and buzz lightyear and the rest of the

game could be grounded. here is more from jason carroll. >> reporter: the crowds are certainly out here in the upper west side. excited about seeing the balloons in the parade. they are sonic, the hedgehog here and there is hello kitty. 16 giant balloons in all in the macy's thanksgiving day parade. still a question in terms of whether or not they will end up flying. we spoke to the man who is ultimately going to be the one making that decision. he is the instant commander for the new york city police department. he says he is obviously going to be checking the weather reports. they are going to be checking the wind gauges along the parade route as well and the final decision will not come before the parade is expected to start. a lot of fingers are crossed out here hoping that the balloons will end up flying. >> i was talking to gary tuchman and jason about this last night. there are balloons that are actually on top of the vehicles. they are called balloonicles. they will be part of the parade

no matter what. >> we will still have some balloons regardless? >> something will be going on even if the big ones aren't flying. it has been a real adventure for millions of americans flying or driving on thanksgiving holiday thanks to that monster nor'easter. meteorologist jennifer gray is here. the question a lot of people are asking -- is the worse over? >> simple answer, is yes. there could be snow on the ground for portions of the northeast including places like upstate new york still dealing with lake-effect snow there. in fact, had impressive snow totals during the past 48 hours or so. in pennsylvania, they had about a foot of snow in some portions and kent, ohio, about 5 inches of snow. we had quite a bit but the big story with this storm was the rain. we had a lot of rain all up and down the east coast and danbury, connecticut, 3 inches of rain and had almost 3 inches of rain in charlotte, north carolina. d.c. more than 2 inches of rain and in new york city, central park, almost 2 inches of rain.

all the way has pushed out and so now we are just left with those very chilly temperatures. in the 30s in the northeast this morning. most of the middle portions of the country in the 20s but it's feeling even cooler. the windchill for today in new york city is not going to get out of the 20s despite the high temperature forecasted to be in the mid-30s. the reason? the wind. we are going to have winds anywhere from 10 to 20 miles an hour gusting even higher but most of your thanksgiving across the country, not so bad. we are going to be cold in the east. mostly sunny in the south and so, of course, the big question on everyone's minds will the balloons fly? guys, right now just below criteria, so hopefully it will stay that way. the winds should be gradually dying down throughout the day, though. >> we hope it stays that way. as jason said, we will find out just before the parade starts whether or thot they will fly. we are learning more this morning about a house of horrors in arizona where three young

sisters say they were held captive for two years. the outside world is getting a first glimpse inside the tucson home where investigators say the girls ages 12, 13, and 17 were held separately. the malnourished sisters told detectives they lived with their doors locked and alarmed and tortured by a barrage of white noise day and night. they described how their mother and step-father monitored their every move. they hadn't showered in months, they say. the two younger girls told police they escaped after their step-father kicked in their door and tried to attack them. they ran to a neighbor's home. the neighbor didn't want to appear on camera but spoke to a cnn affiliate reporter. take a listen. >> we came to the door and heard these children, young people. didn't know who they were because we thought they were our other neighbors, but when we had had the door halfway open and they were in, i didn't recognize them. i said, where do you live? and they motioned to the house over here.

i said, we never see you guys. and she said something to the effect, well, they don't want us to be seen or something to that effect. >> if they were kids they never came out and played. we have kids all over this neighborhood and they had to try extra hard to keep themselves secluded because somebody would have noticed something, you know? >> the girls mother and step-father are charged with child abuse and kidnapping. the step-father is charged with one count of sexual abuse of a child under 15 and more charges are expected. >> an awful story. 37 minutes after the hour. no time for turkey for the white house technology team trying to fix the obama care website. crews are scrambling to get healthcare.gov up and running by the weekend. they are working on an app that will allow people eligible for financial assistance to enroll for coverage without calculating

the exact subsidy amount. it is not going over well with the insurance companies. they don't like working with estimates. they think it could put them in a bad way with the feel subsidies don't equal what they do estimate. >> verizon is out and hewlett-packard is in as the w new -- for the marketplace site. administration officials say a change in providers is not related to the problems with healthcare.gov. they say hp was contracted this past summer, well before the rollout. a nine-hour standoff between a barricaded gunman and police in inglewood, california, is now over and ended peacefully. two officers were injured and and one by a bullet. it all began when the unidentified gunman took his 14-year-old daughter hostage. when police arrived, he opened fire rather hitting one of the officers. another cop got hurt in a fall. the suspect is in custody this morning after finally agreeing to come out of the house with his hands up. the two hostages are safe. no word yet about a possible motive. an incredible story here.

