bree edgar is standing by with the very important thanksgiving forecast. bree. >> yeah, it's actually looking better than it was just a couple of days ago and we'll start with the current great news right now. winds finally relaxing after the last couple few days that we had some pretty strong gusts with us. you can see the cloud cover holding off for now but slowly creeping in from the west for us, and here's the big system that we've been tracking set to arrive for the thanksgiving holiday. now, are you seeing that snow staying to the north of this, but there is a lot of stretching through the ohio river valley down through cincinnati, st. louis at this point. as the system tracks closer and closer to us, it loses a lot of itself energy and a lot of its steam and we even have some drier air that's working in for us. if you don't have moisture, then you can't get precipitation out of this. so there's still a very slight chance that we start tomorrow with the wintery mix. but i think the main theme for the day will be the cloud cover, sticking around with us, and the cooler temperatures. even into the early afternoon

outside with the family, we could stay dry until about 3:00, 4:00 in the afternoon. and then the spotty scattered showers start to work in, but by this point, temperatures are too warm to really support any snow, worcester points eastward. i really grappled with actually just scrapping this snow map in general because i really don't expect us to see anything in the way of accumulation. but a scattered flurr eye, maybe some slick spots early in the morning. we can't rule that out. so for the next day the thanksgiving hated. traffic we knew that was in the forecast, but by 12:00 p.m., 40 degrees and we'll top out in the low 40s tomorrow. >> more unsettled weather happening for the second half of the holiday weekend. we'll get to that in a few minutes. all right, thank you, bree. now let's go to john coco live at koch logan with more on

>> yeah, it's been busy here today. if you take a look behind me, you can see what it looks like right now. but i tell you, it's all about being safe and being early. >> i'm running late, i'm really sorry. >> reporter: the holiday travel rush in full swing at logan airport. >> i'm headed back to dallas. >> i'm flying off to buffalo for the weekend. gonna be there till sunday. >> reporter: the massachusetts department of transportation estimates that at least a million passengers will be taking off from logan on wednesday. they're sitting people arrive at least two hours early for their flight. >> i'm very worried but it's my first time and a colleague was able to bring me here, thank goodness. >> we are not too, too worried about it. >> reporter: appropriately enough, wayne louis and luke mont were flying from istanbul turkey making a stop in boston before heading home to georgia for thanksgiving. >> hoping we actually make it home in a decent amount of time.

yes, hoping. we got about a three-hour drive after we get to the atlanta airport. >> reporter: massachusetts roads likely won't be much better with aaa expecting more people driving this year. state leaders suggest being as flexible as possible with your travel plans and say new technology like sensors, cameras and electronic tolls will give drivers unprecedented real-time traffic information. >> there are more ways than ever before to find out realtime information about where the >> you can check out mass 511.com for those updates or call at 511. >> all right, let's check in with matt fitzgerald now. >> not fun on the masspike west. you can see it's jammed up. it'll be like that most of the way out from i-84. it's a 20 minute drive from

starting to pick up a little bit from 128 to 495, that's 31 minutes. and the big delay, 495 to 84 at sturbridge almost 100 minutes. that is a tough go of it. we do have big delays elsewhere. you're jammed on the zakim bridge in both directions. northbound is heavy right out of the tunnel most of the way up to 128. southbound heavy and slow from assembly square right into the southbound tunnel. the connector is also a bit slow. over to the expressway, not moving at all southbound. heavy right out of the tunnel all the way down to braintree. northbound is heavy at the tunnel and further b braintree up to neponset circle. we'll take a look at the expressway, a 35 minute drive to the split. >> thanks, matt. we'll continue to follow the traffic conditions out there all evening long and let you know if there are any big problem spots. we're following breaking news now first at 4:00, a boston attorney has been arrested, and it's not the first time. gary zerolla facing sexual assault charges. 7's investigative reporter cheryl fiandaca is live with the

>> yeah, this is the foirlt time that's been charged with raping or sexual assaulting a woman and source say he told detectives wee beat this charge too. >> this afternoon appearing before a judge and pleading not guilty to raping a woman in boston. in 2001 "people" magazine named zorolla one of the most eligible bachelors and a few years later charged with sexual assaulting three different women two states. either found not guilty or the charges were dropped. but that wasn't the end of his legal troubles. in 2009 he was accused of assaulting a boston police officer, but he was acquitted on that charge, too. zorolla, a former assistant district attorney in suffolk county went on to open his own law office specializing in criminal defense, his web site says he represents clients accused of rape and sexual assault, charges that he finds

