millions brace for the coldest thanksgiving in decades as two powerful storms threaten travelers hitting the roads, skies, and rails president trump on the campaign trail attacking democrats on impeachment but it's what he said about florida's governor that's got tongues waing. can money buy happiness? a new survey on how much money you'd need to earn in order to be happy we've got those numbers. an nfl star talks about the personal struggle that forced him to leave the game. his powerful message today number 1 duke loses in an overtime thriller to stephen f. austin in the biggest upset since the year 2000. and we're going to be talking turkey with a woman who has saved countless thanksgiving

dinners fromister. it's wedneth i'm phillip mena mother nature is slowing things >> good to b yea but down powerful storms are sweeping across the country dumping snow, ice, and heavy rain across much of the midwest just in time for the holiday rush crews have been working hard to clear the runways at the denver airport where hundreds of flights were canceled. here's nbc's molly hunter. >> reporter: three storms closing in across the country. denver, already buried in snow, the heavy onslaught shutting down highways across colorado as millions hit the road. cars skidding out, rescue crews on the scene amid the snowy conditions two rock slides shut down i-70 for hours. at denver airport flights pid ue 500, delaying nearly 200,000 passengers but at least one denver resident managed to find his way around

tractor-trailer roads and a semi flipped on its and in nebraska spinouts on icy side the powerful storm now heading east >> it's going to be bad. the snow's going to come down hard it's going to come down fast >> reporter: airport officials also warning flyers of potential delays as hundreds of airport workers across the country protested to demand better pay and benefits and the busiest travel day of the year many will have no choice but to stay put >> i'm just nervous to get home for thanksgiving to be with my family >> reporter: and of course that's what everyone is worried about. getting home in time for the holidays here in minneapolis they're expecting the biggest november snowfall in almost a decade. and what that means overnight is crews are out in force 800 though plows on the road 160 pieces of snow-clearing equipment at the airport, all to get the roads and runways clear by late morning. frances? >> all right, molly, thank you it is giddy up and get out of dodge time we'll check in with nbc meteorologist bill karins hoos tracking it. what a mess. >> the airports today, the winds

are going to be a huge issue on top of obviously the snow that we're dealing with in areas like denver. the cleanup from yesterday and the snowstorm ongoing in areas of minnesota and wisconsin. here's the two huge storms on the map. dealing with the airpo the near city airports should start okay but when a period of rain comes through this afternoon and the winds pick up they'll probably be building delays detroit and chicago, minneapolis, could have a lot of delays and cancellations because of high winds. the winds could gust up to 50 to 60 miles per hour. expect some iffy takeoffs and landings too and then in areas of the west, l.a. and san diego, this was a huge storm that moved on shore last night that's going to have implications then going into thanksgiving day i know some people travel in the morning. these storms are still on the map. kicking up through northern new england. still looking at gusty winds in boston and new york. out west just a mess right through thanksgiving l.a. to areas of texas pick your poison we're not done either. there's another big storm into the weekend. >> oh, man that means on the way home might be the same thing.

>> might need a vacation from the vacation after all that. thanks, bill more than 55 million people expected to travel between today and sunday 1.6 million more travelers than last year. many people adjusting their plans to try to get ahead of the rush and ahead of the weather. nbc's tom costello put in the work for us to tell us the best times to hit the road. tom, good morning. >> reporter: phillip, good morning. a very early good morning to you. chances are if you're watching this broadcast you're up early and you may want to get out the door early to bet the rush we've got an analysis showing wh time, the optimal time, in order to bet the rush today. and here is the list and you're not going to be happy. it's courtesy of google. but if you live in the following cities you should really be out the door at 3:00 a.m. to beat the rush boston, chicago, dallas, detroit, houston, phoenix, san francisco, and d.c you can leave at 4:00 a.m. if you're in tampa, miami, orlando, l.a., new york, philly, and

