on our broadcast tonight, the ripple effect on the busiest travel day of the year. millions dealing with a big storm that hasn't left. on top of the race to get home, all eyes are on the stars of tomorrow morning. will they be grounded or allowed to take to the air? another setback for the obama care website as the white house announces another delay in the rollout. spy thriller. a hollywood legend's secret double life. one of the biggest nuclear arms dealers in the world while working in pictures. if it sounds like something out of the movies, that's because it is. and country roads. a man and his truck and a delivery route like none other in america. "nightly news" begins now.

good evening. it's almost here, but a lot of folks are really going to have to work for it these last few hours before thanksgiving. it's because of a powerful storm in the east taking its time sliding to the north, as seen here from space. big enough and hittinging enough airports and cities to affect air travel from one end of the country to the other. take a look at the number of aircraft currently in the skies over this country -- about 6,000 flights. a lot of them are running way behind. the rush is bad enough without the storm. to be sure, it has hardly affected everybody. this is phoenix, arizona. this picture won't help at all if your flight into philly just got cancelled. we begin tonight with tom costello at the airport in washington. tom, good evening. >> reporter: hi, brian. cold here. we have had thousands of delays, hundreds of cancellations.

the numbers expected to build through the night. but on this day with heavy rain, high winds, some snow. it's been a treacherous day of travel for many people. tens of millions of people on the road and, for many, it's been bumper to bumper. in charlotte, traffic was so bad, some folks got out, making a mad dash for the airport. >> are you trying to make your flight? >> reporter: up and down the east coast, weather has dominated the local newscasts. >> take a look. >> with roads, traffic tracker. >> reporter: on the i-95 traffic map, a lot of green but also red delays around washington and philly, including a deadly crash this morning on a flooded section of i-76. >> what i'm going to do is start you a tow. he should be here within a half hour. >> that's good. >> reporter: in new york, highway help trucks have been out all day while amtrak trains and stations are packed. with freezing rain, airports as far south as knoxville were going heavy on the de-icing today. >> i like my chances of getting there. i don't know if i will be on time. >> reporter: icy rain and high winds lit up the misery map

today. new york, d.c., atlanta, chicago. the most affected airports. on my flight from pittsburgh to d.c., the wind made for a very bumpy ride. back into washington is when the turbulence picked up. >> the aircraft is leaving on time. >> reporter: on the ground jetblue's command center, it was mostly smooth sailing for their flights in the nation's most congested air space. >> this geography is challenging whether it's new york, boston, into washington. this area is some of the most challenging to operate in. >> reporter: heavy snow fell in upstate new york leading to power outages in rochester. more snow in western michigan. but beautiful today out west in denver and san diego. while back at the pittsburgh airport, chad ott returned from a florida business trip. >> i was able to get an early flight out. i'm just happy to be home. >> reporter: just in time for thanksgiving.

a little bit of good news if you're driving, gas prices are down 49 cents from the peak this year, down to $3.28 on average. that's across the country. so a little bit more change in your pocket. nice time of year for that to happen. brian? >> starting us off on this blustery thanksgiving eve at washington national. tom, thanks. to the weather center we go with meteorologist janice huff. everybody wants to know when we can say good-bye to this. >> pretty soon for areas except for new england. they are seeing the worst of the storm now. heavy rain around boston. inland areas, the green and white mountains getting snow. back through upstate new york. even seeing light snow in the new york city metropolitan area over the catskills and poconos. we are on the southern end in terms of the storm. it will continue to exit the area as we go through the rest of the evening. then we have to deal with winds.

