before using canned foods in your thanksgiving dinner. and showtime. my family and i give you a sneak peek at this morning's mace's thanksgiving day parade. good morning, everybody. happy thanksgiving. everyone out there. i'm rob nelson. >> yes. and i'm sunny hostin. many of you are already up, getting the turkey ready for the oven and finishing up the pie. millions of others are heading out for the last-minute trip to family and friends. >> oh, yeah. americans are traveling in numbers not seen before 2007. that's before the recession. abc's alex stone reports. >> reporter: over 40 million americans are on the move. that number is up 4% from last year and the highest since the start of the recession. >> costa rica. >> i'm headed to atlanta, georgia. >> reporter: rain and snow on both coasts caused some delays and cancellations at the nation's busiest airports. chris leone is traveling from

new york to chicago with four kids. >> we got here fine. no stops or delays. and the airport doesn't seem too crazy yet. >> reporter: are you guys excited? >> yeah. >> reporter: in pennsylvania, some drivers got stuck in a gooey mess, after a tanker truck dropped driveway sealant along 40 miles of highway. >> look at my wheels. look at my tires. this is thanksgiving. now, we have to turn around and go back home. >> reporter: although you cannot put a price on thanksgiving with the family, it is costly. still, millions say it's worth it. >> absolutely. totally. we want to see our family. >> reporter: and if there's still any money left in your pocket, top national retailers are hoping you'll spend it right after your thanksgiving dinner on some early holiday shopping. at many retail stores, black friday has become black thursday, with stores opening at 9:00 thursday night. alex stone, abc news. and of course, some people are spending their holiday

camped out outside one of the major retailers. they want to be first in line for those bargains come black friday. >> more and more, it's becoming black thursday. kmart open this morning at 6:00 a.m. and other chains are opening a few hours before midnight. >> i don't get it. those folks are determined and passionate about getting the deals. occupy protesters have their sights set on black friday. they're planning demonstrations around the country for conspicuous consumption, that is the hall mark of the day. >> and they want shoppers to visit the mom and pop stores instead of the megaretailers. >> i mean -- it's stressful enough for black friday. and protesters trying to divert you. >> it's going to be difficult. but the message is there. i suppose it is nice to have the mom and pop shops get their share. >> it is great. but i think people on black friday are stressed out enough. it could be ugly out there. be careful, folks.

take it all in stride. take the weather in stride, too. let's get a look at the forecast. stormy out west, with a foot of snow in the cascades, sierras and rockies. showers around san francisco, l.a., phoenix and albuquerque. scattered showers in south florida. >> just shy of 80 in miami. 65 in atlanta. and 52 here in new york. unseasonably mild in the middle of the country. getting up to 61 in kansas city. 63 in omaha. and 55 in chicago. phoenix climbs to 75. sacramento, 57. and it's near 50 in seattle. well, a small plane carrying six people exploded in flames at the superstition mountain east of phoenix last night. amateur video shows where it broke apart. they also say the plane was returning to mesa, from stafford, after picking up the children for the holiday weekend. a lawyer for former penn

state football coach jerry sandusky says the two latest claims of sexual abuse are unfounded. the lawyer insists that one of the new accusers is simply a copy-cat who is, quote, trying to jump on the bandwagon. he says the other claim by a regulartive stems from a family dispute. for now, sandusky is charged with sexually abusing eight boys, some right there on the penn state campus. and the fallout has begun at florida a&m university, after the hazing death of a drum major. the school's long-time marching band director has been fired. police believe 26-year-old robert champion was pummeled to death on a school charter bus after a game in orlando on saturday. the band has been in trouble before. in 1997, a clarinet player was beaten so badly, his kidney shut down. florida's governor is calling for a full investigation. and the leader of a breakaway amish group and six others have been charged with hate crimes. prosecutors say the group carried out the attacks in september, october and november,

by forcefully cutting the beards and hair of amish men and women and taking photos of them. hutti cutting hair is a highly offensive act to the amish. the russian government is warning it's prepared to fire on the u.s. missile field in europe. but the white house insists its european missile defense plans reflect a growing threat from iran and are not directed at russia. and president and mrs. obama will spend thanksgiving at the white house with his family. yesterday, the president carried out the annual tradition of pardoning a turkey. >> peace and his lackup, liberty, with spend their days in virginia. mr. obama said he saved the birds from a certain fate. >> some of you may know that recently i've been taking a series of executive actions that don't require congressional approval. well, here's another one. we can't wait to pardon these turkeys.

otherwise, they'd end up next to the mashed potatoes and stuffing. >> later, the first family helped package and hand out food at a washington area food bank. >> lucky birds. >> those are big birds. >> they are, too. huge, huh? when we come back on this thanksgiving morning, we'll talk more turkey and get the numbers behind the billion-dollar bird business. then, what lawyers for michael jackson's doctor are asking for the week before his sentencing. and wheel from the latest on the pilot who somehow walked away from this amazing crash.