seattle. and guess what you get to sleep until 5:00 a.m. in pittsburgh and also in st. louis. keeping in mind of course that this broadcast rolls across the country and so different time zones may be watching us at different times. listen, the absolute worst time to leave really in every city in the country is between 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. wednesday. that's today because that's when you're going to have heavy, heavy traffic on the nation's roads all right. when is the best time to return home, to drive home? that's going to be, are you ready for this friday 4:00 a.m untirt well. if you don't want to do that, i don't blame you. try to get out the door sometime on friday or on saturday but on sunday it's going to be wall-to-wall people as well. we've also got to tell you that of course the airports are going to be really trying to recover from the big snowstorm that hit denver they're digging out. hopefully denver is back to normal today, wednesday, but they've got a lot of catch-up to do from all the flight

cancellations they had and that big storm hitting minneapolis, expected to impact minneapolis and also potentially chicago. phillip, back to you >> all right head to the airport. thank you, tom house democrats getting new insight into the impeachment inquiry this morning the intelligence community released transcripts from two more impeachment witnesses who testified behind closed doors. one from an assistant to the secretary of state phillip reeker and the other mark sandy, who is a career fi at the white house office of management and budget sandy told lawmakers that two staffers left the omb after expressing frustration overt unexpected hold on aid to ukraine. meanwhile, president trump stayed on the attack at a rally in floridanight. >> first it was the russia hoax. then you look, the mueller deal. you remember that mess now the same maniacs are pushing the deranged impeachment think of this.

impeachment. impeachment. a witch hunt >> the president is also distancing himself from his personal attorney this morning nbc's kristen welker has more. >> reporter: president trump saying he had no role in his personal attorney rudy giuliani's push for political investigations in ukraine at the heart of the impeachment inquiry, telling bill o'reilly -- >> so you didn't direct him to go to ukraine to >> no. i didn't direct him. but he -- he is a -- he is a warrior. >> reporter: it comes as house democrats announced impeachment hearings next week in the judiciary committee. the chairman writing to the president asking if you and your counsel plan to attend meanwhile, the president reacting to that legal setback after a federal judge ruled former white house counsel don mcgahn must testify before congress though he may not have to answer every question the judge writing, "presidents are not kings," rejecting the justice department's argument that top presidential advisers are immune from being called to

testify before congress. the justice department appealed the ruling the president tweeting, "i would love to have mike pompeo, rick perry, mick mulvaney, and many others testify about the phony impeachment hoax future presidents should in no way be compromised." and pompeo was asked whether he is considering testifying. >> when the time is right all good things happen >> i think mike pompeo would be a critical person to hear from right away and then rick perry >> reporter: and president trump ignored shouted questions about the intensifying probe >> are you going to testify? >> reporter: but joked about the impeachment investigation during that white house tradition of pardoning turkeys. >> they've already received subpoenas to appear dam schiff's basement on thursday. >> reporter: former national security adviser john bolton says bolton won't testify without a subpoena meanwhile bolton putting out a mysterious tweet saying our country's commitment to national

security is under attack from within >> thank you the day before thanksgiving the cdc has announced an additional 27 people have been sickened from the multistate outbreak of e. coli in romaine lettuce, bringing the total number of cases to 67 in 19 states last week the agency issued a warning to consumers not to eat romaine lettuce grown in salinas, california after at least 40 people became ill the fda is still investigating the exact source of the contamination but say it's the same e. coli strain tied to previous outbreaks in santa barbara thousands were evacuated after a raging wildfire exploded overnight. hundreds of firefighters are battling the cave fire it's been smoldering on the county line, scorching over 4,000 acres. firefighters say they've been facing some of the toughest condition, trying to contain it as winds blow every which way. firefighters are hoping for a little rain from a cold front that is moving across the state. an earth-shattering upset in college basketball as stephen f.

austin bedevilled duke >> loose they've got it they've got a time out, they don't use it bain yes! the lumberjacks have done it >> is the ball oust his hand when that clock goes to zero >> oh, my goodness, it is. >> just in time. the unranked lumberjacks knerngrom nathanbain before this duke had won 150e c. they were 27-point underdogs they won that game >> that's something else let's check back in with bill on these storms really going to affect so many our travel >> we talked about the airports. let's talk about the people who have to deal with it on the roads or however you're going to get around, not in the air 19 million people still impacted by the winter weather alerts many of them in the west, the mountain west is just getting nailed today a lot of the passes are going to have chains required or clothes.