we are expecting gusts around 34 miles per hour here in new york city in the morning. that's a big concern for the macy's thanksgiving day parade large balloons. they won't be able to go up if gusts are above 34 miles an hour. they will test that tomorrow morning. look at how it will feel. 12 in buffalo. 15 in new york city. feels like 10 in albany tomorrow morning. you have to layer up to be out and about in the cold. as we track the storm system there will be lake effect snows tonight across the great lakes back into michigan, parts of upstate new york through tomorrow. otherwise the weather is quiet across the country through thursday. it should be sunny and dry in most spots. even into friday. if you're traveling back from the holiday on sunday you will find rain in boston, but temperatures in the 40s. also rain for dallas and showers back across to seattle and the pacific northwest. otherwise the weather is dry and sunny. that's good news considering what so many people had to deal with with to get to where they were going for thanksgiving. >> janice, thanks for that. let's check in on the chances that the balloons will

get clearance to take off and be allowed to fly in the macy's thanksgiving day parade. this is inflation night along new york's central park where they blow the balloons up on thanksgiving eve. stephanie gosk is live for us there tonight. stephanie, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. this parade has been a tradition since the 1920s. just about for that amount of time people have been coming out the night before to check out the balloons. snoopy looks good. there are 16 balloons, all sorts of characters, giant balloons, helium-filled. right now they are good. it could be difficult tomorrow morning. there have been accidents in the past with high winds. that's what the forecast is calling for tomorrow. there are rules that say if there are sustained winds of 23 miles an hour or more, they will have to ground this entire fleet. that decision isn't made until just before the parade begins at 9:00 a.m. but children everywhere, don't despair. the other great draw for the

parade is not in jeopardy. santa claus isn't afraid of a little wind. brian? >> rainy, cold night alongside central park in new york. stephanie, thanks. balloons or no, the parade will be on nbc tomorrow morning. even before all the problems with the health care website, the obama white house has been counting on a surge of sorts in sign-ups for the health care plan this very weekend and beyond. the idea was to hear the president tell it, families around the thanksgiving dinner table would discuss it and maybe even persuade some of the young healthy family members to sign up. now the hope is any kind of surge won't crash the site which is working better, but it's still fragile. there is a new setback for small businesses trying to sign up their employees. nbc news white house correspondent kristen welker has more on that end of the story. good evening.

>> reporter: brian, good evening. today's announcement is particularly problematic because it comes just a few days before the deadline by which the administration said the website would be working well for most americans. now on the eve of thanksgiving, a new problem. as official washington prepares to start a long holiday weekend against a stormy backdrop, the white house chose to release more bad news about health care.gov. the administration announced small businesses will have to wait a year before they can use the federal website to enroll their workers in health insurance through a program called shop. those with 50 or fewer employees will have to sign up the old fashioned way. >> small businesses will be able to enroll directly in a shop plan through an insurer, agent or broker and can get certified for a tax credit after they enroll. >> reporter: the administration said the delay was necessary to give its tech team time to fix the troubled website for individual users and noted most small businesses already use brokers and agents. >> you need to talk to your

agent and figure it out. that's daunting. it's insulting and it really adds to a sense of uncertainty that's already a problem in this sector. >> reporter: republicans pounced. house speaker john boehner release add statement that reads in part, the president bit off more than he can chew with this health care law and small businesses are now forced to bear the consequences. with democrats facing heat over a launch plagued by problems, some acknowledged this latest setback makes it difficult to defend. >> we'll have to get past it. the overall project is too important to allow ourselves to be discouraged. >> reporter: but at parlor steakhouse in new york city, owner michael glik said he's lost confidence in the website and the president. >> as a law in itself and the implementation, it's a disaster.

very confusing. it's scaring individuals and companies. in my opinion it's a jobs killer. >> reporter: the administration says tech experts will work through the holiday weekend to try to get the website running smoothly by december 1st. the goal is to have it support as many as 50,000 users at one time. that's nearly twice the volume it currently handles. officials insist they are on track to do that. brian? >> kristen welker at the white house for us. thanks. still ahead for us tonight, spy games. the admission from the billionaire producer behind "pretty woman," "fight club" and a string of other films about his double life. later, wide open spaces, an old pickup truck, and the remarkable postman on the longest delivery route in america. pickup truck, and the remarkable postman on the longest delivery route in america. our game yesterday! of asthma doesn't affect my job... you were out sick last week. my asthma doesn't bother my family... you coughed all through our date night! i hardly use my rescue inhaler at all. what did you say? how about - every day? coping with asthma isn't controlling it. test your level of control at asthma.com,