overseas markets are mostly down, as worries about europe spread to germany and france. tokyo's nikkei average lost 150 points today. hong kong's hang seng gained 71 points. in london, the ftse opened lower. and on wall street, the dow fell 236 points yesterday. the nasdaq index gave up 61. u.s. markets are, of course, closed today. moody's has a warning for congress. the ratings agency says congress better thought block the spending cuts or it will downgrade the u.s. spending rating. the cuts were triggered by the failure of the so-called supercommittee that was scheduled to start in 2013. some republicans want to block the defense cuts. some incredible stats about turkey from the usda. the u.s. produces more than 250

million birds each year. minnesota and north carolina produce the most birds. >> a lot of good eating. well, store owners want more from the federal reserve this summer. the central bank cut back the fees that credit card companies can charge merchants. but retailers say the banks are making up the difference with new fees. the retailers have filed a lawsuit to try and stop it. it may be a sign of the times. the rockettes are staying closer to home this year. last year, you could see the radio city christmas spectacular in six other cities besides new york. an it also toured 19 cities. this year, it's only in three cities. and there's no tour at all. >> another sign of the times, i guess, right? >> yep. when we come back this morning, why country music duo sugarland is in the middle of a million-dollar lawsuit. and on this thanksgiving, a turkey that isn't the main course. but a member of the family. ♪

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learn more at lipitorforyou.com. ♪ families in iowa have at least t 75 reasons to be thankf today. that's how many national guard members came back home yesterday after a year-long tour in iraq. the soldiers were the last of the state's guard troops to return. this is the first time since 2003, that no iowa guard members are on active duty in iraq. happy times for those families. enjoy the holidays. and now, for a look at morning road conditions. snow and ice on parts of i-84 and 90 in the pacific northwest and northern rockies. wet on i-5, from seattle to san diego. showers make for a slick ride on i-10 from l.a. to western new mexico. and i-40, from flagstaff to albuquerque. also, wet on i-94 and 75 in south florida. >> and if you're flying today, airport delays are possible in

san francisco, l.a., phoenix and miami. well, as we settle in for that traditional thanksgiving feast, a warning about canned food. >> yes, the chemical found in the metal cans has already been removed from baby bottles because of health concerns. abc's karen travers is joining us from washington with more on this. >> reporter: good morning, rob. good morning, sunny. this study did not look at the health risks associated with bpa. but scientists say findings are raising concerns about what's in our food. millions of americans will sit down tomorrow for thanksgiving dinner. but should they think twice about the canned vegetables and cranberry sauce. a new study found there's a hidden danger lurking inside those cans. bpa is a chemical used in plastic products and in the lining of cans. bpa keeps them from corroding. but it may also be creeping into your food. researchers at harvard compared

people who eight 1 12-ounce can of soup for 5-straight days with fresh soup. what scientists found surprised them. a massive increase of bpa in the urine of people who ate the canned soup. after two days without canned soup, the bpa levels were back to normal. >> consumers cannot tell how much bpa may have gotten into the food in any canned food item they may pick up. and the story here is, you don't know. and you can't know. >> reporter: in 2009, the leading baby bottle manufacturers said they would stop selling bottles in u.s. that were made with bpa. that was due to concerns about the risk to infants. industry groups said bpa in urine does indicate a health risk. >> in animals it can cause a risk of cancer, heart disease and early puberty. we don't know yet if it can cause the same problems in people. >> reporter: the national institutes of health are spending $30 million to try to answer that question. but for now, doctors and

scientists say the best way to protect yourself is to eat more fresh or frozen food. rob and sunny? >> thanks, karen. sun superstar band sugarland is among 12 defendants named in a lawsuit over last year's deadly indiana state fair stage collapse. the victims' families says sugarland's contract gave the band final say whether the show should go on despite the weather. several people died when the stage setup came crashing down. lawyers for michael jackson's doctor are asking for probation rather than prison when he's sentenced next tuesday. however, prosecutors say conrad murray has shown no remorse, following his conviction for involuntary manslaughter. they're urging that murray be sentenced to four years behind bars. and his wife says the pilot of the chopper that crashed in new zealand is still trying to get his head around what happened. greg gribbe was able to walk away unscathed after that horrible accident. he tells a newspaper that he

blacked out and doesn't remember a thing about what happened. investigators are trying to figure out what caused the crash. >> unbelievable video. wow. negotiators are back at the bargaining table, working to end the nba lockout. fans are fed up. they signed petitions demanding full refunds plus interest on prepaid tickets. the talks are said to continue through the long holiday weekend. the goal was to start a shortened, 66-game season by christmas. staying with sports, here's adnan virk with a look at highlights from wednesday. >> good morning. the duke blue devils love playing in maui. unbeaten, against 14 kansas. and the e.a. sports maui ini ha haveational championship. andre dawkins for three. and the blue devils take the lead. 1:30 to play. elijah johnson. trying to respond. a pull-up three. and he drains it.

