>> it is cold. >> he wanted candy bar and sodas. thanks for joining us. kate snow is next. tonight, deep freeze. a brutal arctic blast bringing record cold this thanksgiving. chaos on the rails. a travel nightmare creating massive crowds. millions taking to the roads and skies for the busiest travel in over a decade. >> i'll be getting here real quick, i hope. it will be all over with. a deadly start to the rush on a major bridge. snow and high winds causing headaches. airports totally packed. how will the weather impact tomorrow's big parade? al roker is tracking it all. trump versus roberts. why the president earned a rare public infernofl. one hero catching a baby tossed to safety. dozens without homes right before the holiday. new twists in a mansion murder mystery. a family of four found

dead, their home up in flames. tonight, why the brother of the homeowner is facing charges for a separate fire. lucky find. the couple who stumbled onto a lotto jackpot. how they almost missed out on a fortune. on your mark, get set, shop. when to score the best deals for your holiday shopping list. why it may not be on black friday. and the dynamic marching band duo whose inspiring friendship is taking s biggest thanksgiving celebration. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. good evening, i'm kate snow in for lester tonight, on this night before thanksgiving. millions of americans are bracing for record breaking, bone-numbing temperatures. the travel rush is well under way on the rails, the roads, and in the air. historic numbers tonight, all going someplace else for the holiday. that icy cold snap could put a damper on another tradition. if bitter winds in new

york city top a certain speed, the giant balloons in the macy's thanksgiving day parade could be grounded. we've got it all covered from the forecast to the travel frenzy. but we begin with stephanie gosk here in new york. >> reporter: this year the macy's thanksgiving day parade will be for the brave and the bundled. >> we saw it was going to be very cold and went and got longjohns before we came. i hope we're ready. >> reporter: there's a chance balloons, even the six brand-new ones, will have to sit it out all togethtogether. the last time that happened was in 1961. in 1977, the wind blue the cat in the hat into a lamppost. four people were injured. after that, the nypd created a new rule: lower or remove balloons if winds reach 34 miles per hour. >> we'll know what the wind conditions are at parade route. >> reporter: the nypd will closely monitor wind meters along the

way. together with the winds, potentially historic cold. here in new york the temperature will feel like the teens. >> really, really cold weather can present a life-threatening situation. so everyone's got to take the cold weather seriously. >> reporter: and boston could have a high of just 21, which would break a record set in 1901. >> make sure you cover your face. make sure you cover your hands. just be careful when you're out there. >> reporter: every once in a while, thanksgiving in the northeast can feel like january in minnesota. grab the hand warmers and layer up. tomorrow is the day. we are in the middle of a snow squall right now. this is definitely not the kind of weather that they want tomorrow morning. but even if this balloons have to be grounded, it doesn't have to blow away the fun. you still have all of those floats and the bands. it will still be a great parade, kate. >> we'll be focusing on one of those bands a bit later. stephanie, thanks so much. let's turn to al roker, tracking the holiday weather for us tonight. al, what are you keeping an eye on? >> reporter: the good

news is at the rockefeller center christmas tree, it's beginning to feel a lot like christmas, and it will feel a lot like it tomorrow morning. we're talking about bone-chilling temperatures, 3 in new york city, 17 in columbus. into friday, even colder weather. it's going to feel like zero in boston, 12 in baltimore, 11 in pittsburgh. a chilly day on thanksgiving day in the northeast. snow in the rockies, heavy rain in the pacific northwest. and on the way home, on sunday, we are looking at rain and snow in new england. snow showers back around the upper dwestwe're starting to get some snow too, kate. so it is beginning to feel a lot like christmas, even though you. it is hectic out there tonight across the country. the busiest and the busiest ever at the nation's airports, some 54 million americans traveling for the holiday. nbc's tom costello on

