making news in america this morning, black friday frenzy. shoppers are already finding deep discounts. >> this line is long but it's like 80% off so can't beat that. >> see where to find the best deals and hear what experts say you should know before hitting the stores. did flynn flip? the new sign that the former national security adviser michael flynn may be cooperating with prosecutors in the russia investigation. bomb plot arrest. a woman accused of sending explosives to politicians including former president obama. >> this is really textbook law enforcement forensic work. >> see how a strand of cat hair led investigators right to her. vaccine battle. 50 hospital employees fired after refusing to get a shot. the legal battle brewing this morning. >> fowl problem.

>> we've had some like on the roof fly right over your head. >> you thought you were tired of turkey. see the american town under siege this morning. >> to have a turkey flying at you, like a 30-pound bird, it's kind of scary. a good morning to you all on this black friday. it is the start for a critical time for retailers and even more so for those shoppers lined up. >> yeah, and there are many of them. 150 million people expected to take part in the buying frenzy today. the spending kicked off last night, of course. some major retailers opened their doors as early as 6:00 p.m. to try to get the sales rolling. >> the popular items this year, electronics. our coverage begins with abc's alex perez. >> reporter: the frenzy in full swing with deal hunters rushing to get first dibs on this year's deepest discounts. >> about how much did you save today, do you think?

>> i don't know. but probably $400, $500. >> reporter: some shoppers camped out for days to get a jump on the deals. >> you got to do what you got to do to get that price. >> reporter: shoppers expected to spend an average of $967 on holiday gifts this year leaving retailers clamoring for your holiday dollars. >> they have to offer you something real or you're not going to fall for it, so the deals are there. >> reporter: with more than 6,000 brick and mortar stores going out of business in 2017 alone, many retailers are offering in-store only door busters to boost foot traffic. braving crowds at target will save you $400 off this 55-inch westinghouse smart tv. best buy stores have this laptop for $119. and at macy's, these ten in-store only items that will be free after mail-in rebates, and experts say, don't wait too long. >> buy it when you see it if it's a good price because retailers have pretty lean inventories.

>> reporter: and many are skipping the stores and shopping online. but there is a warning for those online shoppers. many retail websites are being spoofed, so make sure you have the right site before handing over your credit card information. alex perez, abc news, chicago. >> all right, our thanks to alex. and later in "the pulse," the best deals that we found for black friday and the apps that can save you even more money. now to breaking news overnight. the search for three missing navy sailors has been called off. those sailors were on a navy plane that crashed wednesday in the pacific earlier this week north of the philippines. of the 11 people on board, 8 were rescued immediately and are in good condition. the remaining three are now being described as whereabouts unknown. this is the third deadly incident since june involving the navy's pacific fleet. and we're now learning the missing argentine submarine with 44 people on board may have suffered an explosion. argentina's navy says the apparent blast was detected hours after it lost contact with

the "ara san juan" last week. the news left relatives of the crew in tears. search efforts will continue until that sub's fate is determined. well, senator al franken is addressing sexual harassment allegations in a new statement. >> the democrat says he feels terribly that he could make women feel so badly. he's now planning to address the media for the first time on sunday. >> abc's stephanie ramos joins us from washington, d.c. with the very latest on all of these scandals. stephanie. >> reporter: kendis and diane, sexual harassment claims have been running wild on capitol hill. you guys know this. we've been talking about it all week. but some women who have come forward say this bad behavior by members is nothing new. accusations of sexual misconduct are shaking up capitol hill. senator al franken responding to new allegations after two more women say he sexually violated them by grabbing their backsides at political events a decade ago. franken still catching heat for this photo of him apparently groping a woman. in a thanksgiving day statement, franken apologized for his actions and said, in some of those encounters i crossed the

line for some women, and i know that any number is too many. multiple women have come forward claiming franken sexually harassed them. >> al franken pulled me in towards him and then put his hand on my rear. >> reporter: the number of allegations against franken now stands at four. franken's statement on the heels of another scandal involving longtime congressman john conyers. a third woman is now accusing conyers of misconduct including melanie sloan, a high-profile washington lawyer who says she was harassed and verbally abused when she worked for conyers in the '90s. sloan tells abc news during her time working for the judiciary committee, the michigan lawmaker was increasingly abusive to her and often berated her loudly in public. >> people shrug off members' misconduct on capitol hill. the kind of abuse i suffered at congressman conyers' hands was awful, but i won't say that it's unique. >> reporter: conyers isn't stepping down. his lawyer says in a statement