the jayhawks take a one-point lead. ensuing duke possession. tyler thornton, a three from the quarter. blue devils up by two. tons of drama in hawaii. taylor, off his leg, out of bounds. that's his 11th turnover. on the next two possessions, the desperation three and drills it. let's see that one more time. his teammates go bananas. and duke goes on to win this one 68-61. mason plumlee, 17 points and 12 boards in the win. elsewhere, jim boeheim and syracuse taking on virginia tech. madison square garden. erick green, long three over the dome. hokies, stretching the lead to seven. end of the first half, in transition. the alley-oop. orange closing the gap. c.j. fair, the uncontested dunk. and the raiders for three.

syracuse is going to take this 69-58. for all of your highlights, join us on "the highlight express," on espn news. thanksgiving only comes once a year. but in one southern town, every day is turkey day. davis, north carolina's local celebrity. she wandered into town six months ago and decided to make herself at home. she survived busy highways, dog attacks and hurricane irene. residents make sure tom sina is well-fed. but they have no plans to make her part of today's feast. >> that's the next-luckiest bird roaming around. >> i love her. up next, a special thanksgiving "pulse"pulse." . we're talking why people might be hungover today. and the age-old debate that is moving over to facebook. canned or fresh cranberry sauce. what side are you on? olt?

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get $10 off clothing with coupon. extra 20% off fine jewelry already 60-70% off. and an extra 20% off all stand mixers. real deals. real savings. sears. welcome back, everybody this thanksgiving. time to check out "the pulse," the stories that you'll be talking about today, starting with thanksgiving eve. >> that's right, with so many people flocking to their hometowns, reunions with old friends have turned thanksgiving eve into the biggest drinking night of the year. i had no idea. thanksgiving eve, over new

year's eve and st. patty's day. >> mothers against drunk driving calls thanksgiving eve the biggest night for drinking, more so than the prom and graduation. hope everyone made it home safely. and now, to one of the great thanksgiving debates. cranberry sauce. okay? canned or fresh? there's those purists who insist that only an old family recipe will do. >> there's entire facebook pages devoted to this question, including one called cranberry sauce is only good in the shape of a can. most people go with whatever is served on their childhood table. i guess that. you vote for fresh, though? >> always fresh. much better. now, to a holiday tradition. as the nfl plays today, many americans are getting in on the game themselves. >> that's right. we're talking about touch football, right? if you're a big lefty, here's the rules. find a nice patch of grass. it doesn't have to be big. all family on the field, including grandma and the

one-eyed dog. >> it is two-hand touch. you only need two plays. everybody goes out. everybody goes deep. and make sure you take your shoes off before going back into the house or you'll have to answer to mom. everybody loves a little touch football. >> i love it. >> weather's good out there. be safe. for some of you, now, your local news is next. >> for everyone else, we'll be back with my sneak peek at the balloons taking to the skies this morning in the macy's thanksgiving day parade. >> "america this morning" continues right after this. happy thanksgiving, everybody. we'll be right back. i kept feeling this radiating ache everywhere.

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and finally from us this thanksgiving morning, a new york tradition steps off just hours from now. in fact, we're talking about the macy's thanksgiving day parade. >> that's right. and just as that tradition is inflation eve. i just did it for the first time. when all of the giant balloons were prepped for their appearance, i was lucky enough to take in the spectacle last night. >> with her kids. >> look how big it is. >> wow. ♪ >> reporter: are you coming to the parade tomorrow? >> yeah. >> reporter: you have quite a

party going on here? >> this is a fantastic party. we have a million people here to see the macy's balloons come to life. >> reporter: how many balloons do you have? >> we have about 50 medium-sized balloons. those would be extraordinarily large in anybody else's parade. and we have 15 giant balloons that are going to appear tomorrow. >> reporter: are there new balloons? >> we have sonic the hedgehog, who has been in the parade before. but this is a new balloon. we have paul frank's sock monkey. we have the aflac duck in the parade this year. and the great director, tim burton, designed a balloon that's going to fly in the parade this year. >> how big are the balloons? >> the balloons are huge. they're up to 60 feet long. and each one of the balloons is bigger, bigger than the heads on mt. rushmore. give me another one. >> reporter: any other

questions? >> how much helium do you have to put in them to make them inflate? >> how much helium? each one of the balloons has to rise. we know that helium is lighter than air. and some of the balloons are filled with helium and air because you want them to fly at a certain angle. so, since helium rises and air doesn't, sometimes just the front of the balloon is filled with helium and the back is filled with air. and the biggest user of helium is the united states. >> reporter: look at that. thank you so much. and happy thanksgiving. >> happy tha is goodthis washington. >> we are learning more about a night plane crashed east of phoenix. six people were on the small plane. there's no sign of any survivors.