are not taking any chances. >> last minute preparations have been underway all morning at rockefeller center all leading up to one of new york city's biggest traditions. tonight's christmas tree lighting ceremony. >> it is the official start for the holiday season. >> thousands rough -- of and watch. >> i already gave up, it's raining going to be wet. >> not dampening your spirits. the weather isn't stopping them, neither are terror fears. >> we have enough police around so i feel pretty safe. >> you can already see the nypd getting ready for what will be a heavy police presence tonight. barricades went up an fifth avenue and surrounding blocks, officers and nypd vehicles are already in the area. police say several streets are subject to closure starting at 3 p.m. including 48 through 51st street between fifth and sixth avenues.

bill bratton said a lot of what people saw on thanksgiving day will be in a place, including festivities, they should be confident when they enjoy the holidays. i'd encourage people to be aware and not be afraid and to feel secure. on thanksgiving 2500 officers include cops from the newly forms elite unit that will be at full strength about 560 cops by new year's eve. when it comes to security tonight new yorkers and tourists had mixed reactions. >> i feel very comfortable, their presence is great. >> did you want make any real difference counter terrorism is what will get the job done. >> i think they'll do their best to make it safe whether or not it is effective, i don't know, but i'm sure they'll try their best. >> the nypd also reminding spectators planning to come out

bring in umbrellas, backpacks or any other large bags, also warning drivers to avoid this whole area beginning at 3 p.m. and lasting until about 11:00. andrea grimes, cbs 2 news. it is going to be a wet wednesday our camera spotted several umbrellas up in columbus circle hopefully the rain will be gone before the tree lining as you heard, umbrellas are not allowed so what do you think? john elliot. >> that was encouraging, andrea's live shot we're getting a break from the rain in the city but there is more rain from the west, there is a lot of available moisture, it is going to ride in from west to east but individual showers will ride up from southwest to northeast we're also dealing with visibility concerns still widespread fog for parts of long island those conditions have improved into parts of the hudson valley. between now and the commute

showers, brief heavy rain, this is some good news. we could get a break as the big tree comes to life right around 8 to 9. we just are dealing with scattered showers and then the front pushes through and we could actually see a flake or two north and west we'll talk about those changes in a bit. thanks so much. the man accused of stabbing his wife in the bronx and taking off with their young daughter is in a new jersey jail this afternoon, vanizuela was escorted, now waiting for extradition to new york. neighbors of the family like yeni relieved and grateful this afternoon. >> i was praying because i know the little girl i saw before, my daughter sometimes go to her, it's hard, you know, when things like that happen.

irving ton police department, in a prison jumpsuit in custody himself expected to face charges after a few charges when police say he was on the run, the 47-year-old accused of stabbing his wife in the apartment in the bronx monday afternoon and taking off with their 3-year-old daughter rebecca. >> i can't believe it. didn't seem like a bad person. >> still working to determine a motive for what may have led to the violent attack trigger a man hunt and amber alert. police eventually tracking down the father and daughter in this minivan on the george washington bridge three hours after the attack, soon after arresting him on the garden state park way in cliffton new jersey. >> thank god he went willingly didn't put up a fight and that was the end of the resolution. >> little rebecca was unhurt now in the care of family members. >> i'm glad that they have the little girl and i'm glad that

really happy about that. >> he has to pay for what he did. police admit this is a situation that could have ended even more tragically for now, the wife is here at saint barnabus hospital in critical condition but expected to survive. reporting from the bronx, cbs 2 news. the nypd wants to find the two men caught on surveillance camera robbing a passenger on the upper east side, shows the cab parked early sunday morning first the men walked passed the car then one walked back he pulled out a gun and took $160 from the passenger while the other man stood watch. then both man ran away, the passenger was not injured. now to the war on isis the u.s. defense secretary says a new team of special operations troops is headed to iraq to fight isis terrorists. >> charlie has more. >> the united states is about to take the fight to isis on the ground.

about 200 special operations forces will be deployed to the northern iraqi city, from there, they'll conduct raids in both iraq and syria. defense secretary ash carter says the forces will help gather intelligence and hunt down isis leaders. >> it is important to keep ability and keeps everybody on notice. >> the iraq's prime minister said his forces were capable of defeating isis without the help of foreign combat troops. secretary of state john kerry said the iraqis were fully briefed. >> we'll continue to work very, very closely with our iraqi partners on exactly who would be deployed, where they would be deployed. >> the iraqi military appears

the take back of the city of ramadi. announcements warned civilians to evacuate their homes immediately while militants are reportingly threatening to kill anybody who tries. cbs news. isis seized large parts of iraq and syria where they have 31,000 fighters. new poll numbers have now developments in the race for the white house, who is slipping and now on top for the gop. >> police arrest a flight attendant for flapping to crew members and a marshal.

on their list. . now to campaign 2016 where a new poll finds donald trump is once again the undisputed leader of the republican presidential pack the latest poll has trump out in front with 27% of the votes, he is followed by florida senator marco rubio can 17%. ben carson is slipped two third, ted cruz with 16% and jeb bush is in the single digits with 5%. for the democrats hillary clinton holds the lead with 60% followed by bernie sanders with 30% and martin o'malley comes with 2%.

