to see them for like the first time since the pandemic. >> reporter: but getting there hasn't been easy. some flyers are contending with jammed airport parking lots. >> there's no parking. we tried to find a space. there isn't. >> reporter: also long security lines, like this one in pittsburgh. the faa tonight also reporting more than 5,000 unruly incidents this year, though the rate is trending down. and a new holiday-themed ad just released to encourage travelers to be kind. >> everyone around was acting with care, including the other travelers that happened to be there. >> reporter: and for those who don't, tonight the department of justice announced it will prioritize the prosecution of unruly passengers. attorney general merrick garland saying that anyone who assaults, intimidates or threatens violence toward anyone on board an aircraft, margaret, they threaten everyone on board. >> in case you need another reason to be kind. thank you, errol.

snow and rain could make holiday travel treacherous for some. let's get the forecast now from cbs's lonnie quinn who is on new york city's upper west side where balloons are being inflated for that big parade. good evening, lonnie. >> good evening to you, margaret. it seems like america kicks off their thanksgiving holiday by watching the parade. and there are the balloons. you see baby yoda behind me. it's going to be agreat weather day for the parade. let's talk about this weather picture because i've actually got some really good news. right now across the entire country pretty quiet out there. for the most part it's quiet today, quiet for tomorrow as well. so for the thanksgiving parade here's how i see it. temperatures about 46 degrees at the start of the parade, up to about 54 for an afternoon high. i don't see any big weather worries out there. for the balloons it's all about the wind. winds will not be an issue. so what could be an issue? what could complicate your drive home after your thanksgiving dinner? well, possibly some rain. anywhere from houston up into portions of ohio. by friday that same rain is going to make its way to the east coast. we'll deal with some wet

weather. then sunday into monday it's not just wet weather. a clipper system drops in. could be the first snowflakes for portions of the northeast. that's the way we see it. margaret, it's all yours. happy thanksgiving. >> happy thanksgiving, lonnie. we turn now to that migrant tragedy at sea. more than two dozen people drowned after a boat carrying them from france to britain capsized in the english channel. this evening the leaders of both countries say they're going to do more to try to stop these dangerous crossings which have soared this year. we get more now from charlie d'agata. >> reporter: calm but bitterly cold seas this morning tempted migrants to risk the treacherous journey from france to england. families with small children packed onto overcrowded dinghies. but for dozens it ended in tragedy, in the worst single loss of life for migrants on record in this narrow stretch of water. french officials alerted by a fishing vessel reporting bodies in the water said a boat with

more than 30 people on board capsized. a joint french and british search and rescue mission was launched, but for many it was too late. >> my thoughts and sympathies are first of all with the victims and their families. it's an appalling thing that they have suffered. but i also want to say that this disaster underscores how dangerous it is to cross the channel in this way. >> reporter: despite that danger more than 25,000 migrants have made the crossing this year, including more arriving in britain today. france and britain blame each other for not doing more to stop the flow. but tonight both share blame in the tragic loss of life in one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. authorities on both sides of the channel have warned it was just a matter of time before a tragedy like this was going to happen. french officials say there are women and one little girl among

the dead. margaret? >> tragic. thank you, charlie. tonight tributes are pouring in for jackson sparks, the youngest of six victims killed by a speeding car that tore through a christmas parade in waukesha, wisconsin on sunday. the 8-year-old underwent brain surgery, but he died tuesday. jackson's 12-year-old brother tucker was also injured but is expected to recover. at least four nfl players including j.j. watt, who was born in waukesha, have offered to help pay the funeral costs of the victims. the "cbs overnight news" will be right back.

when you really need to sleep you reach for the really good stuff. new zzzquil ultra helps you sleep better and longer when you need it most. it's non habit forming and powered by the makers of nyquil. new zzzquil ultra. when you really really need to sleep.

facing expensive vitamin c creams with dull results? olay brightens it up with new olay vitamin c. gives you two times brighter skin. hydrates better than the 100, 200, even $400 cream.

see, my skin looks more even, and way brighter. dullness? so done. turn up your results with new olay vitamin c my skin can face anything. shop the full vitamin c collection at olay.com do you struggle with occasional nerve aches in your hands or feet? try nervivenerve relief from the world's #1 selling nerve care company. nervive contains alpha lipoic acid to relieve occasional nerve aches, weakness and discomfort.

