I'm Carla Zeus, and you've landed on CNN 10 on this last day of November 2020 way are kicking off the first of three weeks we have left on air this year, and it starts with an overview of what we know about the holiday season so far.

With Thanksgiving behind us and Hanukkah and Christmas on the way, Sunday was expected to be the busiest travel day in America since the coronavirus pandemic sank in early this year.

We don't have final numbers for it yet, but we can report that roughly a million and 71,000 people passed through US airport checkpoints on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

That was the most since March.

It was less than half the number of airline travelers on the same day last year, but travel officials expected that Mawr Americans would be driving this time around.

So overall, fewer people were expected to travel during the pandemic, but not by a lot as compared with last year.

And that reflects a significant part of the population that said the pandemic would not affect their Thanksgiving plans, though it did for many other Americans, observers say the pandemic is part of the reason why an estimated 50 million Americans won't have enough to eat this year.

Feeding America AH Hunger Relief Group says that estimate of 50 million is six million short of where it was during the great recession, whose effects sank in in 2000 and eight.

The U.

S Department of Agriculture says it's set aside $850 million to help food banks with their running costs and food purchases.

It says it has an additional 873 million available to buy farm products for food banks.

The money came from the $2.2 trillion Co.

Vid relief bill that President Donald Trump signed in March.

And as far as economic indicators Go, an analyst with the National Retail Federation says overall stocks are up, home values are growing and wages are rising.

So his organization expects that shopping sales will be higher this year than they were in 2019.

Experts say some Americans were willing to spend a little more on Christmas gifts to psychologically make up for some of the challenges they faced throughout the year, But others don't have as much money to spend this time around, so predictions like this are a mixed bag.

And the way people shop has clearly been affected.

In 2020 a.

T.

The Hildale shopping center in Madison, Wisconsin, on Lee, a few shoppers were seen heading into Macy's early on Black Friday.

A Zephyr Santa kids had to see him virtually at this cavernous mall in West Nyack, New York Some shoppers turned up because it was such a ghost town.

Feel good?

I feel safe.

I feel comfortable like it.

There's nobody out here.

It's perfect.

Perfect for a shopping like me.

After a Thanksgiving like no other retail experts say America headed into a black Friday and the holiday shopping season like no other.

You've seen retailers take extraordinary steps to protect their teams, their associates of partners and, of course, the customers and the communities in which they live and work.

And we're going to continue to see that and consumers air altering their behavior as well stores air reinventing the shopping experience to guard against coronavirus spikes, chains like Best Buy and Home Depot offered online sales earlier.

WalMart, America's largest retailer, is spreading black Friday sales over three weekends.

The general manager of a California mall discussed new measures to protect those who come in person.

We have free masks for anyone that just forgot one in the car.

We've installed hospital great filters in the property way will have occupancy limits Pursuant to the Health Department guidelines.

We have free health sanitizer.

But experts say we can count on reduced physical traffic at malls and shopping centers this year, as consumers air scared away from possible contact at brick and mortar stores, there is gonna be a surge online on.

That means that you have to be particularly careful and also not wait till the last minute.

That's because, experts say, this year there have been problems in the supply chains of some retailers.

We've had a whole stoppage in the inventory system, and they're just not that much product out there.

So you have this duality of you can't have a lot of people.

You don't have a lot of product.

And unfortunately for the shoppers, what it means is you're not gonna have a lot of discounts assed.

For the overall economic ramifications, the signals are mixed.

The president of the National Retail Federation says he expects to see strong consumer spending this holiday season.

But a Gallup poll last month found that 28% of Americans plan on spending less on holiday gifts this year.

There are still millions of people who are out of work or don't have the same kind of hours that they had in the past.

And also remember this time of year, lots of people get second jobs at retail stores.

That's not happening either, because not many people are in the stores.

12th Trivia.

Which of these U.

S.

Universities has the oldest football team Rutgers, Yale, Notre Dame or Vanderbilt?

Rutgers has the oldest football program, dating back to 18 69.

Vanderbilt is from 18 90 the youngest on this list.

Sarah Fuller, is a senior at Vanderbilt University.

She's a goalkeeper for the women's soccer team.

She's also a kicker on Vanderbilt's football team, and that's why she just made news.

On Saturday In the second half of Vanderbilt game against Missouri, Fuller delivered a 30 yard kickoff.

It was down to Missouri's 35 yard line, but that kick made her the third woman ever to play at this level of CIA Division one football and she's the first to play in the Power five conference.

That's the five biggest athletic conferences in America.

Vanderbilt says it offered the chance to Fuller because some of its specialist kickers are in quarantine due to coronavirus.

The team lost the game, 41 to 0.

But Vandy's head coach says he'd love to have Fuller continue if she's available.

And she says she'd love that, especially if she could score a field goal or an extra point.

Mhm.

A bridge has also been built in the town of White Bluff, Tennessee, between two competing council candidates.

The problem they faced could have been solved by the municipal government or in a runoff election.

But they opted for an approach that dates back to a simpler time.

Something's happened in White Bluff.

You just don't see very often.

I mean, the odds has to be a million.

We're gonna make history.

I guess this may never happen again for another 100 years.

What are they talking about?

Well, Eric Mason and Brian Hill just ran for White Bluff Council.

White Bluff voted, and when the tallies were done, Eric had 893 votes and Brian had 893 votes.

Yes, really?

How?

It's amazing.

893.

8 93.

It was just a zoo.

Unbelievable.

So what do you do with an exact tie vote?

Well, Eric and Brian talked about the options and agreed.

Coin toss.

Nobody has an advantage.

It's 50 50.

There it is Now.

The guys could have started back campaigning again for a special election, but they felt that would just cost White Bluff money.

It would make people get out during Cove it so they figured.

End it.

Eric and Brian wait at the Civic Center for six o'clock.

The coin toss.

I have respect for him like he has it for me.

We didn't want it to be like everything else is in politics, A battle.

We'd rather just bring the community together.

The time is here.

I'm pretty comfortable.

Whichever way this goes.

Brian over on the right, wins.

Ah, handshake ends an election.

You just don't see very often for 10 out of 10.

Whatever you do, don't look down or look down.

That's why most people come here.

This is the world's tallest outdoor elevator.

According to Guinness World Records, it towers 1000 and 70 ft above a national forest in southeastern China, and it carried upto 18,000 tourists a day before the coronavirus pandemic.

Some believe the forest inspired the movie Avatar.

You could say the elevator inspired the movie Gravity or maybe Days of Heaven, Made in Heaven Just like Heaven.

Miracles From Heaven, Kingdom of Heaven, Heaven can wait Heaven is for really all that heaven allows all dogs go to heaven.

Heaven knows, Mr Allison, that some of those movies like that elevator can really give you a lift.

Hey, you know what gives us a lift announcing the schools that subscribe and leave a comment at youtube dot com slash CNN 10.

And today that school that gets the shout out is Guadiana, Deer Creek High School.

It is located in Wa Adina, Minnesota.

You guys air Awesome.