♪ because i'm happy ♪ clap along if you feel -- it might be a little chilly on this thanksgiving morning but my guess is it's not going to keep anyone -- >> no. >> -- off the streets from those big parades. the look at the route in new york. the balloons are full and ready to go. we'll check in with rob marciano who is standing along the parade route there. good morning, everyone. happy thanksgiving. >> happy thanksgiving to you. good morning, everybody. ginger is out there, as well. she's with some proud springfield high school cheerleaders at the parade in philadelphia celebrating its 95th anniversary this year. ginger, can you tap? not bad. >> ginger can do just about everything. if you haven't learned by now. also ahead if you're one of those parents digging in your heels and don't want to buy your kids video games for the holiday, well, this young man may have you thinking twice.

how he has turned game nothing a multimillion dollar thing. >> it's an incredible phenomenon, this professional video game thing. we'll talk about that coming up. also, "gma" on the lookout driving on ice. what you can do to stay safe in dangerous conditions, important information before you head out for the holiday. >> very important information. we begin with the man accused of pretending to be a doctor to con a stay at a swanky resort running up a big bill and running off without paying. he is now spending this thanksgiving behind bars and abc's linsey davis is here with more. >> reporter: he eluded police for months. jeffrey cochran who if you run into him on the street he might tell you he is a heart doctor or professional golfer. police will tell you he is an artist, a con artist. you might call him dr. dupe. jeffrey cochran is behind bars accused at staying at a posh pennsylvania hotel without paying for it by pretending to be a doctor.

it's as if he stole the idea right from "catch me if you can" played by leo dicaprio. pennsylvania police say he stayed in a $500 a night hotel at the nemacolin resort woodlands for two weeks in may and ran up a tab of $16,000 and left without paying a dime. only leaving the hotel once employees caught on. police finally arresting him during a traffic stop in michigan six months later. according to court documents he initially called the hotel posing as another doctor from a local hospital and telling them to set up a house account for an out-of-town doctor named jeffrey cochran. authorities in nebraska say he's also want there had because earlier this year he did the very same thing. telling a hotel he was a doctor doing work for a local hospital and that the hospital would be picking up the tab. that stay lasted 47 days. apparently the idea isn't so far-fetched. 20-year-old matthew shite was

sentenced to a year in jail after he was arrested in 2011 for impersonating a physician assistant in a florida hospital when he was just 17. >> i started doing cpr on her for two minutes. >> but cochran seen in previous mug shots has allegedly taken the charade further. >> it's finally time to see if there is anybody out there that can actually put up. >> reporter: back in 2009 he was interviewed by fox sports in las vegas where he went by the name of jeff muny and claimed to be a professional golfer. cochran was arraigned yesterday. he faces a preliminary hearing on december 15th. he has not yet entered a plea. according to the hotel in pennsylvania, they became suspicious and tried calling the doctor who was supposedly going to pay his bill. turns out cochran answered that call and walked right out of the hotel's back door. my grandmother used to say pay now or pay later. apparently he is learning that lesson the hard way. >> i'm surprised the hotel didn't demand a credit card up

front. >> i always have to, right? we're not con artists so i guess, you know, there's a way to talk your way out of that. >> or we're staying at the wrong hotels. thank you. appreciate it. when i was a kid, back in the 1800s, video games were considered at best an amusing time waster but if you're worried about giving your child video gifts as a holiday game, check out this man. he has parlayed it into a million dollar income and abc's matt gutman has the story. >> reporter: it's a sport like no other. highlighted in the hit movie "the wizard" competing against each other to become king of the console. >> i'm just another guy that loves video games. >> reporter: meet 22-year-old matt who said he'd speak to us while he was working. >> for the most part playing call of duty is the bulk of my day. >> reporter: this former burger flipper joining the ranks of elite athletes earning a cool million dollars a year all for answering the call of duty.