try nervivenerve relief. we turn now to what sounds like the premise of a sci-fi movie. nasa today in a first of its kind mission launched a spacecraft named d.a.r.t. toward an asteroid, hoping to nudge it off of its course. cbs's mark strassmann has the made for hollywood details. >> we're coming in hot! >> reporter: here's hollywood's plan. when an asteroid threatens earth. >> you're going to remote detonate the bomb. >> reporter: send bruce willis. but nasa calls lindley johnson. >> well, i'm the real bruce willis. >> reporter: johnson is nasa's real-life planetary defense officer. responsible for mapping thousands of near-earth asteroids, seen here in blue, that could threaten earth.

so far 10,000 seem big enough to cause a calamity if they were to hit our planet. in 2013 a small asteroid roughly 60 feet across exploded over russia, injuring more than 1,600 people. >> if they were to impact particularly in a populated area, it would be a natural disaster on the order of anything that we've ever dealt with. >> reporter: houp vulnerable is the earth to one of these objects? >> if it's a large object, there's currently nothing to stop it. >> lift-off. >> reporter: nasa just launched earth's first planetary defense mission, d.a.r.t., the double asteroid redirection test. the spacecraft will target the moon of a harmless double asteroid nearly 7 million miles away. >> the d.a.r.t. spacecraft is going to come in at 15,000 miles per hour and hit it pretty much head on here. >> reporter: slowing the asteroid's orbit by about 1%, and push a hypothetical

earthbound threat off target. >> small nudge changes its position over time so the earth and the asteroid wouldn't be on a future collision course. >> reporter: sleep easier knowing this -- no sizable asteroid seems remotely menacing for more than a century. mark strassmann, cbs news, laurel, maryland. still ahead, how a souvenir jacket led to an arrest in the january 6th breach at the capitol. several old spice and secret aerosol sprays are now being recalled. and

when i get a migraine, i shut out the world. but with nurtec odt that's all behind me now. nurtec can now treat and prevent migraines. don't take if allergic to nurtec. the most common side effects were nausea, stomach pain, and indigestion. ask your doctor about nurtec today. with voltaren arthritis pain gel. my husband's got his moves back. and indigestion. an alternative to pills, voltaren is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory gel for powerful arthritis pain relief. voltaren, the joy of movement.

a broadway actor is facing criminal charges tonight for his part in the january 6th breach of the capitol. investigators say james beeks is also affiliated with the far right militia the oath keepers. beeks, who performs as a michael jackson impersonator, was wearing a jackson tour jacket during the siege, and that helped investigators identify him on o. proc & iss vontary ll of some ts aerosol saysts today because cancer-causing chemical. several old spice and secret sprays with expiration dates through september of 2023 are affected. benz benzene, a carcinogen, has been detected in the sprays. australia's great barrier reef exploded in color and new life overnight. the coral's fertilized billions of offspring in the reef's annual spawning event.

the reef suffered significant damage in recent years, mostly from rising ocean temperatures. scientists call it good news for the reef's recove

when you humble yourself under the mighty hand of god, in due time he will exalt you. hi, i'm joel osteen. i'm excited about being with you every week. i hope you'll tune in. you'll be inspired, you'll be encouraged. i'm looking forward to seeing you right here. you are fully loaded and completely equipped for the race that's been designed for you.

tonight, we have the story of some furry friends who are finding new homes for the holidays. here is cbs's ben tracy. >> reporter: andy and jennifer parsons didn't think their hearts could handle a new dog. they lost the one they've had for 13 years just last month. >> and we are definitely dog people, and we miss her and we miss the presence of a dog. >> reporter: but they heard the richmond animal shelter lets people foster a pet for two weeks during thanksgiving. >> so we just thought it would be helpful to get a little bit of some dog back in the house and not really have to feel like we're committing right off the bat. >> it's a good test run. >> yes. >> and then y'all can see if it works. >> reporter: shelter director christie chipps peters tries to find a temporary home for these abandoned cats and dogs. >> i was thinking about how full our shelter was of all of these

