"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.

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 track through the kwwl viewing area this morning. temperatures have been holding steadyin winds turn to the northwest and the rain cuts off.... however, we will still see some drizzle. temperatures will manage a few pretty gray through thanksgiving day, too... and we could see some fog and drizzle... i'll if you're just waking up... if you're just waking up... getting ready to hit the road today for thanksgiving.

it's the busiest travel day of the year -- and most thanksgiving travelers choose to drive instead of fly... kwwl's amanda gilbert joins us live in waterloo.. you can tell us more about holiday travel. not too many cars out on the that will change by tonight... . according to triple-a... there will be about one million more people traveling this thanksgiving season compared to last year. that's the most we've seen since 2007. triple-a says the reason holiday travel is up is because people are making more and spending second half of the year. triple- a says and most travelers will be driving. -- almost 90 percent of travelers

enough time.... prepare for possible traffic. live in waterloo... amanda gilbert... news 7 kwwl. according to triple- a.. this thanksgiving there are expected to be 48.7 million americans traveling across the country -- many travelers are lining up as they head to their thanksgiving destinations. right now -- we're taking a live look out of atlanta. millions of people. continuing coverage -- unanswered questions this morning about a deadly crash. richard coleman jr., was driving on highway 57 in cedar falls this week -- when his car hit a concrete pillar. police are not sure what caused the crash . coleman's family, including his pregnant fiance, are looking for answers. she -- and coleman's cousin -- each received a text message

people won't take their family for granted, and they tell each other when they sit down that they love each other. and they will cherish those days, because it could be the last." police are waiting for autopsy results as they look into the cause. man and leaves his baby seriously injured. police say the man was speeding on a downtown street when the car ran into two other cars. the man died at the hospital. the baby remains in critical condition this morning. a plea deal following the death of a 15-year- old girl. jeffrey bulechek admitted to driving drunk in december of 2013 --when he ran a stop sign in johnson county and hit a car which had three teens inside.

homicide accepts a plea deal. orlando moore junior pleaded guilty to manslaughter and robbery. those charges lowered from first degree murder. moore was arrested after a shooting at his waterloo home in 20-12. officers found anthony gardner's body there. moore's sentencing is set for next month. lawyers battle over clips from national t-v shows -- and whether they should be used in the trial of a cedar rapids substitute teacher accused of having a sexual relationship with a student. sexual exploitation. the state wants to use part of her interview with doctor phil during the trial. her lawyers argue the interview was edited, asking the judge not to allow it during the trial. the judge has yet to rule. haglin's trial is set to start monday. a heartbreaking story this morning. a father is accused of drowning his own daughter inside the baptismal font in a church. it happened in california. a family friend says the man was

the girl later died at a hospital. he's now facing murder charges. a vigil is held for the five students who died in a school bus accident. families and friends gathered together in tennessee to remember those who lost their lives in the crash. -- and to pray for the children who are still in the hospital. 30 others are injured. officers are still investigating -- but the driver was arrested and charged with five counts of vehicular homicide. an offics officer-involved shooting. a man in north carolina allegedly appeared to be grabbing something from his waist -- that's when officers fired. authorities say the officer was a memorial held for a k-9 officer --killed while searching for a fugitive. the dog was shot in the chest. officers say he'll forever be remembered as a hero. family and supporters demand justice two years after a 12-year-old was killed by police. tamir rice was killed in

was carrying a real gun... it turned out to be a pellet gun. dozens demonstrated outside the police headquarters yesterday. rice's mother said she is angry the officers involved in his death haven't been held accountable. "these 2ye ars hav feelt like hell and many sleepless nights. when i close my eyes to try to get some rest all i could see is my son being shot. could you imagine that being you? including that the officers be fired... and that u-s attorney general loretta lynch meet with her. fast food employees and a customer are being called heroes. police say they saved a baby from a dangerous situation. utah police say the group went to check on a driver when he stopped in the taco bell drive thru lane. inside they found the driver, who appeared to be drunk, passed out... and the baby crying in car wake the guy up." "he looks at them and takes off." "quite a story, it's