then talk to your doctor. there may be more you could do for your asthma. store and essentially they just get sold something. we provide the exact individualization that your body needs. it's the ultimate sale on the only bed clinically proven to improve sleep quality. the sleep number bed. once you experience it, there's no going back. for one week only, queen mattresses start at just $599.99. and save 50% on our limited edition innovation series beds. plus special financing. only at a sleep number store. sleep number. comfort individualized. as your life changes, fidelity is there for your personal economy, helping you readjust along the way, refocus as careers change and kids head off to college, and revisit your investments as retirement gets closer. wherever you are today, fidelity's guidance can help you fine-tune your personal economy.

start today with a free one-on-one review of your retirement plan. shhhh! shhhh. [ coughs ] i have a cold with this annoying runny nose. [ sniffles ] i better take something. [ male announcer ] truth is, dayquil cold and flu doesn't treat all that. it doesn't? [ male announcer ] nope. [ sniffles ] alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms plus has a fast acting antihistamine to relieve your runny nose. oh, what a relief it is! [ man ] shhhh! for fast cold and flu relief, day or night, try alka-seltzer plus day and night liquid gels. we are back now with this revelation from a well known movie producer who says for a time he was producing a string of blockbuster pictures and also living something of a double life as a nuclear arms dealer for israel. he made the admission in an interview on an israeli news broadcast.

we get the story tonight from nbc's andrea mitchell. >> reporter: he's a legendary hollywood producer credited with more than a hundred movies, from "pretty woman," to "fight club." >> hit me as hard as you can. >> reporter: to the current hit "12 years of slave". >> nothing but a georgia runaway. >> reporter: he produced robert de niro in "the king of comedy" but arnon milchan now reveals he was an israeli spy. >> you know, i did it for my country. >> reporter: his country is israel where he's still a citizen and for years an under cover agent. >> james bond, wow. that's very exciting. >> he told me that he was an israeli and that he, of course, would do these things for his country. something with the things that trigger -- >> quite. >> reporter: biographers say the things that trigger something

for nuclear triggers and centrifuges from germany and uranium from south africa for israel's first nuclear bomb. a secret program israel has always denied. milchan said he was recruited by perez, currently israel's president and a nobel peace prize winner. milchan says his business partner was often sydney pollock of "tootsie" fame. do you think israel would be a nuclear nation without arnon milchan? >> they needed somebody to head up this relationship. it was mostly covert, clandestine. they found a young man who was successful. that was arnon milchan. >> reporter: he's celebrated as a hero back home. >> he's always remembered his country, remembered his roots. >> reporter: now he's finally come in from the cold. >> it definitely has an "argo" quality, a "bourne identity" and

a "yentl" quality. >> reporter: a movie tycoon whose life story itself is a hollywood movie, with him in the starring role. andrea mitchell, nbc news, washington. we are back in a moment with something that will happen tomorrow that won't happen again for over 70,000 years to come. ♪ appen again for over 70,000 years to come. medicare open enrollment.gain. time to compare plans and costs. you don't have to make changes. but it never hurts to see if you can find better coverage, save money, or both. and check out the preventive benefits you get after the health care law. open enrollment ends december 7th. so now's the time. visit medicare.gov or call 1-800-medicare they used to get really tired. [barking noises] my dogs were barking. until i started gellin'. it's this awesome gel, only in

dr.scholl's massaging gel insoles. it's like walking on a wave. i love my dr.scholl's massaging gel insoles. when they're in my shoes, my feet and legs feel less tired. they've got two layers for support and cushioning - it's dual wave technology. so i feel energized! i'm a believer. i'm a believer! now through november, save even more on dr.scholl's products. available at target. i'm a believer. ooooo. hey, dad. we're all tied up. really?! come on. oh! that's a lot of water up there. ♪ go. go. that's a nice shot. [ laughs ] yes! breakfast. [ male announcer ] share what you love with who you love. kellogg's frosted flakes. they're grreat! [ female announcer ] now with kellogg's family rewards, you can get even more from the products you love. join today at kfr.com. you really love, what would you do?" ♪

