this morning on "early today" -- a holiday tradition. macy's larger than life balloons are ready to fly in the annual thanksgiving day parade. hitting the road. millions of americans are traveling this weekend despite pesky delays and pricey fares. and wild turkey. find out how this bird ran afoul and wild turkey. find out how this bird ran afoul of the law. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry. today we begin with a very happy thanksgiving to all of you at home. hope you're spending it with family and friends. to doubt, one of the highlights of this holiday will be the 85

th annual macy's thanksgiving day parade. balloons are plated, soon crowds will be gathering and nbc's michelle franzen is live along the parade route. good morning to you. happy thanksgiving. can you save ten spots for us? i know a lot of us in studio are jealous you got that front row seat. >> reporter: we got the best spot. it's quiet when it comes to the big giant balloons all laid out, all filled up but there's a lot of hustle and bustle going on behind the scenes. the last-minute preparations that worked well into last night. of course, the new york city tradition on that eve of thanksgiving is to come by and watch those giant helium-filled balloons take to life here. and also get ready for the big day here along this parade route of more than 300 million people are expected to turn out today. the weather is expected to be good. yesterday it was rainy. we had some blustery conditions.

today it's supposed to be sunny. more than 1600 performers including cheerleaders and clowns and high school bands and performers rodney atkins as well mary j. blige and cee lo green on hand. this parade getting under way and maybe the best seat in the house is the one at home, which 50 million will be watching. >> myself included. just a reminder for you, the 85th annual macy's thanksgiving day parade hosted by ann curry and matt lauer kicks off at 9:00 a.m. right other your nbc station. if you're one of the 42.5 million americans traveling this thanksgiving, hopefully you've already made it to to your holiday destination. it's easier to naif gat the terminals and traffic today more than yesterday. >> reporter: on the road, rails

and in the air, the crowds and lines started to build early and continue to grow throughout the day. >> i do this every year. you know what? you just get in the mindset thaw have to go and do this and you just keep a good attitude and do what you need to do. >> reporter: more people are traveling and spending more to make the trip. >> all prices are autopsy. airfare prices are up, hotel prices are up. >> reporter: including at the pump, up an average of 50 cents a gallon from thanksgiving. more the most part the weather is cooperating. they're feeling the holiday rush on rails as well. >> if there was a super bowl for amtrak, this would be. we move approximately 77,000 people every wednesday. today we'll move about 134,000 people. >> reporter: most of the planes

are more than 90% full as travelers try to get home for -- >> the food. no, no, i'm looking forward to hanging out with the family and, you know, catching up with everybody. >> reporter: but only after catching a thanksgiving ride. john yang, nbc news at o'hare airport in chicago. in other news we have disturbing new details in the child sex abuse scandal at penn state. the attorney for jerry sandusky has confirmed to nbc news that one of two new allegations being investigated involves one of sandusky's own family members and at least one involves a minor. in an e-mail to the media sandusky's attorney called the allegations ridiculous and unfounded and noting they were both started after the initial report to the grand jury in the case. an iowa college student is in hot water after apparently breaking into a mcdonald's to grill up some food. not a smart idea, buddy. surveillance cameras were

rolling as the suspect cooked himself a burger and fries. he turned himself in after media outlets began showing video of the break-in. this man's iphone was stolen after he agreed to make a call for a thief. shocked by the brazen robbery, the victim stood frozen before running to his car to chase the suspect 37 he was not able to catch up. floodwaters in eastern pennsylvania left one driver in desperate need of rescue. the stranded motorist was forced to climb on top of his car to escape rising water. once spotted, rescuers used a craft to carry him to safety. finally, talk about a lucky turkey. this turkey in georgia may have escaped the dinner table all on his own. police placed the bird in the back of a squad car after it wandered into a convenience store. the animal was kept there until animal control officers arrived. authorities say if a turkey is not claimed, it will be sent to

