richard engel is there again tonight. the rising cost of thanksgiving. the price of turkey and trimmings way up this year. is it taking a toll on a holiday tradition? making a difference, an entire community turns out to help, and tonight a farmer and his wife have lots to give thanks for. "nbc nightly news" starts now. from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news" with brian williams. good evening, everyone. i'm savannah guthrie in for brian. it is the eve for thanksgiving, and they're off. millions of americans, 42.5 million to be exact, are expected to hit the airways, roadways and rails this holiday. that is the most americans traveling for thanksgiving since the height of the recession and it comes as of cost of traveling is sky high. airfares up 20%. the average price of a gallon of gas up 20%, too. and then there is the weather.

some big storms could add up to big hassles as americans head home this weekend. we've got it all covered beginning with nbc's tom costello from washington's reagan national airport tonight. tom, good evening to you. >> reporter: hi, savannah. we've had snow up in vermont and in maine, but beyond that, most of the nation's airports reporting minimal delays today. look at flightaware.com. a live look at every single airplane in the sky over america at this hour. what's fascinating here is this is one of the busiest travel days of the year, and despite that really a pretty good travel day, although we did start out in the soup up in the northeast. from i-76 in philadelphia to the massachusetts turnpike, the nation's thanksgiving get-away hit an early snag in the northeast. mike tiabbi started on grand central parkway. >> the traffic is building up here. the rain is coming down in

sheets, and there's been some flooding in some spots. >> as the rain moved out, it was smooth sailing on the interstates by midday, and same story in dallas and indianapolis, and better than up expected conditions out west, although an accident near the 101 near san francisco airport, may have caused a few travelers to miss their flights. in pittsburgh at the us airways command center weather is the constant challenge. >> we just got advised runway 1 has opened up. >> here they watch every airplane, pilot and crew in real time. 3200 flights a day, 650 planes and 200,000 passengers, and over the thanksgiving travel rush nearly a million passengers. across all airlines some 3.4 million leisure travelers in the skies. so far this year eight of the 10 most delayed airports are on the east coast with newark the worst. u.s. airways says it's determined not to be slapped

with a steep fine for keeping passengers on a runway for two hours as other airlines have. >> at two hours i have to ensure that the flights have a definitive plan to get back to the gate, either take off or get back to the gate. >> reporter: on the ramp in charlotte they've been waiting for this week. >> it starts kicking in now through thanksgiving. >> a delay anywhere in the system can ripple across any airline in a matter of hours. >> we're six minutes away from departure. we shall be closing the flight out soon. >> with all airlines flying full, if you miss a flight, it could be days until you're rebooked. back live i want on to show you a pretty cool app for the ipad. this is called flight board. it shows you any city, any airport in the country. this is laguardia departures, and they have departure delays tonight one to two to three hours. the same story as you control up. same story in philadelphia and boston and jfk, really up and down the east coast, also in san francisco, so a pretty good app if you want to keep track of what's going on and also fly faa.gov reports they have minimal delays in the country but the northeast and san francisco are the problem areas. savannah, back to you.

>> nbc's tom costello in washington. thanks. we mentioned the weather, and it will be a factor for travelers this weekend. we turn to the weather channel's good evening, savannah..t of we heard the northeast and san francisco dealing with some of the weather right now in the form of the low clouds. if we look at the satellite radar combination, look at rain and clouds, it's the northeast and the west. now, in the northeast we are seeing a storm that is moving out and as it moves out the snow and rain we see throughout the day will come to an end. in the pacific northwest the next system moves in and another moves in and overnight we see the morning hours and thanksgiving. fog will be a concern in the great lakes in parts of the mississippi valley. while it will be cold in the northeast, we have that next gher elevations.nd snow in theg

things are unsettled in southern california as well. heading home now on sunday, we could have issues as this system is taking shape throughout parts of the mississippi valley, the ohio valley and down to the south in the great lakes. we have a chance for wet roads out there because of the system and any air delays from atlanta to chicago. savannah, we know it could cause ripple affects across the country. >> chris warren at the weather channel for us. thank you so much. we move to egypt and the violence and chaos in cairo. the protests continue today for the fifth day despite the fact that the egyptian military has now agreed to accelerate the transition to civilian rule. with at least 38 dead there, it's no sign tonight that the tens of thousands of people who have been taking to the streets are inclined to stop. our chief foreign correspondent richard engel is in cairo again for us tonight. richard, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, savannah. as you can see, there are no signs at all that these protests are letting up. now, some political parties in this country have accepted the

military's compromise and have already begun negotiations to form a new government. but it's not enough for these protesters who want an immediate end to military rule. in tahrir square no backing down. peaceful protesters demanding democracy from an entrenched military which is beating them back. but is that the full picture? we left tahrir, went down a nearby alley. it leads to the front lines where demonstrators have clashed with security forces for five days. today protesters flipped over cars preparing defensive barricades. they showed us tear gas canisters and shotgun shells, evidence they claim of the brutality against them. their anger is directed at egypt's military. the people want to try the field marshal they shouted, referring to the head of the military.

