cbs reporter ko im joins us from washington, illinois. >> reporter: and what you see behind me is just a glimpse of what this unusual late season storm was able to unleash in this small town, blocks and blocks and debris and damage. streets being patroled in a sprawling neighborhood in washington, illinois. the twister ripped through the town wiping out hundreds of homes. >> oh, my god, this thing is huge. >> reporter: the national weather service says dozens of twisters touched down across the midwest sunday leaving behind destruction in at least 12 states. illinois was hit hardest. jeff lehman was outside and barely got to safety. >> in a matter of seconds you turn around and it was right on top of us. we hustled into the house. >> this is incredible! >> reporter: in peoria, illinois, twisters flipped vehicles and ripped through homes. >> i'm really amazed that we made it out. >> reporter: josh cannon and his band were driving to a show when a twister picked up their vehicle and spun it around. >> our car just moved three times and the tires kept coming off and the ground and glass i

ko im here in new york city. thank you very much, ko. >>> well, the first family pitched in at a washington, d.c., area food bank on wednesday. the president along with first lady and daughters sasha and malia dropped in on the capitol area food bank. they filled up bags of food and apples and handed them out. >>> about 140 million americans are expected to shop this holiday weekend adding to the retail frenzy. the season is shorter than usual this year. there are just 26 shopping days between thanksgiving and christmas. alison harmelin reports. >> reporter: elizabeth ross tried to beat the crowds for her holiday shopping. i guess you feel like you're not going to get the good stuff if you don't look early. >> reporter: she's not the only one starting early. with thanksgiving falling so late on the calendar, this is the shortest holiday shopping season since 2002. many retailers have already started slashing prices two days before black friday when 97 million customers are expected to hunt for bargains. >> my husb

ko im, cbs news. >> if the comet survives the closest it will come to earth is 40 million miles away around december 26. >>> there's one bird that won't be stuffed and carved this thanksgiving. and it's all because of the president. >> now before these turkeys get away with the power vested in me, i want to grant popcorn a full reprieve. >> popcorn and caramel are two lucky birds. both turkeys were spared as the president fulfilled the annual turkey pardon tradition. turkeys will be on display at george washington's mount vernon estate and gardens through january. >> is it me or are the president's daughters taller than him? >> they have grown up. >> and size of those turkeys. did you see them? >> gigantic. >>> happy turkeys they are today! around the bay area, good news. weather changes will work out right for thanksgiving day. out there hazy sunshine. we have been watching the airports and the delays if you are headed toward the eastern seaboard. check your airlines before heading out today. temperatures now in the 50s and also the 60s. i think as we head in toward the afternoon, w

reporter ko im has an update from the garden state plaza where authorities are relieved that no shoppers were injured. >> reporter: authorities say 20- year-old richard shoop was on a suicide mission and didn't plant on hurting anyone else when he started -- didn't plan on hurting anyone else when he started shooting inside new jersey's largest shopping mall. six gunshots were fired around closing at the garden state plaza. >> out of nowhere he was shooting shots in the air. >> reporter: hundreds of officers arrived on the scene quickly. some employees and customers ran for their lives. others hid for hours until s.w.a.t. team helped them evacuate. >> it's okay to go. >> reporter: this cell phone video shows people as they made their way to safety. >> police came, escorted us. we had to run out with our hands up, guns aimed at us. they checked us. crazy. >> reporter: authorities found shoop's body and gun overnight in the back of the mall closed off to the public. authorities say shoop had a history of drug dealing and drug abuse. >> he was definitely despondent in his life and it could

that's where cbs reporter ko im is live with the closer look at the devastation and slow recovery. ko. >> reporter: it will be a slow recovery and rebuilding process after strong lines of storms hit small towns like this one. as you can see, there is a lot of damage and people are in shelters tonight because they are without power and homes. >>> reporter: from the sky you can see the massive path of destruction the twister carved through washington, illinois. several driveways now lead to empty foundations where large suburban homes used to stand. joey davidson was in the basement of his new home when it hit. now he is in the hospital with a cracked vertebrae and shoulder damage. >> i could feel everything that was hitting me. i knew it was cinder blocks and trusses. it was surreal. at one point, i thought i was a goner. >> reporter: illinois is one of the 12 states twisters ripped through on sunday. in kokomo, indiana, a tornado flipped this car upside-down. in ohio people are picking through what remains of their homes. but illinois was the hardest hit. this pile of rubble used to