a midair melt down, she slapped other flight attendants and attacked other marshals on flights, chris van cleave has the story. she was let out of a courthouse in handcuffs after a two day airborne tirade where she reportedly called herself crazy and a train wreck. joanne snow seen here in her booking photo was acting strangely even before take off according to her fellow flight attendants court documents claim snow slapped the lead flight attendant in the face and according to the written affidavit the on board air marshal says i tried to calm her but was not able to. snow struck me with an open palm the force of this action moved me back. flight attendants asked american airlines to remove her before the plane departed for frankfurt germany last week but that didn't happen. on the return flight the next day with the same crew the air marshal wrote snow appeared to

entire flight as well court documents claim she became agitated and upset and began screaming the air marshals are going to get me. when she tried to bi-pass customs, she did she was handcuffed and brought to an interview room where she kicked an air marshal repeatedly. told "cbs this morning" we're absolutely investigating what happened in this incident and want to prevent issues in the future. also tried to unlock the door as it taxis to the airport, she is going to be in a mental health facility a hearing set for friday. black friday wasn't just good news for toys and tech gifts, gun sales set a record on the un official holiday, they processed 2 per second a

a gun was purchased. a police union knows how to tackle terror i feel at football games, let fans in law enforcement carry guns, the association launched petition on change.org they want the nfl to reverse its current policy that lets on duty police carry weapons the idea for the chain grew out of the paris terror attacks with a soccer stadium was targeted. we have to be nimble enough to recognize world changes quickly and there are threats and real. >> doesn't matter if they are on duty or off duty. they could drink too much get excited at the game and do something stupid. the nypd bans officers from carrying a weapon while carrying. sticker shockers see an extra price on their bill, why they are blaming a pizza hike on president obama. showers, will it clear out

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. obamacare is on the menu of a brooklyn restaurant. a surcharge to cover the cost of health care may be hard for some customers to swallow.

pizza. brooklyn added new that their menu a 3% surcharge. >> before we start putting 22, $23 pizzas on the menu let's be transparent what that money is going towards. the affordable care act needs companies to provide to staff with fairly priced health insurance, and qualities because the owner runs two other establishments. >> we embraced obamacare and realizing the cost covered as much as we could on our own and then asked our guests to contribute a very small amount. >> while they charge $20 for a pie and $19 for a pasta dish. would be costly. >> we're trending of a quarter million dollars in increase expense.

feel about the surcharge. >> i'm not sure if i believe in the principle. i think health care should be paid by the employer. >> i appreciate the fact they are up front about it we need to know what our money is going for if it is going for health care, that's a bonus. the restaurant said if this surcharge doesn't end up for their customers they may have to raise prices more. >> there could be something misson checks, the flat iron district will eliminate tipping to offset the pay for staff the restaurant plans to raise its prices by 31% that includes service with the increase the meal plus wine pairing it will cost $465 without tax.

better get there before dinner. time is 12:18 let's bring in john elliot talk about an expensive lunch. >> i'll go with the 6 piece nugget. gray skies, wet weather, look at these numbers weather watchers reporting for duty, 52, 53, 56 for long island, 43 degrees look at this. .65 yesterday, .25 today. that's pretty good. i mean, i know it slows you down but we need the rain. you're in better shape, rain totals there i got a kick out of this, annie has 46 in white plains a great picture, it is not a turkey it is a picture of a turkey, i get these in my neighborhood too. lovely to look at but not nice. but anyway, also i appreciate the great fog shots from charlie and ralph that's a shot there.

dealing with periods of rain a break in the city for much of long island, actually a little bit of a break right there let's turn on the rights to the mobile weather lab talk about these numbers, 52 with clouds over head, calm winds where we still have some lingering fog with a calm wind it doesn't blow away the gray so you're stuck with some limited visibility, just to kind of give you a recap, looking from 57 in the hamptons to 45, these numbers compared to yesterday, on average you're about 3 or 4 degrees warmer so we're anticipating numbers a little warmer than we were yesterday and parts of the area almost 10 degrees above normal, 66, sunsets at 4:29 not a whole lot of sun to see, gray skies, but your drop free in the city a little bit of wet weather through parts of queens hit and

heavy rain earlier in duchess county, all this rain but a lot of this is going to miss us, and this is the good news for the tree lighting maybe a sufficient enough break for all the folks that will gather there to stay dry as we're still wet by and large area low pressure rides up from the south front pushes through the west to east, it is cooler so just north and west of our area likely some flakes as this thing exits tomorrow morning, it is windy, bright by midday on thursday, then there is less wind and numbers really not that bad for friday, right around 50 thursday and friday today above normal but yeah you've still got some fog, you still have some wet weather out there periods of rain and drizzle over night tonight, fog could redevelop 46 a few left over showers that front really isn't through until thursday morning but then with that northwest wind lower dew points brighter skies, right around 50

sunday either. over the hump. wow look at that weekend. >> it is december. find out the weather anytime download the new york weather app get the forecast check live radar and send us your weather pictures and video, free and available in the itunes store. full of antioxidants and packed with vitamin c. >> how to pick the bestblueberries. taste of the day is going to be blackberries, they are great on different types of items also great in salads, just fabulous, but the winner because they are very important otherwise when you bite into them, they'll be bitter like a lemon, do not compromise, the darker the better, little tings of red like this are okay, when they are light red do not buy them at all. make sure it is free from liquid or decay, never watch

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soo li oca n.t t t pt.etio coming up on cbs 2 news, a cancer center in new york for dogs, but how much would you spend to save your pet's life. then coming up at 6:00, new clues in the case of a serial arsonist in queens, the message he leaves behind we'll have those stories much more tonight on cbs 2 news at 5:00. a happy reunion after stolen puppies are reunited with their owners thanks to a tip on facebook, says her 8 week old yorkies mario and mimi are back home today. >> on monday the pups tucked away were stolen from her shopping cart in the upper east

home of a man who said a couple that approached him and offered him the two dogs. aren't they so adorable? >> they are so cute! 8 weeks old. glad they are back home. that's it for us at noon for john and the entire cbs 2 news team thanks for joining us i'm mary calvi. >> i'm chris wragge, we'll see you then tomorrow at 4:30 until then have a great afternoon. approaching medicare eligibility? don't put off checking out your medicare options until 65.

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