making news in america this morning -- on thanksgiving morning. turkey gives way to brown thursday. lines are already forming as millions of us get ready to hit the stores in search of the best bargains. will they fly? the iconic big balloons, a staple of the macy's day parade, under nets right now. will the wind let them take to the air? moment of impact. the frightening new video shot as the tornado roars through the midwest. and the damage that was left behind. and last-minute tips for cooking that turkey. our expert answers questions about how to make the bird today's star of the show. happy thanksgiving,

everyone. thanks for joining us on this thursday morning. i'm diana perez. >> and i'm rob nelson. happy thanksgiving, everybody. filling in today for john muller. hope you're having a good start to your holiday. and of course, many americans are forgoing the traditional turkey dinner to cruise for bargains instead. >> some have been in line for days, waiting for that black friday for the doors to open. so, is it all worth it? abc's tahman bradley has the inside track. >> reporter: no turkey for these bargain-hunters in ashwin, wisconsin. instead, they're lined up at best buy, waiting for brown thursday deals. >> mainly for the cheap laptops. they're like $177. can't beat that price. >> reporter: and you can get those special offers tonight. black friday eve. ♪ go, go, go, go, go shop, shop, shop, shop ♪ >> reporter: 140 million americans are expected to shop in stores and online this weekend. doors opening at a number of retailers tonight. and are luring you in with eye-popping deals.

>> the american consumer likes to feel like they're out there getting a deal. >> reporter: toys "r" us, opens at 5:00 p.m. there, you can get the razor crazy cart at $299, $100 off the regular price. walmart opens at 6:00 p.m. they're enticing customers with this 32-inch hdtv for just $98. and kohl's are letting shoppers in at 8:00. with offers of $15 boots, $40 leather jackets and a fleece top for 9 bucks. if you don't want to deal with the madness in stores, you can go online right now. target, kmart and sears are among the retailers offering online savings before cyber monday. not everyone's happy with the shopping now starting on thanksgiving day. the owner of this sears in plymouth, new hampshire, decided she's staying closed. >> we're not going to allow corporate retailers to rule over our family values and take this away from us. >> reporter: the manager of a pizza hut in indiana, says he refused to open his store today and was fired. pizza hut announced late

wednesday, it offered him his job back. tahman bradley, abc news, washington. >> if you do go out today or tomorrow, just take it easy. don't trample anybody. let's all just stay cool. >> the deals usually last through the holidays. you'll be able to find it again. >> it will be all right. thanks for that report, tahman. the nightmarish trek to thanksgiving dinner didn't turn out, though, to be nearly as bad as travelers had feared. >> 300 flights were canceled. but it was smooth sailing for most passengers. and that's probably because so many people decided to leave a day early to beat that storm. but for those traveling by car, there were a number of crashes on the slick roads. and blustery weather in new york is threatening to ground the iconic balloons at the macy's thanksgiving day parade, the biggest of the country, by the way. the balloons are all blown up and ready to go. but officials will decide this morning if it's too windy to send them up. and the first family shared the thanksgiving spirit at a washington, d.c. food bank. president obama, the first lady, as well as daughters, malia and sasha, and first grandmother,

marian robinson, all handed out the necessary fixins for a fine meal. today, the obamas will spend the thanksgiving holiday at the white house. and two very lucky birds will not end up on the thanksgiving table today. president obama carried out the traditional turkey pardon yesterday at the white house. caramel and popcorn will spend their retirement years at a virginia farm, unlike many of their colleagues. >> at least we saved two. >> yeah. there was much more serious business at the white house yesterday, as well. the nation's small businesses were told that they'd have to wait another year before signing up for health care coverage online. abc's devin dwyer has more. >> reporter: the technical glitches at healthcare.gov have claimed another victim. this time, online insurance signups for small businesses. now delayed for one more year. it's the latest embarrassment for the white house, which had hailed the new system. >> this is good news for small businesses that want to provide insurance to their employees. >> reporter: those businesses

forced to use old-fashioned paper applications or insurance brokers to get coverage. as for individual shoppers, the obama administration says their website will be fixed by sunday. though officials are already lowering expectations. >> to be clear, november 30th does not represent a relaunch of healthcare.gov. it is not a magical date. >> reporter: maybe not magical. but a promised vast improvement. the white house says 50,000 users will be able to log-in and shop for insurance policies at the same time. >> look, the rollout of new health care marketplace was rough. and by the way, the website's continually working better. so, check it out. >> reporter: to republicans, the latest setback is suspicious. house majority leader eric cantor saying, quote, once again, president obama has tried to bury bad news around a holiday, hoping nobody will notice. tech teams are working on the website around the clock. even on thanksgiving day, to meet that sunday deadline. there are no guarantees those fixes will hold. something that has the white