the race to get home in time for turkey. >> reporter: dinner time in america and it's bumper to rumper on the roads. >> it's pretty rough already. >> reporter: in new york, a horrific start to the day as a fatal fiery crash shut down the brooklyn bridge for two hours. but on the jersey turnpike, this family says they beat the rush hour from upstate connecticut to southern new jersey. >> this is the first year we've left in the afternoon. it actually has been much better than we thought. >> reporter: in the skies -- >> welcome on board with service to houston. >> reporter: a record number of fliers, million today alone, 3 million expected on sunday. >> i'm making sure everything gets checked in. >> reporter: time lapse showing the densely packed airspace with airlines adding hundreds of flights. the faa's command center is tracking every plane, airport, runway and tower. the nation's airlines, airports, weather it w was, the business jet community, all in this room coordinating the airspace. the military opening

normally closed airspace along the east coast to speed passengers along. the only significant weather issue, high winds causing delays in san francisco and new york. but in new york's penn station, hundreds stuck, train service suspended, after a technical problem brought the thanksgiving russia to a crawl. tom costello, nbc news in northern virginia. a rare back and forth today between chief justice john roberts and president trump. roberts defended the independence of the courts and said judges don't make decision based on politics. and late today, the presidenir williams has that story. >> reporter: john roberts is cautious and restrained in his public statements. but a comment from president trump on tuesday provoked a highly unusual response. the judge criticized a decision from a judge in san francisco that put a hold on the president's plan to crack down on asylum seekers on the southern border.

>> you go to the ninth circuit and it's a disgrace. i'm going to put in a major case. you cannot win, if you're us, a case in the ninth circuit. this was an obama judge. >> reporter: true that the judge was appointed by president obama. but when asked by the associated press, the chief justice said we do not have obama bushes, trump judges, clinton judges. what we have is an extraordinary group of dedicated judges doing their level best to do equal right for all of them. he said an independent judiciary is something we should all be thankful for. sorry, president trump tweeted back. ninth circuit rulings, he said, make the country unsafe. pete williams, nbc news, washington. president trump also doubled down today on his support for saudi arabia after he signaled the saudi royals will not be punished for the murder of journalist jamal khashoggi. our kristen welker is in florida traveling with the president. >> reporter: tonight,

despite mounting pressure to punish saudi arabia, president trump is ramping up his support for the kingdom, tweeting oil prices getting lower. great. like a big tax cut for america and the world. enjoy. thank you to saudi arabia. but economists point out saudi arabia isn't solely responsible for lowering oil prices. still, it comes after the president broke with the cia assessment that the crown prince, mohammed bin salman, directly ordered the killing of jamal khashoggi. >> the cia has looked at it. they've studied it a lot. they have nothing definitive. and the fact is, maybe he did, maybe he didn't. >> reporter: and defense secretary james mattis now says he does not think the cia or saudi government have fully established who is but tonight, a sharp et to work backlash. >> i am astounded at the type of response that was put out by the white house.

we have a crown prince that i believe directed the killing of a journalist. >> that say huge blow to our intelligence community which at the end of the day is what keeps us safe. >> reporter: the saudi government remains defiant. >> we have made it very clear that saudi arabia as a government is not involved in this, the crown prince is not involved in this at all. >> reporter: and another controversy tonight, the white house has officially given the okay to troops stationed at the southern border to use lethal force to protect border agents if necessary. it's a move that could face legal challenges because the law prohibits the military from engaging in law ka . >> kristen welker with that breaking news, kristen, thank you. dozens of families are without homes just before the holiday after a massive inferno ripped through an apartment complex in dallas. several residents forced to jump. a mother even tossing her baby from a window to escape. our anne thompson has

the story. >> reporter: a fire forcing desperate people on the third floor of this apartment building to jump. one right after the other. saved by quick-thinking neighbors. >> everybody held the mattress on each corner and on the side and told everybody to just jump on the mattress, aim for the mattress. >> reporter: a mother faced an unthinkable choice for her baby. >> i seen the lady, she yelled out the window, i'm going to drop the baby. i caught it in my hands. >> three-story brick structure, a lot of fire still coming through the roof. >> reporter: our were injured, everyone as the fire destroyed peoe survived. >> based on the amount of damage done to the building, they were lucky to make it out sample. >> reporter: thankful tonight to be alive. anne thompson, nbc news. new twists tonight in another tragic fire that we're following. a new jersey couple and their two young children murdered,