animals that just wanted to be loved, and thinking about the people out there that may be alone for thanksgiving, that want the same thing. and so if we could connect the two, maybe it would be a really beautiful thing. >> reporter: she matched the parsons up with a 2-year-old pit bull named squirmy. >> i love her so much. i'm so glad that she's with you. >> reporter: more than half the time foster parents end up adopting. and that's exactly what the parsons did. >> this seems like a pretty instant match. love at first sight. >> it's almost like it was the perfect dog for us. 100%. >> reporter: and now they know their hearts still have plenty of room left to share. ben tracy, cbs news, richmond, virginia. >> and that's the "overnight news" for this thursday. for some of you the news continues. for others check back later for "cbs mornings." and follow us online anytime at cbsnews.com. reporting from the nation's capitol, i'm margaret brennan wishing you a happy and healthy thanksgiving.

this is "cbs news flash." i'm elyse preston in new york. this year's macy's thanksgiving day parade in new york city welcomes back spectators forced to stay home in 2020. there will be a heightened police presence. safety measures began earlier this week. you can watch the parade right here on cbs. the head of instagram will testify before congress during hearings about online safety for children. in recent years the social media platform has been blamed for negatively impacting the well-being of children and teens. and famous guitars will soon hit the auction block in hopes of raising money for new orleans musicians hit hard by the pandemic. u2 guitarist the edge is leading

the effort. for more news download the cbs news app on your cell phone or connected tv. i'm elise preston, cbs news, new york. >> announcer: this is the "cbs overnight news." good evening and thank you for joining us. i'm margaret brennan, in for norah. three white men were found guilty of murder for chasing down and fatally shooting a 25-year-old black man named ahmaud arbery in february 2020. those men may now spend the rest of their lives in prison. the triggerman, travis mcmichael, his father gregory mcmichael and their neighbor william "roddie" bryan claimed they suspected arbery of burglaries in their neighborhood and were attempting to make a citizen's arrest. but prosecutors argued the men had no evidence of arbery

committing any crimes and no right to pursue him. the killing prompted georgia officials to repeal the state's citizen's arrest law, and the case garnered national attention. it drew civil rights leaders to brunswick, georgia. today president biden said in part, "the verdict ensures that those who committed this horrible crime will be punished." cbs's omar villafranca leads off our coverage at the courthouse. good evening, omar. >> reporter: good evening. when we first talked to ahmaud arbery's mother, wanda cooper-jones, 17 months ago there was not a lot of attention on this case. but she was pushing investigators to dig deeper. she wanted the men arrested, tried and convicted. today, a year and a half later, because of her pressure her prayers were answered. >> count 1, malice murder. we the jury find the defendant, travis mcmichael, guilty. >> whoo! >> reporter: an emotional reaction from ahmaud arbery's father to the first of 23 guilty

verdicts for the three men who murdered his son. arbery's mother, wanda cooper-jones, went in the back row as the verdict was read. >> to tell you the truth, i never saw this day back in 2020. i never thought this day would come. but god is good. >> reporter: the three men stood silent as their fates were read. they could spend the rest of their lives in prison. their attorneys say they're disappointed but respect the jury's decision. >> we understand that they feel they have gotten justice today. we respect that. we honor that. >> reporter: travis mcmichael, the man who pulled the trigger, was found guilty on all charges. his father, greg mcmichael, was found guilty on all but one count of malice murder. and neighbor william "roddie" bryan, who recorded the fatal encounter on a cell phone, was found guilty on six counts including felony murder. >> we would expect the judge to give the most severe sentence to obviously travis mcmichael.

and that would probably be a life sentence. the judge could go up to a life sentence for the felony murder on the other two. but they are all facing similar arry was a burglar and were ect conducting a citizen's arrest. and that travis mcmichael shot arbery in self-defense. >> you are allowed to use force that is likely to cause death or serious bodily injury if you believe it's necessary. >> reporter: jurors also heard from more than two dozen witnesses during the trial including travis mcmichael, who said during cross-examination arbery did not threaten him. >> he hasn't pulled out a gun. >> that's correct. >> he hasn't said one word to you. >> he has not. >> he's not threatened you in any way. verbally or physically. >> no, ma'am. >> no knives. >> no knives. >> reporter: the jury of nine women and three men, all white except for one black man, came to their decision after more than 11 hours of deliberation.

