america this thanksgiving and the news tonight on his health. new details from his first presidential checkup. what the doctors are saying and why it shows the importance of regular screenings. and new reaction to the convictions of the three men who murdered ahmaud arbery, chased down and killed while jogging. the response from arbery's mother, sharing her gratitude tonight. the brazen spree of smash and grab robberies. more high end stores targeted. a security guard sprayed in the face with a chemical. what we're learning from police tonight. the nypd officer hailed a hero released from the hospital. the officer one of two wounded in a harrowing gun battle. video shows the terrifying moments. black friday sales just hours away. the record spending expected this year. what americans are buying and the biggest deals we found. and together again. tonight, the emotional thanksgiving reunions for families who spent so many milestones apart. good evening everyone. thank you so much for joining us on this thanksgiving. i'm linsey davis, in for david. we begin tonight with the holiday and the country's return to tradition. millions of americans gathering together today. many celebrating their first thanksgiving meal with extended family since the start of the pandemic. the crowds enjoying many of the festivities that were canceled last year. an estimated 3.5 million people lining the streets here in manhattan for the macy's thanksgiving day parade. the famous balloons once again returning to the skies. in philadelphia, where last year's parade was virtual, people packed the streets again. clifford the big red dog flying high on a beautiful fall day. in chicago, the city's annual parade making a triumphant return down state street. still, fears remain for a potential winter surge. abc's trevor ault leads us off tonight from new york. >> happy thanksgiving! >> reporter: tonight, americans taking to the streets in celebration of both the thanksgiving holiday and the return to tradition. cities across the country bringing back parades canceled last year, welcoming back the crowds that give them life. the macy's thanksgiving day parade, kept virtual in 2020, making a spectacular, oversized comeback. spectators packing the stands along the 2 1/2-mile route. >> we feel safe and it's great to be starting to get things back. >> reporter: it's because of the prominence of the vaccine that we can return to traditions like this. in fact, last night the streets were even packed for the inflation of the floats, and everybody who showed up had to prove they were vaccinated. and it's not just parades seeing crowds. the holiday travel rush is back. airports seeing prepandemic passenger totals. the tsa screening 2.3 million people wednesday. nearly as many as the same time in 2019, with even bigger numbers expected this weekend. relatives who've been kept apart finally reuniting. >> hi! oh, so happy to see you! you were on two airplanes? >> yeah! >> reporter: today, millions of vaccinated families gathering comfortably. especially with more than 37 million adults already getting booster shots and 19 million children receiving their first dose. 2 in 3 americans saying they'd be spending thanksgiving with people outside their household. but that's not without some risk, as almost half say they may be gathering with unvaccinated people. >> even in our updated data, unvaccinated people are at 14 times greater risk of dying from covid-19 than people who are vaccinated. >> reporter: and there are already some troubling signs of another potential winter surge. in just the last week, 21 states and washington, d.c., reporting covid-related hospital admissions up at least 10%. new hampshire now allowing hospitals to boost capacity to handle a record number of covid patients. and in minnesota, a military medical team spending this thanksgiving at a minneapolis hospital, providing backup for the exhausted health care workers who are still fighting this virus. >> i asked point blank, "you've been at this for 20 months, how does it feel now?" and without a doubt, every one of them said it's worse now than it's been. >> the governor expressing some concern there. trevor ault joins us now. trevor, as of tomorrow, the uk will ban flights from six countries in africa because of a new variant. what do we know about that? >> reporter: well, linsey, this variant was first discovered in botswana. and there's been very few cases of it, but the uk's health secretary says it could be more transmissible than the delta variant and our vaccines could be less effective against it. and now the world health organization is going to be meeting to discuss this variant tomorrow, linsey. >> happy thanksgiving to you, trevor, and thank you so much. now to southern california, where millions are on alert. red flag warnings are up as santa ana winds whip across the region. these images of damage are from the los angeles area. gusts up to 70 miles per hour. several blazes started overnight after downed power lines. tens of thousands are spending their thanksgiving without electricity in an effort to prevent more fires. many more face the possibility of outages. abc's kaylee hartung is in los angeles for us. >> reporter: tonight, thanksgiving in jeopardy for thousands of people in southern california. faced with high fire danger, power companies shutting off electricity for nearly 70,000 customers, with 200,000 more at risk. >> i suppose i'd rather have excess wind and