that is not going to happen and that if people were required to resign over allegations, a lot of people would be out of work in this country including the president. and conyers isn't the only lawmaker caught up in scandal. texas congressman joe barton is now apologizing for some explicit photos that were released, he says, by an ex-girlfriend who is retaliating against him. kendis, diane. >> barton says he may be a victim of revenge porn in all of this. stefanie, thanks for keeping us updated. something else that's not scandalous or not a sex scandal, lawyers representing michael flynn have reportedly cut ties with the president's legal team. "the new york times" was first to report flynn's attorneys say they've stopped sharing information about the russia probe. according to "the times," the move could mean flynn is cooperating with special counsel robert mueller, but it's not proof. and president trump spent

part of the thanksgiving day delivering a message to u.s. troops. in a teleconference address from mar-a-lago in florida, the president paid tribute to those deployed overseas as well as himself for recent military achievements. >> hello, everybody. we're being talked about again as an armed forces. we're really winning. we know how to win. but we have to let you win. they weren't letting you win before. they were letting you play even. we're letting you win. >> later on the president and mrs. trump visited a south florida coast guard station and served a holiday lunch to the men and women on duty. he also praised their rescue and recovery efforts during the recent hurricanes. and time now for a look at your weather this morning. well, the warm weather will stick around on the west coast today. the beaches were packed on thanksgiving day in record-breaking heat. the thermometer hit 91 at l.a.x. shattering the previous record of 84 set in 1990. records were also broken in

newport beach and long beach. it'll be slightly cooler in the southern california area today with temperatures in the low 80s, 85 in phoenix. 50s in the pacific northwest. 55 in chicago. it's warming up a bit in new york at 50 and 62 in atlanta. still ahead, the back scene battle that cost 50 hospital employees their jobs. and also ahead, the mom who rescued herself and toddler son after crashing into a pond. what she did that every driver should know. and an update this morning on the homeless veteran who is getting a big payback after helping a woman who ran out of gas. see how much that go fund me page is now up to and what his friends back home have to say about him.

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we have breaking news from east texas where a state trooper has been shot and killed during a traffic stop. investigators say the trooper pulled the driver over for a traffic violation in freestone county, and when he walked back to his patrol car, that suspect opened fire killing the trooper. the gunman then took off, but hours later police say they tracked him down and took him into custody. he now faces capital murder charges. in memphis a fedex employee has died from a work-related accident. the woman was part of a team loading and unloading cargo from a boeing 777. authorities say she was found under a conveyer belt system. an investigation is now under way. but this is the third time in less than four years that a worker has died at that fedex memphis hub. a pregnant mother and her toddler are alive after breaking out of their sinking car. heather vaden says a dog ran in front of her suv near st. louis

and she swerved and crashed into a pond. the suv was sinking, and she had to think quickly. she frantically searched for something to break the glass. >> i was like, looking for anything possible that i could break it with. nothing, so i just kept kicking the window, and finally it broke out. >> then swam 30 feet with a broken arm while holding her son. her husband drove by, saw her car and jumped into the frigid water to rescue her. she was able to flag him down to say they were already on dry land. >> just such an unbelievable story. all right, when we come back, a woman accused of sending an explosive device to former president obama and others. the clue her cat left behind that led to her arrest. >> and a high school teacher under arrest. hear what students say they caught her doing in the classroom. hear what students say they caught her doing in the classroom. under arrest. what they are students caught her doing in the classroom. a tyt