ko im on a move that could save thousands of lives every year. >> reporter: you can find them in fried and processed foods and while many companies and restaurants have been phasing out transfats, the fda wants to completely cut them out of the american diet. >> i think that's good. i mean, it's a problem in the united states. >> reporter: government health officials say transfats are a public health concern. they are considered the worst kind of fat for your heart because they can raise bad cholesterol. >> we could save about 7,000 lives and prevent about 20,000 heart attacks in this country every year. so that's why we think this is an important step. >> reporter: new york was the first city to ban transfats 7 years ago. since then, several other cities and states have done the same. 10 fat food chains have also eliminated transfats entirely. the fda says it will take feedback on the new requirement for two months. but then set a time like for the facing out. ko im for cbs news, new york. >> the institutes of medicine says transfats provide no known health benefits and there is no sa

ko im has the latest on what parents need to know. >> reporter: the toys on this table are on the naughtyatchdog safety group. >> we need to protect our littlest consumers from unsafe toys. >> reporter: this year's trouble in toyland report collected 50 toys from store shelves to test for potential hazards. ♪ the leapfrog chat and count smartphone is too loud for tiny ears, clocking in at 85 decibels, or the equivalent of a garbage disposal. this captain american soft shield has 29 times the accepted level of lead. batteries and powerful magnets can do harm if swallowed. and so can toys with tiny parts including the just like home super play food set. there's a simple test parents can do at home to see if a toy poses a choking hazard. if it fits inside wrapping paper or toilet paper roll, it's too small for children under 3. this is a parent who runs a play center. she hand picks what gets put on the floor and in the toy shop. >> for me, it's about are they going to put it in their mouth? would they get sick? >> reporter: toy recalls have declined over the last five years because of tough

ko im reports windy weather is threatening to keep the balloons on the ground. >> reporter: before dawn, people were making last-minute touches to floats for the 87th annual thanksgiving day parade in new york. >> this is my 25th year. i'm excited. >> reporter: crowds watched as the characters became larger than life as they blew up the balloons. >> the balloons are cool. >> reporter: but the weather could ground the famed attraction. they can't fly in wind of 23 miles per hour or if gusts top 34 miles per hour. it will be a last-minute decision. >> we have our own wind reporting stations all along the parade route. they are up an active. we're monitoring them so we are collecting a lot of data and we are going to be able to get the full picture. >> reporter: organizers expect about 3.5 million people will line these city streets to watch the parade in person. another 50 million will catch it on tv. >> the parade is tradition. everybody looks forward to it, across the country, around the world. people come here for it. >> reporter: arriving with fingers crossed to see their favorite cha

ko im. wjz eyewitness news. >> the institute of medicine said transfats provide no known health benefit and there is no safe level for consuming them. >>> what a dramatic change from just this time yesterday. we've gone from sun and seasonably warm temperatures, clouds, a little rain, even cooler conditions. wjz has weather and traffic together. meteorologist tim williams is updating the first warning weather forecast. tim, it really kind of turned out to be a nice afternoon. the sun popped out. >> i was going to say what a difference a day makes. doppler radar, woke up this morning to showers across the region. the front responsible for those showers has continued to progress across the state, pulling the showers with them. so now, west to east, we're seeing more and more clear sky. and the closer we get to tomorrow, the more blue sky we'll see. temperatures coming down from a high in the 60s. we were in the 60s early this morning. and as you see out to the west, as it started to cool out,

cbs reporter ko im takes us to washington, illinois, one of the hardest-hit areas. ko. >> reporter: it appears this small town suffered the brunt of the storm's fury. this auto shot was reduced to rubble -- this auto shop was reduced to rubble as the storm went through this building in seconds. >> what have you got over there? >> reporter: bill is searching through what was his home in washington, illinois. >> all we got left are pieces. we got our lives, that's amazing. that house just got paid off a week or two ago. that's what's sad. >> reporter: baylor was returning home from his office sunday when the tornado hit. his fiancee escaped with her life. >> that's our kitchen. she come down these steps and got this door open and we went to go through and got knocked down. >> reporter: the tornado that leveled baylor's home was one of 75 reported in 7 states from tennessee to michigan. but washington, illinois, was hardest hit. you can see the devastation in these before and after photos. personal checks and other items from here were found 85 miles away. there's wides