>> ahmaud arbery! >> reporter: outside the courthouse a crowd chanted ahmaud arbery's name and celebrated the verdict and his family, who had been present almost every kay in court. >> i wouldn't want to see no daddy watch their kid get shot down like that. >> reporter: for wanda cooper-jones the verdict is a validation of her son's life. >> you know him as ahmaud. i knew him as quez. he will now rest in peace. >> reporter: the judge has not set a date for sentencing. because of this case georgia's citizen's arrest law was repealed and state hate crime laws were actually passed. as for the defendants, their legal journey is not over. they now face federal hate crime charges in a trial that'll start next year. margaret? >> omar villafranca, thank you. we turn now to one of the busiest travel days of the year. more than 50 million americans are expected to fly, drive or take a train to their

thanksgiving destination. that is the highest number of estimated travelers since before the pandemic. we get more now from cbs's errol barnett. good evening to you, errol. >> reporter: good evening, margaret. thankfully, flight cancellations and delays are low nationwide tonight thanks to ideal weather conditions. however, traveler volume is tremendously high, both here on the ground and in the air, making it virtually impossible tonight to avoid the crowds. tonight america is on the move. >> traveling back for thanksgiving on the busiest day of the year. >> reporter: it's been a day of congested highways, crowded airports and full train stations as millions make their way to thanksgiving destinations. >> we left early to beat the traffic. >> it's just a parking garage at this point. >> reporter: most are driving, wth more than 48 million hitting the roads. and tonight finding gas prices averaging $3.39 per gallon, the highest thanksgiving holiday

price in nine years. >> that's too much money. that's too much. the gas is high. >> reporter: with covid lockdowns in the rearview mirror and the national vaccination rate nearing 60%, many feel confident about flying this thanksgiving. >> we decided we were going to fly. we're triple vaxed. >> reporter: the tsa reporting six straight days of more than 2 million flyers, a first since the pandemic began. kelsey shields, who hasn't seen some relatives in 20 months, told cbs news what she's looking forward to. >> family time and being able to see them for like the first time since the pandemic. >> reporter: but getting there hasn't been easy. some flyers are contending with jammed airport parking lots. >> there's no parking. we tried to find a space. there isn't. >> reporter: also long security lines like this one in pittsburgh. the faa tonight also reporting more than 5,000 unruly incidents this year, though the rate is trending down. and a new holiday-themed ad just released to encourage travelers to be kind. >> everyone around was acting

with care, including the other travelers that happened to be there. >> reporter: and for those who don't tonight the department of justice announced it will prioritize the prosecution of unruly passengers. attorney general merrick garland saying that anyone who assaults, intimidates or threatens violence toward anyone on board an aircraft, margaret, they threaten everyone on board. >> in case you need another reason to be kind. thank you, errol. a broadway actor is facing criminal charges tonight for his part in the january 6th breach of the capitol. investigators say james beeks is also affiliated with the far right militia the oath keepers. beeks, who performs as a michael jackson impersonator, was wearing a jackson tour jacket during the siege, and that helped investigators identify him on video. procter & gamble issued a nt of some of its aerosol sprays and anti-perspirants today because they contain a cancer-causing

chemical. several old spice and secret sprays with expiration dates through september of 2023 are affected. benzene, a carcin new vicks convenience pack. dayquil severe for you... and daily vicks super c for me. vicks super c is a daily supplement with vitamin c and b vitamins to help energize and replenish. dayquil severe is a max strength daytime, coughing, power through your day, medicine. new from vicks. ♪ when you have nausea, ♪ ♪ heartburn, ingestion, upset stomach... ♪

♪ diarrheaaaa.♪ try pepto bismol with a powerful coating action. for fast and soothing relief. pepto bismol for fast relief when you need it most. when you really need to sleep you reach for the really good stuff. new zzzquil ultra helps you sleep better and longer when you need it most. it's non habit forming and powered by the makers of nyquil. new zzzquil ultra. when you really really need to sleep.