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stunning plot to try to kill then president obama. julia poff of houston faces multiple federal charges. poff allegedly sent mail bombs also to texas governor greg abbott, the white house and the social security administration. investigators say cat hair on the package sent to the former president helped break the case. >> this is really textbook law enforcement forensic work. pulling up hairs and fibers, anything that could be traced back to the suspect. in this case they found apparently cat hair that they could microscopically match up with the defendant's cat. >> now, prosecutors say governor abbott was the only alleged target to open his package, but it did not go off. now, poff is a former fireworks worker. her trial starts in january. dozens of medical workers are fighting to get their jobs back after being fired for refusing flu shots. minnesota-based essentia health gave workers including doctors and nurses until last monday to

get their flu shots. more than 50 workers were then fired. some refused to get the shots saying they were worried about side effects. two unions are now challenging their terminations. the company says it was trying to protect patients. and an indiana high school teacher is under arrest after her students say they caught her on camera doing drugs. the video shows the high school english teacher apparently cutting up a white powdery substance then leaning over it. all this happening in a classroom. 24-year-old samantha cox was arrested after the students alerted the staff. investigators say they believe the teacher had a mixture of cocaine and heroin. turkeys were seen on more than just the dinner tables in one northern california town this week. residents of lafayette say the wild birds have filled their backyards, driveways, even on the roads. some folks in the bay area town say that they've even been attacked by the big birds. >> we've had some like on the roof fly right over your head,

and to have a turkey flying at you, like a 30-pound bird, you know, it's kind of scary. >> well, a lot of wildlife officials think the birds are heading to more populated areas to try to find water. hills in the suburbs are dry because of drought over the past few years. >> time now for some sports. a full slate of college football is on the menu for today after, of course, the nfl on thanksgiving. >> we get those highlights from espn. well, did you gobble till you wobbled? i hope you did. stan and nicole with you now. if you didn't do that, then certainly you caught up on football. >> absolutely. three nfl games all on thanksgiving day including the traditional game in dallas. chargers there to take on the cowboys. l.a. playing on thanksgiving for the first time since 1969. philip rivers, tyrell williams. 27-yard touchdown. williams high pointing the ball, gets in. rivers, 434 yards through the air and chargers up, 16-0. dak prescott trying to hook up

with cole beasley, instead throws it to desmond king and takes it 90 yards for a touchdown. picked off later by casey hayward. that's five picks in the last two games for prescott. cowboys lose their third in a row, and they haven't been close. >> well, college here, mississippi state welcoming ole miss, the egg bowl. this is not good. midfirst mississippi state down 7-0. nick fitzgerald on the quarterback keeper gets tangled up in a tackle. we're going to spare you, but it was a serious leg injury. they carted him off. he did come back to the sideline though in the second on crutches. it's still not great. caught, d.j. metcalf going to score from 63 yards out. i disagree entirely with the way he celebrates for his touchdown. ole miss goes on to win the egg bowl. that's a big old egg for you. 31-28.

so you get turkey. you get the pie, and you get the egg. >> vikings also winners in addition to the redskins. that's it. hope you had a happy thanksgiving. back to you. >> thanks, guys. well, up next in "the pulse," more proof that another royal announcement involving prince harry is likely coming any day. >> very specific. plus, a minnesota vikings player uses his big moment during the game to unveil something about his personal life. life. mean i knew they weren't ow. i perfect, but, ugh. oh well, all hope is lost! oh thanks! clearly my whitening toothpaste is not cutting it. time for whitestrips. crest glamorous white whitestrips are the only ada-accepted whitening strips proven to be safe and effective. they work below the enamel surface to whiten 25x better than a leading whitening toothpaste. hey, nice smile! thanks! i crushed the tissue test! yeah you did! crest. healthy, beautiful smiles for life.

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♪ okay, time for your friday "pulse" starting, of course, with black friday. >> here are the best deals we have seen so far. best buy is selling a 50-inch 4k smart tv for $180. that's more than $300 off. >> not bad at all. walmart is giving a $300 gift

card with the purchase of an iphone x, iphone 8 or iphone 8 plus. >> ebay is selling the 13-inch macbook air for $877. that's $120 off. >> o. and there are also apps out there, of course, that save you even more money. e-bates puts money into your pay pal account when you make a purchase through the app and flipp puts all your local circulars in one place. remember circulars? >> so you don't have to actually flip through them anymore? >> yes, yes. >> here's the coupon. hold on, let me clip that out for you. >> boom. >> okay, so the black friday tradition has really caught on. it's made its way to the uk with stores rolling out discounts as well today but things are a little calmer over there. >> watch this. this is the big moment the employees open the doors on black friday and one customer walks through the door. >> he doesn't rush -- you're going to get a big screen tv. >> he didn't have to practice