i'm ko im for cbs news, new york. >>> time now is 5:52. coming up, talk about a room with a view here! the latest hotel feature that gives new meaning to sleeping with the fishes. >> adorable nap time snaps. the pictures that have gone viral and their bay area connections. ,,,,,,,, people across america are experiencing the amazing shine of finish quantum, voting it product of the year, better homes and garden's best new dishwasher detergent, and now it has the good housekeeping seal, giving finish quantum more honors than ever before. finish quantum delivers amazing clean and shine, which cascade actionpacs just can't do. take the finish shine challenge tanzania. the hotel has a room... >>> sleeping under the sea, check out this hotel room at the manta resort off the coast of tanzania. they have a rooftop deck, bathroom and lounge area at sea level. but the bedroom is downstairs among the fish. it's going to cost you $1,500 a night for two people. $900 for singles. >> kind of cool. >>> okay. for adorable moment of the morning here it is.

ko im for cbs news, new york. >> the parade route is 2.5 miles long. balloons have only been grounded once in that 87-year history. there is one sergeant and about 100 handlers assigned to each balloon. >>> maybe the "great karnow" can do something about that. >> the winds are well within the limits but gusts may pick up throughout the morning. we hope they fly. around the bay area today, we have some clouds floating through. clouds in our direction but otherwise passing clouds and fair weather. 30s in the interior valleys. santa rosa mid-30s. 40s and 50s elsewhere. as we head throughout the day, though, here comes the sunshine. about 67 degrees and partly cloudy skies into morgan hill. 66 in san jose. east bay temperatures running up into the mid-60s, as well. then inside the bay you will find some hazy sunshine and a few clouds. and the temperatures in the 60s. all right. let's check on your "kcbs traffic" with liza battalones. >> good morning, everyone. if you are looking for some guilt-free eating today you may want to think about doing the turkey

in washington, ko im, wjz eyewitness news remember. >> the player's union received $22 million to set up the trust. it will also provide financial and career advice. >>> check in for eyewitness news at 6:00. denise is in the newsroom with a preview for us. >>> inner harbor, 2.0. bridge, beaches, park. a major makeover. baltimore crowned jewel. >>> also ahead, sex smuggling. a baltimore jail out of control. a former prison official talks to vic carter. >> how is it contraband nakes its way into the facilities? . >> and how a gang kingpin called the shots. on wjz next. >> check in for these stories and all the breaking news at 6:00. but now, back to mary and kai. >> thank you. >>> still ahead on eyewitness news. >>> stop what you're doing and listen. cannon ball! >> honoring anchorman. how d.c.'s museums is paying how d.c.'s museums is paying tribute to a legendary bu,,,, store it's -- >>> it's hard to believe, but it's been nearly a decade, since will ferrell's anchorman hit the big screen. in a surprise move, the movie is now an exhibit at the washington museum. >> stop what you're do

as ko im reports for wjz, other passengers protested, forcing the cancellation from the flight. >> albertand his dog, doxology, are back home. >> she got very adamant. like the dog has to be under the seat or i'm going to turn the plane around. >> reporter: the plane was bound for macarthur airport. but was delayed more than an hour. rizzy says he let his dog stretch its legs. but the airline claims the dog was roaming up and down the aisle and when confronted, he became abusive. >> i'm like, wait, why am i the only one being asked to get off. >> we made a stink that what was going on was wrong. and they didn't like that, apparently. >> reporter: instead, the passengers took a 3 1/2-hour bus ride, back with rizzy and doxy to macarthur airport. >> i feel extremely satisfied they i -- that i had 35 people who stood up and did the right thing and said no. >> reporter: rizzy said he is happy and humble to stand up for rights of the disabled. >> u.s. airways says its protocol for serviceab mals is to keep-- service animals is to keep them under the seat or at the feet for safety reasons. >>> n