>> reporter: i want you to meet a few people who used to rely on this glide thanksgiving dinner. but today they are giving more than just their gratitude back to the community. he cut vegetables today -- she cut vegetables today. but she remembers the day she spent in line. not helpless but homeless. not by choice. i was in a very bad situation. the economy. just like the economy is very bad now. i'm prior to participate and congratulate anyone who makes a difference. >> reporter: we found eeling a

-- eating a holiday meal -- we found those eating a holiday meal -- >> i stood in the line. i want to give back. >> reporter: the volunteers explain why they wouldn't have it any other way. >> my husband and i come every holiday. the crazy thing is probably a lot of these kids were not born when we started this. >> this is truly a happy meal. >> reporter: but in order to provide it free to more than 5,000 people today. glide's founder says the generosity can never waiver. >> we see more families in our lives. there is a growth of people who don't have or did have it at one time and now they don't. >> reporter: one place relying solely on the place of the others -- place of others meals

on wheels. >> it's something to do that's fulfilling and, you know, it helps out people. it's nice seeing people's smiles. >> it's really exciting. they are happy to see someone at the door. they like to ask us come in every once in a while and have that moment of human interaction and that's kind of nice. >> reporter: this afternoon, glide continues to ask for more turkeys, canned food and toys this year for their annual christmas giveaway. can you make a monetary donation out to the glide foundation at 331 ellis street and this afternoon thanksgiving dinner began at 9:00 this morning. it ends at 2:00 this afternoon. reporting live in san francisco, jade hernandez. ktvuchannel2news. >> great to see that every year. hundreds of volunteers are busy in san francisco this afternoon delivering nearly 5,000 meals to people who can't leave their homes because of age or illness. people have been up sincier i this morning preparing those

meals. more than 150 turkeys made up part of the dinners. they also include stuffing, green beans, potatoes and cranberry sauce. the dinners are being delivered according to preplanned routes. >> it's a time for the residents to give back as well. they are very active as well with the prep, with the packages. and we have volunteers who come in. it's one-one -- it's one-on-one to get these meals out. >> the meals are cooked in the city's harbor light kitchen. on this holiday and beyond, bay area food banks and other charities also could use your help. if you want to know -- if you want to know date, go to ktvu.com. it's warming up a little bit for the afternoon but those cold temperatures are coming up tonight. the bay area is looking at a sunny, but breezy afternoon. overnight lows were much colder in san francisco, they hit previous record temperatures of 42 degrees.

they surpassed that in 1892. oakland also set a new record with a low of 34 degrees. it was below freezing in san rafael, concord, and palo alto. truckee came in at 13 degrees below zero. steve paulson will have a complete forecast in a few minutes. some homeless shelters in the south bay are opening early because of the cold weather. santa clara county declared a state of emergency because of freezing temperatures. the reception center in san jose has set up emergency shelter beds and is opening early this year. the shelter usually opens on the monday after thanksgiving. beds will be awarded on a lottery basis. >> when everybody is out there sleeping, they are out there riding the 22 and we're told. >> reporter: the 22 being the bus line? >> yes. i'm not the only one who does it, the homeless -- the whole bus is full. so with this opening up today,

it's a big help. ktvu is helping out in the community. tomorrow kicked -- kicks off the holiday drive all over the bay area. it's called one warm coat. bay area personalities will be at four different locations to take your donations. they will are be out there until 6:00 p.m. we hope you can stop by with a warm coat. many skiers and snowboarders are already headed up to the sierra on this thanksgiving day. we can expect the slow drive to the lake tahoe area, however. right now there are no chain requirement on interstate 8 or or highway 50 -- interstate 80 or highway 50. we talked to one frustrated truck driver near blue canyon yesterday. >> walnut creek police are investigating an armed robbery at a diner. it happened around 1:00 this morning at the black bear diner

on bancroft road. two employ i -- employees were inside at the time. one was hit in the face during the ronry -- robbery. police are looking for suspects. they got away with $600. >> it was a close call on this thanksgiving day for one family after a fire ripped through a south bay home early this morning. according to the san jose fire d, the two-alarm fire began after 9:00 a.m. in the home on center road in san jose. upon arrival firefighters reported flames 20 feet in the air. first report, firefighters believe some residents may be trapped inside but they were able to quickly to confirm that everybody made it out safely. >> the fire is gonna affect somewhere between 6:00 and -- between six and ten people. the build something gonna be a complete loss for the occupants that live here. >> the cause of the fire is still under investigation. it's not yet black friday but shoppers are already lining up for those deals.