>> zorolla is due back in court on january 4th, released on $10,000 and ordered to wear a gps monitoring bracelet. in the newsroom, i'm cheryl fiandaca. the worcester county district attorney says an elderly man has died after a fire on barry conner road from earlier today. this is a video from sky 7 over the scene, which is appears that that is some sort of shed. police and fire are investigating the cause, along with state police and the state fire >> we are following more breaking news at 4:00, the deadly bus crash out of tennessee, we're getting more details on that. alex... >> adam, just getting the information, and that is that the bus driver did not have drugs or alcohol in his system, and also none of the victims were ejected from the bus. the five children inside are dead, six others are critically hurt in the crash earlier this

anthony walker was arrested and charged with 5 counts of vehicular homicide. >> we received reports back today from the tennessee bureau of investigation that shows no trace of alcohol or drugs in the driver's system. the driver's driving history did include a minor wreck in september of this year investigated by our agency. it's also part of the investigation. >> a vilg ill was held last night for the died. families and friends gathered together to remember those who lost their lives in the crash and to pray for those children who remain in the hospital. live in the control room, 7news. several developments today in the trump transition. south carolina governor nikki haley has accepted the president-elect's offer to be ambassador to the united nations. it's the first woman the president-elect has picked to be part of his administration.

approval. former republican presidential candidate ben carson shedding some light on social media, carson tweeting that his role in, quote, helping to make america great again, will be revealed very soon. it's rumored he will be the hud secretary and also word trump made his choice for secretary of education. brian mooar has the very latest on the trump transition. >> reporter: president-elect trump has chons michigan billionaire betsy devos, an advocate of charter schools as his education carrying out his campaign promises to break the bureaucracy in american schools. the national teachers association was swift and firey in its opposition saying devos has pushed a corporate agenda to privatize and deprofessionallize public schools. south carolina governor nikki haley is facing a much warmer welcome as the future president's pick for u.n. ambassador. just a few days ago, she seemed to be playing down her prospects. >> i was very happy to be

>> reporter: haley has virtually no foreign policy experience and perhaps most notably did nothing to help trump win. in his new york times interview, the president-elect saying the praises of retired general james madis for defense secretary and says the general surprised him with his takes on water boarding ideas. >> he said i never found it to be useful. he said give me a pack of cigarettes and a couple of beers and i'll >> reporter: future vp mike pence had more work to do back home in indiana. he helped a local charity dish out some food for people in need. >> though the president-elect is in florida, he's apparently never been much of alva occasion taker, and he has a lot of work to do between now and inauguration day. >> brian mooar, nbc news, washington. the quinnipiac university poll

trump should deactivate his personal twitter account once he takes office. he said he will continue to use twitner a limited role while in the white house. and hillary clinton's campaign is being urged by one group to cha the results of the presidential election, top computer scientists say there's evidence that the vote totals in wisconsin, michigan and pennsylvania could have been tampered or hacked. they believe clinton performed much worse in plays that relied on electronic polling instead of paper ballots. and there's more news today, a man has been seriously injured from chatham in an accident. police say he ran his car often road and hit a tree early this morning. he was taken by helicopter to israel hospital, charged with operating under the influence. mayor marty walsh attending a resist resist west roxbury -- activists believe the pipeline

environmental has card and this morning boston's mayor decided to join in. >> i think people concerned a lot about the pipeline, there's been people protesting and concerned citizens, really, letting their feelings be known for the last two years here with this high-powered facility being put in, in the middle of a neighborhood next to a quarry. there's an active quarry doing blasting for stone. so people are concerned, and, you know, the monday after thanksgiving the pipeline will be turned on and we've asked the inspector not to turn it on. >> proponents say the pipeline would increase capacity and serve more customers in this part of the state. ahead on 7news first at 4:00, a group of young kids giving thanks after firefighters in lindh put on a thanksgiving feast. and at 4:30, it appears the fight to save the garden at children's hospital may be over. and an isis propaganda magazine issues threats against

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cooking a turkey, make stuffing and serving up some gravy, not usually in a firefighter's job description but today some of lynn's bravest put aside their gear and picked up the carving knife, putting on an early thanksgiving meal for a special group of kids. firefighters do know how to

because this might be the only holiday feast they get to have. 7's jonathan hall has much more. >> reporter: volunteers from the lynn fire department are carving up turkeys today to feed a genuine thanksgiving feast with the trimmings to hundreds of needy children who attend the greg neighborhood house here in lynn, a childhood provider school for kids. >> most come in at they've eaten so much. >> reporter: michael's dad started feeding hungry kids 28 years ago and has since past but michael carried on the tradition and his colleagues got involved a few years past. >> probably 22 turkeys, 100 pounds of mashed potatoes, corn, gravy, all the fixings of a thanksgiving dinner. >> reporter: these guys may have to rush out to fight a fire at any moment but for now the mission is to prepare

>> there's nothing hard work about this, it's joy to see the kids here and a smile on their face and make sure they have a meal. our children get involved and see what it is to give back to the community. >> the hall decorated for thanksgiving, it was originally 80 kids from the greg house and has now grown to 350. >> it's about the kids. what's better than the firefighters union pays the $2,000 to do this. they have a charity golf tournament in september and the proceeds go to pay the bills. in lynn, jonathan hall, 7news. all right, coming up 7news at 4:00, at least two turkeys won't be served for dinner. president obama pardons his final thanksgiving turkeys. >> can't believe we're here already. we've gotta talk about the weather forecast for the upcoming holiday. all the details in the timeline ahead. and a disturbing postcard, why a local man says he's being targeted. and several police officers

and is someone claiming to work for the irs calling your home? how to make sure you're not getting taken advantage of. >> and we're keeping an eye on