in the car." police say the baby is home safe with it's family. a consumer alert this morning -- toyota is recalling 700-thousand minivans -- because the sliding doors could open while the van is moving. the recall affects sienna models made between 20-11 and 20-16. the company says there's a problem with the latch. toyota will repair the doors for free once there's a fix. the car-maker says it will mid- january. kia is recalling nearly 72-thousand older s-u-vs and is warning owners to park them outside.... because there's a risk of a fire. the recall involves kia sportage s-u-vs from 2008 and 2009 in the u-s. kia says road salt can get into a braking control computer which can cause more problems -- even possibly sparking a fire. many people upgraded their old flip-phones for smart phones. now apple -- is thinking about

patent for a flexible i-phone that can fold in half... much like an old school flip- phone. now, we don't know if they're definitely building the phone -- but apple's patents often provide a in a kwwl follow-up this morning... the iowa d-o-t is fighting a lawsuit over traffic tickets given to 20-thousand drivers. this comes after a judge ruled the d-o-t did not have the authority to give a teenager a speeding ticket earlier this year. an attorney reimbursement for those who paid the fine in the last two years. but the iowa d-o-t says if they''re not allowed to keep iowa roads safe, 'if we had not interacted with that young man and he had continued at that speed and hit and killed a family or killed himself and it was known we could have intervened and didnt. what questions would you be asking of us now.' the iowa d-o-t is expected to file a motion to dismiss the lawsuit. a special day at an iowa

home... and as eric hanson tells us -- the judge had special surprise gifts of his own. which is why judges with balloons and bears. "it's rare to have a decision where everybody wins." this adoption day, a record 70 kids got a forever family. and mike and valerie surprised their whole family here for harper's big day-- "me too, we're adopting bryson today also (cheers)." both foster kids are going to be theirs. while. we love them. they're "both of your munchkins are present." sure, this is a legal hearing-- "we're so blessed to have him join in in our family." but here, it's ok if chairs spin and a judge sports both a right in front of the kids all

by hand-- in the woodshop of a guy who's seen, up close, the blink needed a distraction. because court cases get stressful. "it takes a toll on the judge, making toys for all his grandkids - the judge started court. "and then you sand it at the end and finish with beeswax." the last few weeks-- he spent 24 hours, building 50 toys - and dreaming. "i want to hear those loud wooden wheels going on that councilor's table, banging into

new grandma gushed in court? the car get that thick coat of drool. "he would take the time to make all those cars for every single kid that comes through here today. it's just ... that's amazing." but ask the judge - pales in comparison to what these parents are doing for these children." because toys'll trigger a smile. but an adoption? "it's the greatest gift. there is no greer "lot to be thankful for." the children also got homemade quilts from iowans who wanted

it's coming up on today in iowa.... thanksgiving dinner is served to families getting ready for a new start. plus... an eastern iowa high school choir is back home after singing for one of the most recognizable people in the world. those stories plus the forecast from storm track seven jerry gallagher, ally crutcher and meteorologist eileen loan.

"now your storm track 7 forecast on kwwl." let's go to storm track seven 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

the rain bands. rainfall amounts over the last 24 hours have been anywhere from a trace to half an stormtrack7 live weather network cameras will remain gloomy and wet today as the system tracks through... drizzle will take over this afternoon and may linger into thanksgiving day. temperatures are relatively mild this morning...although they really haven't changed 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

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 light rain and snow will track through tomorrow night. we will see more rain today... maybe another quarter of an inch before it starts to dry out. today we will keep rain this morning and drizzle for the afternoon with

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 through thanksgiving day, but we will be mild with highs in rain in the forecast, along with more wind. this thanksgiving season, church volunteers are teaming up to help victims of hurricane matthew. volunteers in north carolina are handing out clothes, cleaning supplies and food to flood victims. some people receiving sixty to "i feel truly blessed, i think come out for free and get all of

a church to help their neighbors. it's coming up on today in iowa.... the annual macy's thanksgiving day parade just a day away. how authorities are getting ready for the event coming up. plus... an experience they'll never forget -- iowa students share what it was like to sing