check ahead. we still have all of our snow in areas from minneapolis to northern wisconsin if that wasn't bad enough we have 91 million people under wind alerts today. that's just going to a lot of ee feet of snow outside of denver in the foothills, especially near boulder. we also had a report of a tornado in louisiana that injured two people last night. so we've hay little bit of everyt the next few days, coming and going. thank you, bill. in today's quick hits twitter is preparing for a huge purge of inactive accounts the company's warning users it will start remin sned in for at let six months unless they log in by the december 11th deadline the bat used by baseball legend babe ruth to hit his 500th home run 90 years ago is

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and erase tough messes around your bathtub and shower. mr. clean magic erasers. there's no clean like mr. clean leading the news, it was another hot and steamy night in florida. but we're not talking about weather here president trump flexed his political muscle with a campaign rally in sunrise while also touting some physical muscle, namely of the state's governor, ron desantis >> i always thought ron was a little bit heavy and then one day i'm with him and i pat him on the shoulder and i go, whoa that's strong. that's a lot of muscle there my hand didn't sink in like it does with a lot of people. and then i see him without his shirt one day. and this guy is strong and he's not fat that's all power that's all muscle. i want to tell you that.

and i say ron, don't walk around way jacket all the time. take it off. people are going to see the real ron. >> yeah, that's not weird at all. locker room talk all over again. we have unconfirmed reports this morning that the governor is still blushing as we speak >> all right, then a philadelphia eagles star is opening up after he was sidelined while battling something that impacts so many americans. here's nbc's stephanie gosk. >> reporter: at 6'5", 335 pounds, knocking down philadelphia eagles' brandon brooks isn't easy. but on sunday that's exactly what happened. by an opponent far tougher than the other team anxiety. so bad he was vomiting on the sidelines and forced to leave the game >> it's a daily battle, man. i've gotten a lot better with it obviously not having it for a couple years but you know, stuff happens. >> reporter: in 2016 brooks

missed two games and first revealed he happen anxiety disorder >> you know, i'll make it through. i'll be okay nothing i'm ashamed of >> reporter: brooks turned to therapy and medication and became one of the best linemen in the league. and a spokesman for mental health >> the biggest thing is to embrace and accept it and understand why and really to attack it. >> reporter:f many athletes and celebrities now talking about their anxiety. nba player marcus morris and performers ariana grande, lady gaga, and selena gomez >> at the end of the day, you know, we're people we're how many beings. we go through the same things everybody else goes through. you know, everyday issues that 40 million americans go through. >> reporter: off the field the eagles right guard doing his part to tackle a stigma. stephanie gosk, nbc news, new york just ahead, a warning before you sneak a bite to fido under the table this thanksgiving. and a new study reveals that monecay n buy happiness but you'll need deep pockets in a lot of cities. jet and it's awe.

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but it actually is quite sexy. thanksgiving table which holiday foods are actually safe to share? your pup is okay to eat plain veggies and also cranberry sauce. turkey is fine too but skip the fatty skin, which would give spot a stomach ache. and whatever you do, don't throw that dog a bone. raiseins and chocolate cause canine health problems so, keep fido away from the dessert table and don't share your stuffing because onions and garlic are hazardous as well. when in doubt you've got your doggie treats. how about that >> there's a reason i don't have a dog. because i thought there's nothing wrong with giving them a bone i thought it cleans their teeth. >> the turkey bones are too small, too dangerous >> there you go. can you put a price tag on happiness? according to one study, you absolutely can researchers at purdue university examined how much money it takes for people to be happy in cities across the country in a city like cleveland it will