house very nervous. devin dwyer, abc news, washington. >> thanks, a lot, devin. in other news this morning, a los angeles area hostage situation has now ended with the gunman's surrender. authorities say the mother and her 14-year-old daughter who had been held for nine hours are now safe. when police first arrived at the scene, the gunman opened fire, hitting one officer in the chest. his protective vest saved his life. police in arizona are pouring over new evidence in that house where three sisters were held captive for years. and they have a journal that was kept by one of the oldest girls. the girls were discovered tuesday when two of the sisters escaped out of a window and ran to a neighbor's home. tucson police say the girls were held by their mother and stepfather. that house, by the way, was set up to ensure that the victims were always kept apart. >> the hallways were shielded. it was kind of like a tunnel, that they would build with sheets and partitions to take them directly to the bathroom and back. there's a sense of isolation and

loneliness that was established for these girls. >> police say the older girl's journal contained one of her most prized possessions, a photo of singer enrique iglesias. they say it probably helped her cope with the isolation. >> that story, disturbing on so many levels. and in brazil, part of the soccer stadium hosting next year's world cup opener has collapsed, killing two workers. construction on the stadium was nearly finished when a crane crashed into a 500-ton metal structure. the stadium's outer wall, several rows of seats and a giant l.e.d. panel were all damaged. the accident could delay completion of the stadium by its december deadline. and there's retaliation in pakistan for u.s. drone strikes. a political party there has identified what it says is the cia's top agent in that country. and demanded that he be tried for murder. the leader of the party says the drone strikes anger the pakistani people and that strengthens the militants. u.s. officials are not confirming the agent's identity. well, hanukkah is under way.

the earliest, in fact, it's been in more than 100 years. incredible. >> amazing. in israel, the festival of lights is celebrated with the traditional jelly doughnuts. europe's largest menorah was lit in front of the brandenburg gate in berlin. and in washington, jewish leaders used a cherry picker to light the menorah just south of the white house. >> a term people are using this year that i like is thanksgivukkah. and hanukkah is early. so, thanksgivukkah. >> i'm waiting for the song to come out. >> i like that. time, now, for your thanksgiving forecast, everybody. after a few days of some pretty wicked, nasty weather, today will be virtually dry from coast-to-coast. the only exception, some light snowshowers around the great lakes. and also a bit of rain in southern cali. >> you can expect frigid temperatures in the northeast and around the great lakes. high 20s and low 30s, all below average. otherwise, you'll see typical reads of 40s, 50s and 60s. even a couple of 70s. we're looking at you, miami.

>> always looking at miami. all right. coming up next, some airlines in the news. including an update on the making of the world's biggest airline. meanwhile, what could really be a happy thanksgiving on southwest airlines flights today. we'll tell you why. and while we're talking about things flying around, one comet's incredible journey that could come to an end today. its incredible speed, coming up.

and welcome back, everybody. watch for the american airlines/u.s. airways merger to take off early next month. a judge yesterday approved

american's plan to upset bankruptcy. the two airlines will function separately for about a year or so. and then, they still have to work out the details, including whose frequent flyer program will continue. but the new name will be american airlines. but it's the passengers on southwest airlines who may be celebrating today. the carrier tweeted that it's offering a free drink on all flights. all right. they're usually 5 bucks. one customer said the airline should have had the offer yesterday, the busiest travel day of the year. but then, there would have been an alcohol shortage around the country, probably. >> come on, now. let's not look a gift horse in the mouth. >> that's true. that's true. it may be hard to find pecan pies at today's thanksgiving feast. and here's why. prices are up about 30% this year, thanks to rain and to china. >> record rainfall in the south earlier this year hurt the pecan crop. and the chinese have discovered a fondness for these things. and now, consumes now about one-third of our crop.

like the pecans. >> check that out. coming up, more on our top story. where to get the retail therapy after thanksgiving dinner. if you need it. >> if you need it, yeah. plus, the family vacation that almost went tragically wrong. you'll hear from the hero. and tough night for one nba coach. he dropped his drink. but did his team drop another game? i'm gonna do this... no... no... no... i'm gonna beat you this time ♪ yes... (laughing) yes!! ♪ wow...look at you. i've always tried to give it my best shot. these days i'm living with a higher risk of stroke

due to afib, a type of irregular heartbeat, not caused by a heart valve problem. at first, i took warfarin, but i wondered, "could i up my game?" my doctor told me about eliquis. and three important reasons to take eliquis instead. one, in a clinical trial, eliquis was proven to reduce the risk of stroke better than warfarin. two, eliquis had less major bleeding than warfarin. and three... unlike warfarin, there's no routine blood testing. [ male announcer ] don't stop taking eliquis unless your doctor tells you to, as stopping increases your risk of having a stroke. eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. don't take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. while taking eliquis, you may bruise more easily and it may take longer than usual for any bleeding to stop. seek immediate medical care for sudden signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. eliquis may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. i've got three important reasons to up my game with eliquis.