the day after thanksgiving is known as the beginning of the holiday shopping season. as claudine wong explains, stores and consumers can't seem to wait until friday for the bargains to begin. >> reporter: they lined up in 30-degree were with turkey on the horizon and deals on their mind. jim was the first in line. >> i don't do this every year. this is the first time i ever do this. there's a tv i'm interested in it was a couple hundred dollars off. i thought it was -- it was worth getting up early to get that tv if i did -- if i can. >> i have a honey-do list. >> reporter: do you finish your christmas shopping by the end of it? >> yes. all done. >> reporter: on this day, the day before black friday, the steady stream of people seem too head in one direction.

it looks like everybody is going in the same direction. >> to electronics. >> reporter: opening on thanksgiving may be a tradition to kmart but it's a growing trend. >> happy thanksgiving. >> reporter: happy thanksgiving. >> this year for the first time, sears opened on thanksgiving morning. >> here at sears we are always looking at ways to meet our customers' needs. they've been telling us for years they wanted to open on thanksgiving. electronics and tools seem to be what grabs the attention of shoppers. >> i had to go to church this morning so i wanted to make sure i got my frames. >> reporter: was it that good of a deal? >> yeah. it was 40% savings. >> you can bet retailers will be watching the registers closely because what happens today and over the next few days will give them a good incation -- indication for the rest of the holiday shopping -- season. >> if you are a retail person, this is your time. there is nothing better than this time. year for us.

>> reporter: for today's early riseers. it was mission accomplished. jim got that tv he was hoping for and a couple of other must- haves. so retailers are happy to see the customers and customers are happy to get a deal or two. we'll do all of this again tomorrow. we posted a black friday survival tab at ktvu.com. it contains information donator with find the best deals instores and on line. yesterday was the biggest holiday travel day on the long thanksgiving. some people preferred to fly today. most travelers we talked to said the flight today was deeper in some cases -- cheaper in some cases and not as crowded as the day leading up to the holiday. they also wanted to avoid big crowds. >> we figured that the traffic would be a little less on thanksgiving morning versus wednesday and tuesday. >> we just checked with our local airports and there are no

major delays right now. >> you can check on the status of local flights throughout the day, go to the website. when you get there, go to the stormtracker2 tab on the home page of ktvu.com. the last congressional election in the bay area that was still in question appear to be settled. while most of us give thanks, one bay area family remembers a loss. how a swim benefit is benefiting students. and our weather is headed for a change. steve paulson has those details. >> reporter: braving the cold, these people raised a lot of money for charities. we'll tell you who will be helped.

there are new developments on the korean peninsula today. south korea's defense minister has resigned. his resignation comes two days after north korea launched dozens of artillery shells on an island between those two countries. the attack killed civilians and two military. the north is washing additional

attacks -- additional attacks if provoked. the south ordered more troops to that border. president obama has thoughts for the american people on this thanksgiving day. the president is calling on people to do what they can to help each other. >> this is not the hardest thanksgiving america has ever faced. but as long as many of our members are hurting, we have to look out for one another. >> in his weekly address, mr. obama said we need to support those serving overseas and keep the economy moving forward. the president will meet with congressional leaders on both parties. he says the two parties need to work together to make progress on the issues. president obama and his family are spending part of their thanksgiving at the white house. yesterday, they spent some time in a washington, d.c. charity helping out with holiday preparations. mr.obama handed out bags of food to low income family the at -- families at a charity called martha's table. the first lady, and the obama daughters were also onhand.

this was their second visit to this charity. it appears that jerry mcnerney has won the reelection against his republican challenger. the latest numbers show mcnerney with 2400 more votes than his opponent and "the associated press" reports there are fewer than 1900 ballots to be counted. even though, the democrat has not conceded. this morning some bay area folks burned a few calories for a good cause before they sat down for their thanksgiving feast. the 9th annual turkey swim was held and money raised goes to the karen m. gordon scholarship fund to pay for scholarships