♪ >> announcer: this is the "cbs overnight news." i'm catherine her ij in washington. thanks for staying with us on this thanksgiving morning. a year ago the covid-19 pandemic cast a shadow over holiday gatherings. many were either canceled or scaled back. but this year 2/3 of americans say they plan to celebrate the old-fashioned way, with meals packed with friends and family. health officials are not trying to discourage that. but they say you'll be safer with vaccinations and boosters, rapid covid tests and even celebrating outdoors. laura podesta has that story. >> reporter: danica brown was looking forward to getting

together with her entire extended family for thanksgiving. but then she found out to receive an invite she had to get the covid-19 vaccine. why were you hesitant? >> just because it was so new. >> reporter: a recent poll of more than 2,000 people including more than 1,400 who are vaccinated shows half are hesitant to spend the holidays with unvaccinated family and friends. >> if you take some pretty simple steps you can actually get together with your family indoors without a mask. the risk will not be nil, but it will be much, much, much lower than it could be. >> reporter: dr. william hanage with harvard's t.h. chan school of of public health, puts vaccination at the top of that list. >> if you're not vaccinated or if you're around people who aren't for whatever reason, you can reduce risk by things like using rapid tests. people can take a rapid test before coming to the thanksgiving meal. >> reporter: gather outdoors if possible. if you're indoors, open the windows if weather allows and consider getting a hepa air purifier. dr. hanage says it's important

to remember the risk is not the same for everyone. >> if you're going to a thanksgiving party with older, vulnerable relatives, i do encourage you to make sure you're vaccinated to try and avoid becoming infected in the run-up and to take a rapid test before you get in there because that will help ensure you do not transmit the virus to people who can suffer severe disease. even those who are vaccinated. >> reporter: danica decided to get the shot. did you choose to get the vaccine because you wanted to be protected or specifically to go to thanksgiving dinner? >> i literally got it to go to thanksgiving dinner. >> reporter: she's thankful to be spending the day with family this year. laura podesta, cbs news. in some parts of the world vaccines have turned the tide in the battle against covid-19. 63% of people in north america have received at least one dose, and 62% in europe. but in africa just 10% have received the shot. but that could soon change. as deborah patta reports.

>> reporter: a pair of nondescript warehouses in a dusty part of capetown. >> i'm deborah. >> reporter: is the unlikely home to a revolution. >> i love it. >> you don't know what's behind the doors. >> i know. >> reporter: inside the air-locked sterile rooms you'll find a band of rebels, albeit in white lab coats, passionate about using science to change the world. >> so this is where the manufacturing will start. >> reporter: their managing director says their aim is to overcome the vaccine inequalities laid painfully bare by the covid pandemic. >> well, these massive efforts to scale up production in facilities in the high-income countries, those vaccines first vaccinated the people in high-income countries. >> reporter: so african countries had to wait. as a result less than 5% on the continent are fully vaccinated. technical director dr. karen finer says the pandemic was a welcome call. >> because it made us realize if

we don't step up and do it ourselves no one else is going to do it. >> reporter: after pleading with big pharma to share their recipes these scientists are done waiting and have taken the development of a covid vaccine into their own hands. afrigen is replicating moderna's mrna vaccine together with vits university in johannesburg who have mastered the difficult science needed to manufacture mrna. despite moderna's stated commitment to global vaccine access, they have not given their permission. >> we can legally take this vaccine up to clinical trials without infringing any intellectual property. >> but then you have a problem. >> so we would ideally want to have a license agreement with moderna. >> reporter: the dream here is not just to replicate but innovate the vaccine. to kraept a freeze-dried version that doesn't require cold storage. the world health organization is backing this effort so that africa can reduce its reliance

on outside companies. but so many health experts globally have said it can't be done. africa can't do it it. they can't produce an mrna vaccine. >> i think we have a surprise for the rest of the world. we can. and we will. >> reporter: the kind of determination needed on this covid battlefront. it takes rebels in lab coats to even the field. debora patta, capetown. now from the battle against the coronavirus to a mission to keep the world safe from an asteroid strike. nasa made history this week, launching a spacecraft designed to ram into a speeding asteroid and knock it off a potential collision course with earth. mark strassmann shows us why this planetary defense mission is so critical. >> reporter: look out. in the 1998 sci-fi thriller "armageddon" an asteroid the size of texas is on a collision course with planet earth. >> the united states government just asked us to save the world. >> reporter: and actor bruce