their mansion set on fire. and the brother of the homeowner is now under arrest for a separate inferno at his home. nbc's ron allen has the latest. >> reporter: a million-dollar mansion on fire, a family of four found dead. father keith caneiro shot dead. inside, the bodies of his wife jennifer and their children, jesse and sophia. investigators say they were killed before the blaze erupted. >> this is one of the most heinous cases that we have ever seen. >> reporter: authorities arrested keith caneiro's brother paul for allegedly torching his own home that morning with his wife and daughter inside. they escaped. then the deadly blaze at keith caneiro's home. the brothers had been in business together. investigators won't say whether paul is a suspect in the murder of his younger brother's family. >> the question is why. >> we're working on that. this happened less than 24 hours ago. >> for this to happen the way it happened, it's so sad. it puts you on edge.

>> reporter: the caneiro home is still not safe enough for investigators to gather evidence. >> there's no answers. >> reporter: an outpouring of grief for a family investigators say was targeted and murdered in their own home. ron allen, colts neck, new jersey. new questions after the cdc's urgent warning to keep romaine lettuce off your family's thanksgiving table. why can't investigators track down the source faster? here is nbc's miguel almaguer. >> reporter: from farm to table, most americans have no idea where their produce comes from. and tonight, some consumer groups say the government doesn't know enough either. the e. coli outbreak forcing the cdc to warn consumers nationwide not to eat or buy romneai lettuce in part because of the source of the contamination has not been found. >> the government should be able to go back to the supplier

and say where does this come from, and know the original source. that's not always the case with produce. >> reporter: the drastic warning even suggests consumers clean out their fridge or any surface romaine lettuce has touched. >> nobody wants to get e. coli on thanksgiving or ever. >> reporter: with grocery stores clearing shelves, experts say more companies should adopt blockchain technology. walmart using it to track produce from farm to distributor to shipper to store in just seconds. >> the only reason that you would see industry adopting this technology is if it was profitable for them or if it was required by the government. >> reporter: tonight, e toin t source of the outbreak. more than six weeks after it tainted the food supply. miguel almaguer, nbc news. if thanksgiving is almost here, you know black friday isn't far behind. our jo ling kent tells us when to buy those items on your holiday shopping list and how to use social media to save big.

>> the amazon black friday sale. >> reporter: this week's deals are impossible to ignore. but the deepest discounts don't necessarily fall on black friday or even cyber monday. so what should you buy right now and what can you hold off on? for the hottest toys, act now. for big ticket electronics, black friday deals are still the best. up to 70% off brand name tvs, smart speakers, and rare discounts on the latest apple iphones. so what can you wait for? clothes. the best sales on apparel comes closer to christmas when retailerdespate to unload inventory. but for the gifts most important to you, experts say don't think twice. >> if there's a product on your list, your family's wish list, don't wait. when you see it, pick it up. they'll be price matching. >> reporter: a secret weapon this holiday season is your social me brands you follow are posting discounts on

snapchat and pinterest, kate. >> jo ling, thank you. coming up, the couple that found a fortune lying on the night stand.

next tonight, the scuffle over scooters. they popped up overnight in cities across the country. some people love them. others say they pose a danger and need more regulation. nbc's catie beck now on one city that's joining a growing crackdown. >> love 'em! >> reporter: more people are choosing to scoot, using apps that find and rent the nearest two-wheeling, 15-mile-per-hour ride. but while electronic scooters are popping up across the country, some cities have put the brakes on. >> we can't have anybody really dropping things into our city right away without working with us. >> reporter: laurie crouch says the popular vendor bird put scooters out for rent on norfolk sidewalks without asking permission. >> we've impounded about 560 of their scooters, and they owe

us over $93,000 in fines. >> reporter: norfolk wasn't the first. more than half a dozen cities, including san francisco, denver, and miami, have pushed back with regulations, fines, or banned scooters made by bird or other companies. bird says it's hoping to have productive conversations with officials and disputes never contacting norfolk, saying it obtained all necessary paperwork to operate legally. and we continue to reach out to leadership in hopes of working together. the city says it supports new forms of transportation but wants a conversation about safety first. catie beck, nbc news, norfolk, virginia. up next, the discovery that made a lucky couple millionaires just in the neck of time.