a bird sanctuary and enjoy a life of leisure rather than the dinner table. for a look at your national and regional weather, let's chem in with meteorologist bill dairnz. so gracious for you to volunteer to come over and cook the entire meal for me. >> i -- >> what? >> leftovers. i'll bring leftovers over. >> okay. >> scraps? >> whatever i don't want. >> what's that be? >> just be thankful. good morning and a good holiday. around the nation, the big, stormy weather is just about gone. the exception being the pacific northwest. northern new england had shoveling to do yesterday, though. some areas picked up to a foot of snow. a lot of ski areas are opening up over this holiday weekend. that's good if you like to throw on the skis or snowboard. east coast, just fine. it's chilly out there this morning but nothing too dramatic. a warming trend in the middle of the country and a quiet weather pattern, at least for today. tomorrow gets a little more active as our storm system out

west heads for the middle of the nature nation. the stormy spot, pacific northwest, late today. temperatures aren't too bad this time of year. we don't have any arctic blasts out there. where there's snow on the ground, northern new england will be the coldest. 33 in boston. north of you temps are in the teens and 20s. new york city for the parade today, no problems. the wind are dying down enough, all the balloons should be up there. 52 in the big apple. nice in chicago, 55. can't complain. temperature in the 70s in texas and we're looking nice down in florida and even the rockies, no problems at all for your thanksgiving. be thankful for a nice forecast. now mears a look at the weather outside your window. sunshine in florida, not a bad spot to spend the holiday, 77 in tampa. philadelphia, a little cool but nice and sunny and dry. phoenix, arizona, 75 degrees and dry weather. memphis, 64 and sunny.

i delivered a very nice forecast. everyone should be very thankful. >> we're always thankful of you. >> i don't know about that. that might be pushing it. >> that's true. germany joins in on bad news. moody's warning to washington. and why you probably present thankful for your turkey day grocery bill. the unique way one woman is getting celebrity to join her at the breakfast table. coming up, chiefs get a new quarterback. duke and kansas go down to the wire. what does the nhl and macy's thanksgiving day parade have in common?

good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry and here are some top headlines. a tragedy after a small plane carrying three adults and three children crashed into a mountain in arizona.

the debris field, about 40 miles east of phoenix, could be seen in the rugged terrain where law enforcement officials say one child has been confirmed dead and there are no signs of survivors. after 33 years of rule and months of bloody demonstrations, yemen's leader ali abdullah saleh has agreed to step down. he's the fourth leader to lose power in the arab spring uprising this year. one scene is the heir-apparent, james murdoch resigned, overseeing his father's english newspapers, his first public resignation since the phone hacking scandal broke. the first couple handed out treats for needy families ahead of this thanksgiving day. u.s. markets are closed for the thanksgiving holiday but he's an early look at how they ended yesterday. the dow closed at 11,257 after dropping 236 points.

the s&p slid 26 points. the nasdaq lost 61. let's take a look at overseas trading. in tokyo the nikkei lost 149 points but in hong sjehang sengs up 70. nervous traders will be checking on the latest developments overseasunder scoring the severity of europe's crisis, experts are calling the disappointment of german bonds, quote, disastrous. lack of interest in german debt sparked fears that even europe's most stable economy could be spread by economic crisis. on the street, financials are the greatest exposure to european debt were hit harder. jpmorgan dropped 3.5% while citigroup was down 4%. china's weakest manufacturing report in three years fueled fears of dwindling energy demands. one of the day's few bright spots came from farm equipment

maker deere, a 20% jump in sales drove up their quarterly profit 46%. moody's warned washington that the nation's top credit rating could be in jeopardy if congress backs off automatic cuts triggered by the super committee's failure to slash more than $1 trillion for the nation's deficit. microsoft has signed a nonclosure agreement with yahoo! allowing it to take a closer look at the struggling search engine's books. the latest sign microsoft could be a potential buyer if yahoo!'s board decides to sell. finally, if you were in sticker shock at the checkout after your thanksgiving grocery stopping this year, you are not alone. the price of a thanksgiving dinner has climbed by the highest amount in 20 years. not good news there. coming up, the chiefs pick up kyle orton and the nhl represents. plus, a thrilling finish between duke and kansas at the maui invitational. your early morning sports

headlines are straight ahead. 2 looks like a nice thanksgiving day, the except the pacific northwest where it's going to be stormy all weekend long. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today." there she is ! 3q