[ male announcer ] ask your doctor today if eliquis is right for you. dramatic, new pictures to show you this morning from last week's massive tornado outbreak in the midwest. this is the moment of impact at a middle school in lafayette, indiana. powerful winds blowing debris and bringing down a ceiling. the twister hit on a sunday, when the school was empty. the school you saw there. but the principal said its students would not have been in the damaged areas anyway. >> lucky, lucky. and if you haven't already arrived at grandma's to celebrate thanksgiving, you should find decent conditions on most of the nation's roadways right now. but one cautionary note. watch out for ice around the

great lakes and much of the northeast. and some wet roads in parts of southern california, as well. >> and it will be a great day if you plan on flying today. the only spot that you may find some minor delays will be in l.a. and back to the big story. of course on this thanksgiving morning. after all of that stuffing, 33 million of us will hit the stores. >> oh, man. good luck. if you plan to be among those thanksgiving shoppers, experts are recommending that you study the ads and check the prices online before you go. as for the stores, kmart is opening up at 6:00 a.m. some old navy stores are opening at 9:00 this morning. and here's the schedule for tonight. toys "r" us opens at 5:00. best buy, walmart, an hour after that. macy's and target open up their doors at 8:00 p.m. >> on my facebook, it says america's the only country where we go out and trample people in the mall a day after giving thanks.

just food for thought this morning. >> very true. this morning, we have a developing story from ohio. an amish girl at the center of a controversy, over forced chemotherapy has now disappeared, along with her family. sarah hershberger suffers from leukemia. and her parents have refused court-ordered chemo. they are using so-called natural therapies, including herbs and vitamins. ohio doctors say she will die without medical intervention. a 5-year-old boy is lucky that a cardiologist chose the same south florida hotel for a thanksgiving day vacation. the boy was found floating in the deep end of a pool yesterday afternoon. the doctor from philadelphia, pulled the boy out and started cpr. >> this is what i do for a living. i calmed everyone down. and i continued the process. and thank god he turned around within two minutes. >> the boy was taken to a miami hospital in critical condition. he's now been upgraded to stable condition, thanks to that amazing doctor. well, the ultimate thanksgiving traveler this year may be a shopping mall-sized

chunk of dust and ice. the comet ison will whip around the sun today, traveling about 200 miles every second. its journey began some 5 1/2 million years ago. but it may end today. the sun's powerful gravity may tear it all apart. if ison survives, it may put on a show for us, some time next month. ufc fighter shane del rosario is in critical condition this morning after suffering a heart attack. the 30-year-old heavyweight collapsed at his southern california home and was taken to the hospital in full cardiac arrest. emergency room doctors were able to resuscitate him. but he is still considered to be in critical condition. in the nfl today, three games on tap on this thanksgiving day. one of the best parts of the thanksgiving tradition. all that football. oh, yeah. >> i'll be cooking. >> yeah. appreciate it. it starts with green bay visiting their division rivals, the detroit lions.

>> and then, it's the raiders in dallas, to take on the cowboys. and tonight, the steelers face the ravens. >> as for last night's nba hoops highlights, from our friends at espn. >> good morning and happy thanksgiving. welcome to our "sportscenter" set here in los angeles. i'm stan verrett. this is kenny mayne. >> wake up off the couch. your kitchen could be on fire. that turkey basting going. look at the basketball game. the lakers in new unis. at new jersey. under two minutes left. wesley johnson. picking that off. two-hand slam. he's tall. lakesers up two. that doesn't matter. under ten seconds left. lakers up two. there's no time-outs left for new jersey. or not new jersey, but brooklyn. you know what i'm talking about. the same kid. and jason kidd said, hit me. yeah, he did. next game, he's going to show up with maple syrup. lakers join the huddle, as well. they give it to pierce. doesn't deserve to make it up after all that mess. the nets lose. they fall to 4-11 on the year. >> and the oscar for best actor goes to, jason kidd. heat and cavs.

lebron james back in cleveland. the steal. the decision. even cavalier fans are on their feet for that one. the heat up seven at that point. and mario chalmers to james. 28 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists. and even a photo bomb on dwyane wade after the game. the heat takes it 95-84. when he becomes a free agent, there's some talk he might head back to cleveland. >> they don't care. just go put some butter on your turkey. smother the thing in turkey. and stick a buck inside. have a good day. >> happy thanksgiving. back to you. >> smother your brother in turkey. >> thank you julia child. coming up, the thanksgiving "pulse." and the bad news about today's dinner. plus, where bugs are on the menu. we'll be back. gevalia, or a cup of johan, is like losing yourself in a great book. may i read something? . a rich, never bitter taste cup after cup.