[ woman ] i'd be a yoga teacher. [ man ] i'd be a baker. [ man ] i would be an activist for causes i believe in. [ man ] i wanna be a pilot. [ woman ] i wanna be a pie maker. [ man ] i would be a teacher. [ woman ] i'd be an architect. [ woman ] i would be an art historian. ...or a writer. what if i told you someone could pay you to do what you love, and what if that person were you? ♪ [ woman ] life is about finding those things that we enjoy, that's what i envision retirement to be. ♪ [ man ] that's a paycheck to be a pilot, i think about that everyday. ♪ when you think about it, isn't that what retirement should be, paying ourselves to do what we love? ♪

♪ tracy when i'm with you something you do bounces me off the ceiling ♪ last night we did a story about a woman named happy thanksgiving because her hippy parents thought it was a great idea when she was born on thanksgiving day 43 years ago. we went on to say hippy parents had fun with names instead of opting for more conventional names like tracy. well, we heard from several tracys on twitter overnight insisting they were not

conventional. the truth is we couldn't agree more, regardless of spelling. from morgan to ullman to chapman and her "fast car" there are great tracys out there including spencer tracy and dick tracy say nothing of the cities and towns named tracys in at least six u.s. states and more in canada and france. last night's mention was aimed at our senior domestic producer tracy lyons, among the great and completely unconventional tracys of all time. lindsey vonn talked about her most recent injury during a visit here today. she said she has a partial acl tear in the right knee. she said normally she'd stop competing to have it repaired. instead she hopes to compete next week. then to the olympics in sochi, russia. she's the most heavily decorated female skier in the history of the sport. >> in february when i crashed, you know, i had a lot of time. so i had enough time to be sad,

disappointed and then get motivated. i don't have time for that now. i have to be motivated. i have to be ready. sochi is the thing that's really driving me. if i didn't have sochi, i would have most likely had another acl reconstruction and been out the entire season. sochi is definitely in the forefront of my mind. it's what keeps me going. the winter olympic games begin in 11 weeks. in a town that welcomes good news, newtown, connecticut, has some welcome good news. the newtown high school nighthawks have gone 12-0 after a season dedicate odd the victims in the same grammar school so many of them once attended. they finished undefeated. if they make the states, the championship game may fall on the one-year anniversary of the tragedy there. a few days back we brought you a report from richard engel

in afghanistan, the story of a young boy badly injured in a bombing. he lost his legs. making things harder his home is far from school and his family have no way to get him to school in his wheelchair. thanks to the generosity of a "nightly news" viewer who wishes to remain anonymous, that young man can now continue his physical therapy while attending the international school of kabul, a year's tuition has been paid for. richard engel plans to be with american troops for thanksgiving dinner tomorrow in afghanistan. the pentagon is supplying 45,000 meals, trying to ensure everyone who is deployed gets a hot meal, even at remote fire base where is the food has to be flown in. we hope you remember them all at your own thanksgiving table. turkeys are in the news generally toght. starting with the annual turkey pardon at the white house. gave us a chance to see daughters sasha and malia, now 12 and 15. the turkeys chosen to be spared by the president get to live out their lives on a farm.

by the way the pew research center says like the americans eating them, turkeys have gotten bigger over the years. in 1980 the average live bird weighed 19 pounds on average. they have now ballooned closer to 30. with all the work awaiting us on thursday, the pizza industry reports thanksgiving eve -- tonight -- is for many the second biggest day of the year for pizza sales behind super bowl sunday. a glittering charity gathering at kensington palace in london last night benefitted the homeless. yes, that's taylor swift and bon jovi, but the most important thing to see here is prince william singing "livin' on a prayer." he did well at the microphone. we have the entire video on the website for you tonight. >> reporter: hanukkah falls on thanksgiving this year. it's the first time that's

