this morning -- parents say they complained about a bus driver before a deadly crash in tennessee this week. plus -- one iowa school district is taking extra steps to keep kids safe on their bus rides. also this morning -- several white house. they'll be getting out of prison and a powerful rescue... in more ways than one. a lot of things had to go right for this cat to come down. i'm jerry gallagher.

eileen loan. good morning. eileen on camera from the kwwl stormtrack 7 weather team. see the screen for your complete weather information. here is additional forecast information from the kwwl stormtrack 7 weather team: rain and drizzle continue to tra through the kwwl viewing area this morning. temperatures have been holding steady in the mid 30s to continuing coverage and this morning gut- wrenching new information about the deadly school bus crash. a woman who had three kids on the bus in tennessee says the driver asked the children if they were ready to die before the crash. five young students were killed when the bus flipped on

another mother says she repleatedly compained about the driver -- even writing a letter to the school weeks ago. she said he taunted students by slamming on the brakes -- on purpose one parent whose child died -- says it's "i will be in every court be there, because that was my only child he took from me." the bdr charged with five counts of care this morning. that bus crash is one of several we've seen in the last few nashville, and maryland. whenever something like this happens, it raises questions about things like background checks. we spoke with hudson's superintendent and a bus driver there. they say it takes a lot of work and trust to become a bus driver. there's much more to the hiring

induction process they have to go through in order to get their license to even drive for us, they are subject to random drug tests.. he says it's not always easy finding willing candidates because of the schedule. but they still have to go through all the steps and tests to make sure they are the most qualified drivers before they're hired. here's another issue: seat belts on have seat belts. a school in iowa is testing some. they're trying out the standard three-point belts on some des moines buses. "i can concentrate more on driving, instead of those guys in the back of the bus." "if that means seat belts prevent an accident that's huge. what we're seeing so far in first

the federal government recommended seat belts be added to school buses -- but cost is still a big factor. installing them costs anywhere from 75-hundred to almost ten- thousand dollars a bus. an eastern iowa school is hoping video will help catch a burglar. here's a look at the surveillance video from briggs elementary in maquoketa. in one shot -- you see him near the schoos crawled through a classroom. it happened last wednesday "there were a couple of money bags and a money box that they had in their hands at the and got out the window." more pictures show a man and a woman going into a business the same day of the break-in. the man seems to be wearing the same thing we saw in the school

this morning, a university police officer is recovering after being shot in the head. the attack happened last night in detroit. a wayne state university officer had stopped a man on a bike. someone had been stealing navigation systems from cars -- and he was about to talk to someone when he was shot. the officer is out of surgery this morning. the university says his family is with him and he has a long, tough road ahead. a sheriff's deputy has died in florida. he was hit by an s-u-v chasing after a suspect. the person driving the s-u-v stopped and has been cooperating with police. the deputy who died was 32. this morning, a california deputy killed in the line of duty is being remembered. he was shot in the head more than a week ago. the sheriff gave the deputy's brother, who's also in law enforcement, the badge the deputy was wearing when he was killed. a specific water slide will no longer be used after the death of a

waterparks says the safety of its guests and staff is a top priority. a 10-year-old boy died in kansas a few months ago. the ride will be closed and the slide removed from the tower. good news about the fight against zika this morning. the florida department of health cleared some areas they've been watching very closely. they haven't had any new cases in that area in a month and a half. gonna have to continue to fight this until we get a vaccine at the federal level." carried by mosquitoes, the virus can cause a rare birth defect. it has spread to more than 60 countries and since the outbreak our continuing coverage of the white house transition now: donald trump is waking up in florida to celebrate thanksgiving with his family. edward lawrence tells us the next announcement for a cabinet pick could