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all right. let's get started. time for "the pulse," thanksgiving edition here for you. we start with something of a calorie counter. and it's not all that good. >> here you go. the average thanksgiving feast adds up to about 4,500 calories. that's equivalent of seven big macs or two medium pepperoni pizzas. you still hungry, folks? >> oh. here's the less painful part of all of this. by the time your food coma sets in, research finds that the average american only gains about one pound at thanksgiving. so, you can dig in guilt-free on your seven big macs or pepperoni pizzas or a whole turkey. >> back to the diet tomorrow. a museum in new orleans has -- may have a way to keep off the thanksgiving calories on their own. this week, the audubon insectarium cafe had turkey with all of the trimmings, including beetles, worms and crickets.

>> thanks giving with all of the trimmings. it included mealworm dressing, six-legged salsa. cranberry sauce with wax worms. some kind of chirp cookies. and pumpkin pie with a crispy cricket topping. >> is pumpkin pie better with bugs? >> it's an interesting twist on an old classic. i like the crunchiness that the crickets brought to it. >> some of the visitors opted for the bug-free entrees. the smart ones. others went back for second and third helps. i can't wait to dig into my cockroach casserole later today. >> no thank you. not every thanksgiving goes as smoothly as one would hope. >> and many mishaps are caught on camera and sent to our friends at "america's funniest home videos." >> happy thanksgiving. ♪ >> careful. >> oh. ♪

vo: it's that time of year again. medicare open enrollment. time to compare plans and costs. you don't have to make changes. but it never hurts to see if you can find better coverage, save money, or both. and check out the preventive benefits you get after the health care law. open enrollment ends december 7th. so now's the time. visit medicare.gov or call 1-800-medicare ♪ [ male announcer ] laura's heart attack didn't come with a warning. today her doctor has her on a bayer aspirin regimen to help reduce the risk of another one. if you've had a heart attack, be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen.

if you've had a heart attack, be sure to talk to your doctor buy susan a keurig brewer. brew the love. keurig.

wow. college already. ( chuckles ) yeah. - ( engine starts ) - we gotta go. ♪ for all the truth that you made me see... ♪ i love you. ♪ for all the joy you brought to my life... ♪ i love you too, daddy. ♪ you're the one who saw me through... ♪ and thanks - for everything. - ♪ through it all... - ♪ you were my strength when i was weak... ♪ - ( woman speaks ) a message from the foundation for a better life. waiter: here's your check. oh! you--you got it. you know, since i got rid of my car, i really enjoy walking. ok. got it? no, i'm good. announcer: getting pulled over for buzzed driving could cost you around $10,000 in fines, legal fees, and increased insurance rates. oh, you're home early. you live with your mom? announcer: that'll set your game back a few years. buzzed, busted, and broke because buzzed driving is drunk driving.

abc7 news begins with breakings news. >> happy thanksgiving, we do have breaking news and it is unfortunate in san mateo county, a big problem on highway 92 with the latest from leyla gulen. there 10 serious accident in the santa cruz mountains at highway 92 a car went over an embankment. we have all lanes blocked and the chop is saying in the next 35 to 45 minutes they will have lanes re-opened with katie marzullo on the scene with more details in a little bit and a canceled sig-alert if napa northbound 29 at kelly road. a quite look outside the drive through berkeley, westbound, along i-80 as you come through

berkeley away from albany to the headlines making their way along this thanksgiving morning and everything is moving along at top speeds. now the weather shows how dry our forecast is, hopefully no dry turkeys out there. here is live doppler 7 hd radar satellite shows we have high clouds this morning and fog along the coast. that should dissipate later this morning. from the east bay hills, you can see how clear it is, a light twinkling at berkeley and out toward the bay bridge with a nice start to the morning. from our exploritorium camera the beautiful light on the bridge with partly cloudy conditions, and dry for today and over the weekend but we do expect major temperature drops next week with the possibilit of rain. >> a car went over an embankment on highway 92 at skyline boulevard and katie debt is on the scene with what is happening

. >> dramatic stuff out here. we have hit a roadblock where 280 meets 92 with c.h.p. and san mateo sheriff blocking the entrance that gets you to skyline and truck drivers waiting patiently in a line on both sides waiting do get up the road in the last few minutes, though, cars are coming down from skyline eastbound but they have not let anyone westbound. what happens around 12:30, a car described as a black sedan launched off a cliff a mile east from the cemetery. someone witnessed that or the car could still be down the cliff. someone saw it go over and called it in. there were no skid marks so the car was speeding and launched or landed 600' down a cliff, 600' so the sheriff rescue tea