happened since 1888. it starts at sundown tonight. it ends december 5th. the next time hanukkah and thanksgiving are due to coincide is about 76,000 years from now. so in other words, you should live so long. when we come back, an american original. he proves a little inspiration goes a long way. cash back card from capital one. it's not the "limit the cash i earn every month" card. it's not the "i only earn decent rewards at the gas station" card. it's the no-games, no-signing up, everyday-rewarding, kung-fu-fighting, silver-lightning-in-a-bottle, bringing-home-the-bacon cash back card. this is the quicksilver card from capital one. unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase, everywhere, every single day. so ask yourself, what's in your wallet? i have a big meeting when we land, but i am so stuffed up, i can't rest. [ male announcer ] nyquil cold and flu liquid gels don't unstuff your nose. they don't? alka seltzer plus night fights your worst cold symptoms, plus has a decongestant. [ inhales deeply ] oh. what a relief it is.

progressive direct and other car insurance companies? yes. but you're progressive, and they're them. yes. but they're here. yes. are you...? there? yes. no. are you them? i'm me. but those rates are for... them. so them are here. yes! you want to run through it again? no, i'm good. you got it? yes. rates for us and them -- now that's progressive. call or click today. wow...look at you. i've always tried to give it my best shot. these days i'm living with a higher risk of stroke due to afib, a type of irregular heartbeat, not caused by a heart valve problem. at first, i took warfarin, but i wondered, "could i up my game?" my doctor told me about eliquis. and three important reasons to take eliquis instead. one, in a clinical trial, eliquis was proven to reduce the risk of stroke better than warfarin.

two, eliquis had less major bleeding than warfarin. and three... unlike warfarin, there's no routine blood testing. [ male announcer ] don't stop taking eliquis unless your doctor tells you to, as stopping increases your risk of having a stroke. eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. don't take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. while taking eliquis, you may bruise more easily and it may take longer than usual for any bleeding to stop. seek immediate medical care for sudden signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. eliquis may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. i've got three important reasons to up my game with eliquis. [ male announcer ] ask your doctor today if eliquis is right for you.

finally here tonight, as always, the holiday season is the busy season for the u.s. postal service. says it's ready to deliver holiday greetings and gifts to more than 152 million addresses nationwide this season. tonight, kevin tibbles tells us about one man making the long haul to get some of those pieces of mail to their destination. >> reporter: as bleak as they are beautiful, these windswept flatlands. and as the sun peeks out, jim ed bull rises, does his 50 sit-ups. >> i love you. >> reporter: and kisses his wife susan, a teacher, good-bye. he heads out into the elements, as vital as the rain in this rural corner of america. >> good morning!

>> good morning. how you doing? >> all right. no mail today? >> no mail. no bills. >> reporter: as you have likely figured out by now, he's the postman. do you hate junk mail more than i do? >> yeah. >> reporter: it's also worth mentioning jim ed has the longest mail route in the nation. 187 miles a day, 198 stops. a lot of miles on the ford ranger. you see? 295,000. >> reporter: 295,000 miles. >> yeah. >> reporter: still going strong. he says he's still going strong, too. he spends about nine hours a day sitting in the middle, left arm to steer, right to deliver. don't try this at home. for this occasion he lets a beginner in the truck. neither rain nor sleet nor snow

nor greenhorn. >> nbc. >> reporter: mail's delivered. jim-ed sees deer, coyotes and rattlesnakes. with a drought on, families struggling in hard times. >> i have some that you really feel sorry. i try to help out when i can, a lot of them. >> reporter: there is a lot of time to think on these dusty roads. at 72, he even thinks about hanging it up but not yet. >> i was raised on a farm. i love to work. >> reporter: going down the road serving the people he loves means a lot more than just delivering the mail. kevin tibbles, nbc news, somewhere near mangum, oklahoma. great story to end on on this wednesday, thanksgiving eve. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. we hope you can join us here tomorrow night. if you're eating or gathering with your family, we understand. most of all, please have a happy thanksgiving and please remember all those in uniform overseas. thanksgiving and please remember all those in uniform overseas. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

. >> lights, camera, action. smoet ♪ ♪ >> he is very funny. really cool. ♪ taylor in tune with the prince. and did she find any single