his elbowing skills. >> no. >> that's, yeah, a little different than here in the u.s. >> it's a lot more calm. well, thursday, by the way, wasn't all about shopping or turkey. it's also a big day for dogs. >> yeah, dozens of breeds strutted their little stuff there at the national dog show. this is in philadelphia. this year's top breed is a brussels griffon named newton who conquered the toy group before taking best in show honors. >> newton is also being called a celebrity look-alike because they say he looks like a four-legged version of chewbacca from "star wars." >> yeah, i would say. [ making chewbacca sounds ] >> uh-huh. and i can't do it, so i'm not even trying. so, bookies in the uk are all abuzz this morning about the possibility of whether prince harry has proposed to the american actress meghan markle. >> the speculation is so rampant that the british betting company ladbrokes has been shut down for the betting on any aspect of how and when the engagement is

announced. according to published reports, the bbc is preparing for a, quote, imminent announcement. >> the prince has been dating markle since last summer. she recently retired from her starring role in the legal drama "suits." >> and she was getting set to move in with him as well. well, the nfl's turkey day triple header featured a crowd source request from one of the players. >> yeah, after sacking detroit's matthew stafford, minnesota's everson griffen pulled up his shirt to reveal the message, i just had a baby boy. what should we name him? >> kendis, obviously. >> yeah. ♪ that moment when who you're going with is more important than where you're going. wherever life takes us, we go together. interwoven... ...exclusively at kay, jared and zales.

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this is abc 7 mornings. >> guilty or not guilty on this friday. november 24. >> hope you had a great thanksgiving and ready to do some shopping. >> not a lot of sunshine. kind of like yesterday. temperatures very mild. a little bit of fog to be concerned with. all the grays. shades of gray from vallejo. knoxville and over towards jenner. half a mile, napa, quarter santa rosa. around until 9, 9:30. slowly start lifting to hazy sunshine. high clouds this afternoon. quick look at temperatures. 60s right now. 50 in napa the cool spot. most of us in the mid to upper 50s. the look at that, 63. come back in a few minutes. take a look at your 12 hour day

planner. >> jumping on what mike just said. heavy fog advisory right now on the golden gate bridge. be careful if you're going to navigate your way across that this morning. otherwise looking pretty clear. live look at the bridge. very lights traffic right now. not causing a major problem. just be aware. happening now. black friday is still a thing. 70% of us expected to hit the stores sometime this weekend. >> vast majority of people stand in line today. let's check in rporter. tive tiffany, is anyone with you or are you standing alone my friend. >> you stole my punch line. is i was going to say i'm sure you've been working on keeping your elbows out. you won't need those skills today. if you take a look behind me. see the barricades. set up and waiting. there's absolutely no one in

line. zero. now, that could be because target opened yesterday from 6 until midnight and doesn't open until 6:00 a.m. today. again, this does not look like black fridays of years past. big part of that is because of so in demany deals offered onli people are choosing to do shopping online. some stores do door buster deals you only get if you go to brick and mortar store. one is a big 55 inch tv. shoppers last night were checking those out. many shoppers just saying they're grateful employees are working during the holiday. >> i do feel bad for the people that have to work. i know i appreciate all the places that are closed. >> now, we have seen employees inside the store setting up. one thing employees say is please remember to be nice. they are tired too. so if you do come out to check out the deals this black friday,

one thing to keep in mind. li live, abc 7 news. >> shoppers left the thanksgiving table early to head to the san francisco premium outlets. the mall actually opened up at 3:00 yesterday afternoon. quite a difference scene from what we saw in tiffany's live shot this morning. these shoppers did stand in line. still wanted store experience. online shopping can't quite offer. >> i'm really big about i like seeing things. trying them on. i like walking around and just exploring, especially outlet malls. you get the fresh air. >> the and the outlet mall the busy. won't close until 10:00 tonight. if you're hoping to cash in on the deals, we can help you. some of the great deals out there on the website. abc 7 news.com. it's 4:30. if you're just joining us. get a quick update on traffic. start