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big ones after they took it down to the wire over kansas. here's fred roggin with a look at all your sports headlines. >> happy thanksgiving. last night felt like march madness. maui invitational, final between duke and kansas down to the wire. elijah johnson knocked down the three to give the jayhawks the lead. duke back, thornton from the corner, biggest shot of his career. blue devils on top 63-61. after a kansas turnover, thornton again, the shot clock winding down, threw up a prayer and it was answered. duke is a perfect 15-0 in hawaii. on tuesday memphis needed double overtime to squeak by tennessee. yesterday not quite as fortunate. georgetown forced it to overtime. clark had 17 in the first half and finished with a team high 26, burying the three-pointer late. georgetown pulled off the upset

in o.t. football didn't take long for kyle orton to find a job. the chiefs claimed him and replacing matt cassel. hockey, the blues kept sidney crosby under wraps last night. held scoreless and penguins could have used him. peter angelo scored it in overtime. islanders blew a two-goal lead against the flyers. the game went into overtime. flyers rallied to win 4-3. did you see a trend here? caps and jets also needed o.t. chimera on the door step, a slam dunk, his second of the game. caps won it 4-3 in o.t. finally there will be ice in manhattan. the nhl has its own float. it features a hockey rink and 25-foot tall turkey as a goalie, all part of the nhl's first thanksgiving showdown tomorrow afternoon between the red wings

and bruins. that's your early look at sports on "early today." truly have a great thanksgiving. i'm fred roggin. coming up, how celebrities are giving back this thanksgiving day. and why the biebs' paternity test isn't good enough for his accuser. this is a story that will not go away. sorry, folks. plus, millions of turkeys will grace tables across the america. but meet the lucky ones that got a pass from the highest office.

welcome back on this thanksgiving day. your forecast looks simple. quiet. a lot of people hit the roads during the day today to do local driving trips. a little chill in northern new england. look at all the sunshine. gorgeous day today. as far as tomorrow goes, of course a lot of people will be up very early doing some shopping. we'll see wet weather moving to the middle of the country but that's not until late in the day until afternoon and evening pu if you're watching us on wehs in orlando, florida, prepare for your thanksgiving meal by running it off ahead of time. that's not what lynn and i will be doing. >> no. >> but 22nd annual turkey trot to benefit the elderly at leak eola park and that's your "early today" event of the day. >> chewing bird calories, that's what i'm going with. get a check of your early morning headlines in

entertainment. justin bieber may be heading back to the lab. the woman wants a dna test, just not the one he took last friday. the woman's lawyer tells the new york daily news she and her baby deserve to be present while the test is being done. bieber stated repeatedly he's never met the woman much less had a backstage affair with her. kirk duck lass at a thanksgiving darren for the homeless. the l.a. event was hosted by the 95-year-old actor and his wife ann for the seventh straight year. hundreds of volunteer from the entertainment industry were also on hand. a chicago woman is taking her obsession with hollywood celebrities to new heights by creating movie star portraits out of pancakes. yes, that's right. she says each one can take hours to complete. you know who that is, bill. her specialties include ryan gosling, justin bieber, stephen colbert and kielly ripa.

>> could you identify -- >> you didn't think the biebs looked exactly like himself? >> he did. >> ryan gosling does not have facial hair so they need to start googling that. this comes to us from washington, d.c. where the president made sure one pair of bird won't be anywhere near the sides of mashed potatoes and stuffing today. with the wave of his hand president obama saved two turkeys from becoming part of a thanksgiving feast. with his daughters in attendance, the president continued a 20-year traditigran reprieve. the birds named liberty and peace are headed to george washington's home in virginia where a life of leisure awaits. i'm lynn berry and this is "early today."

>> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today. >> after soggy weather, drier weather is finally pushing in. this is what we will be dealing with as we go throughout the day. clear skies overnight. pretty chilly right now at the airport, 36. gaithersburg, 32. improvement on the way into the afternoon and the next couple of days. >> thank you. 36 degrees on tv hill. the charges that frank conaway

may face after a heated confrontation outside his home. >> are you allowed stressed this thanksgiving? i'm jennifer franciotti. >> there seems to be a disturbing trend in baltimore as several dogs have been stolen from their owners off the street.

[captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today. >> good morning. happy thanksgiving. i am sarah caldwell. >> i am stan stovall. thank you for joining us this morning. >>