a new jersey police officer is getting credited for saving a life. officer scott christianger pulled a 61-year-old man from a burning pickup truck in cape may on sunday and dragged him to safety. the victim was identified as gerald ferrell was air-lifted to a hospital and in stable but critical condition right now. he is expected to recover. witnesses tell police that ferrell was riding on a flat tire. his pickup truck was making a loud noise before it burst into flames. >> amazing. what a hero there. >> yeah. now that a black friday has morphed into black thursday, angry shoppers are threatening to both boycott stores that are opening early on this thanksgiving day. they claim black friday has swallowed thanksgiving, robbing workers of the chance to spend time with their families and there is a badge now circulating on facebook. people can pledge not to shop today. they are targeting stores like toys "r" us and walmart and k-mart. k-mart is opening their doors at 6:00 eastern time this morning with plans to remain open for 41 straight hours. in afghanistan.

a taste of home for u.s. troops. the military's 12th thanksgiving in afghanistan. it isn't easy giving them a proper holiday meal. that means turkey, more than 70,000 pounds of it the defense department says it's more than worth it to support the men and women sacrificing so much for all of us. >> the least we can do. i know it's very appreciated over there. coming up a deadly crane collapse in brazil. a stadium under construction for next summer's world cup sustaining huge damage. the question is did contractors cut corners to beat a tight deadline? >> i'm staff sergeant sieve via. >> i'm andre. >> here in afghanistan. >> i just want to say. >> happy holidays. >> to jewel and our son sonny here in germany and in clarkesville, tennessee. i love you! this is the quicksilver cash back card from capital one.

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latest on that deadly crane accident at a soccer stadium under construction in brazil. two people were killed and enormous amount of damage to a critical venue for the 2014 world cup. let's get more now from shasta darlington. >> reporter: two workers were killed at the construction site of the stadium set to host the opening match of the world cup here in brazil. accident happened when a crane at the venue felled over and a huge chunk of roofing came crashing down on the site. a tragedy for workers and a blow to brazil as it gears up for this huge sporting event next june. a total of 12 arenas are building built or refurbished for the world cup. the stadium was built by the biggest and best known construction company for the

most popular football club corinthians. we visited the site this week. most of the seats were in and all but one piece of the roofing had been installed. the grass a down. they told us the stadium was 95% done. they also said there would be an inaugural game in january between corinthians and the workers. the accident will delay work. initially stadium official say they will resume construction on monday. either way it's looking very unlikely the stadium will meet the end of december deadline set by fifa and more important it won't be the happy event that so many brazilian fans had wanted. >> a lot of people unhappy people about this. cnn reached out to the construction company and they said the accident is under investigation. there will not be any comment until the investigation has been completed. cnn shares your holiday travel pain. we sent three correspondents on a mission to see who could get from new york to washington the

fastest. nic robertson took a plane and lisa took the train and brian todd took the car. nic robertson arrived first taking the plane. lisa came in second and took her four and a half hours. brian todd, the driver, was last but still sprinting to the finish line as you can see here. it took him five hours and 15 minutes. >> i think brian's producer julian cummings i think he drove last night. he drove down with brian and drove back last night. >> i was with julian at 5:30 in the morning driving around so he was my producer at 5:30 in the morning! >> wow! osha is calling right now. someone has got some explaining to do. >> a fair tradeoff along the way is how that works out. let's look what is coming up on "new day." michaela pereira joins us now! >> we should have done the test who was the most fraslzzled?

i'm going with brian todd. sitting in traffic, don't you think? >> nic robertson is malfeasance somehow. >> we are all together on thanksgiving. a thanksgiving themed show today. obviously, the big story is the macy's parade here in new york. we know millions will be lining the streets of manhattan to watch this in person. even millions more of you will be enjoying the parade from the comfort of your warm and cozy home! now here is the big question, though. will those legendary balloons that tower over the city will they fly or not? the issue is wind. we don't know if the wind is going to tolerate -- is going to stand up to the levels that we need them to stay under for these balloons to fly. so we're going to be along the parade route taking a look at this and seeing what officials are saying and let you know if the parade balloons will be floating or not. you've seen this dash cam

video already and show it to you yesterday. a hero cop risk ing his own safety to rescue the man in the burning pickup truck. the officer will join us live this morning. we will see how he survived that. i can't wait to speak to him in person. >> thank you so much. >> uwelcoyou're welcome. jason flores writes as you eat turkey and pass the gravy, let's give thanks to shos serving in the marines, army, air force and navy. >> love that. >> we do give thanks to all of them. come up with your morning rhyme. tweet us. coming up here on "early start "on we will take you inside syria where official say they will participate in peace talks in geneva but only one