inflated in preparation for tomorrow's parade. it takes about 90-people to inflate the balloons. more than three-million people will line the parade path on thanksgiving day. you can watch the parade tomorrow morning at 8 right here on kwwl. the n-y-p-d is increasing security ahead of the parade. more than 3- thousand police officers will be there. a man says it took him an entire year to be screened and accepted to be a balloon wrangler... security number, drivers license code that they'll scan and then match it with my drivers license." macy's says they are working with the n-y-p-d to make sure participants are vetted. watching the olympics might inspire young people to get

kids before and after their city hosted the summer olympics in 20-12. more than half said the games inspired them to try new sports or activities... unfortunately.. they found it did not translate into higher levels of physical fitness. a group of eastern iowans back home now after performing for a very special audience. sixty students from dubuque's wahlert catholic high school just got back from italy .. where they sang in a mass presided by pope francis. they were joined by 35 staff and parents for the trip. they say it was a onc- opportunity, and an experience they'll never forget... "he was 15-20 feet away from just cried, because it was the experience of a lifetime." hundreds of american singers were chosen for the honor, but

church as you travel for the holidays? there's an app for that. the vatican launching "the catholic app." it uses g-p-s technology to point you in the direction of the nearest catholic church. it's coming up on today in iowa.... it was not a typical day for these officers.

share of police chases --but this one is a bit different. a wild bull getting loose on the road in philadelphia. the large animal bolting from a truck outside a slaughterhouse, leading police on a five-mile chase- past a high school and onto the interstate. police were able to finally corner e eileen loan is back with another

rain this morning, drizzle this afternoon through thanksgiving day. a chance of light rain and sunday through tuesday. highs will be mainly in the 40s with lows

this morning -- parents say they complained about ab 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 iowans behind bars get word from the white house. they'll be getting out of prison early. and a powerful rescue... in more ways than one. a lot of things had to go right for this cat to come down. good morning, i'm ally crutcher.

storm track seven meteorologist eileen loan is here now with your storm track seven forecast. eileen on camera track through the kwwl viewing area this morning. temperatures have been holding steady in the mid 30s to the mid 40s with easterly winds at 5 to 15 mph. the northwest and the rain cuts off.... however, we will still see some drizzle. temperatures will manage a few more degrees today but it will be fairly gloomy... we stay have the details in a few

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 its side and hit a pole and a tree. another mother says she repleatedly compained about the driver -- even writing a letter to he taunted students by slamming on the brakes -- on purpose one parent whose child died -- says it's now about fighting for justice for her little boy. i will be there front and center, grieving and all i will be there, because that was my only child he took from me." the bus driver has now been charged with five counts of vehicular homicide. several kids are still in

weeks. one happened in linn county --- others in south carolina, 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 our drivers have to go through anually, there's a whole 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 hired. here's another issue: seat belts on buses. the bus in tennessee did not have seat belts. a school in iowa is testing moines buses... "i can concentrate more on mirror instead of looking in the

"if that means seat belts test, is that drivers have a better drive and are less likely to be in an accident last year for the first time -- the federal government recommended seat belts be added to school buses -- but cost is still a big factor. installing them costs anywhere from 75-hundredo 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 come as early as today. the parade of interviews at trump tower may have produced another appointment. published reports say south

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. the new york times editorial hillary clinton suffered greatly american politics that after you win an election, you sort of put 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 incredibly inspiring meetings for him because not 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 private mar-a-lago golf club

he's staying. the coast guard even set a zone in the water where boats are 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 climate change. his comments different from what he said on the campaign trail -- at that time -- calling climate change a hoax. an early thanksgiving gift from president obama to dozens of inmates -- including several from iowa. the president reduced prison sentences for 79 inmatet 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 sentences of more than one-thousand federal inmates -- more than the last 11 presidents combined. drivers have something to be thankful for this thanksgiving holiday. gas prices are dropping.. kwwl's amanda gilbert joins us

things are pretty quiet right now... there's not too many people out on the road yet... but that's expected to change tonight when people travel to loved ones after work. some good news for everyone hoping to hit the road... but those prices were the lowest y right now the average cost of gas in iowa is 2 dollars and 6 cents... that's slightly below the national average.. if you do plan on traveling today... be safe and plan ahead. this road will likely get a lot driving over flying.. live in waterloo... amanda gilbert... news 7 kwwl. gas prices in most states... including iowa.. are lower this week

