Traveling for Thanksgiving? Here’s what you need to know
It appears folks are eager to hit the road this Thanksgiving as AAA predicts 53.4 million Americans will be traveling this year – the highest single-year increase since 2005, up 13% from 2020.
The travel forecast puts an additional 6.4 million people on the road this Thanksgiving, in addition to the reopening of the U.S. borders, causing drivers to better prepare and have a strategy for navigating roadways this holiday.
“This Thanksgiving, travel will look a lot different than last year,” according to Paula Twidale, senior vice president, AAA Travel. “Now that the borders are open and new health and safety guidelines are in place, travel is once again high on the list for Americans who are ready to reunite with their loved ones for the holiday.”
Plan ahead and be prepared for where you’re going. Here’s a list of the top domestic destinations this Thanksgiving:
Dallas/Fortworth, Texas
Phoenix, Arizona
Honolulu, Hawaii
Kahului, Maui, Hawaii
Atlanta, Georgia
Tampa, Florida
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
If you’re traveling to or from any of these areas, be ready for delays. Drive times and delays are expected to triple amid bustling roads with Tuesday and Wednesday expected to be the heaviest travel days at airports.
Here’s AAA’s forecast for best and worst travel times:
“Thanksgiving is one of the busiest holidays for road trips and this year will be no different even during the pandemic,” according to Bob Pishue, Transportation Analyst for INRIX. “Drivers around major metros must be prepared for significant delays, especially Wednesday afternoon. Knowing when and where congestion will build can help drivers avoid the stress of sitting in traffic.”
Oakland ‘Jeopardy!’ champ reveals she attempted to appear on the game show for over a decade
Oakland resident Amy Schneider became the new champion of “Jeopardy!” following her fourth consecutive win, racking up over $155,000 during trans awareness week on the show. But Schneider, who works as an engineering manager, recently revealed that getting on the show was a hard-fought process that lasted ten years, Newsweek reports.
"I'm not sure quite how long [ago I first applied], but I remember trying out when I still lived in Ohio, and I've lived in Oakland since 2009, so it has to have been at least that amount of time."
However, Schneider conceded that several factors most likely played a role in her prolonged journey to the TV studying saying, "One is that when you take the first online test, no matter how good you do it's a random chance whether they look at you to go any further. So that's part of it.
"The reality is that for the first few years of that, when I was trying out, I was, as far as any of us knew, a standard white guy. And there's just more competition for those slots on Jeopardy!
"They're making a TV show, they don't want everybody to look the same, and looked a lot like many of the other contestants, and I think that definitely made it a little tougher for me at that time. I would have got on eventually—I was never gonna stop trying!"
Schneider is currently eligible for the Tournament of Champions on “Jeopardy!”
Amtrak train collides with truck in Richmond
An Amtrak train on Monday collided with a large truck transporting cars in Richmond, KTVU reports.
The crash happened near Market Street and Soto Avenue just after 8 p.m. after the truck became stranded on the tracks and was unable to move, according to firefighters responding at the scene.
"Everything worked out really well," according to Richmond Fire Battalion Chief Darren Johnson. "With one minor injury. This could have been a disaster. If this thing had overturned, it would have been a major incident.”
About 30 passengers were aboard the train at the time of collision but only the train’s engineer reported a minor injury.
Clean up crew were still working to clear the track of all debris Tuesday but no major delays were reported.
Target will be closed on Thanksgiving – permanently
Target announced Monday that all of its stores will be closed every Thanksgiving going forward, East Bay Times reports.
The move comes after Target stores closed last year for Thanks giving during the pandemic with store employees telling Target’s CEO, Brian Cornell, that they were happy to stay home during the holiday during his trips to stores in New York and New Jersey last week.
“What started as a temporary measure driven by the pandemic is now our new standard,” Cornell said.
Walmart, Best Buy and Dick’s Sporting Goods are also following the trend of canceling Thanksgiving operating hours after many retailers have changed their policy following adjustments made after the pandemic forced them to shutter for the holiday.
While many retailers have opted to operate during Thanksgiving to get a jump on Black Friday deals, many labor advocates have insisted that employees should be with their families for the holiday instead of working.
Big box stores in the states of Massachusetts, Maine and Rhode Island are prohibited by law from being open on Thanksgiving. A 2016 proposed law in California would have required employers pay their employees double for working on Thanksgiving but the measure didn’t pass.
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