cost you around $80,000. if you're a new yorker that will look more like 219,000 in san antonio it's 101,000. and if you're in san francisco, california, to be happy you've got to be pulling in almost $320,000 a year. >> i'm sure a lot of people not making that, not working for me. >> more money you spend you make, th reminder of what not to do when why it ys tpao put down that cell phone. you're watching "early today." r. (acapella) whoa! (avo) and vaporize it. (acapella) ahhhh! (acapella) shhhh! (avo) nyquil severe with vicks vapocool. the vaporizing, nighttime, coughing, aching, stuffy head, best sleep with a cold, medicine. a lot of folks ask me why their dishwasher doesn't get everything clean. i tell them, it may be your detergent... that's why more dishwasher brands recommend cascade platinum... ...with the soaking, scrubbing and rinsing built right in. for sparkling-clean dishes, the first time. cascade platinum.

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well, the macy's thanksgiving parade forecast still looks very iffy. the latest forecast from the national weather service in new york city is saying 40-mile-per-hour gusts the balloons, the big ones, do not fly at their normal height they get grounded if it's over 34 so only got a day to go, but iffy >> oh, no. keeping hope >> fingers crossed here. when wcoe me back, the thanksgiving hotline just might save the day in providing significantly clearer skin. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya®. cost support options. how do we make a scented oil plug-in that doesn't smell fake? start with the essence of nature air wick scented oils are infused... ...with essential oils that are 100% natural. to fill every corner with the fragrance of nature.

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safety medics later arrived and took the man to the hospital. >> that candy crush,on goh too all of the above >> he lucked out, though, there wasn't a train coming. beware of the butterball blaze. the consumer products safety commission released this video as a warning about 1600 homes went up in flames on thanksgiving two years ago. now they're warning people to thaw their birds before deep frying speaking of turkeye to onet all. >> reporter: americans will carve some 46 million turkeys this thanksgiving. and should things go horribly wrong in the kitchen, who are you going to call? >> this is carol, how can i help you? >> reporter: carol miller has been answering panicked calls for 36 years >> when i started it was mostly women that called. but now about 25% of men are calling.

yay. >> reporter: and they've heard it all turkeys accidentally stuffed with matchbox cars turkeys dressed in abikini even a 30-year-old turkey found in the freezer there's nothing that stumps these talk line veterans >> so there was a family that was in the hotel t >> reporter: once it's thawed -- >> here goes i know >> reporter: -- the magic begins look at that >> it looks like it's done because it's a beautiful color but you can't tell by color. what you need is a meat thermometer. >> reporter: thanksgiving's a time to celebrate. >> and if you need a little help >> 1-800-butterball. >> reporter: then sit back, relax and dig in kevin tibbles, nbc news, naperville, illinois >> carol solves all the problems she's like the wolf from pulp fiction. call her up, figure it out >> turkey whisperer. a lot of years talking turkey. more power to her. celebrating birthdays today

actor jaleel white aka steve urkel turns 43 head of the class robin givens is 55. former ambassador to japan caroline kennedy turns 62. and bill nye the science guy is 64 and you've got the famed shoe derngsz manolo blahnik turns 77 years old. >> that's what he looks like >> yeah. used to seeing that name now we know he's got a face. thanks for waking up with us thanks for waking up with us i'm frances rivera ess starthe job finished. finish quantum's three-chamber detergent works with bosch's precisionwash technologylo. for a sparkling clean, from bosch to finish. ♪ dad insisted on playing the role ♪ ♪ but now the kids are scarred 'cause ♪ ♪ he's stuck in the chimney hole! ♪ ♪ the best part of wakin' up is folgers in your cup ♪

and a good wednesday m thanksgiving radar. the rain is gone. is it still coming? we'll talk about that, coming down in some places this morning. thanks for joining us this morning. i'm marcus washington. >> and i'm laura garcia. let's talk about that wet night across the bay area. we've got video from san jose. heavy rain was coming down

leaving a lot of puddles, potential mess, if you're one of the lucky ones headed to work this morning you're getting a break from the showers for the moment, depends on where you are. you saw the radar out there. kari is following it and a lot of trouble spots overnight.