roads this holiday season than ever before. aaa projects that nearly 30% of americans will be traveling 50 miles or more from home between december 21 and new year's day. more than 90% of those travelers will be driving. air travel is also expected to be down, but not by much. >>> many retailers are cracking down on rushes. but not all are. there is a list of the stores with the most generous return policies. these favorites have no time limit on most items. and near the to which the list, anthropology, costco, jcpenney and nordstrom just to name a few. there are some exceptions like for electronics or furniture. and regifting, once a hush-hush way to be thrifty now is an accepted holiday tradition. 73% of those surveyed by american express say it is perfectly okay to regift, however only about one-third admit that they actually do recycle presents. if you are one of them, etiquette experts say the item should be in its original packaging and never opened or tested. >>> instragram has released aist life the most popular places its app is used. topping the list, the mall in ban

americans and it's hitting just as a busy holiday travel season is getting under way. aaa is predicting nearly 86 million people will drive at least 50 miles over the next week and a half. and just over 5.5 million people will be flying to grandma's house or wherever it is they are going. with severe weather affecting as many as 68 million people, it could be a rough ride for the start of the weekend's get-away. dylan is tracking it all for us once again. good morning. >> good morning. so much to track here too. we are going to see the potential of very strong storms accumulating ice and also the threat of seeing some snow as well. we have this set up here out ahead of this cold front, very warm, spring-like air is moving into parts of the southeast and back behind the system is cold air and the clash of those two air masses causes our biggest problems. you can see through here and nashville and parts of louisiana is an area we could end up with very strong storms today. even isolated tornadoes are possible. but in red surrounding that, we could see damaging wind gusts from s

aaa. this could be the busiest end of the year travel season ever. 94.5 million people expected to take a trip 50 miles or more. 91% of those will be on the roadway. perhaps that's driven by the idea that the prices at the pump are at a three-year low for holiday travel. that's good news. the average cost, $3.22 a gallon. but one in five stations across the country selling gas for less than $3. i haven't found my less-than-3 station yet. 5.5 million people will travel by air. what it means, you need to allow extra time whether you're going to the airport or getting out on the highway. you need to check the forecast as well. there's going to be some weather that may affect some trips especially in the midwest. if you're getting out there and traveling, please be safe. everybody have a wonderful holiday season. richard, back to you. >> all right. do not come to my house. go to jay's house. it's much bigger, it has more fun. lots more people, right, jay? >> reporter: not true. >> all right. >> reporter: see you. >>> now to bill karins. should we go to your house instead? >> you could.

holidays. aaa says 5.5 million people will be traveling by air this holiday season. that number is down just a bit from last year, actually. and we talked to some passengers down at san jose international today who said getting through the airport was actually a breeze. >> i didn't really know what to expect. we left a little early for the airport. fueled the rental car up early. here we are. there's nobody here. >> well, air travel is down. aaa says road travel this holiday is up with about 25% of americans driving 50 miles or more. >>> maybe you aren't ready for new year's eve, but new york city is. today electricians working on times square's skyscraper installed the last of 2,600 crystal panels, waterford crystal make up the ball which drops at midnight on new year's eve. there's a high-tech component this year as well, a free app lets you watch the ball drop from your smartphone. takes craftsmen a year to make the crystals used in the ball and embellished with 32,000 l.e.d. lights. very nice. >> yes, it is. but it doesn't really seem right watching it on your iphone. >> why do

in critical condition. >>> triple aaa says a record number of people will be traveling over this holiday season. 95 million people will travel over christmas to new year's. many of those who choose to fly likely will have paid more than they have in year's past. one spokesman said it was all a breeze. >> i didn't know what to expect. we left early for the airport. here we are and there's nobody here. >> that's a nice surprise. this is the fifth year for record holiday travel. >>> silicon valley company may have created the newest luxury status symbol for men. the tesla has joined the ranks of car brands like aston martins and lamborghinis overwhelmingly owned by men. analysts said brands with mostly male owners tend to be more performance oriented and translate to being more rugged. >>> for two reasons tonight will be a historic fight hunger bowl. the washington huskies will take on byu for the first time in college bowl history. there will be two female referees on the field. this is the last year the bowl will be held at at&t park. next year it moves to the new niners stadium.

any governments. earlier this month china put limits, actually, on bitcoin. >>> aaa is offering what it calls its free tipsy tow service. the automotive service has been doing this for the last 16 years. call the aaa number 800-400-4-aaa, then tell the operator that you need a ride or a tipsy tow. the tow driver will take the driver and their car home, passengers, though, have to find another ride. you do not have to be a aaa member for this service. >>> big news for families in china today. the government formally approved easing its one-child policy. according to chinese state news, under the new policy couples will be allowed to have two children if one of the parents is an only child. before a couple could generally only have a second child if both parents were only children. chinese officials say that one child policy was undermining economic growth and leaving the country with a large elderly population and no one to care for them. >>> coming up next at 6:00, new information about target's data breach. what hackers were able to steal that has millions of american ps at ris

morning, jay. >> reporter: hey, good morning, laura, good morning, terry. the aaa says this could be the busiest end of the year travel season ever. ever, as far as holiday travel is concerned, laura, i hear most coming to your house. i hope you have plenty of holiday ham ready. it can also be one of the least expensive trips ever, family packing up, pulling up on the highways for the families much the holiday rush officially begins this morning on runways and roadways across the country. >> aaa expects about 94.5 million people will travel for the year-end holidays this year. >> reporter: that would be the most ever. a majority of those travelers filling their tanks for a holiday road trip, taking advantage of gas prices that are at a three-year low. >> a little extra money in the pocket. >> reporter: for some, the trip home for the dies is just a bit too far to drive. about 5.5 million passengers will line up at security gates and load onto planes. data from the travel website, kayak.com, indicates the most popular destinations this weekend are on the east coast, while for new year

sign him to the aaa affiliate just in case f. he decided to do the two sports he wouldn't be the first this is who i thought of. bo jackson played football and baseball so did deion sanders. >> let's check in with rob mayeda and see what's going on. the 9ers are in tampa this week. i guess it doesn't matter to them what the weather is like here. what the heck. >> back home seeing the temperatures generally this weekend will be turning warmer. i don't think tampa warm but warmer through the weekend. the raiders will see temperatures in the 60s. right now 30s and 50s outside. 20s in the north bay where cold air is trapped but by the afternoon, gorgeous in the north bay, close to 60 in san jose. there you see the temperatures in the north bay. 60 santa rosa with patchy fog. we'll be watching that, may be slowing parts of the north bay commute. >> you have me on alert there. we don't see major problems but we're tracking that for you. i turned our camera to the toll plaza. you see the taillights. fast tracking through, 25, as fast as you're supposed to go. a crash was reported in the

it. they will saturate the roadways for the new year's holiday. >>> aaa is offering its free tipsy tow service. they have been doing it for the last 16 years. call 1-800-400-4 aa a and tell the operator you need a tipsy tow. you do not have to be a member of aaa in order to utilize that service. >>> a u.s. soldier captured during the korean war and never heard from since was finally buried in california yesterday. sergeant joseph gant joined the army in 1942. then in 1950 he was taken as a prisoner of war in korea. what happened next isn't exactly clear but after six decades, gant's remains were finally identified and returned home to inglewood, california. his wife who never remarried says at least she feels a sense of closure. >> i was praying to the lord to let me live to receive the closure of my husband. >> gant was posthumously awarded are a medal. >>> this has been a dangerous and deadly past few days for some of those drawn to backcountry skiing. a bay area skier was killed in an avalanche near jackson hole, wyoming. this is video of another skier's narrow escape. now, at f