willis jumps in to save us all. >> you're going to remote detonate the bomb. >> reporter: so in hollywood they blow it up. >> right. you don't want to blow it up because that doesn't change the direction of all the material. it's still coming at you. it's just buckshot instead of a rifle bullet. >> reporter: lindley johnson ought to know. >> well, i'm the real bruce willis. >> you are. >> reporter: he is. nasa's real-life planetary defense officer. trying to find asteroids in our solar system before they find us. more than 27,000 near-earth asteroids, seen here in blue, have been identified so far. about 10,000 of them look large enough to cause damage if they were ever to strike earth. >> smaller size asteroids, even the smallest, a few hundred feet in size, if they were to impact particularly in a populated

area, it witould be a natural disaster on the order of anything we've ever dealt with. >> reporter: in 2013 a meteor just 60 feet across exploded over russia, injuring more than 1,600 people. as it now stands, how vulnerable is the earth to one of these objects? >> to a large object there's currently nothing to stop it. >> lift-off. >> reporter: but nasa just launched earth's first planetary defense mission, the double asteroid redirection test, or d.a.r.t. >> d.a.r.t. is a spacecraft that's purposely going to crash into an asteroid. >> reporter: planetary scientist nancy chabot is the d.a.r.t. coordination lead. near baltimore the johns hopkins universally applied physics laboratory built the spacecraft. >> this is didymos. >> reporter: chabot showed us d.a.r.t.'s test target, a harmless double asteroid nearly 7 million miles away. didymos is about 2,500 feet

across. next fall d.a.r.t. will target dimorphos, its smaller moon, an asteroid roughly the size of the washington monument. >> the d.a.r.t. spacecraft is going to come in at 15,000 miles per hour and hit it pretty much head on here. >> reporter: an impact that would slow this asteroid's orbit by about 1%. but the tactic could make a hypothetical earthbound asteroid miss. >> small nudge changes its position over time. so the earth and the asteroid wouldn't be on a future collision course. >> reporter: bump it ever so slightly and knock it off course, remove the threat. >> correct. but luckily there are no known hazards in the next 100 or so years. but we actually haven't found all of the asteroids yet, which is why it makes sense to be ready in case you needed to. >> reporter: in fact, scientists believe they've found fewer than half of all near-earth asteroids big enough to cause devastation. of course, hollywood could spot the next threat from the sky

anytime. >> the two halves are going to miss us by 400 miles. >> reporter: mark strassmann, laurel, maryland. i just heard something amazing! now for the first time one medication was approved to treat and prevent migraines. don't take if allergic to nurtec. the most common side effects were nausea, stomach pain, and indigestion. ask your doctor about nurtec today. start your day with crest 3d white and from mochaccinos to merlot, your smile will always be brilliant. crest 3d white brilliance. 100% stain removal, 24 hour stain resistance to lock in your whitest smile. crest. the #1 toothpaste brand in america. facing expensive vitamin c creams with dull results? olay brightens it up with new olay vitamin c.

gives you two times brighter skin. hydrates better than the 100, 200, even $400 cream. see, my skin looks more even, and way brighter. dullness? so done. turn up your results with new olay vitamin c my skin can face anything. shop the full vitamin c collection at olay.com introducing the all-new gillettelabs with exfoliating bar. it removes unseen dirt and debris before the blades, for a shave as quick and easy as washing your face. ♪♪ nyquil severe gives you powerful relief for your worst cold and flu symptoms, on sunday night and every night. nyquil severe. the nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy head, best sleep with a cold, medicine.

ordinary tissues burn when theo blows. so dad bought puffs plus lotion, and rescued his nose. with up to 50% more lotion puffs bring soothing softness and relief. a nose in need deserves puffs indeed. you have always loved vicks vapors. and now you'll really love new vicks' vapostick. it goes on clear and dries quickly. no mess. just the soothing vicks' vapor for the whole family. introducing new vicks vapostick.