less power than be burned out of my house and home. >> reporter: those inconvenient public safety power shutoffs, a last resort attempt to prevent downed power lines from sparking more fires, as powerful santa ana winds whip through the area. red flags warnings now in effect through friday, with wind gusts topping 70 miles per hour. strong enough to rip this tree from the ground. surveillance video catching the moment it comes crashing down in a neighborhood. that car stopping just in time. the winds fueling this fire to flare up in riverside county. even pushing flames to jump the containment line, threatening homes and forcing evacuations in the middle of the night. in orange county, winds knocking trees and power lines down, igniting several fires spreading to homes. california suffering from decades of drought and dry conditions made worse by climate change. and the threat to homes tonight only increased by the holiday festivities. >> we respond to more residential fires on thanksgiving than we do any other day throughout the year. >> reporter: a with these strong winds expected to continue throughout the day tomorrow morning in southern california, power companies are warning they may need to shut off additional circuits. with this fire threat, they say they will try to restore power as soon as they can determine it's safe to. linsey? >> kaylee, thank you. let's get to abc's senior meteorologist rob marciano. rob, happy thanksgiving to you. how long is this critical fire danger expected to last and what can thanksgiving travelers expect on sunday? >> reporter: hi, linsey, happy thanksgiving to you, as well. you know, it's pretty quiet nationwide right now, but so cal certainly the sore spot with those santa ana winds that will blow for at least another day and a half. 50 to 60 miles an hour, maybe 70 miles an hour at times. ventura, all the way down to the mexican border. through friday, critical fire danger and red flag warnings up. low levels of humidity. looking ahead to sunday, where millions will be traveling home. another quiet day. most of the interstates will be clear, but i-5, i-90 in the northwest and i-90 near the great lakes, maybe some snopes. and the southern part of louisiana, i-10, maybe some wet weather. do travel safe as you head home for the holidays. linsey? >> rob, thank you. the first family is celebrating the holiday in nantucket, but before leaving washington, the president and dr. jill biden recorded a message to the nation, saying the blessings of thanksgiving are especially meaningful this year. and news on the president's health. his physician sharing the results of his colonoscopy. a reminder of the importance of regular screenings. abc's white house correspondent mary alice parks is traveling with the president. >> reporter: president biden spending part of his thanksgiving day expressing gratitude to u.s. service members from all six military branches. greeting members of the u.s. coast guard on nantucket, where he is spending the holiday with his family. >> what am i thankful for? i'm not joking when i say i'm thankful for these guys. thankful for them and everybody -- i mean that from the bottom of my heart. they make me proud. i really mean it, from the bottom of my heart, guys. >> reporter: the president saying the country is back after nearly two long years of battling covid, calling into the macy's thanksgiving day parade. >> my message is, after two years, you're back, america is back. there's nothing we're unable to overcome. >> how are you feeling, mr. president? >> reporter: and tonight, the president's doctor giving him an update on his health. giving him the all-clear. after a small polyp removed during his colonoscopy last week in a memo, the president's physician now saying it was a besign, but potentially precancerous lesion. >> a polyp is nothing more than simply an overgrowth of cells, and that is something we call a noncancerous tumor, meaning that it doesn't affect other nearby organs or the health of the patient. >> reporter: medical experts say approximately less than 5% of polyps like the president's can progress to cancer. and growth is slow. but routine screenings are key. president biden, the oldest serving american president, was told to get another standard colonoscopy in seven to ten years. experts say this is a valuable reminder not to delay preventative care. >> i can't enforce enough and remind everyone that these are incredibly valuable and important at preventing the development of cancer and detecting early stages of cancer. >> reporter: linsey, the president's physician said no further action was needed with this polyp. last week, the doctor wrote that biden was healthy, vigorous and fit to execute his duties. linsey? >> mary alice, thank you. now, to the case of the men who murdered ahmaud arbery. all three face the possibility of life in prison without parole, after a nearly all-white jury convicted them of murder. and today, arbery's mother says she is giving thanks that justice was done. abc's alex presha has been following the trial from brunswick, georgia. >> reporter: in a case that in many ways has defined this brunswick community, this verdict is the thanksgiving miracle so many here hoped for. all three defendants found guilty of murdering ahmaud arbery. >> we the jury find the defendant, travis mcmichael, guilty. greg mcmichael, guilty. william r. bryan, guilty. >> reporter: and for ahmaud's mother wanda, who spent nearly two years