if you have some old forgotten lottery tickets sitting around at home, do yourself a favor and check them

to see if any of them are winners. nbc's kerry sanders tells us about a big jackpot win that almost didn't happen. >> reporter: tonight one lucky louisiana couple has a lot more to be grateful for, and it's all because of some pre-thanksgiving chores that used to be a bore. >> we sat there with receipts and other lottery tickets and just accumulated, and it was sitting there for a long time. >> reporter: tina and harold ehrenberg one of several unchecked lottery tickets on their night stand was a winner. $1.8 million. the lucky numbers drawn back in june. >> i handed the ticket to him and i said, i'm going to call out the numbers, and let me know what you think. >> yeah, i thought something must have been wrong. >> reporter: in this case, timing is everything. the louisiana lottery ticket would have expired in just two weeks. >> and we were that close. >> we were close. the moral of the story is check your tickets. don't wait. >> reporter: talk

about a little extra gravy on thanksgiving. kerry sanders, nbc news. up next, the duo marching in tomorrow's big parade inspiring america. stormranger is trackin

rain right now. where it )s heading and the chances for a stronger storm behind it.

plus, you suffered through fire-polluted air for nearly two weeks. should you be concerned about what )s in the rain? we gt answers. next >> announcer: "nbc nightly news." inspiring america is brought to you by alka seltzer plus power max gels. along with family, food, and football, thanksgiving also means marching bands. some of the nation's best perform tomorrow in the macy's parade. two of the young musicians have a remarkable friendship, inspiring america. kristen dahlgren has their story, thanks to our dallas-ft. worth affiliate kxas. >> reporter: when the dallas-ft. worth marching band gets ready to take the field, kaley makes sure everybody is ready, paying special attention to freshman drew bell.

>> i make sure he's ready for everything so it's not just focused on me, it's me and him. >> reporter: drew was born with spinea bifi >> my band dirfrs we can get someone t i was like, i'll do it. >> reporter: on the field, while he plays kaley pls the part of his feet. she doesn't perform, >> she doesn't have to do it. she wanted to. and that means a lot to me. >> reporter: kaley had to learn all the steps. intricate choreography done together in harmony. their partnership now a friendship. and when the pregame show is over -- >> still strapped in. >> i am. >> just wanted to make sure you knew. >> reporter: a helping hand. >> just because someone is different from you doesn't mean

you have to treat them differently. he likes it and i like it, and we're equals. >> reporter: their hard work has paid off. tomorrow they're one of 12 bands marching in the macy's thanksgiving day parade. what message do you think this sends to other kids out there? >> you can do anything if you just try. >> reporter: and it always helps to have a friend who's got your nbc all of festivities. them and all the that is "nbc nightly news" on a wednesday night. i'm kate snow. i'll see you tomorrow. for all of us from "nbc nightly news," have a great night, and we'll keep watching those balloons.right now a as we were about to leave i started having contractions. >> right now 6:00 a miracle of life in the fire zone. this mother's firsthand account of escaping the flames and then giving birth. do we need to be concerned about possible toxinsai

but first a live look at our satellite radar. you can see all that green. even bands of yellow. theht now headed tonight. the news at 6:00 starts right now. good evening p & thanks for joining us on this thanksgiving eve. i'm raj mathai. >> and i'm jessica aguirre. it finally arrived. badly needed rain hit the bay area this morning and it is still sticking around. with some of it came power outages, flooding and plenty of slick roads. >> all of this as millions of americans are on the move. we have a team of reporters covering double storm. jeff ranieri, where is it coming down right now? >> right across the south bay we certainly are seeing some heavy rainfall and definitely some of the heaviest today right through the morning hours and into the afternoon. we've updated the totals. 1 1/2 to 3 inches for the santa cruz mountains. san jose close to a quarter of an inch. the worst of it foros of the

bay area has now pushed into the central valley but we still have a zone we're continuing to watch. what i've done is put the radar loop on a loop over the past hour and you can see we're getting this moisture surging in from the south. that would keep the corridor from san martin down to gilroy. the wettest tonight on 101 as we