they head to their thanksgiving destinations. right now -- we're taking a live look out of chicago at o'hare airport. the airport is debuting new automated screening lanes -- designed to get people through 30 percent faster. thanksgiving is a time for family and friends -- but one family had an uninvited guest raid their fridge. when mike chindamo heard a noise in his garage - he didn't expect to open with this black bear. "basically what happened is, i said to my wife, why did you and it was absurdly huge." "ignored everything, there's a lot of fish in here, took this zucchini cakes." the bear only

"very trained to open the freezer, it knew exactly what it wanted, and what amazed me most, matter of fact, this is what a talenti ice cream comes unwrapped the cake -- and started snacking. a neighbor captured this video before the bear ran off. "he ran out here, and he literally crashed through the fence, he broke the gate, bent all the metals." "i mean, you looked it right in the face? right in the face, it was one big, big big bear, just was getting its ice cream and cake and that's that." they say from now on they'll double check to make sure their

on their hands. they freed a horse stuck in mud up to its neck. it happened in maryland. they dug a trench to drain the water covering the horse. it took time and a lot of equipment -- including a front- end loader to get it done. another big rescue operation. this time in zimbabwe. an elephant fell in a ditch filled with water. two people who scout the area for poachers s one held his trunk above water so the animal wouldn't drown. the other called for help. later, a group pulled out the big guy with a tractor. they have nine lives. this cat also spent nine days wondering if he'd used them all up. stranded on a power pole in california. linemen from the power company

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 freedom to people kareem abdul-jabbar, tom hanks and michael jordan. jordan of rabbis..or the michael jordan of outrigger canoeing. and they know what you're talking about. because michael jordan is the michael jordan of greatness." he says jordan is the definition of

award -- after she got into the 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. in november. it has everyone asking -- what was that? "you're watching kwwl,

"now your storm track 7 forecast on kwwl." let's go to storm track seven meteorologist eileen loan now for your forecast forecast. from the kwwl stormtrack

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 morning with drizzle in between 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 over this afternoon and may linger into thanksgiving day. temperatures are relatively mild this morning...although they really haven't changed much from yesterday... mainly in the 30s to mid

now but will turn to the northwest... at that point, the rain will cut off and we will keep 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 and snow will track through tomorrow night. we will see more

this morning and drizzle for the afternoon with temperatures climbing a few degrees before the winds turn to the northwest. drizzle and fog will be light tomorrow and we may keep some drizzle in the area through thanksgiving day, but 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 of attention. plus -- a big ten basketball heavyweight goes down -- to a

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 are from iowa. they're from early -- which is in western iowa.

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. "hello everyone. happy thanksgiving from the international space station. i hope everyone's going to have a wonderful thanksgiving this year with family and friends. it's going to be a little different 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.

good. dean borg -- from iowa public television -- is retiring from the program 'iowa press' early next year. he's been leading the weekly program since its first broadcast in 19-71. his last day as the show's host will be january 13th -- following coverage of the condition of the state earlier that week. an absolute stunner in college basketball. 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 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. "bright lights big fights." the victory fighting championship returns to the five sullivan

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 classroom. she says she used the money to buy a video camera... a green screen.. .a tripod and microphones. "kids came to me as incoming camera with the entire school and all of the teachers and other students as well. so i really wanted to provide them with the equipment they needed toa peet news site come true." every month kwwl... the university of iowa community credit union.... and sylvan learning center select a you're watching today in iowa on

rain this morning, drizzle this afternoon through thanksgiving day. a chance of light rain and snow thursday night, dry friday and saturday and another round of rain and wind sunday through tuesday. highs here's a live look outside at , there's another hour of today in iowa coming up right here on

officer shot in the head -- we're following the overnight developments. plus... police are searching for the man seen inside an iowa elementary school after hours. and an experience they'll never forget -- iowa students share what it was like to sing for the travel days of the year -- a live look at i-380 in linn county now. good morning, i'm ally crutcher. and i'm jerry gallagher.