nyc mayor tape/ kellyanne (capitol hill) the parade of interviews at trump tower may have produced another appointment. published reports say south carolina governor nikki haley will be tapped as u-n ambassador. she was highly critical of trump during the campaign. mitt romney is now the front runner for secretary of state and dr. ben carson is now being considered as the secretary of housing and urban development. "she has to go to jail!" after a lengthy interview with the new york times editorial board, donald trump hints it's time to make suffered greatly in many ways and he needs to move on from her investigation. "look, there's a tradition in american politics that after you win an election, you sort of put things behind you," except for criticism of the trump foundation, which reported in a new filing it violated irs rules. it may have to pay penalties or more taxes according to tax experts. in the meantime, the president elect focused on filling his cabinet "these have been

everyone will end up in the cabinet or the government, and most of them are not even seeking that." as donald trump is in palm beach, florida for thanksgiving. there is enormous security around his private mar-a-lago golf club where he's staying. the coast guard even set a zone in the water where boats are banned from entering. edward lawrence nbc news washington. trump also told the new york times he's keeping an open mind about whether to pull the u-s out of a multi-national agreement on climac the campaign trail -- at an early thanksgiving gift from president obama to dozens of inmates -- including several from iowa. the president reduced prison sentences for 79 inmates this week. many of them had been convicted of drug crimes. the president says leaving them behind bars for decades isn't in the best interest of taxpayers. six inmates from iowa -- all behind bars for drug convictions -- will get out of prison earlier than expected. the president has reduced the

more than the last 11 presidents combined. emergency crews have a big job on their hands. they freed a horse stuck in mud up to its neck. it happened in maryland. it took time and a lot of equipment -- including a front- end loader to get it done. they have nine lives. this cat also spent nine days wondering if he'd used them all up. sd linemen from the power company rescued the cat. power was shut off to 250 homes as they saved the animal. from n-b-a stars to actors to philanthropists... a lot of talent in one room. and they're all being honored by the president. he gave out the nation's highest civilian honor yesterday to 21 abdul-jabbar, tom hanks and michael jordan. "there is a reason you call neurosurgery...or the michael jordan of rabbis.o.r the michael

and they know what you're talking about. because michael jordan is the michael jordan of greatness." he says jordan is the definition of somebody so good at something - everybody recognizes it. ellen degeneres also received an white house. but it wasn't easy. she tweeted a picture of herself after being denied access because she didn't have her i-d. it took about an hour to get her cleared. the time is the early bird gets the worm... and a new lease on life. the president has a big meeting with two iowa turkeys today. plus -- a fourth of july moment in november. it has everyone asking -- what

meteorologist eileen loan now for your forecast forecast. from the kwwl stormtrack 7 weather team. see the screen for your complete weather information. here is additional forecast information from the kwwl stormtrack 7 weather team: rain continues to track through the area this the rain bands. rainfall amounts over the last 24 hours have been anywhere from a trace to half an inch in our largest towns with a band of heavier amounts in a few places. stormtrack7 live weather network cameras will remain gloomy and wet today as the system tracks through... drizzle will take

day. temperatures are relatively mild this morning...although they really haven't changed much from yesterday... mainly in the 30s to mid 40s..... winds are easterly at 5 to 15 mph now but will turn to the northwest... at that point, the rain will cut off and we will keep some drizzle. this system will continue to track to the northeast toward the great lakes... this keeps it on a track to keep us socked in with clouds... especially with another system tracking in for tomorrow night. it doesn't have a lot of moisture, but we will keep some clouds and maybe some light rain and snow will track through tomorrow night.