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turkeys for the final time today. >> he brought his nephews along with him this year to help take part in this honged tradition. the president spoke about the importance of thanksgiving and family and how now more than ever we need to come together for a good cause. >> thanksgiving is a chance to gather with loved ones, reflect on our many blessings and after a long campaign season finally

poultry. >> the two turkeys pardoned this year are named tater and tot. so after this evening they are set to live out the rest of their days at gobble letter's rest, a custom enclosure that is located at virginia tech college. tater and tot. i like that. >> the official pardon, and they will live on as long as they naturally can, yes. absolutely. they'll be protected by the u.s. government, a very safe place for a turkey this time of year. let's talk about the weather. we were thinking maybe some rain and snow tomorrow but, bree, you're back off a little bit? well, the forecast is looking better and better, at least if you were hoping for a white thanksgiving, that doesn't look

still can't rule out completely that we get some wintery mix and possible flurries early on in the day tomorrow and the weather stays unsettled as we head into the weekend and temperatures cool through the end of november. i cannot believe we're wrapping up another month and we get a boost as we head into december. we'll talk about that in just a second. current temperatures in the low 40s for most 37 in worcester, but the good news is it feels warmer out there because our wind gusts aren't even regularring. it doesn't register unless it's over 20 mile-per-hour gusts out there. only seeing that in the city of boston. we have a light breeze, but it's nice that the winds have been able to relax after the last few days of very potent winds.

that is ahead of that system that we've been watching and talking about and forecasted models. so we'll run through the timeline here. this is heading through the overnight hours and into tomorrow. we start out tonight 11:00 p.m., we're close to the freezing mark. and temperatures close to freezing is where the concern is. while you're not seeing any precipitation showing up on this timeline at this still a possibility that we could get some drizzle out there and that it could freeze, creating some slick spots. thursday at 11:00 a.m., we're in the mid- to upper 30s for most of us. low 40s as you get into southeastern massachusetts. and it looks great for the family football game for the afternoon. it takes until about 5:00 for any precip, any accumulating precip as far as rain goes to start to really work into the picture for us and then that's

temperatures above freezing at that point and in the low 40s. so again, i really wanted to just throw out this snow map completely but we can't rule it out completely and so there's that slight chance for a scattered flurry tomorrow and possibly some slick spots if you're traveling early. here are our lows for overnight and into tomorrow morning, upper 20s, 32 even for boston. whatever does get wet will become slick on the roads, even on the driveways. so do use caution through the da forecast for us at noon, 40 degrees. a very slight chance for drizzle to start working in early but i do think that the wet weather holds off until the evening hours. here's a look at the highs for tomorrow. mid to even some upper 40s. though, i do think it's a little aggressive here across the south coast, 50 degrees probably not in the cards for us. if you're traveling outside of

we've got snow headed to the rockies, great news for skiers, steam boat springs opened up and the stormiest spot will be in the pacific northwest. possibly some delays for seattle as you're heading to the west coast tomorrow. clouds move in overnight. wind fades 27 to 35, and tomorrow, p.m. spot shower and urill watching out for the early we'll keep it covered here on 7news. make sure you tune in for today's new england tomorrow starting at 5:00 a.m. a look at 7 on 7 forecast showing the unsettled weather sticking around for the weekend and next week a big boost in temperatures, though. it looks like more wet weather is on the way. >> time now for fast track traffic. an all important check of the roads at this hour.

right by route 9 in framingham, hardly moving. it'll be like that most of the way out. let's go to the maps. from downtown boston to 128, only 21 minutes.

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at 4:30, we seeing clear skies for holiday travelers tonight but will it last through thanksgiving? the weather could cause some minor issues. the chill has already set in around boston tonight but the winds have died down. >> that's right. i loved today walking out of my building, i could smell the turkey and dressing coming out of peep's ovens. we're going to talk about the forecast. bree edgars has been checking it, checking it twice and lots going on there. >> it's looking nicer for 43 in boston. actually feels close to 53 because of the winds that have been relaxing. wind gusts at 23 in boston. a light breeze out there. overnight tonight clouds do move in but the wind continues to fade and temperatures right around freezing or just below, which makes us concerned for the potential for early flurries or even a wintery mix through the day tomorrow, and then getting into the afternoon and evening

shower. 40 to 46 for the highs in the afternoon. but we start out cold. so here's the bigger picture for us, clouds moving in from the west and we're watching this system here. we've been talking about it for the last few days, mostly bringing rain to the ohio river valley, keeping the snow in the northern great lakes region but that's what's in store for us through the day tomorrow, however it's losing its steam as it's traveling in our direction and we also have drier air that's coming in to play for us, so we could maybe wake up to tomorrow morning we just have cloud cover to wake up to and we keep just the cloud cover with us until the early afternoon hours. maybe some afternoon football in store for you or a walk around the clock to work off some of that stuffing. we hold off on the wet weather and really just light showers, drizzle at this point, until about 5:00 or 6:00 p.m. tomorrow. again, i can't rule out the potential for early flurries or a mix making for some slick spots on the roads early