>> it's got to be your dream gig. >> yeah, this is volkswagen my dream gig, 100%. >> reporter: that's right, a million clams a year for dominating a single computer game. the call of duty champ training 14 hours a day for the past 9 years to transform a lounge activity into a spectator sport and get this, more than 1.5 million subscribers listening to his tips on youtube and his live stream raking in 15,000 people at any given moment. so what's next for you? >> nobody has really done this before so we're just making sure that we take every day step by step. >> reporter: and the field is now so competitive that sponsor red bull has athletes drop in from space and scrape the sky in motorcycles through haag's team for a high-performance training camp even at yoga. >> they were working on all aspects of our game and life just to make sure that we're just all-around better people when we came out of it. >> reporter: it's the

boilerplate of elite athletes and judging by his paycheck and fame. >> it's going to be exciting. >> reporter: haag is now one of them. for "good morning america," matt gutman, abc news, los angeles. >> and it's just shocking it didn't take off back when we were kids because i was really good at pong. atari. >> ha about frogger. >> space invaders, frogger. >> tetris. >> this thing is really taking off. people now pay money to watch video games being played live on the internet. >> my kids on youtube with why are you watching someone else play? >> it's important to note he's the only one. before you make this a career -- >> thanks. >> there's only one guy making a million baucks. not a career option. go to -- >> just call him t.j. dream killer. >> steal the money from burger king -- >> i'm still hung up on the sexy turkey back there. >> okay. i think we're supposed to talk weather at some point. let's get it out to ginger in philly.

hey, ginger, any comments on the video game? >> is that what you think, dan? no, all i have to say is totally weather time. you know that. no, i'm kidding. we are just loving this excitement in philadelphia, right? having ray good time this morning and we have some great people that you may know here. eden and jordan, both going to be on the music float so this is the oldest parade in history in the united states and we are going to hear, well, other songs but you have a new single out. >> called "too cool to dance" on itunes. check it out. it's going to make you dance. >> make all of us dance and jordan you do too. >> it's "this christmas" available today. wasn't supposed to come out till tomorrow but a secret between you aand me. a ton of fun. love the song. >> we'll hear so much more from them but let's get some forecasts in for you. that would include, yeah, some more snow. advisories going on in parts of the northern plains, you see right through minnesota there how much snow is going to fall with this. it's not going to be a ton but enough to make those roads slick in the next 36 hours if you have

any holiday travel from green bay back to fargo, important to look at. also in the south, atlanta only 46 -- look, an afternoon high temperature. all right. that's the big picture. let's go ahead and get a check a little closer to home. >> all right. all this weather brought to you by toys "r" us. i'm dancing h is not what they're doing. >> we knew ginger could tap. we knew it. >> it's either tap dancing or riverdance. i can't tell but it looks good. you wear it well. >> thank you, ginger. all right. coming up next on "good morning america" -- on the lookout. driving this dangerous conditions. important information before you head out this morning. and get your holiday shopping started from home this morning. tory is here with great deals and steals, all for under 20 bucks.

and what dinner is complete without the delicious taste of ocean spray cranberries? both: happy thanksgiving! okay, who likes yams?

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we're back at 7:42 with "gma" on the lookout driving on ice a major concern this time of year. what can you do to stay safe if you lose control of your car or if someone in front of you does. abc's david kerley has important rules of the road. >> when there's a deep freeze,

it could put some drivers in deep trouble. a paramedic hurt when his ambulance rolls over three times, a jackknifed truck in oklahoma. they are professional drivers and the rest of us spunning and sliding on winter roads but there are ways to stay safe. >> whoa, whoa. >> i didn't make that cone. we've come to a winter track in northern michigan where ford tests its cars for some lessons so how do you keep yourself out of a pileup like this in yonkers. >> turn in, avoid the accident and turn back and get yourself back into the laing. >> reporter: remember this your hands will follow your eyes, the key here look where you want to go, not at the accident in front. >> whoa. next that dangerous black ice. almost immediately our wheels are spinning. >> you'll notice loss of steering control. people overrespond to that by trying to steer the vehicle. >> watch this minivan in the left lane in fayetteville in north carolina. its wheels are turns as it hits pavement out of control. we got a sense of that dramatic