quarter of an inch before it starts to dry out. today we will keep rain this morning and drizzle for the afternoon with temperatures climbing a few degrees before the winds turn to the northwest. drizzle and fog continue tonight with lows dropping into the 20s. winds will be light tomorrow and we may keep some drizzle in the area t we will be mild with highs in the upper 30s to mid 40s. areas of light rain and snow track through thursday night with dry weather friday and saturday. another system tracks through sunday through tuesday with more rain in the forecast, along with more

last week, the supermoon. this week, something else in the sky is getting a lot of attention. that fireball. an officer's dashcam got video of it in florida late monday night. it's believed to be a meteor. people in at least a few cities say they saw it too. it's today, a white house tradition that goes back almost 70 years plus -- a big ten basketball heavyweight goes down -- to a team -- many of you probably

spotlight in the nation's capital. each year, the president is given two turkeys before thanksgiving and he pardons one. last year, it was a 40-pound bird named abe -- formally saved from the thanksgiving table. this year, the two candidates

in western iowa. one is named tator. the other tot. and here's a secret about the event: no matter what the president decides today -- both will get to retire gracefully. they'll go to a place called gobblers rest at virginia tech. this tradition started 69 years ago with president truman. this is the sixth time turkeys from iowa have been a part of it. now to a thanksgiving that's out of this world. "hello everyone. happy thanksgiving from the international space station. i with family and friends. it's going to be a little different for us up here in space but i'm going to try to make it as much like home as we can." astronaut shane kimbrough is with iowa native peggy whitson on the international space station. he's one month into his four-month mission there. whitson just got there on saturday for a six-month stay. tomorrow, they'll share what they're thankful for. topping the list -- being safe in space.

this morning, many fans are asking each other -- have you ever heard of indiana-purdue fort wayne? we have now. i-p-f-w took down the third ranked indiana hoosiers last night in overtime 71-68. fans stormed the court to celebrate. they had never won a game against a ranked team in the history of their program. in fact, they hadn't even played a top 25 opponent in almost four years. the mastodons pulling off the biggest stunner of the year so far in college hoops. the victory fighting championship returns to the five sullivan brother's convention center in waterloo tonight. the doors open at six and the fights start at seven. this week, we're thankful for a lot of people in our lives... like educators. we're honoring one this week with the cedar valley tools for schools award. abby hendrickson is the librarian at peet junior high school. she won 500 dollars for her video camera... a green screen.. .a tripod and microphones.

and we had one camera that was good enough for what they needed, but we were sharing that camera with the entire school and all of the teachers with the equipment they needed to have their dream of having a peet news site come true." every month kwwl... the uni union.... and sylvan learning center select a classroom. coming up -- a holiday surprise... as in a surprise destination.

christmas -- more people are choosing experiences over traditional, material gifts. brian mooar explains how many tired of retails store mobs and endless wrapping? how about giving the

of a really great trip" travel is the hot new gift trend this year. companies like if-only and viator curate adventures and outings: "you can gift not just certificate specific adventures like hot air balloon ride, you don't have to give entire vacation you can just give part of it." there are also new ways people are traveling... from intergenerational and volunteer trips . to cultural immersions "that's where people feel like they're less tourists and more like real visitors that sample the local culture where they are going" airbnb just launched "trips" --- experiences hosted by local experts that could include a culinary experience, a concert or even a surf lesson in addition to lodging. feeling really adventurous? how about a surprise destination. pack up & go plans your vacation.. you just don't know where it is... until you get there. "some airlines now are offering tickets at a set price but you choosing experiences

industry is hoping.... will continue to take off. brian mooar, nbc news. hotels, airlines and travel agencies like expedia will be offering deals starting with black friday and into the holidays. we're back with the storm track

for your forecast forecast. from the kwwl stormtrack 7 weather team. see the screen information from the kwwl stormtrack 7 weather team: rain this morning, drizzle this

it's and coming up on today in iowa. cars being recalled -- and some may even catch fire. plus... a group are being considered heroes for saving a baby from a suspected drunk driver. those stories when ally crutcher

"you're watching kwwl. we've got you covered. this is today in iowa." today's considered the busiest travel days of the year. as you wake up this morning -- a closer look at preparing for holiday travel. plus... iowa d-o-t officers dress and look like iowa state troopers -- but a lawsuit believes they shouldn't be able to pull you over like one. families break an adoption record this weekend. and that's not it. the judge has a special gift up his sleeve for the new families. good morning, i'm ally crutcher. and i'm jerry gallagher.