condition. that story after this thanksgiving day wish. >> i'm maria here in afghanistan. happy thanksgiving to my sweet family. my husband who is also in the air force and currently deployed and my family in seattle, thanks for my little goody! finally, to my family in philadelphia, john, patty, steve, mary indicate. mare christm kate. i love you and can't wait to see you at christmas. kate. i love you and can't wait to see you at christmas. kate. i love you and can't wait to see you at christmas. in the morning? yeah. getting your vegetables every day? when i can. [ bop ] [ male announcer ] could've had a v8. two full servings of vegetables for only 50 delicious calories.

[ male announcer ] they are a glowing example of what it means to be the best. and at this special time of year, they shine even brighter. come to the winter event and get the mercedes-benz you've always wished for, now for an exceptional price. [ santa ] ho, ho, ho, ho! [ male announcer ] lease the 2014 e350 for $579 a month at your local mercedes-benz dealer.

welcome back to "early start." the syrian government says it will participate in peace talks in geneva two months from now to negotiate an end to the country's bloody civil war there. a top government official is warning anyone who thinks president assad won't be in the talks is dreaming. here it frederik pleitgen.

>> reporter: they want the talks to move forward as fast as possible and don't want any delays and the talks need to happen without any sort of preconditions. i had an interview yesterday with deputy foreign minister of this country and he shot down the demands the opposition was making before the talks take place. one of the things the opposition wants is they want guarantees that bashar al assad will not be a part of the transitional body that might be agreed upon in these talks. the deputy minister believes assad is the legitimate president of this country and if assad is ousted from office it would have to be the ballot box some sort of referendum. >> our decision is put all that we agree upon to referendum by the syrian people because the syrian people is the owner of the final decision. >> reporter: another thing that the opposition is demanding they want humanitarian corridors set up here in this country for aid to reach some of the areas that are undersiege by the government. the government told us that that

is not going to happen before the conference takes place but it is something they are willing to talk to the international community about to try to make that happen within the next couple of weeks. the big question still is which opposition is actually going to show up at these talks? the syrian national coalition, which is the main opposition group backed by the united states and other western countries, said it will participate, however, the free syrian army, which is one of the main fighting forces here on the ground, has said it doesn't only not want to participate, but it's also not going to agree to any sort of cease-fire as long as these talks are going on. coming up here on "early start," he won $20,000 for this incredible half-court shot! but because he is so honest, he might have to give everything back! that story straight ahead. ♪ it's the night before christmas, ♪

♪ our plan is in place. ♪ we've rigged up a trap to catch sight of his face. ♪ ♪ if only we could, just stay awake... ♪

♪

on this thanksgiving morning cameron rodriguez is hoping he'll have something to be very thankful for and here is why. cameron collected a check for $20,000 earlier this month when he hit a half-court shot right here during a halftime contest at an nba game, but he may have to give the money back. cameron plays on the basketball team at southwestern college in kansas and it's against naia rules for him to get paid for playing. a ruling could come any day now. so we are going to hear from cameron rodriguez later this morning when he joins us live on "new day." that's it for "early well, i'm hoping that the

winds hold up and that we'll be able to see them go through the parade and be up in the air. >> up in the air, the thanksgiving morning, a tradition could be grounded. high winds may keep macy's balloons from flying. we are live from the parade as officials make that call. delayed. we are just two days from the deadline the administration set. will the obama care website will up and running as the white house pushes back another key part of the law? dine and dash, millions set to eat then shop this holiday. more stores open on thanksgiving day than ever before. is it worth the mad rush? good morning and welcome to "new day" this thursday, november 28th. it is 6:00 a.m. in the east. we want to say a very happy thanksgiving to you. chris and kate are off, but john berman is here with me. we are here together on

thanksgiving. >> it's like a thanksgiving present. >> you brought the pie. >> we are all better off without my cooking, believe me. >> well, today, of course, is the big parade. we along with millions of americans are waiting to see if the real stars in the annual macy's day thanksgiving parade will take part. the giant balloons that soar above the parade route. here's the deal, gusty winds here in new york this morning are threatening to perhaps ground the likes of snoopy, sponge bob and spidey. jason carroll is live along the parade route. good morning. when i came in this morning, it wasn't too windy. how are conditions out there? >> reporter: it's feeling pretty good, we've had mild gusts, but nothing major to speak of. if you take a look behind me, you have snoopy, the macy's stars, the sandbags are holding them down for now. in terms of what's happening with the parade and whether or not they are