as we went further, we found something unexpected. soldiers were trying to prevent clashes. they set up a blocking position to keep back demonstrators. what's different this time is the army is trying to show restraint. it's an attempt by the military to calm things down here. the army has positioned its troops and vehicles between the protesters and rows of poorly trained, often violent riot police. these men in black are especially hated by the demonstrators. the army's patience with the protesters was running short. what happens now? these people are here. >> they need to go back to tahrir. >> reporter: what if they don't go back? >> the army and police will go fight with them. >> reporter: minutes later protesters started throwing stones. up went the riot shields, but the army held fire. then more stones.

and as dusk fell, those riot police in black fired volley after volley of tear gas right over the soldiers' heads. we heard soldiers telling the police to stop. everyone started to choke. some soldiers helped the demonstrators. with a gas mask on we jumped into an ambulance. a policeman was gagging on the gas he fired. so was a woman, a demonstrator. the ambulance streamed into tahrir square with the injured. they were greeted like heroes. and the crowd's demand to topple the military only grew stronger. later this week could be decisive. they're planning another million person demonstration after friday prayer. >> all right, richard. i guess the question for americans anyway is where the u.s. comes down on all this? on the one hand the u.s. has been supportive of the protest movement in egypt, but it also

has the strong ties to egypt's military. >> reporter: the egyptian military is critical of the united states, and it's also one of the only functioning organizations left in this country. it's pro-american and maintains a peace treaty with israel but these people want it toppled. if that happens the muslim brotherhood would be immensely empowered, and that could lead to a more anti-american egypt. >> it's a complicated picture. richard engel in cairo again tonight. thank you. one other note from the region. after months of street protests demanding he step down, yemen's president has signed an agreement transferring power to his vice president. a move that could end his 33 years of rule. that is, if he lives up to his word. he has taken back these promises before. back here at home presidential politics, and they're called debates for a reason. the republican candidates for president sparred again last night exposing serious divisions

over the security matters of the day including the security of america's borders. nbc's andrea mitchell reports. >> for the first time newt gingrich was front and center reflecting his recent surge to the top of the polls. on immigration, gingrich disagreed with the other candidates, calling for a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants who are long-time residents and paid taxes. >> i'm prepared to take the heat for saying let's be humane in enforcing the law without giving them citizenship but finding a way to create legality. >> it encourages more people to come here illegally. >> reporter: on twitter today gingrich struck back. defeat tweeting out video of romney endorsing amnesty. >> the 12 million here illegally should be able to sign up for permanent residency or citizenship. >> reporter: still, gingrich's comments could cost him support from a key republican in the first caucus state. >> when you give people even

a promise that they can stay in the country after they're here illegally, you become more of a magnet. it is a form of amnesty, and more people will come in counting on it. >> reporter: gingrich stirred the pot on iran, endorsing regime change to stop iran from building a nuclear weapon. >> replacing the regime before they get a nuclear weapon without a war beats replacing the regime with a war, which beats allowing them to have a nuclear weapon. >> john huntsman went after mitt romney from wanting a gradual troop withdrawal from afghanistan. >> i totally disagree. i think we need to square with the american people about what we've achieved. >> are you suggesting that we take all our troops out next week? what's your proposal? >> did you hear what i just said? we should draw down from 100,000. we don't need 100,000 troops. >> the debate exposed deep disagreements on foreign policy, even though audience questions were fellow conservatives, most from the bush and reagan administrations, except for the moderator, a respected journalist. >> no, blitz, that's

oversimplifying here. i'm sorry. i meant wolf. blitz, wolf. since we're on a blitz debate, i apologize, wolf. >> the candidates can give thanks for a break. they don't debate again until december 10th. andrea mitchell, nbc news, washington. coming up, the time with family at thanksgiving may be priceless, but that turkey is not. why the cost of everything on your table is going up this year. later, making a difference. a place where they're harvesting friendship this year. sting friendship this year. smal l bu sinesses are the smal lifeblood of our communities. on november 26th you can make a huge impact by shopping small on small business saturday. one purchase. one purchase is all it takes. so, pick your favorite local business... and join the movement. i pledge to shop small at big top candy shop. allen's boots... at juno baby store. make the pledge to shop small. please. shop small on small business saturday.