fighting for justice, victory.that verdict meant - and today, she's full of gratitude. >> today is thanksgiving and i'm really thankful. my family and i are very, very thankful for the verdict. >> reporter: arbery's father marcus spoke to abc news just hours after his outburst in the courtroom. >> guilty. >> oh! joy. when i heard that guilty verdict on the one that pulled the trigger, i really was really, really happy, because i knew justice was going down. >> reporter: so much was made of that nearly all-white jury. in the end, they spent just 11 hours deliberating. their decision reverberating across the country. >> say his name! >> ahmaud arbery! >> say his name! >> ahmaud arbery! >> i hope when society hears the name ahmaud arbery tomorrow, ten years from now, a hundred years from now, they'll know his name from being the man who brought about change. >> reporter: linsey, one of those changes, georgia passed a hate crime law in the wake of arbery's death. now, after the verdict, a defense attorney for gregory mcmichael said she was, quote, floored. defense teams for all three men say they plan to appeal. linsey? >> alex, thank you. and be sure to tune into a special "20/20" friday night, "nowhere to run: the ahmaud arbery story." an in depth look at the significant and high profile case. that's at 9:00 p.m. eastern right here on abc. it is often regarded as one of the most beautiful places on earth, but scientists say greenland, with its untouched vistas and ancient ice sheets, is the canary in the coal mine of climate change. abc's james longman traveled there as part of our month-long series on the climate crisis. >> reporter: greenland. the world's largest island. known for its vast tundra and mammoth glaciers. the ice in the arctic is crucial to regulate the temperatures of the world. richard washington is a professor of climate science at the university of oxford, and he tells us to take note of one small, but very important element of our day. it's raining, when really it should be snowing. what's it like for you being here seeing all this? >> well, for 20 yves, i'oo year been -- each of 20 years, i've been teaching about the greenland ice sheet and its role in the entire system. and for the first time, here i am standing on a rainy day, i do believe, with the ice melt passing underneath us. >> reporter: what you're looking at here is just ice melt. that's water running off greenland's ice sheet. there are only two ice sheets in the world. one in antarctica and the other one here. and it's important that this happens, because greenland contributes 8% of the earth's fresh water. what's not so good is that it happens so fast. the melt here is accelerating and it's contributing to a rise in global sea levels. over the last 40 years, the speed of this ice retreat has astonished even the scientists we met. >> the arctic is the engine room of the climate system of the earth. the arctic is in the core, is the center, and controls much of the mechanisms that keep our climate system active. >> reporter: what lies ahead for this arctic wilderness and the world is unknown. those who call greenland home hope the world is paying attention. do you feel like the world is listening to you? >> they haven't for a long time. but i do sense that for the last three, four years, things are changing. >> people starting to pay attention. our thanks to james for that. this thanksgiving, some major retailers like target and best buy are staying closed and we are now just hours away from what could be a record black friday. so, where are the deepest discounts? abc's deirdre bolton tracked them down for us. >> reporter: tonight, just hours from one of the biggest shopping days of the year, retailers telling us they are ready for the record holiday sales predictions. >> people are shopping again. it feels almost normal. >> reporter: americans are expected to spend at least 8.5% to 10.5% more this season than last year. >> really looking forward to this year. >> big box retailers are all ready and set for supply chain issues. >> reporter: at target, this kitchenaid stand mixer normally goes for $430, but is now $220. this drill set, $70 off at lowe's. an apple watch, which normally retails for $280, is on sale at best buy for $220. this ninja blender, $85 off at macy's. and on amazon, this 65-inch tv, a whopping $600 off. but retail analysts say beware. with inflation at a 30-year high, some must-have gifts are 5% to 17% more expensive than last year. >> we're really looking forward to this weekend. we think it will be a really good kind of idea about what the rest of this season will look like. >> reporter: kirsten tells us more people are shopping earlier this year due to concerns about inventory. so this year's holiday shopping season likely to be a marathon, not a sprint. linsey? >> incentive for the procrastinators. deirdre, thank you. still lots more ahead on "world news tonight" this thanksgiving. the latest in a spree of brazen smash and grab robberies. and a brave nypd officer hailed as a hero. want more from your vitamins? at nature's bounty, we give you more. more immune support. with the only vitamin c that lasts 24 hours. more restful sleep. with the first-ever triple action sleep supplement. we put more of our brains into helping your heart. we give you more wellness solutions backed by rigorous science than we ever have before. nature's bounty gives you more, so you can live bountifully. there's a different way