for low-income kid. >> this morning's karen's father talked about what this means. >> it gives back to the community for the good kids in the world. it helps them reach some of their goals educationwise. >> karen gordon was an intern here at ktvu who was killed on her 19th birthday by a driver fleeing police. she was a lifeguard and swimming instructor as well as a freshmen honor student and water polo player at what is now cal state east bay in hayward. the cold didn't discourage people from participating in a thanksgiving tradition in san jose. thousands of people put on their running shoes for the annual turkey trot race. allie rasmus has that story. >> reporter: they bundled up in blanket, huddled together and stretched to stay warm. an estimated 15,000 people took part in the silicon valley

trot. there were so many participants they -- they had shuffle slowly. >> it feels good. i love getting out here to run. >> you heard right, this woman is seven months pregnant. it didn't stop her from doing the 5-k walk and run -- walk and run. >> my dad is out here. he's doing the 10-k. he's 71 years old. >> it's helty for you and it's really enjoyable. >> organizers say that's one of the goals of this event, to enspire people to be active on a dale -- inspire people to be active on a day when people usually eat turkey. the fees help the community in other ways. the event is a fund-raiser for slay charities. last year they raised $322,000. this year they shattered the

record. >> about $416,000 reached. those go to three charities, the food bank, the children's health initiative. >> the silicon valley turkey trot is in the 6th year and for many participants it's become a tradition. >> family day getting together on turkey day, starting off with a good race, build up an appetite go home and eat. >> all while helping out a good cause. >> okay. steve paulson is here to tell us whether or not we're going to need a heavy coat for black friday over the weekend or perhaps even an umbrella? >> yes, yes, and yes. i think you will need one tonight. tonight will be colder. we had a little bit of wind. temperatures this morning, a lot of upper 20s. there were a few records. sanfrancisco tied had 423 degrees -- tied 42 degrees. tying the old mark going back

to 1892. that's impressive. sacramento dipped to 29. there were some impressive records set this morning but only a couple. a little bit of wind helped keep things stirred up a bit. it's not bad right now. so if you must travel, today and tomorrow looks good. rain returns and snow in the mountains on saturday. clearing, breezy and cooler for monday. you can see everything is dropping straight down into the north. that system to the left your screen will be here on saturday. the coldest readings, boulder creek, 24. >> clear skies today. tomorrow we might get the leading edge of this system to come in. but it's still going to be clear and cold tonight. we have another freeze warning out. nationally it's a mess for some. that system is beginning to

punch in in the pacific northwest. some snow coming in around seattle and spokane. that's a big low in the dakotas. ahead of that there's snow, freezing rain in the great lakes. and from the northeast stretching down into texas. on the back side of that is the freezing warn. southeast is okay. upper 40s. 16 at tahoe. but tahoe and truckee both dipped to 13 below this morning. 48 ukiah. sacramento 29. 47 and it's cool and windy down in southern california. if you have to travel over the grapevine it's not anything in the way of precipitation. that system looking better and better with time. saturday afternoon and evening with more snow in the mountains, if you need to do it -- get out, do it. the freeze warning will kick back in tonight. low 50s on the highs. they will be there for about 15 minutes. then will start to cool down because the days are so short.

clearing breezy cool on sunday. monday looks good. another cold morning. >> maybe possibly another record-setter. >> thanks very much, steve. they've done it 84 times. find out what special visitor in new york city in the macy's parade will be in the bay area tomorrow.

the federal government is making it illegal to possess

synthetic marijuana products. ktvu brought you a special report on those items just two weeks ago. synthetic pot is made by spraying herbs with chemicals that mimic the active ingredient in marijuana. the items are then sold as incense, so people smoke the products to get high. the new rules are scheduled to take effect at the end of september and remain in place for at least a year. the fda announced energy drinks containing alcohol must be off store shelves by the middle of next month. the fda sent out warning letters that make those caffeinated and alcoholic drinks. the agency says they are unsafe and can lead to car accident, alcohol poisoning ing. it was chilly this morning but that didn't stop tens of thousands of people participating in an annual tradition. >> macy's held its 8th annual

thanksgiving day parade this morning. 25 enormous balloons floated over head the parade route -- over the parade route. santa made an appearance and will be talking to the bay area at the macy's --cicy's san francisco tomorrow -- macy's texas tomorrow. animal officials took the swan blanche to the zoo. someone broke the neck of her companion on named "monday idea. the swan is expected to stay at the zoo for 30 days. at 5:00, today is a very special thanksgiving for a bay area family well coming home their son. a marine who just arrived from

overseas and a few friends. we'll have details coming up on ktvu channel 2 news at 5:00. our next newscast is the ktvu channel 2 news at 5:00. we will see you then. ?@