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back now with news about the cost of tradition. this is the holiday, of course, for giving thanks but only the sentiment is free. the price of a thanksgiving dinner has climbed by the highest amount in 20 years. why now? nbc's janet shamlian explains. >> reporter: shopping for her family's thanksgiving dinner has given christy stone a case of sticker shock. >> can't live without that. >> reporter: it's a small father gathering with a bigger than ever price tag. >> i buy just what i need. i had my list with me, so i buy what i need, no more, no less. >> reporter: a traditional thanksgiving meal with all the trimmings costs 13% more this year. that's the largest jump in more than two decades. across the board everything is more expensive from frozen peas to a package of rolls. nothing has climbed more than the traditional bird. turkey is up more than 20% in just one year. the rest of the feast, too. the rest of the feast, too.

pumpkin pie mix, if you can find it, will cost 41 cents more. stuffing is up 24 cents, kran ber i didn't say and sweet potatoes up 7 cents each. >> some of the major factors are higher energy prices overall, which really do influence prices on all of the items that we survey, and also strong demand globally for food products. >> reporter: take pecans, 30% of the u.s. supply is exported at a time when the harvest has taken a severe hit from the drought. >> overall it's down quite a bit in texas. >> reporter: this pea con groer says production fell from 70 million to 40 million pounds in texas and prices are skyrocketing. >> some get 11 and $12 a pound for shelled pecans. next year they'll be more. >> reporter: shoppers like lynn say the long-held tradition of the bountiful meal is not one to scrimp on. >> i'm sure it will cost at least $200, but it's just once a

year so we do it. >> reporter: higher prices taking a bite out of the holiday, as giving thanks gets more expensive. janet shamlian, nbc news, houston. meanwhile on wall street stocks were down for a sixth straight day. the dow dropped 236 points. nasdaq down more than 60, and the s&p 500 also down more than 25 points. the markets will be closed tomorrow for the holiday. when we come back, a time-honored tradition at the white house served with a side of comedy from the president. it's simple physics... ] a body at rest tends to stay at rest... while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function

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you are looking at a dramatic accident in new zeal d zealand. a helicopter pilot helping to install a christmas tree crashed when the chopper's blades got stuck in cables attached to the scaffolding. the pilot and dpround crew are fine today. what a mess along the pennsylvania turnpike near pittsburgh on on tuesday night. a tank truck loaded with

driveway seal ant sprung a leak and coated part of the roadway with a thick tar over a 40-mile stretch of road. it came out gooey and hot and dried on the pavement. crews had to use sand and snow plows to clean it up. officials say the driver of the truck will be cited for violations, about 150 cars were caught in that muck significantly slowing the drive to grandma's house for the holiday. today in washington the president did what presidents have dpon for the last 64 years now, pardoned the national thanksgiving turkey. this year's lucky bird named liberty along with his understudy peace were officially spared at at white house as the first family looked on. >> 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.

literally. otherwise, they'd end up next to the mashed potatoes and stuffing. now i'm told that in order to prepare liberty and peace for their big day, the students exposed them to loud noises and flashbulbs so they'd be ready to face the white house press corps. this is actually true. they also received the most important part of the media training, which involves learning how to gobble without really saying anything. >> this afternoon the president and his family took two other turkeys unpardoned to a local food bank. here in new york city despite the rainy weather, those giant balloons for the macy's thanksgiving day parade are taking shape tonight. tens of thousands of parade-goers are expected to line the streets in the morning. that's a good time to remind you that the 85th annual macy's thanksgiving day parade kicks off tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. here on nbc hosted by our own ann

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difference report on a small farm in illinois, a family facing a tremendous challenge gather to celebrate thanksgiving tomorrow knowing whatever happens, their friends and neighbors are there for them when it really counts. kevin tibbles has their story. >> reporter: on a cold, raw, november day, spirits have been warmed on glenn's farm. for here in rural illinois, that age-old bond between neighbors remains sacred. >> you know, it's about giving. >> reporter: glenn's wife carol is battles breast cancer. in the midst of coping with her illness they had to get the fall harvest in, 940 acres of beans and corn. out here you don't need to ask for help. people just know. >> you know, all these farmers, they just called up and said they were going to show up and harvest this crop. they did. >> reporter: onto the farm rumbled combines, semi trucks, grain carts and people, more

than 100 all drawn by word of mouth. >> it's just so heart-warming to see a sight like that. >> reporter: pink ribbons flew from the farm machinery in honor of carol, and in one day these neighbors already busy with their own harvest did what would have taken glenn a month to do. >> i still get choked up about it. to think that that many people, you know, care and want to help. >> reporter: this time of year people here say it's important to give thanks for what you have, but it's also important to give thanks for what you can give. >> that's what it is. just feeling good about doing something good for somebody else. >> you don't expect anything in return? >> no, i do not. >> 65,000 bushels of corn, 80 truckloads delivered to the grain elevator. for the bolanders that have pitched in themselves, it's a

weight taken off. >> the farmers' hearts are bigger than the big pieces of equipment they brought on our farm. >> friends, neighbors, even strangers proving the true spirit of thanksgiving is still very much alive. kevin tibbles, nbc news, genoa, illinois. that is our broadcast for this wednesday night. thank you for being with us. i'm savannah guthrie. we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening, and we leave you with a look at rockefeller center getting ready for the holidays, that christmas tree will be lit one week from tonight. have a wonderful thanksgiving, and we'll see you tomorrow. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com