to treat hiv. it's once-monthly injectable cabenuva. cabenuva is the only once-a-month, complete hiv treatment for adults who are undetectable. cabenuva helps keep me undetectable. it's two injections, given by a healthcare provider once a month. hiv pills aren't on my mind. i love being able to pick up and go. don't receive cabenuva if you're allergic to its ingredients or taking certain medicines, which may interact with cabenuva. serious side effects include allergic reactions post-injection reactions, liver problems,...and depression. if you have a rash and other allergic reaction symptoms, stop cabenuva and get medical help right away. tell your doctor if you have liver problems or mental health concerns, and if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or considering pregnancy. some of the most common side effects include injection site reactions, fever, and tiredness. attend a appointments. if y switch to cab ask your doctor about once-monthly cabenuva. ne next tonight, a new brazen smash and grab robbery, this time targeting a nordstrom store at a mall in los angeles. police say five thieves ran off with several designer purses last night worth a combined $25,000. they also say a security guard was sprayed with bear spray. it's just the latest in a series of similar robberies at high end stores including a nordstrom in the bay area which was targeted by dozens of thieves over the weekend. tonight, an emotional show ofgratitude for an nypd officer wounded in a gun battle, released from the hospital on thanksgiving. fellow officers applauding alejandra jacobs, one of two officers wounded by gunmen last night after they approached the suspect on a building stoop. surveillance video is being investigated by police. it captures the moments the suspect opened fire. jacobs was shot twice in the arm and then returned fire, wounding the man. the other officer is also expected to recover. the suspect is now in custody and is described as a career criminal. when we come back, how u.s. troops are celebrating thanksgiving overseas. there can be some not-so-pretty stuff going on inside. it's true, with diabetic retinopathy, excess sugar can damage blood vessels, causing vision loss or even blindness. so remember this: now is the time to get your eyes checked. eye care is important to your long-term diabetes management. see a path forward with actions and treatments that may help your eyes— and protect against vision loss. visit noweyesee.com and take control of your sight. 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ask your health care provider today about once-weekly ozempic®. oh, oh, oh, ozempic®! you may pay as little as $25 for a 3-month prescription. ♪ ♪ finally, joyful reunions at long last. giving credence to the belief that absence does indeed make the heart grow fonder. as millions gather round the table tonight -- >> mae mae! mae mae! >> so much to be thankful for. >> oh! >> the surprise reunions say it all. >> oh! >> from texas -- >> mija! >> to arizona. >> oh, my -- >> many families coming together again for the first time since covid initially canceled such traditions. in springfield, missouri, susana foreman's entire family surprising her at the airport. she moved to australia right before the pandemic. and now that restrictions are finally lifting, she was able to return home after two long years. >> you made it! >> surprise! >> and in moline, illinois, bob vogelbaugh keeping his thanksgiving day tradition alive. for 51 years, he's been feeding his community. now more than 3,200 people. >> i did the turkey. my mom did side dishes for a number of years. >> bob owned a small grocery store, and back in 1970, he decided to put on a thanksgiving dinner for a few of his customers who were going to be away from their families. >> i thought, oh, why should this be? i'm going to do a thanksgiving dinner here. >> bob's dinner table kept growing. five decades later, so big it's now at the local mall. but the last two years have looked a bit different. they were advising families not to get together because of, you know, the covid outbreak. i thought, we're going to go ahead and we'll do a drive-by. >> and so today, just like last year, the cars, the families all lining up. volunteers serving 2,500 pounds of turkey, 3,500 pieces of pie. tonight, one thankful community. and bob is thankful, too. >> people are so happy and gracious and thankful. it's so rewarding and people are just so nice. >> so much to be grateful for. we are thankful to you for watching. i'm linsey davis. happy thanksgiving, from david and all of us here. good night >> building a better bay area, moving forward, finding solutions. this is abc 7 news. dion: count them down. black friday officially begins just six hours from now. it is going to be different for this year, and not just because of the pandemic. good evening and thank you for joining us. i'm dion lim. you're watching abc 7 news at 6:00. now we hope you've enjoyed thanksgiving date, but we are already looking ahead to tomorrow, black friday. those two days sometimes seem to merge into one. for years, many stores opened their days on thanksgiving so shoppers could get a jump on black friday. that was stopped last year and as laura anthony says, it seems it's become a permanent change. ♪ laura: the holiday music was loud and festive at walnut creek's broadway plaza, but playing to no one as it seems our controversial trend of stores opening on thanksgiving day haco