thanksgiving is traditionally a time for families and friends to gather over a meal and give thanks for all the blessings that life can bring. but it's also a time to remember those who have much less. lee cowan has some thoughts on the holiday and its true meaning. ♪ >> can you say gobble gobble? >> reporter: remember last thanksgiving? most of us were just thankful 2020 was almost over. this year no more virtual dinners. our thanksgiving traditions have mostly returned. >> pie. >> what do you think? >> pie. >> reporter: but as we bow our heads in the company of all of those we care most about, not very far away are plenty

suffering without. those with no shelter who are hungry or struggling with addiction or mental health, sometimes both. for them thanksgiving day is just another day. their friends and family? maybe they have none. the unluckiest among them are dreadfully alone. a feeling surely magnified imagining the rest of us gathering together. but the holiday spirit that we hear so much about isn't some ghostly apparition. at this time of year its touch can be every bit as real as a handshake. after all, no one is forcing us to gather spare change at a traffic light to give to the man or woman with a cardboard sign. nobody insists we rummage through our closets to find warm clothes to give to those whom we've never met. >> thank you. you guys have a blessed

thanksgiving. >> reporter: our schedules, usually too packed to volunteer the rest of the year, mysteriously open up. and maybe we even step foot in a house of worship for the first time in a long, long while. >> be careful. yum, yum, yum. >> reporter: whatever you believe the holiday spirit to be, it does seem to be tangible. it brings those who are not at our table into gentle focus. it reminds us how lucky we are. and it makes all the disparate parts of our country seem even for a few weeks like we're gathered around some common hearth. of course keeping that spirit all year long isn't easy. maybe that's why every 12 months we get a chance to try again.

>> and we hope you have a very good thanksgiving.

if your holiday shopping list includes a new electric car, anthony pura has a look at some of your high-tech options. >> reporter: at the los angeles auto show e-power is taking center stage. today's electric cars like the new lucid air offer modern luxury, the latest tech, and travel long distances on a single charge. >> 520 miles of range is the closest thing is like 400. so this is like off the charts. >> reporter: ed lowe is with "motor trend," which recently named the lucid air its 2022 car of the year. >> it has an astonishing amount of horsepower. itting it up to 1,111 horsepower. things like 0 to 60 in 2.4 seconds. >> reporter: from new cars like

lucid to well-known brands the auto industry is embracing battery power. there's now an electric mustang, ford pickup truck, and the president recently took a spin in gm's new hummer. >> that's something else. >> reporter: most electric vehicles need to be plugged into a charging station to get powered up. but this new truck also captures the power of the sun. the solar panels on the edison future ef-1t can augment battery power, adding about 30 miles after eight hours in the sun. >> it's going to be something which is going to be giving that extra range for customers on a daily basis. >> reporter: electric vehicles only account for about 2% of total u.s. auto sales, but that is changing. >> it's inevitable that we're going to move to electrification. >> reporter: there are a slew of startup companies introducing new vehicles, and many of the world's biggest automakers are promising to give up gas engine and accelerate the move to green power. anthony pura, cbs news, los angeles. and that's the "overnight news" for this thursday.

reporting from the nation's capital i'm catherine herridge wishing you a happy and healthy thanksgiving. this is "cbs news flash." i'm elise preston in new york. this year's macy's thanksgiving day parade in new york city welcomes back large crowds of spectators forced to stay home in 2020. there will be a heightened police presence, safety measures began earlier this week. you can watch the parade right here on cbs. the head of instagram will testify before congress during hearings about online safety f r children. in recent years the social modia platform has been blamed for negatively impacting the well-being of children and teens. and famous guitars will soon hit the auction block in hopes of raising money for new orleans musicians hit hard by the pandemic. u2 guitarist the edge is leading the effort.

for more news download the cbs news app on your cell phone or connected tv. i'm elise preston, cbs news, new york. it's thursday, november 25th, 2021. this is the "cbs morning news." preparing for the parade. one of the nation's biggest holiday traditions returns to pre-pandemic form. we'll have a preview of the macy's thanksgiving day parade and the security measures in place. guilty of murder. a jury convicts three white men who chased down and fatally shot ahmaud arbery. what happens next and president biden's reaction. stepping up. nfl star j.j. watt is helping the victims of the parade tragedy in his hometown of waukesha, wisconsin. good morning, and good to be with you. i am anne-marie green. happy thanksgiving.