jolt on the test track. >> whoa. that thing just took off. best of advice for black ice don't use cruise control once on it drive straight, lift off the gas then brake. you probably have seen this, a vehicle sliding down a hill. well, if you don't have four-wheel drive and the driver assist system like this ford escape wait till the hill is clear then use your momentum to get up to the top. and maybe the hardest lesson of all, getting out of a spin. >> when the back end starts to slide steer into the turn. yep it is counterintuitive. i want to turn left but i'm spinning to the right. by turning to the right and straightening the car out i get traction again. probably the best advice slow down, keep your distance and stay within your own driving ability. >> whoa. >> reporter: for "good morning america," david kerley, abc news, sault ste. marie, michigan. >> oh, so many people are dealing with that yesterday. >> i always find that terrifying. >> to turn into the spin. all right. thank you so much, david, great

advice. coming up, lena dunham with her dancing shoes on. you'll never guess what has her shaking it off. more of your thanksgiving food emergencies answered, a all-star chefs standing by right now. turning on cue. ♪ hellmann's and holiday leftovers become irresistibly creamy turkey casserole. real delicious hellmann's. bring out the hellmann's.

bring out the best. 4 hundred million vacation days go unused every year. that's the stupidest thing i've ever heard. they're paid vacation days. if you guys agreed to travel more we'll all do better in school. we'll have a better understanding of other cultures. i will learn to parler français. oui oui. we're not asking for much we just want one more day. "one more day" for help planning your one more day, contact mastercard concierge services or download our new app. because one more day is priceless. ♪ ♪ when the snow comes to cover the ground ♪ ♪ it's a time for play, it's a whipped cream day ♪

♪ i wait for it all year round ♪ ♪ in winter it's a marshmallow world. ♪ ♪

♪ smell like i sound we're back in our social square with our thanksgiving dream team of epicurean expert,

fancy way to say a lot who know about food. they've been posting questions and chefs are here to answer. jeffrey, can you please turn around your throne? this is -- >> sorry i'm late. >> like a bizarre-o game of thrones. gentlemen, the question for you from vicki, she would like to know, what do you use to thicken gravy if you have family that needs gluten-free? >> a great question. what i do is you can ground nuts like almond, walnuts or pecans and it's done thens of years ago. that's what they used to thicken gravy. not flour. there you go. >> something i didn't know. sunny, we have a question for you -- turn around. >> gobble, gobble. >> that, ladies and gentlemen, is an entry. sunny, you're doing desserts so becky asks, do leftover pecan pies and chocolate pies need to be refrigerated? >> becky, it's leftover pies at your house. becky, what is going on at your house? are you serious?

okay, listen, when in doubt put it into the fridge but think about things when you buy them at the grocery store or bakery. if not fridge freighted there you don't have to do it at home. girl, there's leftover pie? >> news you can use. alex, please turn around. uh-oh. we had a turkey collision there. >> the turkey knocks out the sides of the dessert. >> let me ask you this, christine has a request. she wants to know i would like a simple tasty rub for my turkey. what is your view on that? we have ten seconds. what do you say? >> a little paprika. brown sugar and butter underneath the white meat, throw it in the oven. you're good. >> right back with "deals & steals." keep it here. >> coming up "gma's" thanksgiving 911 brought to you by walmart. make wall maurt your first and only place to shop for black friday. the savings start today on hundreds of gifts.

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"good morning america" is brought to you by disney's "into the woods" in theaters everywhere christmas day. >> hi, i'm specialist shonda jones in afghanistan and i want to say hi to my mom and dad in st. louis, missouri, and wish everyone a thanksgiving. >> i'm george gamble jr. serving in monrovia, liberia. i would like to tell my family and friends in marysville, ohio, i love you and miss you. happy thanksgiving. >> i'm kathy henderson from kuwait and would like to give a shout-out to my family in the chicago area. special one to ty, audrey and deondre. love you and see you soon. cook that turkey well.

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good morning, america. it's 8:00 a.m. on this thanksgiving morning and are you ready to talk turkey, sides and dessert? we have the holiday dream team ready to answer your questions, how you can make your thanksgiving meal the most delicious and dazzling it's ever been. taylor swift reveals how she's celebrating turkey day. >> favorite side dish. >> sweet potato casserole. >> what she's shaking off this holiday. ♪ oh here we go big "deals & steals," wait till you see the stocking stuffers tory has, shop from home this morning. ♪ all that and are you ready for peter pan? our first look at the brand-new production of "finding neverland" starring matthew